The energy market is
the fastest-moving and fastest-growing ones in the world. And concurring predictions indicate that,
with the water market, it is where the 21st century's history will
take place.
Siemens and tidal
power
Siemens has made quite an entry in the maritime energy world, by
purchasing shares in Marine Current Turbines Ltd. In the race for clean and
renewable energies, Siemens is putting its money on tidal power. Grounds for such a move are several. Tidal
energy is just as clean and renewable as wind energy, but it holds a
considerable advantage over it : it is perfectly predictable. Tides answer
to the moon, which follows a regular cycle, unlike wind, which is hectic in its
evolution. The storage of power being
tricky, tidal power has an edge. And the
weight of water is the second competitive advantage : 1 knot of water
stream provides 800 times more energy than the equivalent stream of wind. Currently, marine turbines around the world
supply only 3 or 4 % of its power needs. But the energy production mode is
picking up, as with the demonstration (though commercially profitable) SeaGen
project in Northern Ireland. The 1 500 houses of the Strangford Lough area have
been supplied in power with only two turbines, which can put up 1,2 MW/h. Siemens has considerably invested in ecotech,
and can now brag on its website that, with the 30-billion worth of sales last
year, it has avoided the equivalent CO² pollution of Berlin, Delhi, Hong-Kong,
Istanbul, New York, London, Singapore, and Tokyo. Combined.
CNIM : from waste
recovery to solar and biomass energy
The sun also provides clean and renewable energy, but in ways which, for
a long time, were very low on profitability. CNIM, a French engineering firm defining
itself as technologically bold, is changing that. For years the company is one
of the world leaders in waste recovery into clean energy, converting every
metric ton of household waste into the equivalent of 200 liters of oil!
With its engineering experience CNIM has brought recently the solar
technology to a new level, by investing in Fresnel mirror. Instead of simply receiving an amount of
energy equivalent to its surface, mirrors concentrate the sunlight and reflect
it back onto the panel, which then converts the rays into steam or electrical
power. In 2010, CNIM inaugurated an 800-square meter pilot plant in the South
of France, to demonstrate the capacities it achieved in solar power production.
The company is also engaged in the upgrading of biomass power
production. These plants produce clean energy for cities and burn their organic
refuse, but they can also emit an unpleasant smell to the urban areas they are
necessarily close to. CNIM, through its LAB S.A. branch, has invested in smoke
treatment technology based on its experience in waste burning. It is now able to « cleanse » the
smoke before releasing it, thus making biomass the cleanest, most reliable and
least troublesome power-production method for urban areas.
Alstom and wind
energy
Alstom has taken the lead on harnessing wind energy. This market is the
one that is the most poorly exploited so far, at about 2.5% of its 50 000 TW/h
potential (about 1/3 of the current world consumption). Despite occasional local opposition to wind
turbines, the arguments in favor of this renewable energy tapping are numerous.
And in a gamble that the production mode would rise dramatically in coming
years and decades, Alstom has developed
the most advanced wind-power solutions. The three main Achille's heels of wind
turbines are robustness, maintenance and efficiency. With a hefty initial investment, the last
thing a client wants is for the device to collapse or break down (on land or,
even worse, at sea). Alstom has designed its towers in such a way as to
separate energies, between wanted and unwanted. The wanted energy is funneled
to the turbine and rotor, whereas the unwanted stresses are directed to the
slim tower, thereby reducing general pressure on the general frame. Second, the
youth of wind-power-technology gives little feedback to engineers, who need to
calculate as accurately as possible the angles so as to avoid energy loss.
Alstom has re-engineered its rotor blades to harness 40% more than the average
offshore turbine. And finally, the engineering firm has kept from falling into
the over-complexity trap, aware that more moving parts equal more maintenance
and more breakdown chances ; so it's kept its machine simple, which
clients will surely appreciate.