Energy Solutions:
Current system implemented in Galapagos:
Diesel and electric generators. Diesel is imported on tanker ships to a central terminal for Petrocomercial (a subsidiary of the government owned petroleum corporation), and then tranfered by barge to San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela. Consumption ranges from 400,000 gal/month in winter to 650,000 gal/month in the summer.
We will change this to:
Solar energy- each house will have solar panels on the roof and a personal battery to give electricity and heating/cooling to each specific house.
Biomass- for times where there is no sun available, the extra biomass energy will be converted into power for the homes and buildings.
Continue minimized petroleum use for hotels and bigger buildings that need extra energy.
Implementation Plan:
Ecuador will implement a new system of energy use in which after 5-10 years everyone must obtain a certain percentage of their household power from solar cells. The solar cells will be on a "leasing" system. Energy bills will come from the cost of leasing government provided solar cells (similar to meter system in the US- enforcement provided by local cities, they would be trained by Orgala)
More Details:
Solar:
We will implement a photovoltaic system, with solar panels mounted on all of the residential and some of the commercial structures. A photovoltaic cell works by having positive and negative panels separated by a small gap. Photons strike the top positive panel panel and dislodge electrons to the negative panel, which are conducted and used to generate wattage and electricity. Traditional solar panels are rigid and bulky, however, new technology developed by the Spheral Solar corporation uses a flexible and cheaper material. It basically combines a conducting aluminum layer with silicon spheres embedded into it, with a laminate layer over top. This design enables the cells to be as large as desired while also producing an impressive power output.
Also, the use of daylighting, which can be used when building or remodeling houses, will save a lot of energy. Building orientation, so the longest walls run from east to west, allows solar heat to enter the home in the winter, while allowing in as little sun as possible during the summer. Shading and overhangs reduce excessive summer heat. The strategy for this hot to moderate climate location is to admit light while reducing heat. Installing casement or other operable windows and adding vertical panels (wing walls) perpendicular to the wall on the windward side of the house allows for accelerated natural breeze through the interior. A thermal chimney can be used to vent hot air out of the house.
Biomass:
Biomass generation breaks down organic waste using anaerobic bacteria and produces methane. Methane, also known as natural gas, burns more efficiently than fossil fuels or coal, and can be used in power plants to generate electricity to in combustion engines to generate mechanical energy. The advantage to this system is that organic waste is broken down and it also provides a power source, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.
Other Plans:
While investigating solar power, we came across both photovoltaic cells and solar water cells. We decided to go with photovoltaic cells, but here is a short description of solar water cells. We were going to use wind power, but the amount of power generated wasn't worth the cost, monetarily and environmentally. Finally, an alternative biomass generation system is described here. The proposed systems are as follows:
Solar Water System:
We could also use solar water systems, which have 2 main parts: a solar collector and a solar tank. The "flat-plate collector" (a thin, flat, rectangular box with a transparent cover) is mounted on the roof. The sun heats an "absorber plate" which heats the fluid running through tubes within the collector. Then a pump or gravity will move the heated fluid from the collector to the storage tank.
Wind:
A 10-500 Watt personal wind turbine can be used to personally power an individual building. Building-integral wind turbines can be mounted so the building channels wind to them, to increase effective windspeed at the turbine by a factor of at least 2 and possibly 4, and the building provides a high and sheltered mounting (with no need for towers and the uneven windspeed patterns they cause to spinning blades, which causes noise and blade fatigue). It also affords practical protective grills, to safeguard people from possible blade disintegration, keep birds away from the spinning blades, and protect the turbine from weather and sun damage.
Direct combustion Biomass:
Direct combustion involves the burning of biomass in a boiler to produce steam. The pressure of the steam then turns a turbine attached to an electrical generator, which makes electricity. Biomass is the only renewable source of transportation fuels. These renewable fuels, called biofuels, produce fewer emissions than petroleum fuels. Biofuels also can help us reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels. However, converting the organic waste to methane allows for easier transport and can readily be implemented with existing technology.
Sources:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/RE/solar.html
http://www.wm.com
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets.html#bioenergy
http://www.eere.energy.gov/RE/solar.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~fradella/green.htm
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets.html#bioenergy
