RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN CLEAN ENERGY AND THEIR IMPORTANCE
This blog, written by Mukul Aigalikar, studying in Second Year of Mechanical Engineering at A P Shah Institute of Technology, won the first prize at “Blog On!!”, a blogging contest organized by IEEE APSIT SB PES Chapter.
“The more we are using clean energy, renewable energy sources, the less environmentally problematic facilities end up being a problem for everybody, but particularly for folks who have to suffer the consequences of some of these facilities.” ~Barack Obama
Over the decade now, it has become a largely accepted fact in the scientific community, and to some extent in the general society, that we need renewable energy to move forward in the future. It has become public knowledge that we now simply cannot rely on conventional sources of energy anymore. Aside from being environmentally friendly, clean energy utilizes less money and, in some cases, gives a higher return on investment (ROI) to its conventional counterparts. With the advent of newer, more efficient technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud and Internet of Things, the energy industry is in the midst of a revolution.
To that end, let us have a look at four of the significant developments in the clean energy domain in recent times.
1 The World Made A Record In 2020 By Adding More Than 260 GW Of Renewable Energy Capacity Globally
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reports that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the world beat 2019’s record of increasing renewable energy capacity by almost 50%. Wind and solar energy were prominent among the renewables. China and the USA were at the forefront of this growth.
2 World’s Chemical Giants Are Engaged In Producing Steam-Cracker Furnace Using Renewable Electricity
BASF SE and Linde of Germany, and SABIC of Saudi Arabia are working together to demonstrate and realise solutions for electrically heated steam-cracker furnaces. This will be integrated with the renewable electricity solutions that these companies have previously worked on.
Steam crackers are used in the production of basic chemicals, to break down hydrocarbons into olefins and aromatics. This reaction needs a temperature of 850 degree celsius, which is currently achieved by burning fossil fuels. The development of an electric steam cracker furnace would thus be a very significant step to reduce carbon emissions for the entire chemical industry in general, and the petrochemical industry in particular.
3 Halide Perovskites
England is seeing much interest in a new kind of semiconductors called halide perovskites. When put between electrode contacts, the perovskite thin film makes solar cell or LED devices. They can be easily tailored to absorb light (making solar cells) or emit light (making LEDs). The colour of light they absorb or emit can be tweaked by changing their chemical structure. At 25.2%, they are quite efficient.
StranksLab at the University of Cambridge is working to further develop this technology, while companies all over the world, including Oxford Photovoltaics (England), Saule Technologies (Poland), Microquanta Semiconductor (China) and Swift Solar (USA) are already commercialising it.
4 Autonomous Robot To Inspect Wind Turbines
The companies SNL, International Climbing Machines and Dolphitech are together developing an autonomous robot to vertically attach to a wind turbine. It can move and detect any internal or external problems with its cameras. The cameras are equipped with phased-array ultrasonic imaging. SNL is also working using drones with infrared cameras to detect damage with thermal imaging.
This is expected to reduce maintenance costs and downtime of the turbine, as well as increase its lifespan and efficiency. These robots can be used for both onshore and offshore wind farms.
From the above developments, it is crystal clear that clean energy will play a huge role in the energy sector in the coming decades. With the corporate sector finally accepting sustainable alternatives to its energy prospects and governments looking at clean energy policies, the future seems bright.
