Japanese construction giant Obayashi announces plans to have a space elevator up and running by 2050

Space Elevator

Once the realm of science fiction, a Japanese company has announced they will have a space elevator up and running by the year 2050.

If successful it would revolutionize space travel and potentially transform the global economy. The Japanese construction giant Obayashi says they will build a space elevator that will reach 96,000 kilometers into space.

Robotic cars powered by magnetic linear motors will carry people and cargo to a newly-built space station, at a fraction of the cost of rockets. It will take seven days to get there.

The company said the fantasy can now become a reality because of the development of carbon nanotechnology.

The Space Elevator will transport people & cargo.

"The tensile strength is almost a hundred times stronger than steel cable so it's possible," Mr Yoji Ishikawa, a research and development manager at Obayashi, said "Right now we can't make the cable long enough. We can only make 3 centimeter long nano tubes but we need much more... we think by 2030 we'll be able to do it."

Universities all over Japan have been working on the problems and every year they hold competitions to share and learn from each other.

A team at Kanagawa University has been working on robotic cars or climbers Professor Tadashi Egami said tension on the cable will vary depending on height and gravity.

"We're studying what mechanisms are needed in order to ascend at differing altitudes and the best brake system," Mr Egami says.

A major international study in 2012 concluded the space elevator was feasible but best achieved with international co-operation and Mr Ishikawa from Obayashi agreed. "I don't think one company can make it, we'll need an international organization to make this big project," he said.

Experts said the space elevator could signal the end of Earth-based rockets which are hugely expensive and dangerous.Using a space shuttle costs about $22,000 per kilogram to take cargo into space. For the space elevator, the estimate is about $200.

Constructing the space elevator would allow small rockets to be housed and launched from stations in space without the need for massive amounts of fuel required to break the Earth's gravitational pull.

It is also hoped the space elevator could help in solving the world's power problems, by delivering huge amounts of cheap solar power or storing nuclear waste. It would also be a boon for space tourism.

Obayashi is working on cars that will carry 30 people up the elevator, so it may not be too long before the Moon is the next must-see tourist destination.

Elevator to Heaven?

 
 Reference: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-21/japanese-construction-giants-promise-space-elevator-by-2050/5756206

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Google Invests in Californian Solar Power Plant

US tech giant Google Inc. has agreed to provide US$145 million in equity financing for the "Regulas Power Plant Project". The 737-acre 82 MW DC solar photovoltaic power plant is in construction on an abandoned gas and oil field in Kern count, California, and will be comprised of over 248,000 SunEdison mono-crystalline solar PV modules.

This is the US tech giant's 17th renewable energy project, and put the company’s clean energy investment at more than $1.5 billion, and totaling a capacity of more than 2.5GW, across three continents.

Google renewable energy principal Nick Coons said: "This project with SunEdison presented an opportunity to take an old gas and oil field and turn it into a clean energy producing solar site. It made sense to support it on multiple levels."

SunEdison has developed, designed and executed the structured financing for the Regulus project, which is slated to commence operations later in 2014.SunEdison North America president Bob Powell said: "From developing the technology, to constructing the facility, to establishing mutually beneficial financial partnerships with leaders like Google, Prudential and Santander Bank, N.A., Regulus is a prime example of how SunEdison's end-to-end approach benefits everyone involved in a solar project.That we’ve already made such progress on a project that broke ground in December 2013 is a testament to the speed and efficiency of our process."


This 82MW Regulus solar project in Kern County in California will generate enough electricity to power 10,000 homes and support around 650 jobs. The plant can reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to not burning 125 million pounds of coal annually.

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Samsung unveils robot sentry that can kill from two miles away

South Korean forces have installed a team of robots along the border with North Korea. The machine-gun wielding robots, built by a subsidiary of Samsung, have heat and motion detectors to identify potential targets more than 2 miles away.

