#Off-grid solar is the next big market in clean energy Off-grid solar The off-grid clean energy market is booming.
Sub-saharan africa is seeing#300 percent#compound annual growth in off-grid lighting; Bangladesh is putting up#30,000 to 40,000#solar home systems every month;
and#d. light, a for-profit seller of solar lights, recently reached its1 millionth customer. Video)##If these numbers haven t raised the attention of institutional investors,
perhaps this will: half the planet s population may be served best with pay-as-you-go solar technology, not grid services.
That s clean tech s next big frontier, according to energy expert Ted Hesser. I caught up with him after a recent presentation at Stanford university (video below) to get a better understanding of why he s bullish on pay-as-you-go solar s ability to end energy poverty
##and to make investors a whole lot of money. Ted s thesis is simple: poverty and profit tend not to mix##except
when it comes to solar power for the poor. The best way to understand this is to consider the case of a villager in Tanzania.
Let s say she lives in a community where there is no grid, but she has a mobile phone
or other device and really wants to keep it charged. So she opts for a small home solar system to cover basic needs like mobile charging.
Due to a combination of new found purchasing power, declining solar system costs, increasing kerosene costs, and advances in solar services business models,
she can pay that system off in one to three years. Compare that to a person living in the Northeast U s,
. where a homeowner could require a fifteen-to twenty-year payback, and you can see just how compelling the economics are for this market.
But here s Ted s most important point: solar is actually cheaper than the alternative (kerosene plus phone-charging) when financed.
That s because close to 1 billion people have risen above the poverty line over the past twenty years,
with an estimated 3 billion people now earning between $2 and $10 a day. That money is spent currently on costly
and polluting energy sources like kerosene (or even worse, candles). Selling cheap basic services like solar electricity into this market through#micropayment schemes#is
what makes pay-as-you-go solar not only economically viable, but perhaps the largest opportunity in energy services worldwide.
After all,#small is big. But just because the alternative is expensive, that doesn t make solar an automatic solution.
That s because people still need financing to cover the upfront costs. That s where business model and financial innovation comes in.
From mobile money to scratch cards, pay-as-you-go solar service models are unlocking this market
just as third-party ownership did for residential and commercial solar in the U s. Another enabling factor is the use of mobile money:
money loaded onto cell phones that the poor can use to pay for services like energy.
It s enabled by machine-to-machine technology#that gives customers flexibility in how and where they pay.
Mobile money platforms are still nascent, but#M-Pesa in Kenya#has enabled already over 15 million people to access the financial system, accounting for $12. 3 billion in transactions.
An exciting example of this model in practice ism-KOPA, #which uses mobile money to enable solar home system financing for solar lighting products.
Clearly, mobile phones are important to this story. In 1998 mobile phone penetration in developing countries was just 1 percent.
Today, roughly 75 percent of global mobile connections originate in emerging markets. Going forward, four out of every five new mobile connections will come from the developing world,
where reliable grid access is scarce. For much of the world s poor, access to mobile networks has surpassed access to#energy,
water and even basic sanitation#leaving an estimated 550 million people with phones who can t even charge them on a regular basis.
So if all these factors are aligned, why isn t more being done? The answer boils down to finance.
Right now, the space is cash-starved and entrepreneurs are spending the vast majority of their time cobbling together financing,
rather than serving their customers. To rectify the situation, a large group of entrepreneurs is calling for a#$500 million fund from the World bank#for these small-scale projects.
Solving the finance problem is the top priority. Ted Hesser believes the problem is a mislabeling of the space.
He doesn t call it##impact investing##or##social entrepreneurial activity###instead, he sees it as a pure profit play.
Once investors realize the opportunity and develop the viable business models to harness it, the money will flow more readily into this vital market.
The only question is which investor will be smart enough to move first. For more on this topic, listen to#last week s episode#of the Energy Gang podcast.
Or you can watch Ted Hesser s presentation here: http://www. vimeo. com/76662317 Photo credit:
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#Internet of things will be the biggest business in the history of electronics Imagine a world filled with hyperlinked smart objects that are constantly interacting over a network to improve user experience IRL.
The Internet of things is perhaps the buzzwordiest buzzword in all of the tech sector right now, as it promises to produce a sleek, futuristic,
friction-free##and lucrative##environment for all of us to live and consume products in. Which is probably why#it s relentlessly being heralded as the next big thing in consumer electronics:
Recent projections from some of the industry s biggest players say the Iot could be a#$15 trillion market#in just six years.##
##Those projections don t come from high-minded futurists, but the companies that hope to cash in on the hyper-connected boom##Cisco
and GE are both evangelizing the internet of things and gearing up for it. They need two things, primarily:
A hungry public, and literally trillions of sensors. Which is why Janusz Bryzek, an executive at Fairchild,
#apparently organized the Trillion Sensor Summit, which took place in Palo alto recently. The event was attended by 200 executives from around the globe.
