Issue 11 CRASH, BANG, WALLOP Will motorists ever really trust self-driving cars? POWERLESS TO RESIST Underground beer coolers and other cool off- grid gadgets. AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Would Jules Verne approve of a round the world race with a strict ban on fossil fuels? Who cares? It’s happening anyway. ‘I’LL BE BACK’ Research suggests that by 2040, humans will no longer be Earth’s dominant species. Which is a little perturbing. FEEL THE NEED: FOR E-SPEED The world awaits Formula-E - a bit like Formula 1, but much, much faster
Issue 11
Apr 03, 2016
Feel the Need: For E-Speed
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Transcript
Issue 11
CRASH BANG WALLOPWill motorists ever really trust self-driving cars
POWERLESS TO RESISTUnderground beer coolers and other cool off-grid gadgets
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYSWould Jules Verne approve of a round the world race with a strict ban on fossil fuels Who cares Itrsquos happening anyway
lsquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrsquoResearch suggests that by 2040 humans will no longer be Earthrsquos dominant species Which is a little perturbing
FEEL THE NEED FOR E-SPEED
The world awaits Formula-E - a bit like Formula 1 but much much faster
PAGE 2
WELCOMEIf I could add a soundtrack to this bit it would be a toss up between Fleetwood Macrsquos lsquoThe Chainrsquo lsquoBaby You Can Drive My Carrsquo by the Beatles lsquoElectric Avenuersquo by Eddie Grant and lsquoDonrsquot Stop Me Nowrsquo by Queen On account of the imminent arrival of proper electric car racing in the form of the FIArsquos Formula-E championship which kicks off in Beijing on 14th September Brum brum Or Whirr whirr perhaps All very exciting whichever way you do it
We ask the obvious questions Exactly how fast will these babies be going What sort of acceleration are we talking about Will they make any noise Does this mean their street cousins will be cooler to drive now
Continuing the ultra modern driving theme we wonder how long it will take people to get used to self-driving cars the sort which like slavish lapdogs will one day carry us home when wersquove had a glass too many (CRASH BANG WALLOP) put themselves away in the garage (JUST DEAL WITH IT) and plug themselves in for a recharge The way things are going more 2020 than 2050
We have news of an exciting Jules Verne style lsquoAround the Worldrsquo race inspired by a challenge recently laid down at Londonrsquos Reform Club (the very same club that featured in Vernersquos original lsquoAround the World in 80 Daysrsquo) to circumnavigate the globe without using a single drop of fossil fuel The race will take in 8 exciting international cities culminating in a final dash back to the
Reform Club for high tea and medals (80 DAYS)
And talking of final dashes we are extremely pleased to announce that one of our co-founders Jan Willem Bode an exceptionally green chap in many regards but a sucker for classic Citroens has finally taken the decision to get himself some electric wheels (MAKE MINE A LEAF) The full how why where and when of buying an electric car
While another of our co-founders Amsterdam-based Freerk Bisschop introduces us to a few of his countryrsquos exciting grass roots EV projects (LETTER FROM THE LOWLANDS)
PLUS A power-free beer cooler (POWERLESS TO RESIST) an in-depth look at Barcelonarsquos admirable claim to the title of worldrsquos greenest city (CIUDAD DEL SOL) how a Hong Kong design company is making urban farms out of stacks of disused shipping containers (FOOD IN THE SKY) the recruitment of some of the UKrsquos finest minds to solve the problems of energy efficiency in buildings (SHUT THAT DOOR) and finally some perplexing news from the world of artificial intelligence about how humans wonrsquot be the dominant Earth species as soon as 2040 (IrsquoLL BE BACK)
Enjoy
The 2050 Editorial Team (Whirr whirr)
PAGE 3
ABOUT US2050 Magazine is all about renewable ener-gy and our journey towards the day when the whole world will have access to cheap clean sustainable sources of energy Some-thing which we think will happen by 2050 As long as we all pull together and do our bit This is our bit
EDITORIALWe are very fortunate to have constant access to an incredibly talented pool of people some of them with decades of experience in the field of sustainability They tell us things and we write it down and add pretty pictures Then we send it all wrapped up in tinsel to the world at large Thatrsquos it in a nutshell really
