Thursday, September 12, 2002

al hammond's "Serving the Poor, Profitably" has just been published in the Harvard Business Review, and an alternative treatment of the same material is available at http://www.digitaldividend.org/knwldge_bank/knwldge_bank_01.htm 4:08:57 PM    comment []

New Book From Rocky Mountain Institute Foretells Revolution in Electric Power Industry: "Sep 03, 2002 -- A new book called Small Is Profitable: The Hidden Economic Benefits of Making Electrical Resources the Right Size", released today by Rocky Mountain Institute, describes 207 ways in which the size of "electrical resources"-devices that make, save, or store electricity-affects their economic value. It finds that properly considering the economic benefits of "distributed" (decentralized) electrical resources typically raises their value by a large factor, often as much as tenfold. These gains are realized through improved system planning, utility construction and operation, and service quality, and by avoiding societal costs." The executive summary is online. 4:04:19 PM    comment []

Biography: Al Hammond is Chief Information Officer and Senior Scientist at World Resources Institute. His responsibilities include institute-wide leadership for new analytic approaches and for WRI's Communications 2000 effort; he also directs the Strategic Indicator Research Initiative and writes and does research on long-term sustainability issues. Dr. Hammond is an accomplished scientist and science journalist whose experience includes serving as founder and editor of Science 80-Science 86 magazine for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, founding editor of the National Academy of Sciences' Issues in Science and Technology, and research news editor of Science. In addition, he was a broadcaster for CBS radio and is the author or editor of 9 books and numerous scientific publications. He has won a number of national magazine awards and other journalistic honors. Dr. Hammond has served as a consultant to the White House science office, to several U.S. federal agencies, and to the United Nations. He has degrees from Stanford (in engineering) and Harvard (in applied mathematics). 4:03:47 PM    comment []

http://www.acumenfund.org/Acumen/Portal/article/POCShwArtc.asp?ID=24&;IDType=AN (btw, I met an officer of Acumen this year, they have a very interesting investment approach.)   Hammond developed the site http://www.digitaldividend.org/ that has hundreds of case histories of innovative ICT enterprises.    In September, the HBR will have a piece by him "Serving the Poor, Profitably", http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=R0209C.  The digital dividend site promises to have a version online at that time.   A simple radio commentary version of the ideas is at http://www.digitaldividend.org/press_center/press_center_01_npr.htm   Finally, his spring 2001 Foreign Affairs article, "Digitally Empowered Development" is summarized at  http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20010301faessay4265/allen-l-hammond/digitally-empowered-development.html 4:03:25 PM    comment []

China breathes life into Kyoto:  In ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, China.. introduces a major player to the as yet nascent global market for carbon credit. China by virtue of its size adds massive liquidity to the system .. Projects carried out under the mechanism will benefit from an additional revenue stream derived from their emission reductions. Hong Kong is certainly in a position to benefit .. Hong Kong companies, can bring skills and experience with clean energy technologies. Many greenhouse gas emission reduction measures also reduce local pollutant emissions. .. This creates potential win-win opportunities in the Pearl River Delta and southern China, which business and governments in Hong Kong and Guangdong should pursue vigorously. .. Companies experienced in doing business in China will fare best, as they tap into China's virtually unlimited supply of carbon credits. .. The most obvious projects to focus on are those that require initial capital investment, and deliver savings that pay back the capital even without revenue from emission reductions. Typically these are process-redesign or energy efficiency projects. Decisions from the recently formed Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board confirm that such projects will qualify under its structure.  Projects using methane from landfill gases or coal mine methane are most likely to be targeted due to the damaging greenhouse effect of the gas. Fuel conversion projects are also likely to be targeted. The caps on Annex I countries apply to emissions for the period 2008-2012. But the accord provides for Clean Development Mechanism projects in place since January 1, 2000, to save or bank Certified Emission Reductions against Annex I emission caps for 2008. The strongest demand for emission reductions from China is likely to come from Japanese companies. Japan needs millions of tonnes of reductions, and with its energy sector profile would face extremely high costs to achieve these reductions. Japan recently announced a programme to investigate clean development mechanism projects across Asia. It is keen to be ahead of the field in the race to find the lowest cost opportunities to offset emissions.   8:59:19 AM     Prototype Carbon Fund Increase In Capital: "The increase of $35 m was announced at the PCF annual meeting in Zakopane, Poland. This brings the total fund capital to $180 m, almost twice the amount originally projected, extending the PCF's carbon emissions reduction reach in the developing world. 'There was so much enthusiasm, that more capital was offered than could be absorbed, forcing the Fund to resort to an allocation system among the contributors. These companies see the PCF as a powerful tool for carbon emissions reductions as the world copes with the threat of imminent and destructive climate change,' said Ken Newcombe, the Prototype Carbon Fund Manager. "  9:29:04 AM     The Pew Center on Global Climate Change has summarized progress on emissions trading.  "Most trades involving a commodity defined not by governments but by the trade’s participants and known as verified emissions reductions (VERs). Governments may allow them to be applied against future emissions reduction requirements, but there are no guarantees. The [Pew] authors estimate that 'approximately 65 greenhouse gas trades for quantities above 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) have occurred worldwide since 1996.'  This figure includes trades of actual emissions reductions as well as financial derivatives based on reductions.  Prices for VERs have ranged between $.60 and $3.50 per metric ton of CO2e."  However, there are no established international standards to define VERs; they are still under development and negotiation.  8:45:41 AM     Revised figures show that China cut its greenhouse emissions by 7.3 percent between 1996 and 2000, according to a study published in Science. China's fossil fuel emissions declined by 8.8 percent compared to increases in Western Europe (4.5 percent from 1995 to 1999) and the US (6.3 percent). Better policies were credited. At the same time, China's reversal of past forest clearing activities and recent promotion of reforestation also have increased the net absorption of carbon dioxide.   12:05:32 AM 4:02:50 PM    comment []

