Tag Archive for: energy

As cellular networks continue to expand throughout the developing world, mobile base stations are increasingly located in rural areas that are often difficult to reach and not connected to electrical grids. As a result, an estimated 640,000 base stations around the world are off-grid. Diesel generators power most of these, but other options exist. This article is the first in a series looking at the relationship between mobile networks and energy. In this entry we take a look at the issues of diesel power and near term possibilities for greener, more sustainable options. Read more

In June 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Marking the 20th Anniversary of the Earth Summit, Rio+20 provided an opportunity for the world to reaffirm commitments to poverty erradication, sustainable development and environmental protection. Below, we explore various outcomes of Rio+20:

Rio+20 logo

Photo credit: Voices of Youth

1. New Sustainable Development Goals

As a replacement for the Millennium Development Goals which end in 2015, the governments of Colombia and Guatemala have proposed Sustainable Development Goals. These goals would link environmental and human development concerns within broad categories such as changing consumption patterns, combating poverty, and advancing food security. While negotiations in Rio did not agree to specific themes, terms or commitments, an “open working group” of 30 nations was appointed to determine priorities for the pledge by September 2013.

2. Words, Words, Words

From cries of disgust and disappointment—Greenpeace deemed the summit “a failure of epic proportion” — to careful phrased optimism about sustainable development, Rio+20 was a war of words. Promises were made, fingers pointed, and cries of injustice abound, but in the end the most important words were found within “The Future We Want”.  A non-binding communiqué ratified by all UN members that resulted in no financial commitments or concrete benchmarks.

Instead, much of the conference discourse centered around the dominant buzz word and concept of “the green economy.” We at Integra recently blogged about inclusive green growth efforts and sustainable development initiatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Graphic displaying the Zero Hunger Challenge spectrum of milestones

Photo credit: UN

3. An Initiative to End Hunger 

At the conference, UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon launched the Zero Hunger Challenge, an initiative that aims to put an end to hunger, ensure resilient food systems, increase productivity and income of smallholder farmers, especially women, and eliminate food waste.  The UN campaign is supported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme, Unicef, the World Bank, and various governments.

 4. An Appreciation for the Energizing and Influential Power of Sideshow Events

More than 3,000 fringe events took place outside of the negotiations, producing significant outputs and exciting commitments. Passionate and innovative individuals, committed grassroots organizations, and forward thinking corporations were able to mold policy and influence international agreements in new and exciting ways. These outside movements energize and influence negotiations, and are an important reminder that individuals still have incredible influence on the state of the world.

5. Innovative Pledges from Unlikely Sources

While government negotiators could not agree to binding pledges, various corporations, individual states and industry groups committed to bold and creative ways of approaching the challenge of sustainable development. Some of the more interesting pledges include:

Grenada announced its transport and electricity sectors will only use clean energy sources by 2030.

Unilever promised to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2020 and find sustainable sources of beef, soy and palm oil to prevent the deforestation now stemming from production of these three major crops.

Eight international development banks agreed to invest $175 billion to sustainable public transport systems over the next decade.

European PVS industries made a commitment to recycle 800,000 tons of PVC each year through the VinylPlus programme.

Microsoft will roll out an internal carbon fee on its operations in more than 100 countries, part of a plan to go carbon-neutral by 2013.

Map of the world in a field

Photo credit: UNEP

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was strengthened with more funding, stronger powers to initiate scientfic research, a leadership role in coordinating global environmental strategies, and a vote of confidence for the organization’s much publicized transition to a focus on creating a green economy backed by strong social provisions.

 

Photo Credit: Inhabit

 

Energy consumption is ever increasing. Supply systems can’t keep up with the demand and are maxed out, causing blackouts, unreliable service and headache. There is limited distribution for rural areas and alternative sources are difficult to integrate into the existing network. How are we to provide energy to a growing and more connected world?