DISTRIBUTION2050 is a free publication which is distributed around the world through a variety of lsquofriendrsquo networks We are currently connected to more than 1 million supporters A number which is growing on a daily basis Please feel free to pass us on to your own networks if you think they might be interested in keeping in touch with whatrsquos going on in the world of renewable energy and sustainability
PUBLISHERS 2050 Magazine is a joint effort by Planet B Ventures and Spinning Plate Media Ltd and is partly funded by crowdfunding on impactcrowdcom
CONTACTEditorial infoplanetbventurescomAdvertising adsplanetbventurescom
WELCOME
PAGE 4
CONTENTS 6 Meanwhile
8 Powerless To Resist
12 Feel The Need For E-Speed
20 Around The World In 80 Days
24 Make Mine A Leaf
28 Letter From The Lowlands
31 Me And My Beetle
32 Crash Bang Wallop
38 Just Deal With It
42 In Our Humble Opinion
44 Irsquoll Be Back
46 Ciudad Del Sol
52 Food In The Sky
54 From Field To Farm
54 Shut That Door
56 Aiming For The Perfect Building
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
a picture as they say paints a thousand words how many then for a video
WHERE THE SUN DONrsquoT SHINEhellipAND A MESSAGE FROM OUTER SPACE
Sometimes a drizzling of humour can go a long way when it comes
to getting your message across Particularly when that message is bit on the heavy side and most people while generally agreeing with it never really seem to have the time to do anything much about it
A truism Greenpeace took on board when it commissioned this rather wonderful advert about how the world would maybe work if humans had evolved their own in-built torches
We would explain it to you now but like we said a thousand words
meanwhile
(Thanks to Frankie Hiller for sending us the first of those 2 YouTube links If anyone
else has any others they would like us to feature please just send them in)
As the golfer Lee Trevino once said ldquothe harder I practice the luckier I seem to getrdquo
Which might explain my luck in accidentally discovering another Greenpeace-commissioned gem that really had to be included too Entitled lsquoAlien Invasionrsquo it imagines a scenario in which a superior species of aliens weighs up the pros and cons of saving the Earth and its current inhabitants from imminent self-destruction
ldquoWersquove been sending them messages in their cornfields for 30 years and what have we got back Zippity bloody doodahrdquo
Donrsquot expect a happy ending
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Stagnation leads to decline Right now companies need to moveMade in May gives energy and vitality through creative strategy branding design communication and activation
PAGE 8
Lots of people harbour a secret dream of living lsquooff-gridrsquo if only to be able to tell people they live lsquooff-gridrsquo And while going all the way down that lsquoLittle House on the Prariersquo road is beyond most of us (just yet) there are plenty of gadgets out there which donrsquot need juice Every one a veritable gambit of conversation in itself
POWERLESS TO RESIST
off-grid gadgets
The Goal Zero Lighthouse LanternA lantern which offers dimmable LEDs while doubling up as a portable charger Suitable for handphones or other small devices thanks to its hand crank facility or if yoursquore lazy an appropriate solar panelhttpwwwgoalzerocomp180lighthouse-250-lantern
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 2
WELCOMEIf I could add a soundtrack to this bit it would be a toss up between Fleetwood Macrsquos lsquoThe Chainrsquo lsquoBaby You Can Drive My Carrsquo by the Beatles lsquoElectric Avenuersquo by Eddie Grant and lsquoDonrsquot Stop Me Nowrsquo by Queen On account of the imminent arrival of proper electric car racing in the form of the FIArsquos Formula-E championship which kicks off in Beijing on 14th September Brum brum Or Whirr whirr perhaps All very exciting whichever way you do it
We ask the obvious questions Exactly how fast will these babies be going What sort of acceleration are we talking about Will they make any noise Does this mean their street cousins will be cooler to drive now
Continuing the ultra modern driving theme we wonder how long it will take people to get used to self-driving cars the sort which like slavish lapdogs will one day carry us home when wersquove had a glass too many (CRASH BANG WALLOP) put themselves away in the garage (JUST DEAL WITH IT) and plug themselves in for a recharge The way things are going more 2020 than 2050
