Great program and a documentary.


http://vimeo.com/7059316


I think Gliricidia is known as weti mara - fence plant in many places.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliricidia_sepium


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"What is left when honor is lost?"

Finally I watched the program and realize why we can't be a progressive nation at this point.  We have so many bright and inspiration people wants Sri Lanka to succeed, yet the system we have created screwing us all up big time.

Having said that, we can all be hopeful someday the wisdom will return back to the island.


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"What is left when honor is lost?"

A high quality video !


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*I am not the only one*

Here you see the relentless Sri Lankan woman who is trying to champion a real cause that matters to Sri Lanka, bunch of innovative Sri Lankans who is trying to produce sustainable energy, bunch of businessmen who is planning on cooking something, a British woman who is objectively looking at the mission and a one man politician who trumped everything using selfishness and ignorance.

This can be an award winning documentary.  You can never script these things.


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"What is left when honor is lost?"

Gliricidia  sepium as energy source – here are some articles

http://www.nation.lk/2008/06/22/busi10.htm

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2001/pix/PrintPage.asp?REF=/2008/02/17/new17.asp

http://forestrystudents.blogspot.com/2008/09/potential-for-gliricidia-based.html?showComment=1224075240000


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MAC1

This should be Mahinda Chinthanaya, not coal.


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"What is left when honor is lost?"

Well I listened to the full video and read few of the urls.
Looks it is good idea. We call this tree as 'Ginisiriya'. And it grows very fast. I believe they have done cost-profit analysis.

This is good as a small power generation. But cannot replace coal power generation.

Quote:

For 1.0MW power plant, approximately 40m.t. of Gliricidia wood per day may be required and for a year 14,400 mt., at 20% moisture level may be required. Approximately 480 ha of a Gliricidia plantation may be required to meet this wood requirement.

To generate 1MW it needs 480ha = 4.8 sq kilimeter land.
The current coal power capacity we are looking it about additional 900MWs.

This cannot replace coal but deifinitely can feed the power grid. Can find additional revenues for farmers.
Some thing definitely worth investing.

Instead running a Mihin Air that money could be used for these types of ptototype projects. Even if the Gliricidia power' operating cost is high it can increase revenues for farmers. worth investing.

So to modify perl's statement 'It should be Gliricidia power not Mihin Air'.

What the investing group trying to do is to initiate sustainable green and feel good projects for the community to put their money for good use.  I am thinking the dividend they are looking is not mainly the yield, rather benefiting the world.  Sri Lankan leaders don't understand that.  There are lot of side effects from coal - direct and indirect.  The model for Sri Lanka is not huge growth and industrial revolution.  It should be quality of life with all basic necessities - no big aspirations.

As Sri Lankans, we haven't come out the tribal mentality where the decisions are being driven by ego than wisdom.  Until we realize a way to abandon any decisions driven by ego  over wisdom, we will be in trapped at this stage forever.


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"What is left when honor is lost?"

perl wrote:

As Sri Lankans, we haven't come out the tribal mentality where the decisions are being driven by ego than wisdom.

no.
if you see the local experts, engineers, local enterprenuars are passionate about this project.
only issue is, they don't have enough fund to run the project on their own.

I know there are Sri Lankan enterprenuars who develop software and my company use these software applications in live telecom networks. MIT is local company which bought over by London stock exchange for their technologies and skills.

We have good businessmen only issue is they are not big enough to do big projects.
Thats why Sri Lanka need to develop and to have bigger local companies.

Interesting topic - Too early to invest - but worth investigating instead
For my money, this is a better bet (not the photovoltaics but the mirror component)
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/21/sevilles-solar-power-tower/

These ideas lead to self-reliance and
should be pursued vigorously. Who knows what will come of this ?
The whole world may benefit in the process.

It's awesome to note that a single such power plant being tried in
Seville, can support 180,000 homes when it becomes operational in 2013.
In the U.S., Obama has placed immense stress on research on alternative
forms of energy, also giving tax breaks for people who chose such
alternative energy options.

All should do their bit in furthering this line.


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*I am not the only one*

proximus wrote:

Interesting topic - Too early to invest - but worth investigating instead
For my money, this is a better bet (not the photovoltaics but the mirror component)
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/21/sevilles-solar-power-tower/

Solar Chimney
I know of a businessman who tried it with a prototype in SL. It is a big investment and not proven on commercial scale therefore needs a bold investor jump in to it.  

http://www.globalwarmingsolutions.co.uk/the_solar_chimney.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_chimney


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MAC1

The Seville operation uses (or will use) steam - which IMO is probably better (though more expensive) than the Chimney.
I know steam turbines have been around for a very long time. I don't know about hot-air turbines.

But the various types of Solar Chimney are amazing !!!

Perhaps we can make RW stand beneath the Solar Chimney - with the volumes of hot air that he is currently producing esp. on behalf of the "Youvvanas" and "Youvvanis", I am sure commercial-scale electricity can be produced !!

Most of these ideas, experiments, and building prototypes had been there for sometime now. What is stopping them really doing it? Is it the lack of confidence to take the next step and the funding involved? Or yet it is not ready? Or the unit cost per KW is going to be higher? Or the big power giants are making sure it does not come through the system.


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MAC1

proximus wrote:

Interesting topic - Too early to invest - but worth investigating instead
For my money, this is a better bet (not the photovoltaics but the mirror component)
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/21/sevilles-solar-power-tower/

Sound very clean and green.
What this article does not tell is, what is the capital investment and how much power can be generated in return.

My guess is it too high to be attempted by a 3rd world country.



Last edited by Negombo on Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:42 pm; edited 1 time in total