The SGR-1 has a 5.5mm machine gun and a 40mm grenade launcher - although needs a human operator to give it the go ahead to fire.

The sentry robot in action in Cheonan, 92 kms south of Seoul. The weapons-grade robot can detect, raise the alarm and provide suppressive fire.

The system was first trialled in 2006.
"Human soldiers can easily fall asleep or allow for the depreciation of their concentration over time." Samsung Techwin spokesman Huh Kwang-hak said at the time.

"But these robots have automatic surveillance, which doesn't leave room for anything resembling human laziness.They also won't have any fear (of) enemy attackers on the front lines."

'The SGR-1 can and will prevent wars.'
The robots work side-by-side with soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone (referred to as the 'DMZ'), the 160 mile long, 2.5-mile wide strip of land separating South Korea from North Korea.
 
It is believed each unit costs $200,000 - although it has not been revealed how many are in use.
When it detects a potential threat, it notifies the command center. The operator can then use the robot's video and audio devices to communicate remotely before deciding to open fire.


 'The SGR-1 is essentially a protection technology which will serve and protect our human soldiers against enemy attackers in their dispatched danger zones,' said Kwang-hak.
'The SGR-1 can and will prevent wars'....well only TIME will tell.






Reference: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2756847/Who-goes-Samsung-reveals-robot-sentry-set-eye-North-Korea.html

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World's first 3D printed car

Strati: World's first 3D printed car

Making car as per your requirement is now not just a dream. Local Motors a Phoenix, Arizona based manufacturing firm reveled the world’s first 3D printed car electric car “Strati” at International Manufacturing Technology Show 2014 in Chicago. What’s more it just took them 44 hours to build this car from scratch. Conventional vehicle which has more than 20,000 components but this car has less than 50 components (40 to be precise) then the non-printable parts such as the engine, lights and glass windshield were added.

The chassis and the body of the car are printed using a giant 3D printer but the tires, seats, wheels, battery, wiring, suspension, electric motor and window shield were made using conventional methods.  The battery-powered, two-passenger car is made of layers of black plastic and reinforced with carbon fiber. Strati’s top speed is 40 miles per hour, and it can travel about 120 miles on a single charge.

Credit: WGN

Local Motors CEO John Rogers told the Wall Street Journal: ‘We are the first company to make a 3D-printed car using carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic. ‘The seats, body, chassis, dash, center console and hood will all be 3D printed.’ The company hopes to offer 3D-printed cars for between £11,000 to £18,000 ($18,000 to $30,000) each, depending on the types of optional features buyers will want.

Well few years from now you can actually download a car ;)

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India is launchpad for Android One

Android One

When it comes to launching big products India has been sidelined by almost all the big companies. This is going to change this afternoon i.e. on 15th September 2014 Google will be launching Android One in India. In a few hours from now Google will be launching first set of Android One Smart phones which will give Mobile phone users all across India a higher end experience on smartphone for a very reasonable price to price conscious Indian users.

Google is targeting the developing world and it has started with Indian Smartphone Manufacturers like Karbonn, Spice and Micromax. India which is one of the biggest markets for smartphones will soon turn into a battle ground for Google Android One.

Android One will have the basic hardware features that are needed in India i.e.dual-SIM, microSD card slot etc working on Google developed software. Google aims to extend the reach of Android into emerging markets, especially India where only 29% of about 920 million mobile phone users own smartphones, offering a far higher potential than markets like China or the US where smartphone penetration is nearing its peak.

Google also revealed a couple of specifications for Micromax’s smartphone. It will feature a 4.5-inch display, MediaTek processor, dual-SIM card slots and a removable SD card. With the search giant providing the hardware and software guidelines, the Android One smartphones from all the three smartphone vendors are likely to have similar specification. They are expected to retail exclusively on Amazon, Snapdeal & Flipkart they will go on sale at 3:30pm. Today!!!

So Hold your breath for something amazing coming your way!!!!

