Energy

The use of alternative natural sources of energy is attractive because of the uncertain price and limited availability of oil, the pollution that is associated with the burning of fossil fuels, the tremendous experiences and dangers of nuclear power, and a variety of other reasons. In developing countries the first reason is of particular importance because their industrial development, coming at a time of low cost plentiful oil supplies, has resulted in greater reliance on this single source of energy than is true in the developed countries, despite the fact that the latter use tremendously larger quantities. For industrialized countries such as the United

States, practical and economically competitive alternative energy systems already exist that could replace the entire nuclear power contribution to U.S. energy supplies. (Editor's note: Wood space heating stoves [selling 1-2 million units a year] (surpassed nuclear power in total contribution to U.S. energy supplies in 1980!)

For village level applications, there are many promising existing technologies. The five sections which follow explore of these in more depth: sun, wind, water, wood and biogas. These technologies are small-scale and necessarily decentralized . This, rather than any other technical inferiority, is the primary. reason earlier forms of these technologies were eventually passed over in the industrialized countries. While these systems cannot very effectively be used for the power needs of large industry, they can be well suited to the needs of villages and small communities. They can be low in cost relatively simple in construction and maintenance, made of materials available in villages and small towns, and non-polluting.

With each price increase in the worlds diminishing oil supply, renewable energy sources are made more attractive. The decentralized supply of these renewable energy sources wind power, solar energy, water power and biofuels matches the decentralized settlements of the rural South. Planners and program administrators are increasingly convinced that these technologies have a major role in the energy supplies of rural communities.

Rays of Hope makes the argument that the exponential increases in energy consumption characteristic of industrial societies cannot continue, and therefore industrial development in all countries will have to shift towards decentralization, conservation, improved energy conversion efficiency, and better matching of energy quality to end use needs.

Other books in this section review the most attractive renewable energy technologies likely to fit the circumstances in the rural South. Renewable Energy Resources and Rural Applications in the Developing World also notes the domestic and foreign policy implications that come with choice of energy strategy. Energy for Development: Third World Options points specifically to reforestation programs for fuelwood and soil conservation as high priorities in energy planning. A catalog of commercially available small-scale power generating equipment, entitled The Power Guide, has been introduced by ITDG. This book includes both renewable energy devices and diesel and gasoline engines. A good place to find an overview of technology options is in Renewable Energy Technologies: Their Applications in Developing Countries, which includes coverage of some of the lesser known choices such as briquetting of agricultural wastes and use of vegetable oils as an engine fuel.

The increasing acceptance of an important role for renewable energy systems, noted earlier, has led to proliferation of pilot projects. Economic feasibility has not been properly considered in many of these projects, a fault perhaps most common in large international and bilateral aid agencies, who should know better. The Economics of Renewable Energy Systems for Developing Countries offers three case studies illustrating this problem, and a methodology for evaluating the economic appeal of any renewable energy project. Author David French notes that, in particular, large agencies seem to have forgotten that most of the rural poor do not use commercial fuels and thus cannot simply switch cash payments towards the purchase of new equipment:

"Most renewable energy devices now tend to be attractive primarily to people already using costly commercial power. Just as is happening in the United States, for example, some Third World city-dwellers are discovering that solar energy may be cheaper than electricity for heating water .... Such systems will be of greatest use to the wealthy; there is little reason to suppose they will be of comparable interest to the poor."

In the rural South, most of the energy used is in the form of firewood and crop residues gathered and burned in cooking fires. Low-cost locally built cooking stoves can greatly increase the efficiency of cooking, reducing the demand for fuelwood up to 40%. This would both slow the rate of deforestation and lighten the burden of long distance wood hauling. Technologies that use local materials and skills, such as improved wood stoves and village wood lots, are more likely to be immediately affordable than expensive devices such as solar pumps, photovoltaic systems, and biogas plants in almost all cases.

A practical example of the use of solar energy could be seen in some villages of Pakistan where each house has been provided with a solar panel that’s sufficient to run an electric fan and two energy saving bulbs. Prior to this arrangement, the whole village used to be plunged in pitch dark during night. One such example is the village with the name of Narian Khorian, some 50 kilometers away from Islamabad, where 100 solar panels have been installed by a local firm, free of cost, to promote the use of solar energy among the masses. Through these panels, the residents of 100 households are enjoying light and fan facilities. Had these panels not been installed, the people living in this area wouldn’t have even dreamt of getting this facility for decades as the provision of electricity from the national grid was a far cry due to the difficult terrain and high expenses involved.

A layman would normally be interested in knowing as to how electricity could be produced using energy from the sun. Simply put, it can be said that the basic item required to generate this electricity is a solar cell, approximately 2 inches x 1/2 inch in dimension. These cells may be available in other dimensions as well. Some 80 to 100 or even more such cells are pasted on a tampered glass sheet whose dimensions are generally 1.5 feet x 4 feet. The glass sheet with cells pasted on it and inter-connected, is called a solar panel. The light from the sun is used to generate electricity through these cells. It may be clarified that it’s the sun’s light and not its heat that produces electricity. The solar cells are called photovoltaics (PV); the word Photo meaning light and voltaics electricity. The life of a solar panel is approximately 20 to 25 years!

