Adventure Ausrama Blog

Yes, we know that electric battery cars cost as much to run as petrol ones, but demand is increasing. An Australian company is planning to make the little beasties. The number of quiet cars purchased increases by 40 percent every year. Australasia has had a slow uptake, favoring combustion engine powered motors. ACE Electric Vehicles (formerly GetGreen) intends to alter that. The business began by producing solar farm equipment. It is based in regional Queensland. The firm has patented its manufacturing process. Production will start later in 2018. To suit the Australian market a ute (Yewt) is the going to be the first model offered. This will be followed by a van aimed at commercial operators. They will be basic products selling for less than $40,000. The power train will give 40 kilowatt per hour with a range  of 350 kilometers. While it will be ticketed as an item of Australia, only assembly will be done here. Manufacture of components will be in China. The long term go...

Conservative belief of renewables causing power blackouts is bad science. It is amazing how far the Australian conservative parties, namely the Liberals and Nationals, will go to promote their misguided beliefs. Both parties have policies of discrediting the reality of global warming.   malcolm turnbull "Shaddap You Face " you ignorant voters! Conservative politicians are paranoid about the truth. Recently, power blackouts occurred in South Australia that were caused by lighting strikes - a record number struck the state during a storm. The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnball, saw it as an opportunity to blame the state's move to renewable energy. The Federal Government is doing everything it can to completely destroy alternative energy. This is their policy and they do not hide it. To the rest of the world Australia is living in the dark ages - black coal. The Government is pandering to vested interests.     malcolm turnbull Malcolm Turnbull say...

The path to develop better solar energy products from silicon are exhausted. Other materials need to be examined to provide more efficient solar panel operation. Scientists are analyzing a wide spectrum of materials. Plastics show a great deal of promise, particularly at the molecular level. Organic sem-conductors appear to be the key to future developments. This is a type of plastic that conducts electricity.  More effective conductivity seems to be the key not so much heat generation. It is expensive to make silicon conductors for solar cells. OSCs can be manipulated at the molecular level to reduce energy loss, thus more energy is accumulated. Improved efficiency will see the whole production method change for solar cells.   ★ ✿   Economics by Ty Buchana n   ✿ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vista Computer Solutions Blog   ...

Despite claims that battery technology will improve over the next few years, the battery has remained the same for half a century. Sure base materials that make the battery store electricity have changed, but not that much in recent years. All the same battery technology Due to mass production and increasing demand the price of batteries will fall. This is just economics really. The cost of Solar has fallen 80 per cent in five years. Don't expect batteries for your phone or tablet to fall this much though. The great hope is that advances in solar technology in electrical catchment and storage can be "transferred" to other products. Communication and motor vehicle manufacturers could be putting too much faith in this, however. It may not happen. Batteries can be charged in a matter of minutes now. The future could see people carrying a "spare" mobile phone power pack in their pocket. Exchange stations could spread and be ubiquitous everywhe...

Much has been said about the adoption of biomass technology to replace wind and solar energy production. Biomass involves the burning of sugars, starches and oils from crops to make biodiesel and ethanol. The cost of gathering this waste has not been factored in. Wind and solar need maintenance but for the most part they just sit there and do their job. Farmers have simply left waste in the fields - ultimately burning or plowing them in. They do not see money in gathering up the left overs from crops. Environmentally, biomass looks good. However, financially they are a no-go. Who will pay a higher price for electricity? Charges are already extremely high using coal which is just dug from the ground. The biggest problem is that biomass involves burning while wind and solar do not. Just substituting biomass for widely available conventional fossil fuels is not a an ideal move forward. This is like electric cars which are only substitutes for petrol motor vehicles - a poor and ...

Australia has made a new world record in "supercritical" steam. This involves the use of solar panels to generate heat that boils water and generates steam. The steam could be used instead of coal in power plants. Pressure reached 3,400 psi at a heat of 1,058°F. This is peak performance "stuff". It rivals coal in its efficiency. The first time a non-carbon source has at least equalled the efficiency of coal. Six hundred mirrors (heliostats) were used and their beams were directed at two towers housing solar receivers and turbines. In the future power generation could be virtually free from the sun during daylight hours. This technology is new and supersedes older "subcritical" steam production. More work has to be done but there is no doubt power generation will eventually not need coal. It is not good news for Australian exports. It is good for the world though. Science by Ty Buchanan http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.c...

With such a hot sunny climate Australia should invest more in solar energy. The heat also needs to be converted into electricity. With the sun beating down on us, there is almost free energy to be had.  Sure there is a cost. Even if it costs as much as coal generation we should go ahead and develop it. China has signed a gas agreement with Russia. As time goes by they will reduce their purchases of coal from Australia. This country should heed the signs and change policy at home as well. Vast Solar had built the nation's first solar thermal standalone plant at Forbes, NSW. It will generate 6MWth of electricity. Storage will enable electricity to be pushed into the grid 24 hours a day.  There are plans to construct a 30MW operation, and other countries are showing interest in having similar plants established by Vast Solar. The big step has been with improved storage making a viable day and night supply. The new plant has been called the concentrated solar ther...

The metal that could only be made in large quantities when electricity became widely available was once valued more than gold. Eight per cent of the Earth's crust is made up of mineral aluminium such as potassium aluminium sulfate. This was used in times past for fire-proofing and tanning of leather. Today, it is in baking powder and aftershave. The refinement into aluminum metal wasn't theorized until the late 19th century. Hans christian Oersted created the first sample of the metal in 1825. It was highly contaminated. Sodium was then used by Henri Saint-Claire Deville to produce more. In 1845 scientists found it to be extremely light in weight. By 1855 small ingots were made and its price skyrocketed. Indeed, Napoleon 111 valued his aluminium cutlery more the the gold alternative. Electrolysis was the major breakthrough in the production of large quantities of aluminium. Bauxite was identified as the best and plentiful source material. The price fell 80...

So the energy companies have Australians by the "..." in regard to charging what they like for electricity? This may be fact now but in a few years the tables will be turned. By 2018 the cost of off-grid power will be on par with charges by electricity producers and distributors. Battery storage from solar generators will be adopted by people living in the bush. Some are so far away from the main grid that they do not have an electricity connection at all. The methods they find cost effective will be copied by city people. There are varied methods and combinations so choices can be made. Rural towns could pool resources and create a generating system for the whole town. They will have to solve the problem of the unevenness of power flow to households which results in failing TVs, fridges and washing machines first though. Because of costs saved from higher scale production those in higher populated centers could set up non-carbon electricity system cheaper,...