The Dolcera Blog

Electric cars have been around for quite some time but taking forever to become a mainstream way of life. With the increased awareness about global warming, greenhouse gases, and rising gas prices there are stronger and stronger incentives every year for them to become a reality.

The US government, and auto industry have realized the same and thus you see the likes of the Chevy Volt (beautiful car, and love the ad) especially coming with a tax credit of 7.5 K on electric cars pitting them very competitively in the 20-30K range. California, and some other states provide a further subsidy of 5K i.e. 12.5K the government is spending on incentivising every electric car.

Which is great, but US is not the only country which has woken up to the reality. US contributes to about 17% of the greenhouse emissions globally, but China contributes about 24%. The Chinese government has realized the importance of Clean Tech and investing heavily into the same already being the biggest market for Wind Energy, and expected to leapfrog US & Europe in Electric Car penetration.

The electrification race has been compared by many to the space race in the 60s, and if that is true US is losing out. China has 120 domestic car companies compared to US’s 13, and there are 33,200 employees working in Lithium battery industry in China compared to 1,100 in the US. But the most important part is the money the Chinese government is putting behind the industry. US govt has decided to invest 5 Bn USD, but the Chinese government is pumping 17 Bn USD.

China is also being slightly smarter (or cunning) about how it gives the money away, they now have 19,300 USD in subsidies on each electric vehicles. GM has decided to develop cars in China with it’s partner SAIC. This combined with the fact that gasoline is twice as expensive in China than in US explains a lot. China has a lot of coal, and able to produce electricity cheaper. It is not just about a more sustainable option environmentally but also economically.

The catch though is China realizes that it is set to be the biggest Auto market in the world (GM already sells more cars in China than in the US), and that it has a lot of bargaining power in allowing foreign players to play in China. It is asking for technology transfer in one of the three core technologies
1. Electric Motors
2. Complex Electronic Controls
3. Power Storage Devices (whether batteries or fuel cell)
to qualify for the subsidy.

This is the same way China built it’s industries in big industries like Wind Turbines, High Speed Trains, and Water Purification.

It’s not a bad deal for the players also, China is hoping to have 5 Mn electric cars on roads by 2020, assuming that GM can get 15-20% market share i.e. 14.475 Bn USD in licensing for the technology! This is thus a model where those confident on their success would be more than happy to share, while others will prefer to stay out e.g. Nissan

By: Pramath Malik

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Sun is a bundle of free safe and green energy source available till the day elephant fly and so the solar radiation for generating electricity. The technology barriers have not yet allowed to make breakthrough invention. Sun light is free; can scientist community make electricity from sun for free, if not at cheaper price?

Research are working on dye-sensitized solar cells, which are expected to power Air Force unmanned aircraft in the future because they are an optimum energy harvesting source that may lead to longer flight times without refueling.

Technology:

Using a flexible film and a thin glass coating with transparent conductive electrodes.
Dye-sensitized solar cells made from organic materials, which use (dyes) and moth-eye film, are able to catch photons and convert them into synthesized electrons that can harvest high photon energy.

Advantages:

These kinds of solar cells have more specific power convergence efficiency, very clean energy and easy scalability to a larger skin area of the craft, as well as, low-temperature processing, which leads to lower costs overall.

- Abdul -

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CLP Holdings of Hong Kong, one of the largest energy utilities in Asia, will be given a $113-million loan by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) to develop two wind farms in Gujarat and Karnataka.

Formerly called China Light and Power Company Ltd, CLP’s wholly-owned Indian arm will develop the farms as part of the financial institution’s efforts to promote clean energy sources among its member countries.

• They will generate 183.2 MW of electricity in the two states.

• This project will help India’s economic growth and energy diversification in an environmentally sustainable manner
• It will also help enhance private sector participation in energy generation by demonstrating the successful implementation of large-scale wind power projects

The Gujarat and Karnataka projects will have a total cost of some Rs.9.9 billion ($250 million), of which half will come from ADB as loans and the rest would be accounted for by private sponsors, internal funds and long-term debt.

