08. Low Carbon Energy Generation
“The global market for renewable energy could expand by 50% in the next five years”
This story has been taken from the multimedia report Top 10 Frontier Technologies for Climate Action. Find it here.
For countries in development with unreliable electricity grids, the plague of rolling blackouts or load-shedding not only makes life harder for families, it can be hugely costly for businesses.
Clearly, something needs to change. From Egypt to Argentina, Costa Rica to Kenya, Tanzania to Thailand, renewable energy is growing rapidly. Collectively, these countries have over half of the world’s capacity for renewable energy — rich in solar and wind power, geothermal energy and biomass. Developing these energy sources reduces reliance on oil and gas, which in turn means that fragile or growing economies are less vulnerable to price hikes. The downside is that it can be expensive to create the infrastructure needed to develop new systems. This initial investment is often less expensive than expanding fossil fuel systems, but work is needed to bring down the costs of development and maintenance.
For decades, the accepted wisdom was that renewable energy was an expensive luxury, and that fossil fuels were required for economic growth. That perception is changing — in fact, the lack of legacy infrastructure might actually be an opportunity, allowing countries in development to avoid the challenges of updating old technology and go straight to more advanced methods. The global market for renewable energy could expand by 50% in the next five years — with particular growth in hydro, wind and solar power.
As more of the world urbanises, there is a demand for reliable energy in cities. Rural areas need power too — extending electricity grids to isolated areas is expensive, while the diesel generators that function instead are polluting. Renewable technologies that are locally tailored for specific challenges can provide sustainable solutions for both.
Tethered Energy Drones
Wind power is growing in popularity, but still only accounts for around 4% of worldwide electricity. This is partly due to the intermittency problem — wind doesn’t blow all the time. Winds at higher altitudes, above 500m, are stronger and more consistent. Accessing these high altitude winds means bigger, more expensive towers. In the developing world, it can be a challenge to build wind turbines at all. One solution is cable-tethered drones or kites, which act like a miniature turbine to capture high altitude winds and generate electricity.
Scotland-based Kite Power Systems is working in Sub-Saharan Africa to produce tethered energy drones, as the infrastructure for traditional wind turbines is lacking. Drones use between 1% and 10% of the materials needed for a full turbine, costing less than wind turbines and potentially less than diesel power. At the moment, this technology is in pilot phase, and needs financing for proof-of-concept, as well as contacts leading to partnerships in countries in development.
AI Grid Optimisation
The addition of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power to electricity grids has complicated the way they are managed. When it comes to countries in development, where certain areas are off-grid or operating on micro-grids, this is even more complex. Systems are made up of components from different manufacturers, making it almost impossible to monitor them centrally. As new technologies are introduced, operators must constantly adjust the way they maintain and manage different energy sources.
It is a huge challenge. But machine learning could help to predict when and where electricity will be needed, thereby managing the load and making energy more reliable. Remote diagnostic towers can reduce maintenance costs and make micro-grids more consistent. Many of these technologies already exist, but have been designed for the kind of top-down market more common in more mature markets; to work in the developing market, local engagement is crucial.
DC Mesh Networks
Many governments have pledged to bring electricity to every area of their country. But extending electricity grids is a challenge. In many countries in development, remote communities rely on microgrids — small-scale power grids. Running these grids off solar energy and connecting them to each other could be a low cost way of bringing sustainable energy to places that needed it. The connections between different microgrids — between households, or between villages — could bring a continuous power supply to underserved areas, and distribute power fairly between communities. Okrasolar is currently working in Cambodia and the Philippines, using software to connect different at-home solar power systems. The company has just signed a deal to supply 40,000 people with power.
Mesh networking can create decentralised energy embedded in the communities that need it. The precise technology required includes wireless base stations, smart metres, and software that manages and automates the process. Much of this already exists. But to become commercially viable, the performance of such networks need to be improved, and partnerships must be sought with local utility providers.
Renewable Soft Cost Optimisation
The cost of hardware for renewable projects has reduced significantly and quickly. But soft costs — designing, financing, installing systems — are not reducing at the same rate. In the US, these soft costs now make up 40–60% of the price of residential solar systems. Good product design platforms can bring these costs down drastically, such as Aurora Solar. Currently working primarily in the US, they can amongst other things use utility data from houses to model the impact of solar energy over time.
In theory, this model could be applied to countries still in development. One problem is access to detailed data — regulations around data vary between countries, as does the level of record-keeping. The renewables industry is still working out how their work can be made more efficient. But there is big potential here — to reduce costs for providers and consumers, and to help local providers of renewable energy forecast prices and plan in areas where they don’t yet work.
Want to explore the other nine Frontier Technologies for Climate Action? Click here.
Is there a technology here that captures your attention? Put your thoughts in the comments section below or get in touch at ftlenquiries@imcworldwide.com