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Can Tesla Power Its Gigafactory with Renewables Alone?

Tesla recently announced that its Gigafactory, which will produce electric car batteries, will be located near Reno Nevada. More interesting to me, being an engineer and renewable energy advocate, is Tesla’s commitment to renewable energy. In his press conference, Elon Musk stated that the factory will produce all of its own energy using a combination of solar, wind, and geothermal. That’s a tall order, so let’s look at the numbers to see how feasible that is.

The factory is expected to be 10 million square feet (about 929,000 square meters), sitting on nearly a thousand acres of land. Tesla’s drawings show the plant covered in solar panels with a field of wind turbines in the distance. Musk said that the factory would be aligned with true north so equipment could be located with GPS and so the solar panels would be aligned with true south for maximum production. Although the picture shows panels on the roof, there’s a lot of land available for a ground mounted array and/or more turbines.

TESLA GIGAFACTORY

Energy Consumption

Navigant Research estimates that a battery factory of that size would consume up to 100 megawatts (peak). For a worst-case analysis I’ll assume it runs at peak constantly. The factory would consume 2400 MWh per day. For comparison, that’s the equivalent electricity consumption of about 80,000 homes.

Solar Production

Reno gets an average of five peak sun hours per day. Assuming PV panels with 20% efficiency on a fixed (non-tracking) mount, the rooftop array should generate about one kWh per square meter per day. You can’t cover the entire roof with panels, so using a roof area of around 850,000 square meters, that gives us 850 MWh of solar energy production each day.

Wind Production

Reno’s average wind speed is not particularly friendly toward wind energy production. At 150 meters high, the average wind speed is only about 7 m/s. A 3 MW utility-scale turbine would generate 900 kW at that wind speed. I counted about 85 turbines in the picture, so that would give roughly 1836 MWh of wind energy per day.

Geothermal Production

Reno is no stranger to geothermal energy - it has several plants in operation already. The newest has a 20 MW capacity. Let’s say Tesla goes small and builds one with only half of that capacity. That 10 MW plant would produce 240 MWh of daily geothermal electricity.

Total Production

I started doing some back-of-the-envelope calculations (literally), but it became too unwieldy and I wanted to run some what-if scenarios, so I created a spreadsheet. Here it is, with the totals:

The numbers don’t lie. The site could realistically produce more than 2900 MWh of renewable electricity each day ... 20% more than it needs. These are conservative estimates on production and worst-case estimates on consumption, and it’s clear that there’s enough renewable energy to run the plant with some to spare.

Read More: http://www.engineering.com/ElectronicsDesign/ElectronicsDesignArticles/ArticleID/8436/Can-Tesla-Power-Its-Gigafactory-with-Renewables-Alone.aspx

This article Can Tesla Power Its Gigafactory with Renewables Alone? has been reproduced from http://www.engineering.com.

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India Offshore Wind Policy to Target 1 Gigawatt by 2020

India is set to introduce an offshore wind policy targeting 1 gigawatt by 2020, seeking to mimic Europe’s success in generating power at sea.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will seek cabinet approval for the policy shortly, according to Joint Secretary Alok Srivastava. “Development of the technology has made offshore wind projects viable now,” Srivastava said by phone yesterday.

By 2018, the cost of electricity from offshore windmills will equal that of land-based projects in Asia’s second-biggest turbine market, he said. Wind farms in some states in India are generating power cheaper than new coal plants.

India, which has installed 21 gigawatts of wind power, is looking to expand at sea as the best sites on land fill up, while poor roads limit the introduction of larger, more productive turbines. It’s seeking advice from the European Union because the bulk of the world’s offshore farms have been built in the North, Irish and Baltic Seas.

The government plans to set up a new company by January to develop offshore projects, Srivastava said. State-owned generator NTPC Ltd. (NTPC), Power Grid Corp. (PWGR) of India Ltd., and a few others will form the business, which may start with 100 megawatts of demonstration projects along the coasts of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu states, he said.