The two farms are part of a recent series of ADB projects in partnerships with the Indian private sector to bring cleaner sources of energy, as also to help the government meet its goal of power for all by 2012.

India is already ranked fourth in the world for installed wind power generation, behind Germany, the US and Spain. As of September 2007, India had over 7,200 MW of installed wind power capacity, with gross potential for 45,000 MW.

As per ADB’s assessment, global energy demand is expected to rise by 53 percent by 2030 and developing Asia would represent a large chunk of the new needs with India already the third largest electricity consumer in Asia behind China.

Thermal power plants, mostly coal-fired, provide 66 percent of India’s capacity and hydro accounts for 26 percent. Gas and oil-fired thermal plants, renewable energy, and nuclear power provide the rest.

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The Cutcher Wind Turbine Generator is a cost effective tool that provides low and no cost power by utilizing tall structures such as rural and urban homes, as well as businesses and buildings. Unlike traditional wind-power generators, the Cutcher Wind Turbine Generator utilizes the wind current that is channeled around buildings and tall structures. This innovative wind powered device eliminates the building of an additional tower for a platform. How it Works: This wind turbine generator utilizes wind driven blades arranged around a hub. As the wind blows the blades and hub begin to turn, the mechanical drive is activated and initiates the electric generator. Construction: The Cutcher Wind Turbine Generator can be constructed from high-grade aluminum. It is scalable to fit the specification for use in both industrial and consumer applications. Engineered and designed with a boxlike frame, that employs wind blocking walls that prevent the wind currents from blowing the blades in the reverse direction. The Cutcher Wind Turbine Generator can be installed on existing buildings and structures such as homes, barns, grain elevators, office buildings, and oil tanks. Advantages: This innovative technology eliminates the steep costs of maintenance and repairs associated with wind turbine devices that are mounted atop towers and elevated locations. This new innovation promotes the use of green technology and reduces the dependence on fossil fuels.

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Wind energy is a completely environmentally friendly, renewable source of energy Considering the strain that traditional forms of electricity generation technologies have placed on the environment, a company from the UK has designed wind turbines that can be placed in homes, gardens, offices and schools in order to efficiently generate eco-friendly electricity while adhering to aesthetically pleasing principles.

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The advent of energy production with the use of wind turbines has resulted in a great many of these giant sized rotary devices strewing the country-side. Whilst their contribution to energy production is both green and renewable, there has been some concern about the impact their physical presence has made on the aesthetics of the environment. As a result, an EC funded project has investigated alternative locations for wind turbines., , Image Copyright; © Project WEB Institut für Baukonstruktion und Entwerfen, L2, Universität Stuttgart

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Worldwide, the wind energy sector has now become firmly installed as one of the important players in the energy markets, with the total value of new generating equipment installed in 2006 reaching €18 billion, or US$23 billion from US$14 billion in 2005.

Table data source: Global Wind Energy Council – 2006 report

The above table pattern of development shows that new players such as Portugal and China are gaining ground.

What could be the reason?
Some facts from China:
According to a a reported invterview, Vestas Chief Executive Officer Ditlev Engel played down the market share drop, saying an additional $750 million of projects expected to come online in the first half of 2008 would help to counteract the slip. “We’ve been surprised by how fast new entrants have entered the market. Yet since 2006, we have invested more than €1 billion ($1.5 billion) in organic growth,” he says.

The main challenge has come in China where local firms, such as Sinovel and Goldwind, have taken advantage of a Chinese government push to increase renewable generation from 7% of total energy production to 15% by 2020. That has led to an explosion of activity from both local and international players, such as General Electric (GE) and Siemens (SI). Vestas, for example, increased the number of wind farms delivered to Chinese clients by 20% last year, compared to 2006. But Chinese firms have increased their local orders, taking a bite out of Vestas’ share of the market.