According to the electronics trade publication#The EE Times, Bryzek###wants to create a consortium of companies
and governments that develops a road map and pools funding to drive towards a market of trillion sensors.##
##Again, that s not as crazy as it sounds. A trillion sensors##in this case, specifically#electronics that can send signals back and forth over the network,
allowing, for instance, a consumer to control his TV, house lights, and AC unit from a smartphone#or augmented reality devices like Glass##isn t actually all that far off.
There are already about 3. 5 billion sensors#out there##up from just 10 million in 2007.
In the last six years, we ve gone from 10 million sensors##in things like the Nintendo Wii and iphones##to 3. 5 billion.#
#They re just not networked as well as they could be, yet. According to#Cisco s Connection Counter, there are approximately 10,700, 000,000##people, processes, data,
and things##currently connected to the internet. The internet of things is comprised already of 10 billion moving parts.
To make it all work in a concerted fashion, to meaningfully corral all that data, we d just need more sensors.
Those sensors can cost less than $1 and consume almost no energy##it s all about mass manufacturing and deployment.
That s why Bryzek is shooting for one trillion by 2020. It s part of the Summit s#roadmap
which imagines a world filled with 100 trillion sensors just past 2030. There are, of course, myriad concerns lurking in this grand new internet of stuff.
We now know how easy it is for organizations like the NSA to peer into our emails and#location data.
A hyper-connected world#ups the opportunities for data collection, big time, and for hacking, too.
Sensors will no doubt be employed to bombard us with tailored advertisements as we pass node points in public, like restaurants, theaters, shops.#
#And it could get even more intrusive: the Iot also enables more acute exploitation of biometric tech,
like#RFID chips that users carry with them on their persons;##some schools already require students wear them as bracelets that sensors can pick up to#deter truancy.
The Iot could improve our lives in numerous ways##making life more convenient, efficient, and sustainable.#
#But there are#unintended consequences latent in every promising new technological boom, and it s worth thinking about what a world with 100 trillion sensors will actually look like#before our corporate overlords make the call for us.##
##This could be the biggest business in the history of electronics, ##Bryzek said. Via Motherboard Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorat o
#Since monitoring emails and phone calls wasn t enough, NSA now plans to watch you with super tiny drones Black Hornet Flying insects have one huge advantage over humans:
the gift of enhanced mobility. Insects are small and nimble enough to get into almost any tight space,
so it makes sense to create a#similarly sized drone#for stealth military missions.####Clocking in at a tiny eight-inches long and 2. 1 ounces light,
the PD-100 Black Hornet, was previously a mere#prototype back in 2009, developed by Norwegian company Prox Dynamics AS.
It has already been put to work by British infantrymen in Afghanistan, scouting possible routes for enemy ambushes or secretively flying over enemy compound walls for a look inside.
The pocket-sized drones, which were unveiled at the Association of the U s army Expo for the first time last week,
are meant for a soldier s personal use, not unlike a walkie talkie, and is similarly easy to operate.
Using GPS waypoints to a designated target, the Black Hornet can fly a full 20-25 minutes before needing to recharge,
meaning the#drone#can travel nearly 4, 000 feet in one go. Images and camera feed are sent to a seven-inch wide mobile device supplied in the PD 100 kit,
which also includes a docking recharging station and a remote controller. The drone is pretty near invisible at 30 feet high,
making it perfect for quick bouts of stealth surveillance. Since the Black Hornet isn t equipped with infrared abilities
it s most suited for full daytime reconnaissance missions. The U s army has purchased two Black Hornets, most likely for testing,
while The british military already has 324 of the tiny spies waiting in the wings. In the meantime, Prox Dynamics AS is currently working on adding additional sensors
and tweaking the drone for the ultimate stealth insect. Now I just need to get a hold of one to spy on my teenage sister
when she sneaks out of the house! Via Dvice Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorat l
#Driverless cars to be launched on UK streets by 2015 ULTRA PRT#transport pod. Chances are if you have been to London s Heathrow Airport you have caught probably a glimpse of something called an ULTRA PRT#transport pod.
These driverless pods have been shuttling travelers from terminal to terminal at the massive airport sonce 2011.
That s all well and good, but now these driverless robo-cars are breaking free of their confines
and heading out into the city streets. Video)##The city of Milton Keynes lies just to the north of London.