PVPortal is a revamped portal site produced by a Dutch consulting company, with extensive listings of companies in the field in both developed and developing countries.  It has a page listing the cheapest PV modules for sale on the Internet. Currently, it's $3/watt; according to the Wayback machine, the price was $3.50 all through 2001.  12:04:15 AM     Making Electricity Directly from Sunlight: Summary of the market niches that PV fills.  Factoids:  "About 2.5 million families in the developing world use solar electricity in the home. .. Building with photovoltaics changes the calculation of the technology's economics as the application does not compete against the cost of utility power but contends with the price of other building material. Marble or granite, for example, cost more and yet neither can produce one watt of electricity. "  5:37:55 PM     BP Statistical Reviews of World energy and US energy 2002: "BP has published this review annually as a public service since 1951 and this publication has been updated with 2001 data throughout. "  A new section has been added on renewables with a nice chart of PV price and volumes.  The downloads include some powerpoint slides.  Further digging finds an interesting corporate strategy powerpoint with a slide estimating declining world oil production by 2015.  1:04:52 AM     Indian villages tapping solar power to cope with India's erratic power grid: "Winrock says about 800,000 solar systems now generate a total of 65 megawatts of electricity in India. In addition, there are 360,000 lanterns, 160,000 home-lighting systems and 43,000 street lights powered by the sun, and Indians use 597,000 solar stoves, saving millions of cylinders worth of gas. Jami Hossain, a solar expert at Winrock, said prices have plummeted for solar technology over the last 20 years." Figures from India's Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) are somewhat higher (85 MW), of which 15% are for telecom applications.  Annual production of 20 MW of PV cells are anticipated in 2001-2002.  (Photos available.)  9:17:27 PM      Sales of Solar Cells Take Off: Solar cell production has averaged 35% annual growth for the last five years with 2002 on the same track.  2001 saw 375 MW built, for a total of 1800 MW installed. "More than a million homes worldwide, mainly in villages in developing countries, now get their electricity from solar cells.. Solar cells currently cost around $3.50 per watt for crystalline cells, and $2 per watt for thin-film wafers, which are less efficient but can be integrated into building materials. Industry analysts note that between 1976 and 2000, each doubling of cumulative production resulted in a price drop of 20 percent. "  35% annual growth translates to cumulative doubling every 2.5 years, or halving costs every 8 years.  4:26:56 PM     4:00:16 PM    comment []

ApproTEC is always searching for new profitable small business models for Africa, and as we find them we will continue to develop and promote the required new technologies. Although only thorough market research will tell, we see the potential for many new small business models including everything from; low-cost well drilling or improved milk transport services, to the generation and sale of electricity or the low-cost provision of communication and business services in small towns. 3:51:55 PM    comment []