A smart grid is a digital electrical grid. It gathers, distributes, and acts on information through meters that communicate via a wireless mesh network in order to improve efficiency and sustainability of electrical services. Often smart grids can reduce peak demand, shift usage to off-peak hours, lower total energy consumption, and actively manage other usage to respond to solar, wind, and other renewable resources. It allows consumers to optimize the generation, transmission, distribution, and use of energy in a more efficient way. Smart grids are slowly being implemented across the U.S. and Europe.

As a broad concept, a smart grid is envisioned to have the following key characteristics:

  1. Self-healing: The electricity grid rapidly detects, analyzes, responds, and restores power supply;
  2. Digital technology: Two-way communications and ubiquitous metering and measurement enable finer control of energy flows;
  3. Integration: The grid accommodates a variety of resources, including renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass and hydro), demand side management and efficient end-use,
  4. Empowering: Incorporates EE consumer equipment and behavior in grid design and operation,
  5. Power quality: The grid provides quality power consistent with 21st century consumer and industry needs,
  6. Cyber security: The grid mitigates and is resilient to physical/cyber-attacks, and
  7. Fully enables and is supported by competitive electricity markets

The development community has been slow at discussing and beginning to analyze the impact smart grids could have, perhaps because the outcomes can be varied. The UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has suggested smart grids for Sub-Saharan Africa as a solution to the lack of access and increasing population. A smart grid could leapfrog elements of a traditional power system and offer where it was impossible before. It can also offer lower rates during off-peak hours, charging for energy consumption via mobile phone. USAID has signed a partnership for smart grid technology development with Russia and India.

The most exciting example of implementation for 2012 is that of Equador. Under the state-owned electric utility, Electrica de Guayaquil, Equador has installed a meter-to-cash smart meter system that uses Itron and Trilliant’s communication platform. The communication network manages energy loses accurately, measuring use and other applications like theft analytics.

Power generation accounts for about one-quarter of global carbon emissions, a major cause of global warming. CARMA (Carbon Monitoring for Action) was created to inventory and monitor this massive output to “equip individuals with the information they need to forge a cleaner, low-carbon future.” There are over 50,000 power plants and 4,000 power companies worldwide available on CARMA’s database, which is produced and financed by the Confronting Climate Change Initiative at the Center for Global Development. CARMA can be used by consumers, investors, shareholders, and policymakers to name a few for influencing decisions on power generation.

For power plants within the U.S., CARMA uses E.P.A. data. For non-reporting plants, CARMA estimates emissions using a statistical model that utilizes detailed data on plant-level engineering and fuel specifications. The database is updated quarterly to reflect changes in ownership, construction, renovation, planned expansions, and plant retirements. The plants can generate power from any number of sources, including hydroelectric, fossil fuels, and nuclear. According to the site, “CARMA does not endorse or favor any particular technology. Our goal is to simply report the best available information on sources of power sector carbon emissions.” In many cases data can be downloaded from the site.

 

How can ICTs be used to combat climate change? Stan Karanasios’s paper entitled “New & Emergent ICTs and Climate Change in Developing Countries” outlines emerging ICTs in 3 steps:

  • monitoring of climate change and the environment
  • disaster management
  • climate change adaptation
Excerpts from the paper outline uses of ICTs for climate change:

Monitoring of climate change and the environment

For developing countries to better understand their local climate and be able to anticipate climate change impacts, they must have adequate local and national observation networks, and access to the data captured from other global and regional networks. 