Over 200,000 folks call the place home, meaning that the streets can get a tad congested from time to time.
But thanks to a new fleet of pod cars, that might just be about to change. The first few units will be deployed as early as 2015.
By 2017, Milton Keynes is expected to have 100 of the futuristic,#driverless vehicles. Pedestrians wanting a lift to the shopping center,
the train station or even their downtown office will be able to hail a pod by way of a simple smartphone app.
Fares will be set at#2 or just about $3. 15. Like their#Heathrow#counterparts, the Milton Keynes pod cars will run on electricity,
returning to their charging stations between fares. The pod cars are planned to run along the streets of Milton Keynes for five years as part of a pilot program.
Laying special lanes for the pods and building their charging stations is estimated to cost nearly $105 million.
That s a lot of $3 fares. But if all goes well for the folks of Milton Keynes, maybe driverless,
smartphone-hailed pod cars will someday grace the streets of cities all across the world.
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#3d printed meat may be coming sooner than you think Modern Meadow is developing technology to provide instant meat.
You have probably read about the##Googleburger, ##so named because Google s founder Sergey Brin bankrolled it.
have heard you of Modern Meadow, though? Modern Meadow is developing the technology that will someday in the distant future provide the meat counterpart of instant coffee:#
#instant beef!##For now, it is focusing on synthetic meat made with 3d printers.####Artificial food seems to have a particular attraction for young tech barons,
for one of Modern Meadow s main backers is#Facebook s Peter Thiel. Though Modern Meadow is not a publicly traded company,
it makes sense to take a look because, according to Entrepreneur. com, it is the##model for the farm of the future,
##and leather buyers/consumers have expressed already an interest in its prototyped 3d printed leather products. Though Lux Research gives it a##Wait
and See##rating, it also says that this leading-edge company is##a front runner in the field of consumer cell-based materials.##
##Background of artificial meatmodern Meadow was founded by Forgacs#pere et fils, who already have a somewhat similar venture, Organovo, to their credit.
This June#Businessweek#did a fairly comprehensive story on the company. The#BBC#has covered also the company with a more scientific and technological approach.
A few months back, Professor Mark Post in Maastricht cultured and grew beef muscle cells from which that##Googleburger##was made.#
#The Economist#did a story on that event of a kind. A cursory look, including a view from PETA,
##Professor Post said. That#Economist#story also mentions that the##world s appetite for meat is forecast to rise by 70%by 2050.
Nearly a third of the world s ice-free land is used already to raise livestock or grow fodder for these animals.##
##On which note, Malthusians may ask:####How will anticipated the food shortfall be made up?#####One possible (and grossly revolting) solution was tabled in the Sci-fi classic#Soylent Green.
Suddenly, 3d printed beef doesn t sound too bad!##Indeed, synthetic meat was foreseen decades back by visionaries like Aldous Huxley in#Brave New world#and Robert Heinlein instranger in a Strange Land.
but you can find companies that are profiting from our increasingly global economy, and they re doing it in your own backyard.
The Motley Fool s free report##3 American Companies Set to Dominate the World##shows you how to profit.#
#Click here#to get your free copy before it s gone. Via The Motley Fool Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorat
#Replacing batteries with super capacitors: Volvo s quest to create the ultimate electric vehicle The battery is the biggest limitation for electric vehicles (EV.#
#Tesla, General motors, Nissan and others install heavy batteries that limit vehicle range and performance. The batteries take up as much as 15%of the vehicle s total weight.##
##So Swedish automobile maker,#Volvo#(now owned by China s#Geely Holding#Group) decided to dispense with the battery entirely,
substituting a super capacitor made from advanced carbon fiber-based nanomaterials that can be integrated into the body panels of the vehicle.
Volvo has chosen the S80 model to demonstrate this concept. The vehicles side body, doors, hood
and roof panels are made of nanomaterial (see image below) that replaces the electric batteries used by conventional EVS.
The vehicle plugs in to initially charge and then recharges the supercapacitor panels during braking.
A single body panel like the hood can easily supply all the energy needed to run the vehicle s internal electronics.
Additional panels can power the drive train. Volvo has yet to get beyond building a few of the panels
but it is encouraged by early tests which show that the material stores energy much faster than conventional batteries.
It also delivers its charge faster. Integrating power storage into body panels is not a new idea.
The#Lola B12 69/E, an electric racing car that recently set a land speed record for EVS of 328 kilometers (204 miles per hour,
incorporates super capacitors and a fully-integrated drive train within the body of the vehicle.
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#The 3d printer that can print a 2, 500 square foot house in 20 hours Contour crafting.