The Technologies Since 1991 ApproTEC has developed and promoted new technologies that are being used by thousands of entrepreneurs in East Africa to establish profitable small-scale businesses. All the new technologies are designed to be profitable to use, affordable to buy (well under $1,000), easy to operate with minimum training, durable and easy to maintain, and because electricity and fuel are generally expensive and labour is cheap, most are manually operated. They are also designed so that with the right tooling they can be locally mass-produced in Africa. The technologies developed by ApproTEC to date include: Micro-Irrigation Technologies: Small-scale commercial farming can be a very profitable business in Africa -but it is difficult without irrigation. Since 1996 ApproTEC has been the leader in micro-irrigation technologies through the development and sales of its popularly known series of manually operated "MoneyMaker" pumps. ApproTEC is adding new pumps to the MoneyMaker line and continues to develop other money making micro-irrigation technologies. 3:50:36 PM    comment []

Solar-Fabrik combined solar water pump/purifier:  "The WATERpps puts small village communities is a position to produce clean drinking water themselves, from almost every type of water source and without needing a connection to a public power grid. The WATERpps purifies the water by microfiltration, thus rendering chemicals unnecessary. [It can] purify groundwater, but also surface water, cistern water and even severely contaminated brackish water to drinking water compliant with WHO standards. The WATERpps has sufficient capacity to supply up to 50 people. The energy needed for this is generated entirely from the sun’s rays: Two photovoltaic modules produce enough power to pump the water from a depth of up to 60 metres."   11:51:09 AM     Innovative desalination processes: One solar, one membrane-based, for converting sea water to drinking water.  11:32:53 PM     Polymer Membranes Filter out the Small Molecules:  Nanocomposite membranes could prove useful in seawater desalination, environmental cleanup and other tasks involving molecular separations. These separations are most often accomplished today using energy- and capital-intensive technologies such as distillation, absorption and adsorption  10:38:45 PM     India's Haryana state will install solar water pumps -- 200 solar pumps of 1,800 watt photovoltaic panel at a cost of Rs 9 crore for the purpose of pumping water in view of the growing demand for electricity as well as to reduce the usage of diesel in the agriculture sector.  12:33:03 AM     A solar power unit that can be carried in a backpack is available from Solardyne. It contains a folding monocrystalline solar panel, battery, controller, plugs, cords and light. It weighs 24 pounds, provides 120 watt-hours of power a day, powers AC and DC electronics up to 300 watts. It can be used in recreational vehicles as well as for field research, emergency home power, disaster relief and international aid, and sterilizing water with a UV light. After charging for six hours with the unit's solar photovoltaic panel, the Solar Power Pack can run a laptop computer for three hours or its own high-efficiency light for 14 hours. It sells for $549. The solar panel is designed to last 20 years. The battery lasts for 600 charge cycles, which equals about two years if the system is used daily. Once spent, the battery can be replaced and recycled.   12:00:03 AM  3:48:37 PM    comment []

Denmark Proposes to Replace Water Supply Pumpsets in Karnataka: "Denmark has proposed replacing 3 million rural water supply pumpsets in Karnataka with energy efficient and cost-effective [Grundfos] solar powered pumps.. [Grundfos] has invested in a service-cum-training Centre and warehouse complex in Chennai, and plans a $12m factory for early 2003.  "Already, over 800 pumps have been sold to hotels, hospitals and large industries across India", Ranganath said. A full-fledged manufacturing plant would come up in Chennai by 2004. "  9:32:56 PM  3:46:23 PM    comment []

Ashok Gadgil: of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. "UV Waterworks is a portable, low-cost, low-maintenance, energy-efficient water purifier that utilizes ultra-violet light to render viruses and bacteria harmless."  DOE Trials have been conducted in the Philippines and Mexico in 2000.  Gadgil is a Pew Fellow;  His background is primarily in energy efficiency, and this device is no exception.  "As the water flows past at a rate of 15 liters per minute, the lamp's radiation deadens the DNA of any bacteria, viruses or molds. Water infested with as much as 1,000,000 E. Coli bacteria per liter leaves the system completely clean. "  WaterHealth International, Inc. is a Napa company doing some commercialization of the technology, including wind or solar power.  9:53:00 AM    comment []

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