We have news of an exciting Jules Verne style lsquoAround the Worldrsquo race inspired by a challenge recently laid down at Londonrsquos Reform Club (the very same club that featured in Vernersquos original lsquoAround the World in 80 Daysrsquo) to circumnavigate the globe without using a single drop of fossil fuel The race will take in 8 exciting international cities culminating in a final dash back to the
Reform Club for high tea and medals (80 DAYS)
And talking of final dashes we are extremely pleased to announce that one of our co-founders Jan Willem Bode an exceptionally green chap in many regards but a sucker for classic Citroens has finally taken the decision to get himself some electric wheels (MAKE MINE A LEAF) The full how why where and when of buying an electric car
While another of our co-founders Amsterdam-based Freerk Bisschop introduces us to a few of his countryrsquos exciting grass roots EV projects (LETTER FROM THE LOWLANDS)
PLUS A power-free beer cooler (POWERLESS TO RESIST) an in-depth look at Barcelonarsquos admirable claim to the title of worldrsquos greenest city (CIUDAD DEL SOL) how a Hong Kong design company is making urban farms out of stacks of disused shipping containers (FOOD IN THE SKY) the recruitment of some of the UKrsquos finest minds to solve the problems of energy efficiency in buildings (SHUT THAT DOOR) and finally some perplexing news from the world of artificial intelligence about how humans wonrsquot be the dominant Earth species as soon as 2040 (IrsquoLL BE BACK)
Enjoy
The 2050 Editorial Team (Whirr whirr)
PAGE 3
ABOUT US2050 Magazine is all about renewable ener-gy and our journey towards the day when the whole world will have access to cheap clean sustainable sources of energy Some-thing which we think will happen by 2050 As long as we all pull together and do our bit This is our bit
EDITORIALWe are very fortunate to have constant access to an incredibly talented pool of people some of them with decades of experience in the field of sustainability They tell us things and we write it down and add pretty pictures Then we send it all wrapped up in tinsel to the world at large Thatrsquos it in a nutshell really
DISTRIBUTION2050 is a free publication which is distributed around the world through a variety of lsquofriendrsquo networks We are currently connected to more than 1 million supporters A number which is growing on a daily basis Please feel free to pass us on to your own networks if you think they might be interested in keeping in touch with whatrsquos going on in the world of renewable energy and sustainability
PUBLISHERS 2050 Magazine is a joint effort by Planet B Ventures and Spinning Plate Media Ltd and is partly funded by crowdfunding on impactcrowdcom
CONTACTEditorial infoplanetbventurescomAdvertising adsplanetbventurescom
WELCOME
PAGE 4
CONTENTS 6 Meanwhile
8 Powerless To Resist
12 Feel The Need For E-Speed
20 Around The World In 80 Days
24 Make Mine A Leaf
28 Letter From The Lowlands
31 Me And My Beetle
32 Crash Bang Wallop
38 Just Deal With It
42 In Our Humble Opinion
44 Irsquoll Be Back
46 Ciudad Del Sol
52 Food In The Sky
54 From Field To Farm
54 Shut That Door
56 Aiming For The Perfect Building
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
a picture as they say paints a thousand words how many then for a video
WHERE THE SUN DONrsquoT SHINEhellipAND A MESSAGE FROM OUTER SPACE
Sometimes a drizzling of humour can go a long way when it comes
to getting your message across Particularly when that message is bit on the heavy side and most people while generally agreeing with it never really seem to have the time to do anything much about it
A truism Greenpeace took on board when it commissioned this rather wonderful advert about how the world would maybe work if humans had evolved their own in-built torches
We would explain it to you now but like we said a thousand words
meanwhile
(Thanks to Frankie Hiller for sending us the first of those 2 YouTube links If anyone
else has any others they would like us to feature please just send them in)
As the golfer Lee Trevino once said ldquothe harder I practice the luckier I seem to getrdquo
Which might explain my luck in accidentally discovering another Greenpeace-commissioned gem that really had to be included too Entitled lsquoAlien Invasionrsquo it imagines a scenario in which a superior species of aliens weighs up the pros and cons of saving the Earth and its current inhabitants from imminent self-destruction
ldquoWersquove been sending them messages in their cornfields for 30 years and what have we got back Zippity bloody doodahrdquo
Donrsquot expect a happy ending
WE VITALISE
MADEINMAYCOM
