Solar economics- A whole new ball game

One of the things that drives alternative energy advocates up the wall about trying to explain the benefits of these energy sources is that some people simply don’t understand the economics of alternative energy. Nowhere is this more obvious than with solar power. The average solar panel is actually an economic asset as much as a planet-saving technology, but naturally the media and its five second attention span never mention this very basic fact.

Getting the solar message across

As the dino-fuels become more expensive and interfere with the bottom lines of more businesses and family budgets, the economic message will eventually sink in. The alternative energy industries, however, could be doing a lot more to get their message across in hard dollar terms. It’s important to recognize that the levels of unfamiliarity about alternative energy sources aren’t so much selective ignorance as a case of simply not getting the facts communicated effectively.

It’s critically important to make sure that the message that alternative energies are costs savers and game-changers for the bottom line gets through to the public, economists and governments. Arguing about environmental principles is too easy. Arguing with figures is a lot more difficult. Solar power can do a respectable job of proving its values at spreadsheet level, so it’d be nice to see some publicists getting to work on the subject, preferably ASAP.

The solar economic overview

In economic terms, solar power as an energy source is almost unprecedented. Being a passive energy source puts it in the same class as old water wheels and windmills, a type of energy technology which doesn’t have an equivalent in modern economics. There simply isn’t an economic model to assess the effect of universal solar power usage. That’s one of the main reasons economics as a science is dragging the chain on assessing the global values of solar power.

Solar power comes with some massive economic benefits

A comparatively short, competition-based supply chain: The logistics of solar are pretty much entirely contained in the assembly process. At end user point, the most that’s likely to ever be required is some maintenance. This short supply chain means that real costs to the economy are very low overall, particularly if assessed over time and in relation to competition for consumer dollars.

Flexibility and adaptability: Spreading cities have exposed the Achilles heel of the grids. Real cost factors are building up to the point at which only developers can afford to expand traditional grids. Solar simply doesn’t have that problem. 

Solar power generation has real community dollar values: Individually, a solar power generation system produces X amount of power at a measurable cost. Collectively, particularly if fed into a grid system, solar power values increase exponentially, across the entire grid. Solar power needs to be seen as a community asset as much as a household asset.

Commercially, solar power is a true cost saver: The overheads of running an office or a factory can be colossal in terms of power costs. Anything which impacts those costs positively, particularly on a large scale, directly affects the entire economy. The solar panels springing up in New York’s notoriously thrifty schools aren’t there solely for fashion reasons, either, and this is another commercial/social community solar asset that needs recognition.

When you’re installing solar panels for your home, consider for a moment your own economic issues- If it makes economic sense to install solar in your home, how about the world? Interesting thought, isn’t it?
  

Energy From Manure

Energy From Cow Manure Searching for 'Energy from Manure' information. I collected the top yahoo search engine listings for Energy From Manure... more to come on subject. If you have information you would like Published send article to Scotty.

Producer of Baby Nutrition Products Saving CO₂ Based on Special "Green Tariff" article found at: http://www.renewable-energy-sources.com/2010/07/16/ukraine-milk-company-powered-by-4000-cows-and-ge-biogas-engine/comment-page-1/#comment-3160

Cow manure is being converted to energy at the first biogas cogeneration plant in the Ukraine. The facility, which is powered by 4,000 cows and a GE (NYSE: GE) Jenbacher gas engine, has recently completed nine months of successful operation at the Ukrainian Milk Company Ltd., located near Kiev.

The excess power produced at the plant is being sold to the grid. The Ukrainian Milk Company, which produces milk for baby nutrition products, received the license for selling power to the grid based on the "green" tariff, which is being approved by Ukraine authorities. According to the law, the "green" tariff is "a special tariff for electricity generated at the power plants with use of alternative energy sources."

The new combined heat and power (CHP) plant is powered by a GE JMC 312 containerized cogeneration model gas engine and is able to substitute the equivalent of 1.2 million cubic meters of natural gas annually and, therefore, is projected to reduce the equivalent of 18,000 metric tons of CO₂. Once converted into biogas, the manure from the cows produces 625 kW of electricity and 686 kW of thermal output.

This is GE's first order from the biogas plant construction company ZORG. The unit was sold to ZORG through GE's distributor and service provider in the Ukraine, SINAPSE. "Based on the top service provided by SINAPSE during the commissioning and operation of the new GE CHP plant, we look forward to working with them again and using GE's Jenbacher products for future projects we have planned," said Igor Aksyutov, commercial director of ZORG Ukraine.

The first stage of operation for the plant took place during the most severe winter in the last 20 years, with constant minus temperatures reaching -25°C to -30°C. Despite the cold temperatures, the operation of the plant remained at a favorable level.

