Starting a business in solar energy. Feasible?

[scroobal]

Also share your observation about the involvement of Nordic chaps in this space. As I understand, they are driven very much by the lack of fossil fuels and the lack of sunshine. They have a string of enterprises in the tropical belt from Mexico to Indonesia and now Singapore ranging from drying and pelletising woodchips in the drier/warmer conditions and exporting to the Nordic states. One has to look at Ikea which turned softwood to world's biggest producer of furniture when only hardwood would do about 50 years ago. Necessity is the mother of invention.

also one thing i realize is that as far as solar and renewables are concerned, they are almost always initiated by people whose main drive is the environment, not money. i mean, i have spoken to the guys in this trade (another observation, how come most from nordic countries? maybe there's a link why they're among the happiest ppl on earth)eg the people now setting up the largest PV cells factory in the world in Tuas, entrepreneurs from Iceland and Finland, and you get the impression they really believe in saving the world. However, the americans and others i spoke to sniggers when asked about saving the world.

 

[SamuelStalin]

Is doing solar energy, solar to electric, feasible in Singapore? I see many testing bedding projects but nobody else is picking it up due to ROI. What about other environmental business?

Sunning yourself is even more feasible ~

 

[Trout]

Also share your observation about the involvement of Nordic chaps in this space. As I understand, they are driven very much by the lack of fossil fuels and the lack of sunshine. They have a string of enterprises in the tropical belt from Mexico to Indonesia and now Singapore ranging from drying and pelletising woodchips in the drier/warmer conditions and exporting to the Nordic states. One has to look at Ikea which turned softwood to world's biggest producer of furniture when only hardwood would do about 50 years ago. Necessity is the mother of invention.

Haha, oh yes, Jonny Trent from NASA AMES said during our meeting in May at Moffett that the Icelanders approached him for that algae bag project soon after the Hwa Chong matriarch expressed their interest in bringing it to Singapore. But in the end, they stayed at Sunnyvale WWTP. Home is best.

Cheers,
Trout

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

I always have this doubt in my mind. Why don't people use alternative liquid other than water to driver the turbines? I mean, for water, you need to heat it up to 100 degrees but there are some other liquid-gases which have lower boiling point.

Could there be a "synthetic liquid" that could replace water in driving the turbines?

Goh Meng Seng

 

[Trout]

I always have this doubt in my mind. Why don't people use alternative liquid other than water to driver the turbines? I mean, for water, you need to heat it up to 100 degrees but there are some other liquid-gases which have lower boiling point.

Could there be a "synthetic liquid" that could replace water in driving the turbines?

Goh Meng Seng

There's already like 2 million different fluids out in the market that drives Rankine cycles...

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

There's already like 2 million different fluids out in the market that drives Rankine cycles...

Thanks for enlightening me on this one. What is the lowest boiling point among these liquid?

Goh Meng Seng

 

[Trout]

Thanks for enlightening me on this one. What is the lowest boiling point among these liquid?

Goh Meng Seng

Probably butane or pentane, depending on what is the evaporator pressure you run it at.

Butane, its isomers and halo-derivatives boils at 0.5 C or lower at 1 atm, pentane, its isomers and halo-derivatives boils at 36 C or lower at 1 atm. And yes, the halo-derivatives are what is commonly known as CFCs...the stuff that eats up the ozone layer.

You can play around with the boiling points by altering pressure.

As long as you don't kick the heat source temperature above 100+C, no danger of ignition.

Cheers,
Trout

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

Probably butane or pentane, depending on what is the evaporator pressure you run it at.

Butane, its isomers and halo-derivatives boils at 0.5 C or lower at 1 atm, pentane, its isomers and halo-derivatives boils at 36 C or lower at 1 atm.

You can play around with the boiling points by altering pressure.

As long as you don't kick the heat source temperature above 100+C, no danger of ignition.

Cheers,
Trout

This is interesting. 36 C is not that difficult to achieve in tropical countries like Singapore!

Goh Meng Seng

 

[Trout]

This is interesting. 36 C is not that difficult to achieve in tropical countries like Singapore!

Goh Meng Seng

You wanna pony up some dough to start a demo project? hahaha

I know Dr. Adrian Yeo, Ph.D, who won the Don Quixote Prize this year at the SIWW, is doing a membrane distillation project with Singapore Poly using salinity gradient principles as a power source to drive the distillation process. If you want, we can get together to discuss a project.

Personally, I'm a bigger fan of Pressure Retarded Osmosis & Reverse Electro-Dialysis, because my research background is in stimuli-responsive membranes, which fits into the system.

Statkraft in Norway is doing this, and so is RED from the Netherlands, check out Statkraft's video, though last I heard, they are having huge problems with marine fouling, which is where I come in, hahaha.