Stagnation leads to decline Right now companies need to moveMade in May gives energy and vitality through creative strategy branding design communication and activation
PAGE 8
Lots of people harbour a secret dream of living lsquooff-gridrsquo if only to be able to tell people they live lsquooff-gridrsquo And while going all the way down that lsquoLittle House on the Prariersquo road is beyond most of us (just yet) there are plenty of gadgets out there which donrsquot need juice Every one a veritable gambit of conversation in itself
POWERLESS TO RESIST
off-grid gadgets
The Goal Zero Lighthouse LanternA lantern which offers dimmable LEDs while doubling up as a portable charger Suitable for handphones or other small devices thanks to its hand crank facility or if yoursquore lazy an appropriate solar panelhttpwwwgoalzerocomp180lighthouse-250-lantern
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 3
ABOUT US2050 Magazine is all about renewable ener-gy and our journey towards the day when the whole world will have access to cheap clean sustainable sources of energy Some-thing which we think will happen by 2050 As long as we all pull together and do our bit This is our bit
EDITORIALWe are very fortunate to have constant access to an incredibly talented pool of people some of them with decades of experience in the field of sustainability They tell us things and we write it down and add pretty pictures Then we send it all wrapped up in tinsel to the world at large Thatrsquos it in a nutshell really
DISTRIBUTION2050 is a free publication which is distributed around the world through a variety of lsquofriendrsquo networks We are currently connected to more than 1 million supporters A number which is growing on a daily basis Please feel free to pass us on to your own networks if you think they might be interested in keeping in touch with whatrsquos going on in the world of renewable energy and sustainability
PUBLISHERS 2050 Magazine is a joint effort by Planet B Ventures and Spinning Plate Media Ltd and is partly funded by crowdfunding on impactcrowdcom
CONTACTEditorial infoplanetbventurescomAdvertising adsplanetbventurescom
WELCOME
PAGE 4
CONTENTS 6 Meanwhile
8 Powerless To Resist
12 Feel The Need For E-Speed
20 Around The World In 80 Days
24 Make Mine A Leaf
28 Letter From The Lowlands
31 Me And My Beetle
32 Crash Bang Wallop
38 Just Deal With It
42 In Our Humble Opinion
44 Irsquoll Be Back
46 Ciudad Del Sol
52 Food In The Sky
54 From Field To Farm
54 Shut That Door
56 Aiming For The Perfect Building
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
a picture as they say paints a thousand words how many then for a video
WHERE THE SUN DONrsquoT SHINEhellipAND A MESSAGE FROM OUTER SPACE
Sometimes a drizzling of humour can go a long way when it comes
to getting your message across Particularly when that message is bit on the heavy side and most people while generally agreeing with it never really seem to have the time to do anything much about it
A truism Greenpeace took on board when it commissioned this rather wonderful advert about how the world would maybe work if humans had evolved their own in-built torches
We would explain it to you now but like we said a thousand words
meanwhile
(Thanks to Frankie Hiller for sending us the first of those 2 YouTube links If anyone
else has any others they would like us to feature please just send them in)
As the golfer Lee Trevino once said ldquothe harder I practice the luckier I seem to getrdquo
Which might explain my luck in accidentally discovering another Greenpeace-commissioned gem that really had to be included too Entitled lsquoAlien Invasionrsquo it imagines a scenario in which a superior species of aliens weighs up the pros and cons of saving the Earth and its current inhabitants from imminent self-destruction
ldquoWersquove been sending them messages in their cornfields for 30 years and what have we got back Zippity bloody doodahrdquo
Donrsquot expect a happy ending
WE VITALISE
MADEINMAYCOM
Stagnation leads to decline Right now companies need to moveMade in May gives energy and vitality through creative strategy branding design communication and activation
PAGE 8
Lots of people harbour a secret dream of living lsquooff-gridrsquo if only to be able to tell people they live lsquooff-gridrsquo And while going all the way down that lsquoLittle House on the Prariersquo road is beyond most of us (just yet) there are plenty of gadgets out there which donrsquot need juice Every one a veritable gambit of conversation in itself
POWERLESS TO RESIST
off-grid gadgets
