Home: Renewable Energy News: Thursday 19 November, 2009

Renewable Energy News

THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER, 2009 |

Ice Battery - Renewable Energy Storage

Ice battery - thermal energy storage tank
During 2009, we've reported on all sorts of possible alternatives to traditional deep cycle batteries for renewable energy storage - such as the lithium air battery, liquid batteries, the Beltway battery, molten salt batteries, the cavern battery and even a virus battery.

Introducing another possibility - the ice battery - and it's already on the market.

Air conditioning during the summer can be the largest single contributor to a building's energy cost. A hybrid cooling system from Calmac uses an ice bank thermal energy storage tank to make and store ice for use in air conditioning systems when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining - such as after dark.

For buildings without on-site renewable energy power generation, the ice can be made at night during off-peak times when electricity rates are cheaper and when cleaner baseload generation is used. In this scenario, Calmac says their system can reduce cooling costs by up to 40 percent.

According to Calmac, for every kilowatt-hour of energy that is shifted from on-peak usage to off-peak, there is a reduction in the source fuel needed to generate it - between 8 and 30%.

The IceBank tanks are made of heavily insulated polyethylene and contain a spiral-wound, polyethylene-tube heat exchanger surrounded with water. The tanks are available in a variety of sizes ranging from 45 to over 500 ton-hours.

During the charging cycle, a solution containing 25 percent ethylene or propylene glycol is cooled by a chiller and then circulated through the heat exchanger inside the IceBank tank. The ethylene-based or propylene-based glycol recommended for the solution is an industrial coolant that is specially formulated for low viscosity and superior heat-transfer properties.

The ice is built uniformly throughout the tank during the charging process and a full charging cycle of an IceBank tank requires approximately 6 to 12 hours, which makes it viable to be used in conjunction with a solar panel array.

Largest Wind Farm In New South Wales Officially Opened

Capital Wind Farm New South Wales
Capital Wind Farm was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, NSW Premier Nathan Rees and Minister for Climate Change, Senator Penny Wong yesterday.

The Capital Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in New South Wales, is situated in Bungendore and will boost Australia's wind power capacity by more than 10 per cent.

The wind farm consists of 67 Suzlon S88 wind turbines that all have a rating of 2.1MW and total installed capacity is 140.7MW. The project is capable of supplying electricity to around 60,000 homes and is almost five times the size of any other wind farm in NSW. The farm will help power the new desalination plant at Kurnell.

Around 50 wind farms are currently in operation around Australia.

The project provided employment opportunities for over 120 people during the construction phase and will provide ongoing employment in the local community. Australia's first wind farm apprentices are also employed at Capital Wind Farm, learning skills in electro technology and wind turbines.

Australian companies, including Victoria's Keppel Prince Engineering and Queensland's RPG, contributed key components to the Capital Wind Farm in partnership with Suzlon Energy Australia, part of the global Suzlon Energy group.

While the wind farm is a welcome addition to Australia's renewable energy push, Australian Greens Deputy Leader Senator Christine Milne warned the farm may be amongst the last significant renewable energy developments in Australia if the Government fails to fix the flawed Renewable Energy Target legislation. Senator Milne says the inclusion of solar hot water, heat pumps and the solar credits multiplier in the renewable energy target is undermining the scheme by crashing the price of renewable energy certificates (RECs).