Types of technology include:

  • satellite systems
  • wireless broadband technologies
  • wireless sensor networks (WSN)
  • mobile phones
  • hand-held devices 
Examples of environmental monitors:
  • Rainfall and Landslide- In hilly regions of western India, SenSlide, a distributed sensor system, predicts rather than just detects landslides. Landslides occur frequently, often during the monsoon when rain causes significant damage. SenSlide makes use of WSN and strain gauges, providing data to a network.
  • Fire- In South Africa, FireHawk, a forest fire system of cameras with zoom lenses and microwave transmitters and receivers was implemented in mountainous and extreme temperate locations. The system automatically detects fires, even at night, limiting the impact of damage.
  • Flood- In Honduras, a WSN for flood monitoring was developed that was able to withstand river flooding and the severe stromes causing the floods, communicate over a 10,000 km river basin, predict flooding autonomously, and limit cost, allowing feasible implementation of the system.
  • Impacts of Agriculture- In India a WSN-based agriculture management system named COMMON-Sense Net, was deployed to support rain-fed agriculture and provide farmers with environmental data. Wireless sensors were deployed in geographical clusters, each with one base-station that was connected to a local server via a Wi-Fi link and organized in groups, each corresponding to a particular application, such as crop modeling, water conservation measures, or deficit irrigation management.

Disaster management

Responding to natural disasters in a timely and effective manner has emerged as an important climate change theme particularly in developing countries; where in addition to the immediate crisis vulnerable communities suffer excessively from the secondary post-disaster effects that compound the tragedy. In many cases, the existing telecommunication infrastructure will be significantly or completely destroyed by an extreme weather event, and hence rapidly deployable networks and other communication services need to be employed for disaster relief operations. 

Communication Methods:

  • Emergency Communication Systems- In Bangladesh an Integrated Information and Communication System is underway which will use satellite, wireless broadband, mobile phones and community radio services strengthening communication links between rescue and relief units and Emergency Operation Centers (EOC).
  • Rapidly Deployable Communications
  • Social Networking- During Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines in 2009, local volunteers organized and disseminated information online through websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Organizations and affected people used these sites for timely reports concerning the extent of damage, to provide information on the resources required tand to allocate relief resources.
  • GIS & Other Information Systems- Visualize high risk zones; evacuation routes, shelters and the catalogue of available resource and their proximity
  • Early Warning Systems- satellite radio, mobile phones, cell broadcasting system, the web, WSNs, and CAP (common alerting protocol) can be coupled with climate data for immediate and short/medium/long-term warnings to minimize harm to vulnerable communities.

Disaster Management Project Example: Project DUMBO

Mesh Networks and Disaster Response in Thailand DUMBO,  a project initiated by  the Asian Institute of  Technology Internet Education and Research Laboratory, developed and tested asystem for response to emergency scenarios in Thailand . Making use of the concept of wireless mesh networks, DUMBO uses lightweight  portable mobile nodes  to  broaden  coverage and penetrate deep into  areas  not  accessible by  roads  or where the telecommunication  infrastructure  has  been  destroyed.  During  the trials in  Thailand, laptops  were carried on elephants to  extend thewireless  mesh  network  coverage.  On the networking  side,  the solution  utilised hybrid Wi­Fi and  satellite connectivity.  The second application component involved sensors, which allowed for  readings of  environmental data  such  as  temperature,  humidity,  pressure, wind­speed,  wind­ direction,  rainfall and  CO2.  The third application component involved facial recognition software that allowed rescuers to compare facial images captured from the site to the collection of known faces. This is one of a few systems in developing countries that  make use of  emergent  technologies  and  combine communications with integrated disaster applications

Climate change adaptation

To cope with current and future climate stress, communities – particularly those most vulnerable to developing countries – must build their resilience, including adopting appropriate technologies, while making the most of traditional knowledge, and diversifying their livelihoods. For instance, monitoring networks can inform habitat location (provide information to house communities away from a flood or landslide in prone areas), better agriculture (based on informed climate information or water allocation) and provide early warnings, amongst other applications. Mobile technology should be scaled-up for adaptation.

There is a lot of room for growth in developing ICTs for adapting to climate change through collecting, analyzing and disseminating information particularly in space-based systems, GIS, WSNs, wireless broadband technology, mobile technology, and soft technologies such as Web-based tools. By doing so, bottom-up local coping strategies will be encouraged.

