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TECHNOLOGY

Portable energy plants to convert garbage to energy

Sewage and garbage can now be converted into electricity, fuel and bricks for low-cost housing. Kwikpower is a biotechnology company formed in 1996 to develop innovative and cost-effective technology to produce clean-burning alternative fuels. The technology, which is already breaking new ground in the UK, the US, Canada and Israel, will produce “green electricity” and alcohol fuels from garbage, sewage, sludge and even old tyres using portable power plants. This is made possible by converting waste into biogas, which is used to run a diesel generator or a micro-turbine to produce electricity.
The portable plant, the size of a freight container, produces inert ash as a by-product. The ash is compressed and converted into lightweight bricks, which can be used for low-cost housing as well as on runway surfaces. The fuels produced can be processed into
95-octane unleaded gasoline.
The facilities are a stand-alone, integrated waste disposal and energy-generating system, designed to be installed at the waste disposal site, eliminating the need to haul waste long distances. The potential for this technology is enormous, and will help generate income and jobs, creating opportunities for small contractors in the waste industry.

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Technology Snippets

Solar detoxification of distillery waste

Distillery waste which is black in color, abnoxious, and has high chemical oxygen demand (COD), is now being cleaned using chemicals and solar energy.
A lab-scale plant has been set up that can clean 25 liters of diluted distillery waste in two days. The chemical can be recycled and the waste water, which has 97 percent transmittance, becomes fit for discharging in waterways. Initial experiments with the pulp paper effluent has yielded excellent results. Recently an MOU has been signed between Ion Exchange, NARI and MNES to scale up this technology and  set up a 200 litre/day reactor at the NARI campus. Electric rickshaw (ELECSHA)
ELECSHA, an electric autorickshaw, which is completely silent and non-polluting, has been designed, built and tested. The attributes of ELECSHA are:

  • It takes two passengers at speeds of 35-40 km/hr
  • It can go up to 70 km per battery charge
  • ELECSHA has a PMDC motor, lead acid batteries and an electronic card for soft start
  • The charging of the batteries is done overnight via a stand-alone battery charger
  • The cost of ELECSHA is estimated at about Rs 75,000
  • ELECSHA uses 60 percent less energy than petrol and diesel-powered autorickshaws.

Case Study
Involving people in rural development: the RHEP model

“We used to have village meetings before,” says D. Madhava of Suryanarayanpur village in Ganjam district, Orissa, “but they were like the monkey feast – lot of jumping around and only a mess as a result.”
Madhava’s analogy stresses two points in working together: one is the need for a definite purpose, and two, the desire to work toward that purpose in an organized manner.

RHEP proposes systematic steps toward the development program. Once the villagers are convinced of its practicality, they are ready to work toward it. The village general body consists of all the adult members of the village. An executive committee is formed, consisting of four men and four women from the village and one representative of Gram Vikas. The executive committee is directly responsible for overseeing construction work, repayment of loans, collection of corpus and maintenance funds, etc.

The involvement of people in RHEP extends to hands-on work and physical labor as well. “We are hardworking men and women. Work does not scare us. And we see the result of our work around us. Our village is like Berhampur town now,” says Manaso Bhuiyan of Samantrapur proudly.

But what is RHEP?
RHEP (the Rural Health and Environment Programme) was started by Gram Vikas, a rural development organization based in Orissa, India, with the primary purpose of improving the health of rural communities. But RHEP was so successful that it soon became an entire model of development, triggering aspirations for further changes in the villages: the people participated in all sorts of development activities in the villages, including housing, community infrastructure, education, livelihood programs and women’s empowerment.

Main components of RHEP
  • Construction of toilets and bathing rooms for all families in the village
  • Construction of wells, water tanks and setting up water supply systems
  • Assured piped water supply to all houses and toilets
  • Construction of community halls, biogas plants and compost pits
  • Management of village commons, reclaiming all private and community wasteland through social forestry, and development of village ponds
  • Soil and water conservation
  • Livelihood development through alternative employment and income-generation
  • Capacity-building through training programs and enhancing community self-governance
  • Women’s empowerment through savings and credit programs and their involvement in the decision-making processes.
Source: http://www.gramvikas.org/rhep-main.htm
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Financing

Solar Finance Consortium: building capacity for solar financing

The Solar Finance Consortium (SFC), a non-profit affiliate of the SolarBank Program, addresses the need for capacity building related to financing of renewable energy around the world, specifically creating a collaborationin which non-profit and for-profit organizations can work on their sharedobjectives. Five organizations have come together to establish the consortium:
Solar International Management, Inc. (SIM), sponsor of the SolarBank Program, is the program manager for the startup of SFC
n Auro Consult (AC), a consulting firm in New Delhi, specializing in solar energy solutions in India
n Institute for Sustainable Power (ISP), a non-profit organization, is overseeing the training programs for bankers
n Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a non-profit organization, will support early-stage market and project development activities
n Insights in Action, a consulting firm serving non-profit organizations, will lead efforts to strengthen NGO participation in the widespread use and financing of renewable energy.

SFC is open to membership by all non-profit and for-profit organizationsand companies that seek to work together on capacity-building related tosolar energy, other renewable and clean energy options, and environmentalsolutions. SFC employs staff in key countries and funds development activitiesby in-country firms.

The SFC Program
SFC has been funded by USAID (US Agency for International Development) for a three-year program in India, potentially expandable to others countries that are assisted by USAID. The Cooperative Agreement may be extended byup to five years, has no dollar limit, and may be further funded by USAIDMissions in other countries.
The prototype program in India has five key parts:
n Development of financing mechanisms: Under SFC, the SolarBank program will establish initial staff in India, retain a firm to complete an assessment of the market and the feasibility of the SolarBank Fund of India, and further develop financing mechanisms for PV in India.
n Market and project development: SFC will develop near-term commercial projects by a team of experienced developers, and SELF will initiate a project inIndia.
n Training: SFC will implement a training program in renewables for lenders and other financial professionals. These will be one or two-day short courses on technologies, economics, and financing issues pertinent to solar energy and other renewables.
n NGOs: SFC will undertake activities designed to strengthen one existing non-profit institution in India, to promote consumer access to renewableenergy financing.
n Communications program: SFC will conduct quarterly roundtable meetingsfor executive-level lenders in various cities in India, and develop an Internet-based newsletter focusing on renewable energy project development and financing.

SFC is seeking additional funding from grant and contract sources to establish management and operations of SFC, and to co-fund programs with the USAID-funded program.
Source: http://www.solarbank.com/consortium.htm
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Market
Solar energy stores introduced into India’s consumer market

Solar power is set to become more affordable and accessible to householders in India as $2.2 million worth of seed money from a new investment fund establishes a network of stores across the country to sell solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
The Shri Shakti Alternative Energy Technologies (SSAET) is establishing a network of more than 300 energy stores selling consumer products based on solar photovoltaic (PV) and other alternative energy technologies. The new stores will offer solar thermal and solar PV systems, solar cookers and water pumps, instant gas water heaters and energy efficient products.
The investment fund consists of a combination of loan, equity and grant,approved by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the WorldBank Group, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which finances grantsto developing countries for environmental projects. The stores are part ofthe Photovoltaic Market Transformation Initiative, which was created in July1998 to promote solar energy services in India, Kenya and Morocco. It aimsto assist industry in accelerating the commercialization of PV technologyand reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Source: http://www.sustdev.org/industry.news/042000/0065.shtml
Sustainable Development International
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