There have been huge advancements in 3d printing.##We have seen 3d printed oversized wrenches that measure 1. 2 meters in length.
Now. we can print an entire 2, 500 square foot house in 20 hours. Video)##In the TED Talk video below, Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC), demonstrates automated construction,
using 3d printers to build an entire house in 20 hours. In manufacturing we use a process called CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing.
3d models are designed on a computer and then manufactured using CNC Machines or 3d printers. The design is manufactured into a physical object automatically, with instruction from 3d computer model to physical object without human interface.
Automated construction basically scales up this process. The size of the 3d printer is large enough to construct walls by depositing concrete based material layer upon layer to build a Wall in this video,
we see a prototype of a machine called#Contour Crafting. Via industry tap Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorati swfobject. embedswf (http://www. youtube. com/v/Jdbjp8gxqog&
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#Japanese inventor finds solution to global trash problem by converting plastic to oil This Youtube video about the invention of a plastic-to-oil converting machine went viral
and exceeded 3. 7 million views. This shows that concern over##the plastic problem##is certainly not going away,
despite encouraging bans on and decreases in the use#of plastic shopping bags.####Here on Our World, on the video s#Youtube#page and those of re-posters too,
as well as on the hot#Reddit Science#link, the topic has generated much interest and debate amongst commenters.
Many think that this type of recycling is not a solution, but that instead the world should be focused seriously on the first##R
###which is reduce. We should shun single-use plastic (such as your average PET bottle or disposable container) altogether,
they argue. The world s oil resources are diminishing; does technology like this enable our denial of that fact,
or is it a hopeful and constructive step in the right direction? Others have concerns about pollution or toxic residue from the conversion process.
Blest tells us that, if the proper materials are fed into the machine (i e.,, polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene##PP, PE,#PS plastics), there is no toxic substance produced
and any residue can be disposed of with regular burnable garbage. They also explain that while methane, ethane,
propane and butane gasses are released in the process, the machine is equipped with an off-gas filter that disintegrates these gases into water and carbon.
Lastly, commentators from around the world are anxious to know if and where they can purchase a machine.
and lets loose extremely negative environmental impacts. Typically made from petroleum, it is estimated that 7%of the#world s annual oil production#is used to produce
Plastic s carbon footprint includes landfilling and incineration, since sadly, its recycle rate is dismally low around the globe.
Tons of plastic from the US and Japan are#floating in the Pacific ocean killing mammals and birds.
Thankfully, there are those who fully appreciate that plastic has a higher energy value than anything else commonly found in the waste stream.
that leaves 28%of plastic to be buried in landfills or burned. According to Plastic Waste management Institute#data,##effective utilization##includes not just the 20%that is actually recycled,
but also 52%that is being incinerated for##energy recovery##purposes, i e.,, generating heat or electric power.####If we burn the plastic,
we generate toxins and a large amount of CO2. If we convert it into oil, we save CO2
and at the same time increase people s awareness about the value of plastic garbage,##says Akinori Ito, CEO of Blest.
Blest s conversion technology is very safe because it uses a temperature controlling electric heater rather than flame.
The machines are able to process polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene but not PET bottles. The result is a crude gas that can fuel things like generators or stoves and,
when refined, can even be pumped into a car, a boat or motorbike. One kilogram of plastic produces almost one liter of oil.
To convert that amount takes about 1 kwh of electricity, which is approximately#20 or 20 cents worth.
The company makes the machines in various sizes and has 60 in place at farms, fisheries and small factories in Japan and several abroad.##
##To make a machine that anyone can use is my dream, ##Ito says.####The home is the oil field of the future.##
##Perhaps that statement is not as crazy as it sounds, since the makeup of Japanese household waste has been#found to contain#over 30%plastic, most of it from packaging.
Continually honing their technology, the company is now able to sell the machines for less than before,
and the price is now#1, 06o,000 (around US$12, 700) without tax. Changing how we think
and schools to teach people about recycling culture and the value of discarded plastic, spreading the Japanese concept ofmottainai,
the idea that waste is sad and regrettable. In such remote places, the machine also serves as a practical solution to the plastic problem, much of it left behind by tourists:
##Plastic s carbon footprint includes landfilling and incineration, since sadly, its recycle rate is dismally low around the globe.##
###Teaching this at schools is the most important work that I do, ##Ito reflects. In Japan too, he visits schools where he shows children,
teachers and parents how to convert the packaging and drinking straws leftover from lunch. If we were to use only the world s plastic waste rather than oil from oil fields,
CO2 EMISSIONS could be slashed dramatically, he says.####It s a waste isn t it?####Ito asks.##
##This plastic is every where in the world, and everyone throws it away.####A mountain to climb down The wonderful invention of plastics has spawned a huge problem that we are struggling to solve.