Biofuels… Good or Bad Idea? They’ve received positive hype from non-profits, corporations, and individuals only to be scorned by some environmentalists, economists, and other groups.

Photo Credit: GSMA

A common barrier facing rural regions is a lack of access to a reliable power supply. Being off the grid limits the ability to take advantage of information and communication technologies (ICTs) that could provide economic gain and increase quality of life. What’s the use of a mobile phone with innovative software applications if it can’t be recharged?

One popular answer for off-grid communities is building biofuel-based facilities that are run off of renewable resources. Biofuel is simply energy released directly or indirectly from living or recently living organisms. Wind and solar power are included, but fossil fuels are not because they are embedded in geological formations and nonrenewable.

Biofuels have been used for over a millennia, such as the simple method of burning wood for fuel. Other traditional methods used throughout the developing world include using conventional feed such as maize, wheat, sunflowers, and switchgrass for combustion that are then used for cooking, heating, and lighting.

Modern bioenergy used for fuel can be more complex, taking advantage of residue, bacteria, and other organic components of waste that produce a higher value energy carrier, meaning they are more efficient and versatile than traditional methods. The most common method for converting biomass into fuel is by combustion that generates heat. Other known methods include gasification, extraction, and fermentation (used for converting starch or sugar crops into ethanol). In recent decades ethanol and other forms of biofuels have increased in popularity due to the fluctuation of oil prices, carbon emission, and as an option for rural development.

Photo Credit: Prof. Thomson Sinkala, Chairman, Biofuels Association of Zambia

So are biofuels the answer for connecting rural communities with the greater world? Let’s weigh some notable advantages and disadvantages:

PROS

+ Biofuels are locally harvested, decreasing transportation costs.

+ The harvesting and processing of biofuels creates local jobs.

+ Biofuels are renewable.

+ Plants used for making biofuels can be grown on marginal lands.

+ The cost of renewable energy technology is falling, making energy projects more affordable and easier to maintain.

CONS

Not all biofuels are sustainable.

Traditional forms of bioenergy can cause unpleasant consequences such as deforestation.

Traditional biofuels are highly inefficient when compared to fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

Biofuels derived from vegetation require a lot of water, adding pressure to an already limited and fragile source.

Instead of using limited arable land for food production, it’s used for growing biomass that can be improperly fertilized, further harming water systems.

It can negatively impact life-cycles, species health, and biodiversity.

So are biofuels a good or bad solution for rural areas? The decision must be made at the local level; weighing costs, benefits, and sustainability. Below are examples of successful projects where biofuels are used to supply power.

Indonesia–  Instead of depositing livestock waste in waterways, it  is processed in a biodigester, creating biogas used by the local population.

ChinaRice ‘straw’, the stem and leaves left behind after harvesting to be burnt can be mixed with an alkaline solution to create biogas.

Mali– Jatropha, a poisonous weed used to keep away grazing animals thrives in marginal soil is used to power generators.

KenyaSolar and hydro energy is used for a power center that provides access to Internet and mobile phones for local farmers.


Photo Credit: E-Site

Bharti Airtel, an international telecommunications company, has announced a deal with Ericsson, a leading provider of mobile telecommunications equipment, to use Flexenclosure’s green energy solution called E-site for upgrading an initial lot of 250 mobile phone base stations powered by diesel in Nigeria.

The contract enables Ericsson to be responsible for implementation and maintenance services for all the sites. “The new green and highly cost efficient base station solution makes not only environmental sense, but also financial sense for our customers, enabling the efficient deployment of services to previously unserved or under-served areas,” Ericsson Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Region Lars Linden said.

Airtel has successfully tested the solution in Kenya and has experienced significant reduction in diesel usage and CO2 emissions against a round-the-clock diesel powered site. The company also believes that the ‘green’ mobile initiative will improve operations and minimize base stations’ environmental impact.

Flexenclosure is a Swedish start-up that develops innovative solutions for energy-efficient mobile phone coverage in developing nations.  The advanced control system of the E-site solution assures the storage of optimal power from the alternative energy sources (solar or wind) and the process is efficiently managed through the utilization of its battery bank.