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Can put a couple of modules at Marina Barrage for a try, but need someone to pony $$ to back us, hahaha. Ironic though, this is essentially generating power by mixing freshwater with seawater, which is the opposite of what our RO plants are doing.

Cheers,
Trout

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

You wanna pony up some dough to start a demo project? hahaha

I know Dr. Alvin Yeo, Ph.D, who won the Don Quixote Prize this year at the SIWW, is doing a membrane distillation project with Singapore Poly using salinity gradient principles as a power source to drive the distillation process. If you want, we can get together to discuss a project.

Personally, I'm a bigger fan of Pressure Retarded Osmosis & Reverse Electro-Dialysis, because my research background is in stimuli-responsive membranes, which fits into the system.

Statkraft in Norway is doing this, and so is RED from the Netherlands, check out Statkraft's video, though last I heard, they are having huge problems with marine fouling, which is where I come in, hahaha.

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Can put a couple of modules at Marina Barrage for a try, but need someone to pony $$ to back us, hahaha. Ironic though, this is essentially generating power by mixing freshwater with seawater, which is the opposite of what our RO plants are doing.

Cheers,
Trout

Alas, I am not that filthy rich to sponsor such project. But I could help in other ways, to make Public Relations material for the project if needed, for selling the idea to bigger corporations.

Email me at [email protected] if you want to meet up to discuss.

Goh Meng Seng

 

[Trout]

Couple of more videos, more in line with the scam type, hahaha, from Statkraft.

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[Trout]

Alas, I am not that filthy rich to sponsor such project. But I could help in other ways, to make Public Relations material for the project if needed, for selling the idea to bigger corporations.

Email me at [email protected] if you want to meet up to discuss.

Goh Meng Seng

Actually we don't need much PR, just need to know the right people who make decisions.

We need sugardaddies, strangely enough, even the NASA people I spoke with in May are looking for sugardaddies worldwide. The USA really bankrupt this time sia...

You know any Arabs or not? Seems like the Saudis, Emirates and Qataris are the folks dishing out the dough these days~~

Cheers,
Trout

 

[Leegimeremover]

There's already like 2 million different fluids out in the market that drives Rankine cycles...

The more accurate term is organic rankine cycle. Just small house cleaning.

 

[Trout]

The more accurate term is organic rankine cycle. Just small house cleaning.

10 cents, a dime, what's the difference? Operating principles are the same to the conventional Rakine.

Thermal cycle engines or heat extractors been around for 100+ to 200 yrs, no significant innovation since Watt's time. What I'm more interested in are osmotic engines. :-)

Cheers,
Trout

 

[cityhope]

does anyone know if that REC plant in tuas make silicon ingots. Making ingots from 'sand' is a very very energy intensive process. So solar cells is not so environmentally friendly as u are led to believe.......

 

[Leegimeremover]

does anyone know if that REC plant in tuas make silicon ingots. Making ingots from 'sand' is a very very energy intensive process. So solar cells is not so environmentally friendly as u are led to believe.......

It never was or is. Why do you think most is manufactured in China?

 

[Cestbon]

I think Dubai is going to make a testl in big project solar pond in large scale and already confirm. Will be start construction next year.,

 

[Leegimeremover]

I think Dubai is going to make a testl in big project solar pond in large scale and already confirm. Will be start construction next year.,

Basically the Middle East and North Africa are going crazy with solar projects. Solar ponds, Solar power stirling engines, solar powered trigeneration, solar powered reverse osmosis. It is a large scale financial investment project. It is less about the environmental question.

 

[Goh Meng Seng]

Actually we don't need much PR, just need to know the right people who make decisions.

We need sugardaddies, strangely enough, even the NASA people I spoke with in May are looking for sugardaddies worldwide. The USA really bankrupt this time sia...

You know any Arabs or not? Seems like the Saudis, Emirates and Qataris are the folks dishing out the dough these days~~

Cheers,
Trout

Hahaha, seems that everybody is looking for sugardaddies in time of this financial crisis!

I used to have some contacts linked via a vital contact but now loss due to natural death. Just too bad. But I will sure keep this in mind.

Goh Meng Seng

 

[Trout]

Basically the Middle East and North Africa are going crazy with solar projects. Solar ponds, Solar power stirling engines, solar powered trigeneration, solar powered reverse osmosis. It is a large scale financial investment project. It is less about the environmental question.

They say Ghawar (Saudi) and Burgan (Kuwait), the two largest oil fields in the world, have already peaked in total production, which is why all the Arabs are plonking all the $$ they made into these projects.

The Cantarell (Mexico) complex has definitely peaked in 2007, and is facing annual production decline rates of approximately 15%. Who knows what Daqing (China) is producing at these days? My guess is the 3rd and 4th largest oil fields i the world have peaked as well.

Cheers,
Trout