With peak oil looming, things are set to change, but we find ourselves on top of an oil and plastic mountain,
and the only way forward is down. So while many solutions like this are not without hiccups or#detractors,
they are a step forward in coming to terms with our oil and plastics dependence and help raise awareness of the carbon footprint of its production and use.
Somehow we all know that plastics is a habit we need to kick. But that doesn t seem to make it any easier.
Perhaps the best thing you can do is to look more deeply into this issue.
A good place to start Is addicted the 2008 to Plastic#documentary from Cryptic Moth productions.
According to the blurb,##the film details plastic s path over the last 100 years and provides a wealth of expert interviews on practical and cutting edge solutions to recycling, toxicity and biodegradability.##
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#Electric power without transmission lines Hundreds of companies are investing in electricity transferred through magnetic fields. Nikola Tesla, the inventor and rival to Thomas Edison, in the early 1900##s built the Wardenclyffe Tower, a 187-foot-high structure on Long island,
which he said could transmit electricity wirelessly. Financier J. Morgan backed the Wardenclyffe Tower. The project failed,
and Tesla ended up broke. In an earlier experiment in Colorado, Tesla had lit wirelessly up 200 lamps over a distance of 25 miles,
but pedestrians witnessed sparks jumping between their feet and the ground, and electricity flowed from faucets when turned on.
Oops.####Fast-forward over a century, and wireless electricity is finally gaining some traction. More than one hundred companies including startups such as Witricity and Proxybypower and giants such as Toyota (TM), Intel (INTC), Samsung,
and Foxconn are investing in the technology. The challenge: to take the wires out of the power equation by transmitting electricity through magnetic fields.
When in the atmosphere, electricity exists as a magnetic field. The trick is to capture it safely to recharge devices.
Today s electric toothbrushes charge wirelessly##as power is transmitted through a magnetic field from the charger to the brush.
You can already buy wireless recharging pads: Place your cellphone on a pad that s plugged into the wall,
and it will recharge. These pads, however, have their limitations##the cellphone has to be in the right position,
and it can take a long time. A New zealand company called Powerbyproxy has demonstrated a system where you can put multiple cellphones on a pad in any position,
and it will charge the devices as fast as a traditional charger. Samsung last month invested $4 million in the company.
The next step: charging without being tied so to a pad. That s the technology a Watertown, Mass.
company named Witricity is developing. Based on work done at MIT, the technology##on which the company holds exclusive patents##uses magnetic resonance to move power through the air
##which means electricity can be moved farther distances without a wire. The way it works: Two devices resonate at the same frequency
so that the magnetic waves can travel very precisely from one point to another. Plug a resonator into a wall outlet,
and a device installed on a cellphone or an electric car receives the power and starts recharging.
Witricity says its system can move an impressive 3, 300 watts##enough to charge an electric car##with little efficiency loss.
Says Eric Giler, the CEO of Witricity:####We all love electricity and are willing to do almost anything to get it.
It will be the last thing to go wireless, but it will go wireless.####Is the process safe?
Because electricity moves through the air as magnetic waves that are similar to the earth s magnetic waves,
it poses no harm to humans, says Giler. The FCC has set limits for magnetic fields,
and Witricity claims its devices fall well below that threshold. The industry, however, will still face a tough time educating
and persuading consumers that these devices are safe. In recent weeks, Intel and Hon hai/Foxconn, seeing wireless charging as a possible killer app for electronic devices such as laptops
and cellphones, invested in Witricity. Schlumberger, which is interested in cutting the number of wires in its oil rigs to save maintenance costs
was an early investor, as was Toyota, which is reported to have plans to test a wireless charging station for plug-in cars.
The technology has applications outside the consumer sphere as well. Witricity is working with the Pentagon to wirelessly charge those robots that disarm bombs.
When soldiers try to plug in the robots for recharging, they sometimes get shot by snipers.
Doing it wirelessly would reduce the danger. In the medical world, patients with heart pumps have to have electric wires running out of their bodies,
which can cause infections. Witricity is working with heart pump maker Thoratec to create a wireless solution.
How long before this technology becomes a reality? All these applications are in the testing stage,
but Giler says that within the next couple of years many of them will be hitting the market.
Until then, where did I put that cellphone charger again? Photo credit: CBS News Via CNN Share Thissubscribedel. icio. usfacebookredditstumbleupontechnorat d
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