Waste not your rubbish!
Jan 20, 2009 Green Technologies, Information of the Day, Startups
Enerkem
While one hears a lot about wind and solar power companies, perhaps companies that produce electricity from waste are less celebrated. So we decided that we will profile a few companies that will help turn part of your household and office waste into energy.
The one to pique the most curiosity must be Enerkem,which plans to make cellulosic ethanol using wood from used electricity poles. It is close to starting a 1.3 million-gallon facility near Montreal that is designed to use a thermo-chemical process to turn the waste wood into ethanol. Interestingly, the company claims that it is paid to take away those wooden poles, so it must be a fabulous deal for the company. Enerkem will be getting its hands dirty with municipal solid waste as part of its work on waste-to-ethanol facilities with Toronto’s GreenField Ethanol.
But what if you want to generate electricity from waste generated at your office? Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: biofuel, Enerken, IST, renewable energy, trash, Verenium, Ze-Gen
Vivace plans to acepower generation from slow moving water currents
Dec 4, 2008 Green Technologies
Vivace
Most of the water that covers 70% of our planet flows at less than 3 knots - too slowly to harvest its power using conventional technology. Wave, tidal turbines and even the traditional watermills require an average of 5 or 6 knots to operate efficiently. But Vivace, the technology being developed by Dr. Michael M. Bernitsas at the University of Michigan, is designed to operate at currents of less than 2 knots using a phenomena called Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV).
VIV is behind allowing schools of fish to swim faster. In its current avatar, Vivace looks nothing like a fish, but more like a ladder with round, sliding rungs. Vivace exploits VIV by simply placing this ladder across a slow moving current which causes the rungs to oscillate up and down on springs. The oscillating movement creates mechanical energy which is then converted to electricity. The modules are designed to be reusable and are considered less of a threat to marine life than turbines because of their slow movement. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Michigan, renewable energy, VIV, Vivace, Vortex induced vibration
Orient Green Power (India) raises $55 million
Nov 27, 2008 Green Technologies, Stars, Policy and Finance
Orient Green Power
Orient Green Power, an Indian renewable energy producer, has raised $55 million in a fresh round of funding. The investment led by Olympus Capital Holdings Asia, which put $35 million into the round had return backers Shriram EPC and Bessemer Venture Partners invest $10 million each.
Orient Green now has access to $75 million in equity with this latest round of funding. Orient Green will use the cash to expand its renewable holdings, including setting up and acquiring biomass, cogeneration, wind, small hydro and biogas projects.
Orient Green currently operates 70 megawatts (MW) of biomass and wind power, but it’s aiming for 500 MW of renewables within the next five years. The company has two 7.5 MW biomass plants in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan and multiple wind farms in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab. Currently, it’s working on another 146 MW of hydro and biomass power.
OGPL was founded by SEPC in October, 2006 along with Bessemer Venture Partners, with the objective of owning and operating a portfolio of renewable energy projects. Apart from the sustainable revenues from power generation, the Company expects to profit from the sale of CERs.
Wind turbines for your home and rooftops
Nov 10, 2008 Information of the Day, Startups
Aeropoint
Wind energy has not been without its share of detractors. Its opponents say that they are unreliable, they look ugly and are noisy and they kill birds and bats. Yet there are huge windfarms being planned all across the world — onshore as well as offshore.
Interesting things are happening on the micro wind power projects — involving turbines that could be mounted on roofs of building, rather than on the countryside. In this sphere, companies are coming up with designs that are aesthetic or quieter or easier to install and so on. According to the American Wind Energy Association the small scale wind industry, which is defined as 100 kilowatt capacity or below, has been experiencing major growth in the past decade and hopes to grow at 18 to 20 percent through 2010. Here are a few hot designs:
Marquiss Wind Power has a uniquely design for small-scale rooftop wind turbines. Their Aeropoint product is based on the “ducted wind turbine” concept, is just under 20 feet tall and boasts a square-shaped frame. It can be mounted on rooftops of buildings and and is intended for businesses that want to add a bit of clean energy to the mix. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: renewable energy, wind energy, wind power, Wind turbines
Largest sub-Saharan wind farm plans unveiled
Oct 22, 2008 Green Technologies
Wind Energy
Ethiopia may get to have the largest wind farm in Sub-Saharan Africa following an agreement between the country’s national power company, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPC) and France’s only wind turbine maker, Vergnet.
The deal valued at more than €200m will see the installation of 120 one-megawatt turbines over three years. The first 30 turbines are expected to be in place next year, the backers claim. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Ethiopia, France, renewable energy, wind energy
HP unveils green initiatives
Oct 21, 2008 Green Technologies, Stars, Policy and Finance
HP
HP unveiled renewable energy initiatives in its facilities, research and products to support a new goal to double the company’s global purchases of renewable power from under 4 percent in 2008 to 8 percent by 2012.This complements HP’s goal to reduce energy consumption and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions from HP-owned and HP-leased facilities worldwide to 16 percent below 2005 levels by 2010.
To reduce its carbon footprint, HP is relying on diversified renewable energy resources, improving energy efficiency and placing a strong emphasis on energy reduction and optimization at a number of its facilities around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: data center, green initiatives, HP, renewable energy, wind energy