Despite the slip, analysts reacted favorably to the Danish company’s results, which included a 26% increase in annual revenues, to $7.3 billion, and operating margins that grew almost four percentage points year-over-year, to 9.1% in 2007. According to forecasts from Vestas, revenue should hit $8.5 billion in 2008, while operating profit is expected to increase 10% to 12% by year end.

A look at intellectual property creation in wind power domain:

IP creation from across the globe:

Top companies in IP creation:

Wind power patent distribution based on technology:

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Worldwide, the wind energy sector has now become firmly installed as one of the important players in the energy markets, with the total value of new generating equipment installed in 2006 reaching €18 billion, or US$23 billion from US$14 billion in 2005. Table data source: Global Wind Energy Council - 2006 report The above table pattern of development shows that new players such as Portugal and China are gaining ground. What could be the reason? Some facts from China: According to a a reported invterview, Vestas Chief Executive Officer Ditlev Engel played down the market share drop, saying an additional $750 million of projects expected to come online in the first half of 2008 would help to counteract the slip. “We’ve been surprised by how fast new entrants have entered the market. Yet since 2006, we have invested more than €1 billion ($1.5 billion) in organic growth,” he says. The main challenge has come in China where local firms, such as Sinovel and Goldwind, have taken advantage of a Chinese government push to increase renewable generation from 7% of total energy production to 15% by 2020. That has led to an explosion of activity from both local and international players, such as General Electric (GE) and Siemens (SI). Vestas, for example, increased the number of wind farms delivered to Chinese clients by 20% last year, compared to 2006. But Chinese firms have increased their local orders, taking a bite out of Vestas’ share of the market. Despite the slip, analysts reacted favorably to the Danish company’s results, which included a 26% increase in annual revenues, to $7.3 billion, and operating margins that grew almost four percentage points year-over-year, to 9.1% in 2007. According to forecasts from Vestas, revenue should hit $8.5 billion in 2008, while operating profit is expected to increase 10% to 12% by year end. A look at intellectual property creation in wind power domain: IP creation from across the globe: Top companies in IP creation: Wind power patent distribution based on technology:

Globally, the wind energy sector saw phenomenal growth in the year 2007. However, in India, the industry failed to keep pace. Worldwide wind energy installation were 19,696MW in 2007 up from 15,120 MW in 2006. In contrast in India the installations in 2007 were 1580 MW down from 1730 MW in 2006.

Though India ranks 4^th  globally , the country managed to  register a growth rate of just 25.2 per cent against the world average  of 26.6 per cent. This puts India far behind countries like the US (45 per cent), Spain (30.2 per cent), France (56.7 per cent), and its neighbour China (127.5 per cent). India’s total installed wind energy capacity now stands at 7,850 MW in comparison with 6,270 MW in 2006 and 4,430 MW in 2005.

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Tetra Tech, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded three wind energy projects totaling approximately $150 million by PacifiCorp, one of the leading utilities in the western United States. Work on the three projects will begin immediately and is expected to be complete in December 2008. Tetra Tech will provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for the Seven Mile Hill, Glenrock and Rolling Hills wind farm projects in Wyoming.

Each of the three wind projects will include 66 General Electric turbines and will be capable of generating 99 megawatts of power.

The Seven Mile Hill wind project is located in Carbon County, Wyoming, between the towns of Hanna and Medicine Bow. The Glenrock and Rolling Hills projects are located in Converse County, Wyoming, on a site that includes the reclaimed Dave Johnston Coal Mine, where surface mining operations took place for more than 40 years. Final reclamation of the mine was completed in November 2005, returning the land to its pre-mining appearance.

“Many clients are seeking full-service solutions for their wind power development projects,” said Dan Batrack, Tetra Tech’s CEO. “Tetra Tech has been involved in 70 wind projects in 35 states and is continuing to expand its capability and experience in this growing market.”

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