Air New Zealand has released results from a jatropha-fueled test flight it conducted back in December 2008. Over a 12 hour flight, the engines used 1.43 tonnes of jet fuel less than they normally would have. The biofuel used was a 50/50 blend of jatropha and Jet A1 fuel.
As ecogeek points out, the Jatropha plant produces seeds that can be extracted and made into oil suitable for jets. The plant oil for this test was sourced from India, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It appears that there is now proof that the biofuel can be used successfully to efficiently fuel commercial jets over long flights. Whether or not the plant can be grown sustainably, in large quantities for use by the airline industry, is of course another matter.
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Approval has been given for one of the world’s biggest onshore wind farms to be built near Broken Hill in New South Wales. The massive 1 gigawatt Silverton Wind Farm will consist of 598 turbines. The farm will be able to generate enough power for about 430,000 homes. This also represents about 4.5% of New South Wales’ total energy needs.
At present, the federal government in Australia wants 20% of the country’s power to be generated from renewable sources by 2020. As I’ve previously stated, I’d certainly like to see that target raised a good deal more.
The project site states that the wind farm will contribute more than $700 Million to the regional economy, providing jobs and other economic benefits. The $2 billion project will be built by German renewable energy company Conergy.
It’s good to see plans for substantial renewable energy projects in Australia, given that Australia is one of the worst per capita polluters, due to a reliance on large supplies of coal.
Huge wind farm in Xinjiang China. Image by Kiwi Mikex
Just as China and the US meet to talk climate change and emissions reduction targets, it seems that China has now begun to publicly express its desire to match Europe by producing 20% of its energy from renewable resources by 2020. Together China and the US account for about 40% of world greenhouse gas emissions, so their negotiations are important to say the least.
As this article suggests, China’s new goal “represents a direct challenge to Europe’s claims to world leadership in the field”. It has also been suggested that this may represent a game changing moment in the area of clean tech. China will soon release a “new energy” program that could actually move the country past Europe and the US into a position as a global leader in renewable energy and low carbon technology.
It’s clear that there is much work to be done by many nations, and a decent global agreement to be negotiated at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. However, it’s amazing to think that we may be on the verge of a race between major polluting nations to become the cleanest and greenest in the eyes of the world, with countires vying for position as the leader in clean tech and renewable energy development. Now that is one arms race that would be well worth having!
Check out this cool, new solar powered stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The stadium is the world’s largest sports facility powered by solar energy. The new stadium is the main venue for the World Games 2009. The monumental green building project was designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito. The roof of the structure includes over 8,800 solar panels.
In terms of power generation, apparently the stadium is able to generate the power it requires to run, and on days when there are no events it’s able to feed excess power into the grid. The roof can potentially generate 1.14 gigawatt hours of electricity every year, enough to power up to 80% of the surrounding suburb when the stadium is not used.
It would certainly be great to see more of the large buildings being built around the world take advantage of clean technology in similar ways. It also begs the question: how many existing commercial buildings could potentially be retrofitted with solar panels to generate at least some of their own power? Commercial buildings often seem to have quite a lot of unused roof space.
I’m sure as new innovations occur in the solar industry over the coming years, it will allow for many new applications of solar energy into building construction. For instance, if solar cells become inexpensive, very thin, and could be deployed as flexible sheeting, or even as solar paint, it’s difiicult to see how solar technology wouldn’t start to be incorporated into many buildings. Just a thought.