The Goal Zero Lighthouse LanternA lantern which offers dimmable LEDs while doubling up as a portable charger Suitable for handphones or other small devices thanks to its hand crank facility or if yoursquore lazy an appropriate solar panelhttpwwwgoalzerocomp180lighthouse-250-lantern
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 4
CONTENTS 6 Meanwhile
8 Powerless To Resist
12 Feel The Need For E-Speed
20 Around The World In 80 Days
24 Make Mine A Leaf
28 Letter From The Lowlands
31 Me And My Beetle
32 Crash Bang Wallop
38 Just Deal With It
42 In Our Humble Opinion
44 Irsquoll Be Back
46 Ciudad Del Sol
52 Food In The Sky
54 From Field To Farm
54 Shut That Door
56 Aiming For The Perfect Building
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
a picture as they say paints a thousand words how many then for a video
WHERE THE SUN DONrsquoT SHINEhellipAND A MESSAGE FROM OUTER SPACE
Sometimes a drizzling of humour can go a long way when it comes
to getting your message across Particularly when that message is bit on the heavy side and most people while generally agreeing with it never really seem to have the time to do anything much about it
A truism Greenpeace took on board when it commissioned this rather wonderful advert about how the world would maybe work if humans had evolved their own in-built torches
We would explain it to you now but like we said a thousand words
meanwhile
(Thanks to Frankie Hiller for sending us the first of those 2 YouTube links If anyone
else has any others they would like us to feature please just send them in)
As the golfer Lee Trevino once said ldquothe harder I practice the luckier I seem to getrdquo
Which might explain my luck in accidentally discovering another Greenpeace-commissioned gem that really had to be included too Entitled lsquoAlien Invasionrsquo it imagines a scenario in which a superior species of aliens weighs up the pros and cons of saving the Earth and its current inhabitants from imminent self-destruction
ldquoWersquove been sending them messages in their cornfields for 30 years and what have we got back Zippity bloody doodahrdquo
Donrsquot expect a happy ending
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Stagnation leads to decline Right now companies need to moveMade in May gives energy and vitality through creative strategy branding design communication and activation
PAGE 8
Lots of people harbour a secret dream of living lsquooff-gridrsquo if only to be able to tell people they live lsquooff-gridrsquo And while going all the way down that lsquoLittle House on the Prariersquo road is beyond most of us (just yet) there are plenty of gadgets out there which donrsquot need juice Every one a veritable gambit of conversation in itself
POWERLESS TO RESIST
off-grid gadgets
The Goal Zero Lighthouse LanternA lantern which offers dimmable LEDs while doubling up as a portable charger Suitable for handphones or other small devices thanks to its hand crank facility or if yoursquore lazy an appropriate solar panelhttpwwwgoalzerocomp180lighthouse-250-lantern
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
a picture as they say paints a thousand words how many then for a video
WHERE THE SUN DONrsquoT SHINEhellipAND A MESSAGE FROM OUTER SPACE
Sometimes a drizzling of humour can go a long way when it comes
to getting your message across Particularly when that message is bit on the heavy side and most people while generally agreeing with it never really seem to have the time to do anything much about it
A truism Greenpeace took on board when it commissioned this rather wonderful advert about how the world would maybe work if humans had evolved their own in-built torches
We would explain it to you now but like we said a thousand words
meanwhile
(Thanks to Frankie Hiller for sending us the first of those 2 YouTube links If anyone
else has any others they would like us to feature please just send them in)
As the golfer Lee Trevino once said ldquothe harder I practice the luckier I seem to getrdquo
Which might explain my luck in accidentally discovering another Greenpeace-commissioned gem that really had to be included too Entitled lsquoAlien Invasionrsquo it imagines a scenario in which a superior species of aliens weighs up the pros and cons of saving the Earth and its current inhabitants from imminent self-destruction
ldquoWersquove been sending them messages in their cornfields for 30 years and what have we got back Zippity bloody doodahrdquo
Donrsquot expect a happy ending
WE VITALISE
MADEINMAYCOM
