Future of Organic LEDs

OLEDs are solid-state devices composed of thin films of organic molecules that create light with the application of electricity. OLEDs can provide brighter, crisper displays on electronic devices and use less power than conventional LEDs or Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) used today.

The plastic, organic layers of an OLED are thinner, lighter and more flexible than crystalline layers in LED or LCD. It is also possible to use it on flexible substances such as clothing.

In March 2008, researchers at General Electric proved that it is possible to make OLEDs using a newspaper-printing like roll-to-roll process. Commercial applications in lighting require low manufacturing costs, and this demonstration is a major milestone on the way to developing low cost OLED lighting devices. This is interesting because OLEDs, like normal LEDs, could potentially be used for lighting in most conditions in the near-future without the downsides of inefficient incandescents and fragile CFLs that contain small amounts of mercury. They also last much longer than even the best fluorescents.

Barry Young, president of the OLED Association, reviewed a few of the benefits of OLED technology, including that the power consumption, form and image are better than LCDs. In addition, they can be made about 1 mm thick. That means a completed TV set can be as thin as about three credit cards.

OLED displays are already widely used in cell phones from companies like Nokia, Samsung, Sony and LG. The technology is starting to get used on a larger scale. Kodak has already launched it’s expensive OLED digital photo frame. OQO is coming out with a netbook this year with an OLED screen. And we can also expect to see a 14.1” notebook screen come out. But it will be about 2 to 3 years before it really starts to compete with LCDs, and about 5 years before these displays will be manufactured on the same scale as LCDs.

Original article: Jaymi Heimbusch. TreeHugger. 26 February 2009. Read more..

Eskom rebates on solar water heating systems

Eskom has announced that they will now pay up to a 25% rebate on the installation of approved solar water heating systems directly to the consumer. This is a change from Eskom’s initial Solar Water Heating Programme, introduced at the beginning of 2008, and brings it into line with international practice.

This initiative forms part of a drive by government for renewable energy to contribute 10 000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of final energy consumption by 2013. Solar water heating could contribute up to 23% of this target.

Installing solar water heating systems can reduce your heating bill by as much as 70%.

According to Eskom the rebate system is not in anyway exclusive. The requirements of a supplier to sell systems that qualify for rebates are the following:

• Be able to offer a 5 year guarantee
• Submit documents, including public liability and company details
• Have system tested AND passed at the SABS for the following;
  • Safety
  • Mechanical
  • Thermal

For more information read here…

Energy from Dirt

A company with a strong South African connection, Lebônê Solutions Inc, are commercialising a technology that has the prospect of providing energy to the poorest communities in the world. Lead by South African Hugo van Vuuren, who started the company with a group of fellow Harvard University students, Lebônê has developed a microbial fuel cell (MFC). Their cells are cheap to manufacture and require very little maintenance. They are ideal to power LED lights and charge cell phones.

MFC are devices that convert chemical energy into electrical energy by the catalytic reaction of microorganisms. The device taps the energy that microbes generate as they break down organic matter. Very basically you dig a hole in the ground, fill it with animal and plant waste and connect an anode and a cathode with a circuit board and you have power. Once all of the components are put into a solid container the owner has his or her own soil-based power generator.

In laboratory conditions, up to 1500 Watts per cubic meter of reactor has been produced but in field tests the generating capacity is currently only about 115 watts per cubic meter. Lebônê hopes the batteries will come down to a cost of $15 per battery.
In May 2008 Lebônê Solutions won a $200 000 IFC grant in to roll out pilot devices in Tanzania and Namibia.

To read more…

A New Era for Wave Energy

The renewable energy sector has received a boost with the inauguration of the world’s first commercial wave power project off the Portuguese coast. Developed by a Scottish engineering company, Pelamis Wave Power Limited, the Pelamis Wave Energy Converters (PWEC) have been towed into position three miles off the coast of Agucadoura in north Portugal.

The first phase of the project is using three PWEC to generate 2.25 megawatts of power at a cost of nine million euros. If successful, a second phase will see energy generation rise to 21 megawatts from a further 25 machines providing electricity for 15,000 Portuguese homes.

Named after the sea snake Pelamis, each machine measures 140 meters in length, is 3.5 meters wide and sits partially submerged in the sea. The PWEC are, of course, reliant on the weather. Depending on the wave resource, Pelamis predict that the machines will on average produce 25-40 percent of their full power output over the course of a year.

When the full array of 25 machines are in place it is calculated that around 60,000 tons of CO2 will be displaced.

