Há uma enorme fábrica de energia solar sendo construída no Canadá que deve processar energia suficiente para abastecer cerca de 12.800 casas. Muito legal e tal, só que este monstro troca um impacto por outro: a vasta área de floresta derrubada para a construção dos 90 hectares da fábrica terá seu impacto ambiental nos próximos anos. Não que a Embridge Inc., que ganha a vida com petróleo e tem um enorme vazamento de óleo em Michigan na conta se importe tanto assim com o impacto. Mas de uma forma meio torta, eles estão tentando molhar os pés e experimentar esse tal setor de energia limpa, sabe, com todo esse lance do petróleo não ser um recurso renovável e tudo mais... e eles estão fazendo isso da única forma que sabem: a velha forma.
Eu realmente acho que essas empresas estão perdendo dinheiro por não investir em pesquisa para produzir energia solar a partir do uso das superfícies éxternas das áreas que já temos construídas ao invés de sair por aí desmatando e construindo novas áreas para fábricas. Na verdade, há uma boa quantidade de pesquisa sobre o assunto acontecendo atualmente no meio acadêmico.
Uma idéia: construir painéis solares no formato de telhas. Torne-os simples de conectar, talvez até mesmo sem fio, usando contato indutivo na criação de uma rede. As pessoas podem simplesmente trocar suas telhas atuais pelas novas, que terão as mesmas medidas que as tradicionais. A energia coletada pode ser usda para alimentar as áreas de uso comum dos prédios, reduzindo o consumo de energia da rede pública necessário para aquele edifício. Cada apartamento/escritório pode ter uma tomada de energia solar para carregar celulares e outros gadgets com o excedente.
Outra coisa que vejo chegando num futuro próximo: tinta que funciona como uma célula de energia solar. Pinte as áreas externas das casas, edifícios, estacionamentos com ela e você terá uma enorme rede de células, suficiente para abastecer com mais do que apenas o que as telhas acima conseguiriam fornecer.
Já existe tecnologia para transformar janelas de vidro em painéis solares. E já há uma empresa fazendo painéis solares em forma de telha. E há painéis solares flexíveis como tecido, sendo usados em tendas. Até agora, tudo que achei sobre tinta solar foi este artigo de 2005, sobre um spray de células solares plásticas sendo inventado na Universidade de Toronto e uma start-up chamada NextGen desenvolvendo um conceito de tinta muito semelhante ao citado acima, mas ainda não está à venda.
Então ao invés de construir uma nova fábrica apenas para montar painéis solares enormes, que se use toda a cidade como fábrica de energia solar. Que se faça parcerias com as pequenas start-ups e se ganhe muito dinheiro vendendo telhados, janelas, tinta para transformar os edifícios existentes, carros, barracas, ruas e qualquer superfície externa em coletora de energia solar. Sim, eu aposto que com a quantidade certa de proteção contra o atrito cotidiano dos carros o asfalto também pode ser usado para captar energia solar. Há mercado também para prestação de serviços: treinamento, técnicos, suporte, conserto e manutenção, vendas...
A propósito, existe um bom lugar sim, para construir enormes fazendas solares: áreas desérticas. Há desertos na América do Norte, América do Sul, África, Ásia e Austrália. Pessoas que investirem no desenvolvimento de células utilizando materiais locais como base (como sílica a partir da areia, por exemplo) vão se tornar tão ricas quanto os exploradores de petróleo hoje em dia. As coisas já estão acontecendo rapidamente em lugares como Israel e Califórnia.
***Os links para os artigos, em inglês, estão no post em inglês ;)
segunda-feira, outubro 25, 2010
Thinking about solar power
So, there's a huge solar factory being built in Canada that shall process enough energy to power an average of 12.800 houses. Nice, but this monster changes one impact to other: the vast area of forest that went down to build the 90 acres of factory will have its environmental impact in the years to come. Not that Embridge Inc., that deals with petroleum and has a huge leak of oil in Michigan to already account for, cares. In a (odd) way, they are trying to wet their feet in the clean energy business, what with petroleum not being a renewable resource and all and they're doing it the only way they know how to: the old way.
I still think that companies are losing money by not investing in research to harness solar energy from simple surfaces we already have built, instead of going about building factories. In fact, there's ALREADY good research been done about this subject in the academic world.
Here's one idea: build solar panels in the format of roof tiles. Make them simple to conect, maybe even wirelessly, with inductive contact, creating a grid. People can just change their existing roof tiles to the new tiles that will have the same measurements the traditional ones have. The collected energy can power common areas and reduce the public energy needed by that building. Every room in the building can have a solar powered socket to charge cellphones and other little gadgets with the surplus.
Another thing that I see coming in the near future: create paint that functions as solar cells. Paint the external areas of houses, buildings, parking lots with it and you'll have a huge grid of cells, enough to power more than just what the tiles above could collect.
There's already technology to transform glass windows in solar panels. And there's already a company doing the solar panels in the form of roof tiles. And here's flexible solar sheets being used to form a tent. So far all I found about solar paint was this article from 2005 about spray-on plastic solar cells being invented in the University of Toronto and a start up called NextGen developing paint that works prety much as I stated above, still not in the market.
So, don't build a new facility just to spread big solar panels, use the entire city as a facility. Partner with those small start ups and make lots of money selling the roof, windows, paint to make existing buildings, cars, tents, streets, any exposed surface solar powered. Yep, I bet that with the right amount of protection from everyday atrict asfalt too can be used to collect solar energy. There's market for services too: training, technicians, support, repair, sales...
I think that there IS a good place to build huge solar farms, by the way: desertic areas. There are deserts in North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. People that invest in developing cells using local materials as basis (like silica from sand, for example) will become as rich as the petroleum explorers today. Things are happening fast in places like Israel and California.
I still think that companies are losing money by not investing in research to harness solar energy from simple surfaces we already have built, instead of going about building factories. In fact, there's ALREADY good research been done about this subject in the academic world.
Here's one idea: build solar panels in the format of roof tiles. Make them simple to conect, maybe even wirelessly, with inductive contact, creating a grid. People can just change their existing roof tiles to the new tiles that will have the same measurements the traditional ones have. The collected energy can power common areas and reduce the public energy needed by that building. Every room in the building can have a solar powered socket to charge cellphones and other little gadgets with the surplus.
Another thing that I see coming in the near future: create paint that functions as solar cells. Paint the external areas of houses, buildings, parking lots with it and you'll have a huge grid of cells, enough to power more than just what the tiles above could collect.
There's already technology to transform glass windows in solar panels. And there's already a company doing the solar panels in the form of roof tiles. And here's flexible solar sheets being used to form a tent. So far all I found about solar paint was this article from 2005 about spray-on plastic solar cells being invented in the University of Toronto and a start up called NextGen developing paint that works prety much as I stated above, still not in the market.
So, don't build a new facility just to spread big solar panels, use the entire city as a facility. Partner with those small start ups and make lots of money selling the roof, windows, paint to make existing buildings, cars, tents, streets, any exposed surface solar powered. Yep, I bet that with the right amount of protection from everyday atrict asfalt too can be used to collect solar energy. There's market for services too: training, technicians, support, repair, sales...
I think that there IS a good place to build huge solar farms, by the way: desertic areas. There are deserts in North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. People that invest in developing cells using local materials as basis (like silica from sand, for example) will become as rich as the petroleum explorers today. Things are happening fast in places like Israel and California.
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