Stagnation leads to decline Right now companies need to moveMade in May gives energy and vitality through creative strategy branding design communication and activation
PAGE 8
Lots of people harbour a secret dream of living lsquooff-gridrsquo if only to be able to tell people they live lsquooff-gridrsquo And while going all the way down that lsquoLittle House on the Prariersquo road is beyond most of us (just yet) there are plenty of gadgets out there which donrsquot need juice Every one a veritable gambit of conversation in itself
POWERLESS TO RESIST
off-grid gadgets
The Goal Zero Lighthouse LanternA lantern which offers dimmable LEDs while doubling up as a portable charger Suitable for handphones or other small devices thanks to its hand crank facility or if yoursquore lazy an appropriate solar panelhttpwwwgoalzerocomp180lighthouse-250-lantern
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 6
a picture as they say paints a thousand words how many then for a video
WHERE THE SUN DONrsquoT SHINEhellipAND A MESSAGE FROM OUTER SPACE
Sometimes a drizzling of humour can go a long way when it comes
to getting your message across Particularly when that message is bit on the heavy side and most people while generally agreeing with it never really seem to have the time to do anything much about it
A truism Greenpeace took on board when it commissioned this rather wonderful advert about how the world would maybe work if humans had evolved their own in-built torches
We would explain it to you now but like we said a thousand words
meanwhile
(Thanks to Frankie Hiller for sending us the first of those 2 YouTube links If anyone
else has any others they would like us to feature please just send them in)
As the golfer Lee Trevino once said ldquothe harder I practice the luckier I seem to getrdquo
Which might explain my luck in accidentally discovering another Greenpeace-commissioned gem that really had to be included too Entitled lsquoAlien Invasionrsquo it imagines a scenario in which a superior species of aliens weighs up the pros and cons of saving the Earth and its current inhabitants from imminent self-destruction
ldquoWersquove been sending them messages in their cornfields for 30 years and what have we got back Zippity bloody doodahrdquo
Donrsquot expect a happy ending
WE VITALISE
MADEINMAYCOM
Stagnation leads to decline Right now companies need to moveMade in May gives energy and vitality through creative strategy branding design communication and activation
PAGE 8
Lots of people harbour a secret dream of living lsquooff-gridrsquo if only to be able to tell people they live lsquooff-gridrsquo And while going all the way down that lsquoLittle House on the Prariersquo road is beyond most of us (just yet) there are plenty of gadgets out there which donrsquot need juice Every one a veritable gambit of conversation in itself
POWERLESS TO RESIST
off-grid gadgets
The Goal Zero Lighthouse LanternA lantern which offers dimmable LEDs while doubling up as a portable charger Suitable for handphones or other small devices thanks to its hand crank facility or if yoursquore lazy an appropriate solar panelhttpwwwgoalzerocomp180lighthouse-250-lantern
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
07102014STUDIO 21 HILVERSUM
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
WE VITALISE
MADEINMAYCOM
Stagnation leads to decline Right now companies need to moveMade in May gives energy and vitality through creative strategy branding design communication and activation
PAGE 8
Lots of people harbour a secret dream of living lsquooff-gridrsquo if only to be able to tell people they live lsquooff-gridrsquo And while going all the way down that lsquoLittle House on the Prariersquo road is beyond most of us (just yet) there are plenty of gadgets out there which donrsquot need juice Every one a veritable gambit of conversation in itself
POWERLESS TO RESIST
off-grid gadgets
The Goal Zero Lighthouse LanternA lantern which offers dimmable LEDs while doubling up as a portable charger Suitable for handphones or other small devices thanks to its hand crank facility or if yoursquore lazy an appropriate solar panelhttpwwwgoalzerocomp180lighthouse-250-lantern
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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free
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This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 8
Lots of people harbour a secret dream of living lsquooff-gridrsquo if only to be able to tell people they live lsquooff-gridrsquo And while going all the way down that lsquoLittle House on the Prariersquo road is beyond most of us (just yet) there are plenty of gadgets out there which donrsquot need juice Every one a veritable gambit of conversation in itself