India is also considering small, offshore farms for the Lakshwadeep, Andaman and Nicobar islands to reduce their dependence on expensive diesel generators for power, he said.

Reference: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-12/india-offshore-wind-policy-to-target-1-gigawatt-by-2020.html

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Abandoned California Oil And Gas Field Will Soon Be A Solar Farm

CREDIT: SHUTTER-STOCK

An abandoned oil and gas field in California will soon be home to a large solar plant, thanks to a partnership between Google and SunEdison.

The Regulus solar power plant will be the largest solar project completed by SunEdison in North America. Construction started on the plant in December and is scheduled to be completed and begin operation later this year. Google contributed $145 million to the project, which when completed will span 737 acres and produce 82 megawatts of energy — enough to power 10,000 homes.

 “We believe the world needs a wide range of clean energy technologies, each serving different needs,” Nick Coons, renewable energy principal at Google, said in a statement. “This project with SunEdison presented an opportunity to take an old gas and oil field and turn it into a clean energy producing solar site. It made sense to support it on multiple levels.”

There are multiple benefits of developing solar projects on brownfields like the abandoned oil and gas field in California. As Greentech Media pointed out last year, brownfield development often avoids arguments about how to best use land resources, arguments that are particularly common when energy projects are proposed on public lands. Since the brownfield site is already contaminated, and since it’s likely already cleared of trees, it makes an ideal place for a renewable energy project: few if any trees have to be cut down to make room for the project, and the contaminated site ends up being turned into a productive area. Brownfield-to-solar projects in New Jersey, Greentech Media notes, “appear to please everybody,” and have been quickly granted permits, since the environmental review process for a brownfield isn’t as in-depth as it is for a forest or other natural, uncontaminated region.

According to the EPA, there are more than 11,000 contaminated or abandoned mine sites that could be used to produce solar, wind, biomass, or geothermal energy in the United States. A Michigan-based study from 2009 found that if Michigan developed its brownfields into solar and wind farms, it could generate 5,855 megawatts of power.

Landfills, too, have succeeded as productive sites for solar projects. A 48-acre landfill in Dekalb County, Georgia was turned into a solar field a few years ago, with the installation of 7,000 flexible solar panels, and solar farms have also been installed on landfills in New York, New Jersey, Texas, California, and Massachusetts. Landfills’ elevation and clear, treeless terrain makes them well-suited for solar projects, and the methane they emit can also be captured and used. As of 2012, there were about 10,000 landfills in the U.S. that had reached capacity, making them possible candidates for solar farms.

The Regulus solar project is being made possible in part by a sizable contribution by Google, which has pledged to contribute $1.5 billion to renewable energy investments. The Regulus plant is Google’s 17th renewable energy investment. Despite its contributions to renewable energy, however, the tech giant has been criticized recently because of its ties to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a lobbying group that has attempted to block renewable energy development at the state level.

Reference: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/09/11/3566292/brownfield-to-solar-in-california/

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Shanghai Electric to invest $2 billion in solar energy in Morocco

State-controlled Chinese company Shanghai Electric is reportedly planning to invest more than $2 billion over a period of 5 years to develop about 3,500 MW of solar energy projects in Morocco.  

Reference: http://solarenergy.einnews.com/

The Chinese company had announced last June it got a substantial loan from the China Development Bank (CDB) to finance investment projects of $16.5 billion in 7 Arab countries, including Morocco.

"There are plans to construct five power solar stations, with a combined generation capacity of 3.5 GW,

"These projects will turn Morocco into one of the most important clean energy producers in 2020," the daily was quoted in the report.

It is indicated that this step taken, concurs with plans between China and Morocco for inking deals on renewable energies, exploration for oil, gas and minerals in Morocco.


Reference: http://solarenergy.einnews.com/article/223070434/FJRDvu8zh_DBmB0O

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