Renewable Energy Overview

Solar electric technologies (Photovoltaics or PV) are continuing to improve rapidly, from electrical generation capacity, to cost, to reliability. They are also beginning to scale up into large capacity installations, whether deployed on roofs of commercial buildings or in large arrays in rural areas.  

We match our clients’ specific site requirements to individual products using our extensive knowledge and experience with solar PV.

Thermal power plants and heat engines do not convert all of their thermal energy into electricity. In most heat engines, a bit more than half is lost as excess heat. Combined heat and power (CHP) uses heat that would be wasted in a conventional power plant, potentially reaching an efficiency of up to 89%, compared with 55% for the best conventional plants. This means that less fuel needs to be consumed to produce the same amount of useful energy. In addition to efficiency at the power plant level, CHP can also be applied as a distributed energy resource in the form of MicroCHP or MiniCHP.

Biomass waste conversion systems can help supply electricity to rural areas, businesses, and to the large number of people who live without power worldwide. These systems use locally available fuels such as wood, crop waste, and animal manures. Small systems rated at 5 megawatts down to 5 kilowatts can provide heat and power where needed.

Carbon products resulting from the waste conversion process offer an additional revenue stream in the form of BioChar, BioCoal and BioCarbon. These products can be used as a substitute for coal-based activated carbon, metallurgical coke and for power generation, cooking and heating, a fertilizer enhancer/soil amendment, and many other uses currently using coal.

Small modular biomass systems fulfill the great market potential for distributed, on-site, electric power generation throughout the world. Users may attach the systems to existing transmission and distribution grids close to where consumers use electricity.

Wind turbines are increasingly seen as a viable solution for reducing reliance on fossil fuels, producing energy locally and fighting global climate change.

Where practical, wind is reliable, effective and a large producer of electricity. Effective wind projects require a proper feasibility study, which includes a wind asessment and financial analysis.

Small / Micro wind power turbines are applicable in locations where:

• The mean wind speed is greater than 5 m/s at hub height
• There is good exposure to the prevailing wind directions
• There are no planning constraints to development.

Large wind farms:

• Have a good wind power resource of at least 7m/s (15mph) at the hub height of the wind turbines
• Not be too close to residential buildings (400m – 800m clearance is typical);
• Not be sited on or near areas of outstanding natural beauty, special protected areas, special areas of conservation, and sites of special scientific interest etc.
• Not be too near military or civil flight paths, tactical training areas, radars or airports.

If you are looking for an economical and effective way to open the door on renewable energy, heating water with solar collectors is hands-down the best place to start. Of all renewable technologies, solar thermal produces the greatest return both economically and in terms of energy production.

Solar power towers or heliostat power plants use an array of mirrors (heliostats) to focus the sun upon a collector tower. The tower utilizes molten salts, which can store energy to later drive turbines.

Energy efficiency technologies reduce rates of household, commercial and industrial energy loss and consumption. These technologies include modifying public and commercial buildings with new building materials, power management software and appliance control systems,, and industrial power system improvements.

Power infrastructure improvements change the way we convert, transport, deliver and store energy. Developments in power infrastructure technology include improved high voltage lines and power distribution equipment, advance metering devices and systems ("smart grids"),, high-discharge rechargeable batteries and other energy storage solutions.

Emission control and carbon management technologies assist with the reduction and/or capture of the principal pollutants. These technologies include modification of power plants that reduce or capture flue pollutants, the use of cleaner burning fuels and engines, and other control devices. Cap-and-trade is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for reductions.

Clean transportation technologies are addressing the growing need for more fuel-efficient and cleaner vehicles, as well as the ability to utilize alternative fuels. Technologies in clean transportation include next generation biofuel technologies, fuel cells, electric vehicles for both the consumer and commercial markets, and development of next generation vehicle engines.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the microbiological conversion of organic matter to methane in the absence of oxygen. The biogas can then be used to produce heat and/or electricity while also producing by-products which can be used or sold as soil fertiliser and conditioner.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts chemical energy from a fuel into electric energy. Electricity is generated from the reaction between a fuel supply and an oxidizing agent. The reactants flow into the cell, and the reaction products flow out of it, while the electrolyte remains within it. Fuel cells can operate continuously as long as the necessary reactant and oxidant flows are maintained.

Fuel cell vehicles are the least polluting of all vehicles that consume fuel directly. Benefits include:

• Hydrogen-based fuel cell vehicles produce zero pollution. Neither conventional pollutants nor green house gases are emitted. The only byproducts are water and heat.
• Even if the hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels, fuel cell vehicles can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a global warming concern, by more than half.