POWERLESS TO RESIST
off-grid gadgets
The Goal Zero Lighthouse LanternA lantern which offers dimmable LEDs while doubling up as a portable charger Suitable for handphones or other small devices thanks to its hand crank facility or if yoursquore lazy an appropriate solar panelhttpwwwgoalzerocomp180lighthouse-250-lantern
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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free
scaling upNLevator organizes the lsquoNationale Groeimasterclassrsquo with world famous sbquo lsquogrowth guyrsquo Verne Harnish His latest book rsquoScaling Uprsquo describes the Rockefeller Habits Method 20 and forms the basis for his unique method for growth Now exclusively in the Netherlands
This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 9
The Window Socket Solar ChargerOkay wersquove been going on about this one for a while but itrsquos still one of the best contenders It does fairly well what it suggests You stick it on a sunny window and its solar panel converts that stray sunlight ndash therersquos a lot of it at 30000 feet in areoplanes ndash into a plug for your computer or phone Genius but mainly because you get to stick it on the window where everyone can see it and then sit back feeling really smug about yourselfhttpwwwyankodesigncom20130426plug-it-on-the-window
Voltmaker Kinetic Energy Charger
An obvious choice for Bruce Lee fans and other people prone to working out by
throwing those nunchuck things around and grunting a lot A rapid kinetic energy generator that uses a ratchet system to
convert the whirling motion into a steady source of energy Enough for small USB-
capable devices Even comes with a built-in flashlight
httpwwwthevoltmakerscomenvoltmakerhtm
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
07102014STUDIO 21 HILVERSUM
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free
scaling upNLevator organizes the lsquoNationale Groeimasterclassrsquo with world famous sbquo lsquogrowth guyrsquo Verne Harnish His latest book rsquoScaling Uprsquo describes the Rockefeller Habits Method 20 and forms the basis for his unique method for growth Now exclusively in the Netherlands
This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 10
off-grid gadgets
The Clay RefrigeratorBased on ancient principles of cooling the MittiCool ndash made entirely of clay ndash harnesses the cooling effects of water evaporation and can chill milk for 3 days or vegetables for up to a weekhttpwwwmitticoolinproduct_detailphpproduct_id=4
The Koostic Zero-Energy
Wood SpeakerItrsquos made of wood it saves you having
to find another spare plug in the kitchen and it works
One of those cheap simple ideas that just keeps on giving
Boosts your volume by 2 ndash 4 timeshttpwwwkoostikcomcollections
pivotproductswalnut-pivot
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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free
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This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 11
The Off-Grid Beer CoolerUses the natural coolness and humidity of soil to keep a regular supply of beer naturally chilled all year round The eCool just needs to be dug into a 3-foot hole and left to do its work as nature intended Sort ofhttpsengecooldk
The Human-Powered Laundry Pod
Like a cross between a washing machine and a gym membership the hand-powered
Laundry Pod uses a fraction of the water and soap of a regular wash and zero
electricity A must for students perhaps or those grubby people at music festivals
httpwwwstoreboundcomproducts
Pedal-Powered WasherA bit like the Laundry pod but for cyclists
A cheap and simple way to get your clothes washed when you canrsquot get to a normal
washing machine Just after the apocalypse perhaps An easily scalable invention
httpwwwdellchallengeorgprojectsgiradora-safe-agua
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
07102014STUDIO 21 HILVERSUM
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free
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 12
FEEL THE NEEDFOR E-SPEEDJust in case yoursquore wondering what all the fuss is about in the world of motor sport the truth is that the very first Formula E race is due to take place in Beijing on September 13th and chances are things will never be quite the same again
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 13
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
07102014STUDIO 21 HILVERSUM
