Daily Oil Blog

The last few days where I stay have experienced some rainy weather, make me think of rain power.We talk about solar and wind power, why not rain?If we are to harness natural power of our environment and turn them into energy, we should not discount this source.

In a study by a physics journal shown by authors Romain Guigon, Thomas Jager, Ghislain Despesse and Jean-Jacques Chaillout, write about how it is possible to recover energy from the impact of a raindrop of water.To measure such energy, they built a rain catcher which would allow them to control the amount of water falling on top of a piezoelectric material, in this case made out of polyvinylidene fluoride. A piezoelectric material is a material that is able to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy . Their results were interesting: slow falling droplets produce more energy than high falling droplets, and as you’d expect, the larger the water droplet, the more energy that was generated.

The total amount of energy recovered was not much as 1 droplet can generate only between 1 microwatt to 12 milliwatts.It’s not going to power up anything much but the research seems promising as piezoelectric technology is still new .Remember what they once said about solar energy.

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UAE(United Arab emirates) seems to be the buzzword this days with Dubai topping the list for property developments worldwide.This is a series of efforts of breaking away from her economic reliance on the Oil sector to diversify into other sectors as fossil fuel declined beneath her ground.

Abu Dhabi the latest kid on the block seems to not only wants to rival her sister Dubai but wants to go one step ahead in creating a zero carbon city which can accomodate up to 50,000 people on a car free environment.It’s called Masdar City and will be run on Solar energy with automated pods moving people around.

Masdar City once completed in 2013 will showcase to the world that a high standard of living need not be compromised while not leaving any carbon footprint on our planet.While I’m impressed with the efforts made by Abu Dhabi, this seems to give us a false sense of illusion of an eco city fuelled by a robust oil economy.

Indeed Abu dhabi oil is not going away anytime soon as she till hold reserves for more than one century, but Masdar City is not going to be a Solution just a mirage of our modern era pumped up fossil ego.

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Japan a country of beauty, traditions yet an industrial high tech power arisen from ashes after WWII post war years may have yet have a new state mission, this time to harness the power of wind to move away from the dependency of fossil power that her economy rides on.

Coastal wind farms are being plan to set up to tap into the gales of the Pacific ocean.Meanwhile existing wind farms on the hills north of tokyo generates enough electricity to power up some 35,ooo households a year.

Already Japan is looking into some of successful places like Scotland which installed offshore turbines in deep water in 2006.In land scare island like Japan, this presents the technology to maximize the wind power for her.

Though it’s going to be naive to think that she can replace fossil energy with wind power in the land of the rising sun if she was to maintain her economic leadership in the world.Such move is neccessary for the survival of her society pampered by years of growth in her heyday era.

Like any industries Japan embark on, once it’s in for the national interest , they are most likey to do well , it’s part of the japanese makeup for the relentless pursuit of perfection However wealth and skills alone are not going to turn the tide for this far eastern isle in the next decade.

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With the decline of fossil fuel, everyone from the world leaders to the gas attendents are looking for the ONE energy that will make the transition a smooth one without denting the world economy.

Indonesia our neighbour is looking on to building nuclear station and the west too of course have been studying the nuclear path for quite some time.But is it really a feasible one given the hazards and upside risk of destruction involved.The ukraine reactor leak is still fresh in everyone’s minds and from the last report, that city is still a ghost town.It’s creepy that you can’t even heard the birds humming and sounds of the crickets.The dead silence is overwhelming for the reporters who were there.

However western European countries like France and Sweden are already using this to for 70% of their electrical supply.And they seem to be making it affordable too for the mass public.So why not? After all, one uranium released the energy equivalent of more than 5,000 barrels of oil.

Hundreds of nuclear power plants have been around the western world for more than 4 decades and plans are being made to build more if red tapes are lifted to make this a private initiative free from Government intervention.But is it wise for humanity in the long run?

To make nuclear energy a mainstream ONE to replace fossil fuel worldwide will take a leap of faith on both the technology and safety standards that’s acceptable for the public. One need to the weigh the pros and cons on this nuclear way and make sure big governments and Coroporations are not jeapordising the health of our future generations by holding them accountable.

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In China where more people seems to be inspiring for a western middle class lifestyle bombarded by media, one wonders where’s the energy going to come from?Alternative energy is part of the big energy palns for the middle kingdom but it will not be enough.