Biogas offers customers several advantages. It provides an alternative disposal of dung, liquid manure and organic waste, while simultaneously harnessing them as an energy source, a substitute for conventional fuels. It also has the high potential for reduction in greenhouse gases and is highly efficient for combined on-site power and heat generation. In addition, the remaining substrate from the digester can be used as high-quality, agricultural fertilizer, characterized by neutralizing the acid effect with a higher ph-value, keeping nutrients retained and nearly odorless.

"The disposal and treatment of biological waste represents a major challenge for the waste industry. Our Jenbacher biogas-fueled gas engines improve waste management while maximizing the use of cow manure, an economical energy supply," said Prady Iyyanki, CEO-gas engines for GE Power & Water. "We are pleased that our technology is a part of the first biogas plant in operation in the Ukraine and applaud the region for seeking new renewable and alternative ways to create cleaner energy."

GE has several biogas projects throughout the world. China has adopted both cow and chicken manure applications. Once completed, the recently announced project at the Liaoning Huishan Cow Farm in China will become the world's largest biogas project based on cow manure. In addition, GE's Jenbacher gas engines are using biogas created from chicken manure to generate needed power and heat at the Beijing Deqingyuan Chicken Farm Waste Utilization Plant, a large chicken farm north of Beijing, and in July 2009, GE's biogas engines began to power China's largest chicken waste biogas-energy plant at the Minhe Animal Husbandry.

Cow manure also is helping to address northwestern India's mounting energy environmental needs and is allowing a U.S. dairy farm to support the expansion of renewable energy production. A GE Jenbacher biogas engine is powering a successful demonstration cattle manure-methane cogeneration plant at Haebowal, a large dairy complex in Punjab, India, while GE's biogas engine technology is generating 633 kilowatts of renewable energy at United States-based Crave Brothers Farm, LLC, in Waterloo, Wisc. Crave Brothers has been able to reduce operational costs and the environmental impacts of its dairy operations, and the surplus power it sells to the regional grid helps support the expansion of renewable energy production.

ZORG is a leading supplier of turn-key biogas solutions in the Ukrainian market. The company offers a full range of engineering services for biogas, as well as designs, builds and produces biogas plants. ZORG works globally and currently has a number of projects in CIS countries.

Additional Web Search Via - Yahoo

1. USATODAY.com - Cow manure eyed as alternate fuel source

   [Aug 22, 2005] As calls increase for renewable energy sources, there is more focus on developing cow ... Sweeten said manure contains at best about a third to a quarter of the energy value as ...

   usatoday.com/tech/science/2005-08-22-cow-manure-energy_x.htm - 54k - Cached

2. Cows power plan for alternative fuel - USATODAY.com

   [Dec 6, 2006] Power derived from manure is changing from an alternative-fuel ... produce more than a tiny fraction of the energy consumed in the USA, even if all of the nation's 7,000 large ...

   www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-12-03-cow-power_x.htm - Cached

   
3. [PDF]

   BioTown, USA - Sourcebook on Biomass Energy

   1679k - Adobe PDF - View as html

   BioTown, USA has much more energy available than the community currently uses each year. ... simple as shifting from corn, beans, manure and timber to sugars, ...

   www.in.gov/oed/files/Biotown_Sourcebook_040306.pdf

4. TURN MANURE INTO ENERGY

   It handles manure and gives back renewable energy. "The increase in production and ... Odorants in livestock manure result primarily from the partial ...

   www.slurrystore.com/manure_energy.html - Cached

5. Value of Manure as an Energy Source - eXtension

   Some attributes of energy production from manure may be less tangible than others. ... is the most widely used form of energy production from manure in the USA. ...

   www.extension.org/pages/Value_of_Manure_as_an_Energy_Source - Cached

6. Livestock Waste Management, Animal Manure Waste to Energy ...

   Solutions to convert animal waste into energy lowering soil contamination levels from livestock

   www.guascor-usa.com/livestock_water.htm - Cached

7. Manure Use for Fertilizer and for Energy: Report to Congress

   Manure Use for Fertilizer and for Energy: Report to Congress. By James M. MacDonald, Marc ... Competition from Energy Uses of Manure, 96 kb. Conclusions, 51 kb. ...

   www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/AP/AP037 - Cached

8. Agricultural Manure Anaerobic Digester Compendium

   This document contains an extensive inventory of manure digester systems, and background information for Europe, USA and Canada; includes lists of technology ...

   gis.lrs.uoguelph.ca/.../bioenergy/man_digesters.html - 147k - Cached

9. Coaltec Energy USA, Inc.

   Yield from the gasification process includes valuable energy (including heat, steam, and/or ... EnergyWorks and Coaltec Energy USA... (www.coaltecenergy.com)

   www.coaltecenergy.com - Cached

10. Biofpr :: News Article :: Renewable energy from manure for ...

    Illinois, USA - Methane digesters on dairy farms could soon be a common source of energy for residents and ... goal that 40 percent of all manure from... New York dairy farms goes

    biofpr.com/details/news/510617/Renewable_energy_from_manure...

-- Scott's Contracting scottscontracting@gmail.com http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com