The company estimates that there are 40,000 mobile phone base stations in Africa, and most of those rely on a diesel engine for power. Each base station takes anything up to 5200 gallons of the increasingly expensive hydrocarbon soup each year to ensure that people will be able to use their mobile phones. That’s around 210,000,000 gallons of diesel every single year, which isn’t good for the environment or the profit margins of the mobile providers. The technology has the potential to lower diesel usage by up to 80% – that’s a saving of 169,000,000 gallons of diesel each year for African telecommunication companies and that’s the byproducts of burning 169 million gallons of diesel that won’t be entering our atmosphere.

At a recently ended Web 2.0 Summit held in San Francisco California, a Berlin-based startup called Changers announced the release of a portable solar charging system that aims to reduce global warming by shifting society to the use of a currency backed by the sun. The Changers Solar System gives the user a way to harness the sun’s energy, liberates the user from the grid, recharges all kinds of devices, helps the user to socialize his/her energy production, and enables him/her to compete with others to earn Changers Credits that can be spent in the Changers Marketplace.

The Changers Starter Kit which is open for a pre-order beginning now as you read this piece, includes the revolutionary Changers Kalhuohfummi solar battery and the Changers Maroshi solar module and costs $149. The Changers Kalhuohfummi is a simple, one-button device that communicates with Changers.com. Inside is advanced intelligence that accurately measures how much energy it captures and stores in the built-in battery, ready to charge any smartphone or tablet. The Changers Kalhuohfummi solar battery is powered by the Changers Maroshi flexible solar module, which generates up to four Watts per hour — enough to charge the Kalhuohfummi battery in four hours. The Changers Maroshi solar panel, which is produced in Colorado, USA, can be attached to any window or sunny surface.

The Director of Communications, Hans Raffauf explains how the technology works:

http://youtu.be/Ee9WW2J8FdE

 

The system helps you to:

  1. Capture the Sun: Produce your own energy. The Changers personal solar charging kit enables any of us to produce and consume renewable energy. Now, anyone can start producing energy and know exactly how much CO2 they’ve saved. Find a sunny spot, plug it in, and start harnessing the natural energy of the sun. Pretty soon, you’ll be much more aware of where you get the best sunlight and how to optimize your energy production and consumption.
  2. Charge your Device: Change your thinking. Plug in your Apple iPhone/iPad/iPod, Android, Kindle (or any of 1,000 other devices) and charge it using the energy you captured. The Changers Kalhuohfummi will recharge your device as fast as a regular charger and radically change the way you think about energy. Now, you’re a Changer – an autonomous producer and consumer of your own renewable energy.
  3. Become Part of a Movement: Tell the world. Upload your energy production statistics to the Changers community to visualize your actual CO2 savings. See how much energy you’ve produced and compare your score with others. Share your experience and contribution via Facebook and Twitter. Your pioneering actions will inspire others to follow.
  4. Get Rewarded: Turn your green behavior into Changers Credits. The amount of energy you produce is automatically converted into Changers Credits, which can be spent at retail partners on the Changers Marketplace who share your commitment to a greener planet.

To know more and become social with green energy use go to Changers

Image of the globe and a tree

Credit: Sustain2Green

As the Rio+20 draws near, a number of international conferences and summits aim at deliberating on sustainable environment and climate change across the globe are being convened. One of such is the mini conference on ICT for a Greener Economy in Developing Countries to be held next month (October 25th) in the Netherlands.

The ‘ICT for a Greener Economy in Developing Countries’ mini-conference is an event that will explore and highlight the key role Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) play in moving towards greener economies. It is being organized on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD). The conference will bring together experts in the area of climate change and ICTs including Kentaro Toyama, the co-founder of Microsoft Research (MSR) India and a prominent scholar in ICT4D with the name ICT4D jester.