Coal will be the one in the domestic market in China that will help to forestall any impending energy crisis that will slow down the economy of major chinese cities.This will be forwarded as a parallel plans along with wind energy to fulfil the rising demand for energy.

The downside to all this is the environmental damage like greenhouse gas and smoke pollution that will spread all over china.Again the solution will not be an easy one as western countries like USA try to balance economic growth with energy demands that’s not fossil based.

End of 2007 plans are already made with Germany to explore clean energy production and research amounting to 10 billion , not a small sum by any means, so it’s not all hopeless for the China to wean off coal or even oil, but they must do this fast and views it as a long term goal not only for themselves but the fragile planet we’re living in

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Israel troubled relations in Middle east with her neighbours will not be plain sailing given her lack of oil and energy embargoes from her arab neighbours.

Negev which is the southern desert of israel can turn solar energy into a renewable powerhouse in the sparesly inhabited region.14 hour sun days and 360 summer per year testify this making Defence minister Eliezer positive about the trend away from fossil fuel.

The minister predicted in less than a few decades , oil and natural gas will disappear worldwide and Israel will be on top of the renewable agenda.In 2020, no more fossil energy will be used in the holy land so he cited.

Israel will do well to collaborate in renewable energy research and funding with her arab neighbours whose oil wealth can be served to make a successful crossover to the peak oil era.Much can be gained on either sides if politics can be put aside for the betterment of their own people,

Personally I’m skeptical about Israel completely weaning off from fossil energy, no country even USA with her high tech capabilities can do it alone.It takes worldwide concerted efforts and making changes in lifestyle to make the leap.And time is running out as we speak.

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A sense of reality hits me when I realised my utility bills has increased.I guess it’s the same reaction worldwide, gosh Oil prices hitting 100USD and the bills just have to go up.

Living in a small island city like Singapore has make me realise how vulnerable I’m .A place without natural resources especially fossil fuel is really not a good sign as Oil is the main driver of modern economies.

Then I noted that many investors have jump on the Solar stock track which is a logical decision.When utility bills goes up ,shares of solar companies reflects upward trend.Lots of hopes are placed on Rowsley company who done a reverse takeover of a solar business.The investor is a local stockmarket whiz but still the choices of stockpicks overseas like USA still dominates in the long run.

The reason one do not see a solar roof  on top of every house here or USA is the cost.
It’s great to wake up on a sunday morning without receiving a utility bill but luckily the days are not far off when this may be a reality.

The facts are electrical rates are going up, solar costs are coming down and it definitely a harbinger of good news in the energy market.So hang on your solar shares, the ride has just started.

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                  This year solar power 2007 held in long beach california offers us  some information of the current market.So let us review the past year solar market.

In 2006 PV market production was dominated by Japan.which accounted for more than 30% for manufactured cells but Germany dominated installations with 55% of the world total.Both Japan and Germany which are manufacturing and installation leaders have to maintain their  lead which will be more difficult in the coming years.

 Silicon bites

High silicon prices will take a dent of traditional solar panel makers which depended on affordable wafers to maintain their profit margins.But fear not as prices goes higher for silicon, companies that conserve silicon by making thin film modules and those that do not rely on silicon will make the highest profits.

Look out for companies like First solar that is not dependent on silicon to make or break them.But good news is that silcon shortage will be over in the next 1 to 3 years.

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I’ve been thinking about the whole solar industry may take off anyway regardless the wild promises.Though it cannot replace fossil energy, it will be a good investment for the next decade or so.
NASA discovered it in 1978 , the energy source is known as  Earth’s energy budget.And is now standing at 174 Petawatts  daily.
Just 1 Petawatt is enough to keep NYC going for 3,846 days.
The company is able to convert the captured Petawatts into usable energy for homes and buildings.So once properly installed in a mass scale, these things could capture more energy in a single month than what saudi could produce in next 50 years.
The great thing is the company can do this without costly and ugly installation of solar panels. This technology is called (BIPV) building integrated photovaltics, solar panels that was built in to the building external  structures.Using solar shingles and glass,the building roof design will remain unchanged.
So the best bet is to keep watch on the latest solar energy industry.The ride is just the beginning.

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