19. 10.
For billions of year since beginning of universe and later formation of our solar system the sun (Stars) has been the prime source of energy. In other words there are no other source of energy which is inexhaustible and available free.
Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass account for most of the available renewable energy on Earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.
Whatever fuel we are using in today’s developed world is only a byproducts of solar energy, be it coal, oil, hydro or any other from or energy. Since it is only the sun which has provided the initial energy and power in the process of transformation and storage or energy in different forms. Can you imagine a day without sun?
Today we are depending on other sources of energy like oil, coal, gas simply because we humans have always been looking for a easy way of life. As a result of thoughtless use of these polluting energy sources which emit harmful green house gases we have now endangered the existence of life on Earth. And if we do not take proper measures now it may be too late and we would be giving our new generation the worst place in the universe.
Time has come and we need to change our thinking for betterment of our coming generations. At least we can make our planet a clean place by using Renewable Energy sources.
The Solar Energy intercepted by earth in one day is enough to power whole world for couple of years. But still we do not have any technology which can harvest this huge amount of energy and store it for future use. In fact we even do not need to store this energy if the whole world is interconnected with power transmission lines then half of the world which lies facing the sun in a given time can power rest of the world. This may be possible in future but right now it is next to impossible. May be some day it happens!
Here is what we can do right now to cut down emission of green house gases.
- Using Solar Power systems (PV Panels)to generate Electricity.
- Solar Water Heaters can be used to get hot water for both domestic and industrialuse.
- Solar thermal energy can be used for cooking using solar cookers. It can also be used for power generation.
- Proper planning while building construction can ensure maximum day light isavailable so that artificial lighting use is minimized.
- Selective shading and proper thermal mass utilization can result in well lit space at
comfortable temperature.
1. 10.
Renewable Energy Technologies (Wind and Solar) have an important role to play in World’s Energy sector. With right approach the Renewable Energy Industry can become a major player in world’s energy sector, and meet the energy needs of a significant proportion of population by using Wind and Solar Systems.
Renewable energy technologies can play a major role in national developmentin terms of job creation and income generation as well as providing and environmentally sound energy service. Renewable energy technologies can play complementary roles to large scale conventional energy technologies.
Renewable energy can be important alternatives for power generation in many drought prone countries when conventional electricity sector (mainly Hydro based) experiences deficits.
Other factor is due to continous use of fossil fuels we are facing threath in form of global warming and if the trend continues the outcome may be devastating destroying the environ ment of our mother Earth. Whole world acknowledges this fact and is taking action to reduce dependancy on fossil fuel.
6. 05.
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Is it really so smart to forge ahead with the high technology, digitally based electricity distribution and transmission system known as the “Smart Grid”? Tests have shown that a hacker can break into the system, and cybersecurity experts said a massive blackout could result.
If someone hacked into the Smart Grid, experts say it could cause a blackout that stretches across the country.
Until the United States eliminates the Smart Grid’s vulnerabilities, some experts said, deployment should proceed slowly.
“I think we are putting the cart before the horse here to get this stuff rolled out very fast,” said Ed Skoudis, a co-founder of InGuardians, a network security research and consulting firm.
The Smart Grid will use automated meters, two-way communications and advanced sensors to improve electricity efficiency and reliability. The nation’s utilities have embraced the concept and are installing millions of automated meters on homes across the country, the first phase in Smart Grid’s deployment. President Obama has championed Smart Grid, and the recent stimulus bill allocated $4.5 billion for the high-tech program. 
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But cybersecurity experts said some types of meters can be hacked, as can other points in the Smart Grid’s communications systems. IOActive, a professional security services firm, determined that an attacker with $500 of equipment and materials and a background in electronics and software engineering could “take command and control of the [advanced meter infrastructure] allowing for the en masse manipulation of service to homes and businesses.”
Experts said that once in the system, a hacker could gain control of thousands, even millions, of meters and shut them off simultaneously. A hacker also might be able to dramatically increase or decrease the demand for power, disrupting the load balance on the local power grid and causing a blackout. These experts said such a localized power outage would cascade to other parts of the grid, expanding the blackout. No one knows how big it could get.
The utility industry has made significant improvements to the power grid since the blackout of 2003, which disrupted power to an estimated 50 million people in the eastern United States and Canada. The utility industry said it is now better able to detect and isolate outages, and some elements of Smart Grid technology will enhance that capability.
Also, industry representatives said, they have no intention of putting an unsafe grid online.
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“We are not going to manufacture this car without a seat belt,” said Ed Legge, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute.
But as of now there are no clear-cut Smart Grid cybersecurity standards.
“There are a lot of discussions about where the requirements will come from and who will be ultimately responsible,” said a Department of Homeland Security official, speaking on background.
Itron, a major manufacturer of automated meters, said its products are secure. Matt Spaur, a senior product marketing analyst, said his company tried to make hacking a meter “unappealing and unrewarding if you do it. And it is very traceable.” But Spaur acknowledged that the Smart Grid is vulnerable.
“Any network can be hacked,” he said.
One expert said security concerns have put “the fear of God” into the utility industry, vendors of Smart Grid products and the federal government. They have been working cooperatively to detect and mitigate vulnerabilities.