The conference will also see the official launching of “Bits4green initiative” which was set up by IICD, the Dutch corporate sector and World PC. The initiative focuses on reducing energy consumption and e-waste in developing countries. By supporting Bits4Green, companies show that they are investing in clean energy and actively working on a global reduction of electronic waste and energy use in developing countries. It also creates opportunities for entrepreneurs in the IT industry to actively contribute to a more sustainable and green use of ICT.

The design, production, use and disposal of information and communications technologies (ICTs) are contributing to the global environmental crisis. Even though the ICT sector’s contribution to global CO2 emissions is at the low side compare to other sectors (2–2.5%), it is projected to double by 2020. Developing countries are paying more for ICTs at the end of their life cycles (disposal) where, vast quantities of ICTs become highly specialized waste that includes environmentally hazardous metals like lead, mercury and cadmium, as well as toxic flame retardants and plastics. According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), about 80% of all the e‑waste that is diverted – out of a yearly global e‑waste production of about 40 million tones is exported to developing countries such as China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Nigeria and Ghana.

At the same time, the expectations of developing countries to take advantage of the green economy through sustained growth model which will feature environmental-friendly technologies, use more renewable resources, and reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions, is high. Major developing countries like China have been sparing no efforts in developing green economy, which is widely regarded as a viable way of restoring job growth, reducing poverty and achieving a more sustainable economy. A joint report Why a Green Economy Matters for the Least Developed Countries issued at the start of the 4th UN conference by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) and launched in Istanbul this year also points to the economic and human development opportunities of a green economy transition for the world’s least developed countries (LDCs). The report argues that LDCs face unprecedented vulnerabilities across a range of challenges and a the shift to a global green economy can put LDCs in an opportune position if the right enabling policies are put in place nationally and internationally.

The time to weigh the pros and cons of ICTs and green economy in the developing nations is now!

South Africa’s second largest mobile operator, MTN plans to roll out over 1 000 Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) base stations in rural areas for the next two years.

MTN SA’s Chief Technology Officer Kanagaratnam Lambotharan (image source: file photo)

During an interview session with ITNewsAfrica today, MTN Chief Technology Officer Kanagaratnam Lambotharan says his company’s vision was to provide mobile broadband connectivity throughout South Africa, citing the huge investments in solar powered radio transmission and Base Transceiver Station (BTS) sites.

MTN plans to bring the much-needed broadband capacity to millions of its subscribers in the country and its operations across the continent and the Middle East. The company has made significant broadband investments in the West Africa Cable System (WACS), and in East Africa Cable System (EASSy) undersea cables.

“These investments in undersea cables have already decreased the cost of Internet connectivity, further giving consumers an enhanced customer experience,” says Lambotharan.

“Broadband access will need to come from other access networks, such as mobile. For many consumers, their first internet experience is via a mobile handset, and MTN is working tirelessly to ensure that every customer has access to the World Wide Web,” says Lambotharan.

He says many studies have proved that access to broadband helped to contribute to socio-economic development and lead to a significant increase in a country’s GDP.

Lambotharan said Africa was still lagging behind in terms of broadband penetration, but was quick to point out that MTN was confident that when the undersea cables and fibre optic cables were operational they would spur socio-economic development and help the continent address the challenges of under development.

“The key limitations to rolling out infrastructure however remain the availability of high capacity transmission and in some cases grid power, which requires additional investment from telecoms players such as MTN.”

“As a company with operations in emerging markets, the availability of reliable energy sources in rolling and maintaining a reliable network is crucial.

“The unavailability of reliable energy supplies makes network rollout very expensive, thus dissuading potential investors from investing,” says Lambotharan.

Lambotharan says the cost of purchasing hardware such as computers and modems was the key factor that derailed universal broadband access.

“It is with this in mind that MTN launched Internet TV. The purpose-built keyboard provides customers with Internet access without the need to purchase computer hardware,” says Lambotharan.

Savious Kwinika

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