Original article: Matthew Knight. CNN. 24 September 2008. Read more…

San Jose Installs First Electric Vehicle Chargepoint

As support for electric vehicles sweep the world, thanks to better cars and the efforts of infrastructure projects such as Better Place, it is exciting to see the sparks that may spread into the massive uptake of plug-in vehicles.

In the latest Electric Vehicle infrastructure update Coulomb Technologies recently installed the first charging station in San Jose, California. Their Chargepoint features an ingenious design that is easily connected to an existing streetlamp and provides access to the municipal energy grid. As an incentive to try out the new technology they are currently offering access cards for a full year of free charging!

Original article: Jorge Chapa. Inhabitat. 14 January 2009. Read more…

The Cement that Eats Carbon Dioxide

Cement, a vast source of planet-warming carbon dioxide (making the 2bn tonnes of cement used globally every year pumps out 5% of the world’s CO2 emissions – more than the entire aviation industry), could be transformed into a means of stripping the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere, thanks to an innovation from British engineers.

Making traditional cement results in greenhouse gas emissions from two sources: it requires intense heat, and so a lot of energy to heat up the ovens that cook the raw material, such as limestone. That then releases further CO2 as it burns. But, until now, no one has found a large-scale way to tackle this fundamental problem. Novacem’s cement, based on magnesium silicates, not only requires much less heating, it also absorbs large amounts of CO2 as it hardens, making it carbon negative.

According to Novacem, its product can absorb, over its lifecycle, around 0.6 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of cement. This compares to carbon emissions of about 0.4 tonnes per of standard cement. The company is confident the material will be strong enough for use in buildings but acknowledged that getting licenses to use it will take several years of testing.

Original article: Alok Jha. The Guardian. 31 December 2008. Read more…

Home Energy Monitors Getting Wise to Solar

Companies are developing ways to track energy usage in homes equipped with solar panels. Solar City, a company that leases solar panels, introduced new software that displays panels’ production alongside a home’s electricity usage. If PV generation is not enough people can therefore decide to rather run washing at night when electricity is much cheaper. According to the company, the biggest energy-efficiency challenge is not changing light bulbs but changing behaviour, and being able to measure consumptions is a good way to encourage change of behaviour.

OpenEnergy a solar panel maker is also developing a device that can show solar panel production alongside electricity usage and can also pull in gas and water usage. The product is set to cost between $1100 and $1400.

Original article: Martin LaMonica. CNet News. 15 October 2008. Read more…

7th Annual Southern African Senior Executive Seminar

“Profitability and Sustainability – Conflict or Convergence?”

11 – 14 May 2009. The Vineyard Hotel, Cape Town

We are living in increasingly turbulent and uncertain times, marked by financial system breakdown, accelerating climate change, a widening poverty gap, resource depletion and large demographic shifts. The sustainability of our way of life is no longer assured.

How should senior executives respond to these challenges? What does leadership in these times look like?

The underlying theme of the Prince of Wales’s Business & the Environment seminar is the successful management of change through understanding global trends finding practical ways to integrate social and environmental solutions into management systems and decision-making processes whilst still remaining profitable.

We invite you to join us at this seminar, which is the gateway to membership of the Prince of Wales’s Business and the Environment Programme. Established in 1994, the Programme is recognised as:

• The premier international forum for executive learning and leadership for sustainability.
• A unique source of leading-edge information and expertise.
• A global network for the exchange of ideas and best practice on sustainability.

This annual seminar is the pre-eminent regional opportunity for senior decision-makers to think deeply with their peers about the strategic implications of major emerging environmental and social trends and is held in the United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa the United States and Australia. At each seminar there is a predominance of business executives with a smaller number of senior delegates from government and civil society.

The South African seminar will be running for its 7th year in 2009, from the 11th – 14th of May 2009. The cost is R29,500 +VAT for delegates resident in Africa, ₤3,950 for delegates from overseas. A small number of bursaries is available for appropriately senior civil society and government delegates. The fee covers all seminar costs including accommodation and meals for the 4 days and 3 nights at The Vineyard Hotel, plus membership of the Global Network

Its programme is a rich mixture of contributions from experts and extensive dialogues in small groups, facilitated by a seasoned international faculty. Delegates leave with a fresh sense, not only of the nature and scale of the challenges, but of what they can do in their respective organisations to help minimize the risks and maximize the opportunities suggested by these trends.

Participation is by invitation only, although anybody is welcome to nominate a suitable candidate. Upon receipt of the nomination form a Selection Committee vets the nominations to ensure a balance amongst industry sectors and between business, NGOs and government.

For more information please contact Magda on magda.dekok@cpi.cam.ac.uk, or +27 (0)21 469 4765 or go to the official Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership website at www.cpsl.cam.ac.uk

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