Carbon Capture needs to take off, but nobody knows how it’s going to happen. We need innovation, scrutinised, tested and funded. Jim Conca looks at a method of extracting CO2 directly from the air that’s being pioneered by Carbon Engineering in Canada, backed by private investors and government agencies. It grew out of academic work at the University of Calgary and Carnegie Mellon University. It’s “Direct Air Capture” system can remove a ton of … [Read more...]
Can India’s 30m grid/diesel irrigation pumps go solar?
The Indian government is looking for effective ways to increase the use of solar powered pumps for small farm irrigation. About 70% of India’s rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood, and successful farming usually requires irrigation. Currently, 21m pumps are connected to a primarily fossil fuel grid and 8.8m are diesel while solar has risen to just 130,000, mostly added in the last 5 years. Lelin Thouthang … [Read more...]
U.S. Military’s mobile mini-nuclear: fewer fuel supply convoys mean fewer casualties
U.S. Military figures show the resupply of liquid fuel and drinking water for troops in-theatre costs about 4 lives for every 100 convoys. It makes an army more vulnerable and limits movement. That’s why the U.S. Department of Defense is looking at very small modular nuclear reactors (vSMRs): sub-10MW nuclear units. They are already being designed, built and tested. If successful, no refuelling is required for years and the units can be … [Read more...]
New Car sales data shows EVs still a luxury as Petrols keep rising
It’s hard to argue that the EV revolution is around the corner when petrol car sales keep rising. Yes, diesel sales are falling, but more people are switching to petrol than EVs. This month, two data releases from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) show that EV’s big gains are only happening in the high income countries. Even wealthy Norway’s 49.1% EV market share is an exception. The nations that come second and third are … [Read more...]
Onsite solar and storage powers off-grid telecom towers
There are more than 3m telecom towers globally, and powering them is a $100bn market. It's a particularly important growth sector in developing countries. They are already using mobiles to leapfrog the laying of costly landlines, but because they lack grids that stretch to remote communities they need to power towers that are off the grid. Dr Thomas Hillig says as solar and storage costs continue to drop they are replacing diesel gensets as the … [Read more...]
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