To give you an example of the use of solar energy, you must have noticed solar panels installed on poles along with the telephone booths on your left hand side while commuting on the Motorway. Each of these telephones is being powered by this panel. A battery is installed beneath each solar panel to store energy for keeping the telephone in operation during night when there’s no sun light. It’s a stand-alone system, entirely powered by solar energy. During emergency, the commuters make use of these telephones and call for help.

To give you another example, if you happen to drive from Rawalpindi (Faizabad) towards Murree on the newly constructed Murree Road, you would see on your right hand side blinking red hazard lights installed at the top of each WAPDA pole. Each of these lights is being powered by a stand-alone solar system i.e. a solar panel and a battery. Just imagine, how much expensive and full of hassle it would have been if solar panels weren’t used for this purpose and these lights were provided normal electric connections!

Other Interesting Facts about Solar Energy:

a Vinci predicted a solar industrialization as far back as 1447.
In one hour more sunlight falls on the earth than what is used by the entire population in one year.
A world record was set in 1990 when a solar powered aircraft flew 4060km across the USA, using no fuel.
Fierce weather cost the world a record $130 Billion in the first eleven months of 1998- more money than was lost from weather related disasters from 1980 to 1990 ($82 Billion).
Researchers from the Worldwatch Institute and Munich Re blame deforestation and climate change from Earth warming for much of the loss. The previous one-year record was $90 Billion in 1996. Source - Associated Press, November 28,1998.
About 2 billion people in the world are currently without electricity.
Accounting for only 5 percent of the world's population, Americans consume 26 percent of the world's energy.
Electric ovens consume the most amount of electricity, followed by microwaves and central air conditioning.
Third world countries with an abundance of sunlight and a population currently without electricity, represents the fastest growing market for solar energy, with the largest domestic market being the utilities sector.
Shell Oil predicts that 50% of the world's energy will come from renewable sources by 2040.

Facts about Solar Energy systems:

A home solar system is typically made up of solar panels, an inverter, a battery, a charge controller, wiring and support structure.
A 1-kilowatt home solar system takes about 1-2 days to install and costs around US$10,000, but can vary greatly and does not take into account any incentives offered by the government.
A 1-kilowatt home solar system consists of about 10-12 solar panels and requires about 100 square feet of installation area.
A 1 kilowatt home solar system will generate approximately 1,600 kilowatt hours per year in a sunny climate (receiving 5.5 hours of sunshine per day) and approximately 750 kilowatt hours per year in a cloudy climate (receiving 2.5 hours of sunshine per day).
A 1-kilowatt home solar system will prevent approximately 170 lbs. of coal from being burned, 300 lbs of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere and 105 gallons of water from being consumed each month!
About 40 solar cells are usually combined into a solar panel and around 10-12 panels mounted in an array facing due North to receive maximum sunlight.
The system usually comes with a 5-year warranty, although the solar panels are warranted for 20.
Relying on the battery back up, a solar energy system can provide electricity 24x7, even on cloudy days and at night.
Solar panels come in various colours.
Solar energy can be collected and stored in batteries, reflected, insulated, absorbed and transmitted.

Solar Energy Cost

Would you like to own your electricity? Want to stop worrying about rate inflation from your utility company, charging you whatever they like? Did you know that rates have been rising by about 6% each year in California for example? They will only keep going up and up unless you do something about it!
By installing a solar electric system you can SAVE MONEY, break free from the clutches of your utility company and HELP the Environment too.

Only 20 Years ago, solar energy cost 7 times as much. Advanced technologies have contributed to the enormous decrease in price, but it is mainly due to the increase in manufacturing volumes, as more and more people realise the benefits of solar energy.

There’s more good news. Solar energy cost will continue to decline as the market continues to grow, making it even more affordable.

Governments too have realised the benefits. Incentives are available form state, federal and local governments, as well as some utility companies.

Industrial Applications

For many years, Solar Energy has been the power supply of choice for Industrial applications, where power is required at remote locations. This means in these applications that solar power is economic, without subsidy. Most systems in individual uses require a few kilowatts of power.

The examples are powering repeater stations for microwave, TV and radio, telemetry and radio telephones.
Solar energy is also frequently used on transportation signalling e.g. offshore navigation buoys, lighthouses, aircraft warning lights on pylons or structures, and increasingly in road traffic warning signals. Solar is used to power environmental and situation monitoring equipment and corrosion protection systems (based on impressing a current) for pipelines, well-heads, and bridges or other structures. As before, for larger electrical loads it can be cost effective to configure a hybrid power system that links the PV with a small diesel generator.

Solar's great benefit here is that it is highly reliable and requires little maintenance so it's ideal in places that are hard to get to.

City Residential homes

Recent years have seen rapid growth in the number of installations of PV on to buildings that are connected to the electricity grid. This area of demand has been stimulated in part by government subsidy programmes (especially Japan and Germany) and by green pricing policies of utilities or electricity service providers (e.g. in Switzerland and the USA). The central driving force though comes from the desire of individuals or companies to obtain their electricity from a clean, non-polluting, renewable source for which they are prepared to pay a small premium.

Solar PV modules can be retrofitted on to a pitched roof above the existing roof-tiles, or the tiles replaced by specially designed PV roof-tiles or roof-tiling systems. If you are planning to put a PV system on to a building and have it connected to the grid supply there are likely to be local regulations that need to be met, and permission required from your utility or electricity service provider. The level of credit for any exported electricity will vary depending on local schemes in place.