“Industry is working to make meters more secure. They have done a good job,” said Joe Weiss, an expert on utility control systems.
Still, experts like Skoudis recommended that Smart Grid deployment be slowed until security vulnerabilities are addressed. Otherwise, he said, Smart Grid equipment deployed now may have to be replaced later.
Utility managers are taking heed.
Garry Brown, chairman of New York’s Public Service Commission, said he believes the benefits of Smart Grid outweigh the risks, but his state is taking a hard look at cybersecurity before making large investments in the technologies.
“Before we go rushing headstrong into a Smart Grid concept, we have to make sure that we take care of business, in this case cybersecurity,” he said.
William Sanders, principal investigator for the National Science Foundation Cyber Trust Center on Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure for the Power Grid, concurs.
“I don’t think the sky is falling,” he said. “I don’t think we should stop deployment until we have it all worked out. But we have to be vigilant and address security issues in the Smart Grid early on.”
18. 03.
New Delhi: Last month, when recruiter Rachita Saini of Clearway Advisors posted a job opening for the wind arm of GE Energy, around 40% of the applicants came from the technology sector, with little background in energy. “I have received quite a few resumes from people looking to switch,” she says. 
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Recent senior hires at wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy Ltd also came from fields as varied as software, retail and steel. Malay Shah, for instance, left Infosys Technologies Ltd last year to handle strategy at Suzlon. “Renewable energy was an interesting growth story, with 100% year-on-year growth in the past five years,” he says. Now, as traditional large employers, such as those in information technology, or IT, and retail, constrict hiring in response to the economic slowdown, job seekers from those industries are starting to look at sunrise sectors, such as renewable energy and pharmaceuticals, in India.
A catalyst? Niche portals reflect the change in the job search market. Some websites that offer job listings focus on one sector, such as advertising or the legal industry, while others focus on specific experience levels.One of the job portals Saini posted on, Workosaur.com, a website that caters to managers who earn at least Rs10 lakh a year, is tapping into this trend and teaming up with training firm PM Dimensions Pvt. Ltd to help candidates switch to these newer industries. Of the 35-50 jobs that are posted each day, three-four are from the energy sector, says Nimish Adani, who started the website five months ago. One month ago, he says, only one or two jobs a day came from that field. “The downturn hit some segments really badly,” says Adani, an Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, graduate who worked with BharatMatrimony.com and Clickjobs.com before launching the website. “Energy, clean tech, nuclear energy-these segments are really growing and a lot of people are looking at them as the industries of the future.”
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To be sure, the renewable energy sector hasn’t escaped the downturn entirely-Suzlon reported a Rs59 crore loss in the third quarter-and some recruiters say that until companies return to expansion mode, mass recruiting from other sectors is unlikely. “In this particular industry scenario, my clients don’t want to take anyone from outside the industry,” says Hariharan, a recruiter with Head Hunters India Pvt. Ltd who works with clients in the energy and water treatment sectors. Roles that are similar across sectors, such as HR, make a switch easierBut executives expect the renewable energy sector to bounce back quicker than many others. “Most of these companies have huge growth plans and customers are ready,” says Shah. “They’re just waiting for markets to open up.”The courses that PM Dimensions offers, anticipating similar growth, are in areas such as the economics of a power plant and fuel management within nuclear energy and technical courses to train managers looking at opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. Such tie-ups and niche portals reflect a growing segmentation in the job search market. Some websites that offer job listings focus on a specific sector, such as Afaqs.com for advertising and Rainmaker.co.in for the legal industry, while others such as Workosaur.com and Firstnaukri.com focus on the specific experience levels of the working population. Senior professionals tend to have different job search preferences, says Adani. For example, he says, they prefer not to upload their resumes into common databases and tend to search for new jobs from their current offices-Wednesdays and Thursdays, between 11am and 3pm, are the most popular time slots. Such users are also more likely to be looking for jobs by function than by industry, says Adani, and so are more open to a switch to newer industries. PM Dimensions does courses both for companies and individuals. Nuclear energy courses are among those most in demand, says one of the firm’s founders, Sukrut Jobanputra. The firm recently developed and trained a team at a power company which is evaluating opportunities in the nuclear business, he says-none on the team had any background in nuclear energy. Roles that are similar across sectors such as human resources, finance or marketing are relatively easier to switch to, says Shah, who believes his background in consulting for Infosys made the transition easier. “You get to work with a number of other industries, from semiconductors to software services to retail-that cross-industry exposure sort of helped me,” he adds. Another techie who wanted to switch industries, Aditeshwar Seth, first looked to real estate last year as a way to move out of the outsourcing industry. “Even services were getting commoditized,” he says, “it was getting pretty mundane.” He took a job looking at business strategy for a Mumbai-based real estate group. “From (the) job content perspective, I had to literally start from scratch,” he says. Now, he says he’s considering a senior job offer in the power sector. The interview “conversations weren’t around power, they were more on business strategy,” he says. “The sector is something you can pick up.”While it is a little early to signal a fundamental shift in job demand, the hiring slump in IT and financial services might serve as a potential windfall for new sectors. “Online job search” may well be the catalyst.