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free
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This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 14
The thing most people havenrsquot realised yet about
electric cars although they likely will once the Formula E races start getting beamed around the world is that they can be very quick Very very quick indeed
Indeed theyrsquove always been quick In 1875 the worldrsquos first automobile race was won by an electric car driven by a man with an impressive moustache whorsquos name was probably something like Otto von Trappenstein Although to be fair most cars in those days were electric and most of their drivers wore impressive moustaches and were called something like Otto von Trappenstein
Indeed petrol engines didnrsquot displace the early electric forerunners until well into the 20th century when mass production got all popular But thatrsquos another story The main story here is that the advent of the Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as the dominant mechanical species once
morePeople will tell you that there are two reasons the E-car hasnrsquot taken over yet a) range worry (will this thing get me to work and back) and b) re-charge anxiety (where on Earth am I meant to plug this thing in) Which to address them in order are a) solved (most electric vehicles these days have a range of somewhere between 100 and 300 miles) and b) swiftly being dealt with (fast-charging stations free lsquopark and chargersquo bays in many modern cities and exchangeable battery schemes to name but a few on-going solutions)
The truth is there has always been a third barrier to the mass adoption of electric cars one which is rarely talked about in the open and even then only in hushed whispers We speak of course (in a hushed whisper) of the Sinclair-effect The innocent damage done to the whole evolutionary cycle of the modern electric car by that brilliant bearded EV pioneer of the 70s Clive Sinclair With his brilliant but sadly way ahead of its time personal
electrical transportation device the C5How was he to know that the world wasnrsquot yet ready for such genius and that combining a top speed of 15 miles an hour with an open top sitting position just above ground level would result in early adopters of the technology being continually harassed by gangs of sniggering schoolboys
ldquoAlright mister can I have two 99s and a choc-ice pleaserdquo
And ldquoWhatrsquos that yoursquore driving A status thimblerdquo being two of the typical jibes we sorry they would subject them to
And it wasnrsquot as if the C5 drivers could retaliate even if they wanted to They simply werenrsquot fast enough for a safe getaway
How many of those brave pioneers must have regretted replying with ldquoWell that as may be Sonny Jim boyo my lad but at least Irsquom not an acne ridden juvenile with no prospects of a job and nothing but a life of crime ahead of himrdquo before slamming their
gentlemen stroke your batteries
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 15
Formula E grand prix circuit is going to provide the hitherto missing ingredient in the cocktail required to herald the re-emergence of the electric car as
the dominant mechanical species once more
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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free
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This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 16
foot down on the accelerator and pulling away from the scene of the insult at just over jogging pace
All of that is about to disappear for ever when the world sees what modern electric cars ndash even their C5 lsquourbanrsquo equivalents ndash are capable of
Check if you will this YouTube video of a young boy being taken for his first ride in his dadrsquos Tesla Roadster httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=2nxF0-HQB5I
Pure unbridled fun
And then watch httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=369h-SEBXd8 to see an unassuming fully electric converted 1973 Datsun something or other wiping the floor with all-comers at a drag racing event Corvettes BMWs Porches they all end up looking like theyrsquore standing still as the Zombie pulls away to three consecutive world records
And then when yoursquove seen them ask yourself how fast those Formula E cars are
going to be When the top engineers constructors and race crews set their minds to it the records are surely going to tumble
Lapsing into the technical data for just a moment (with reference to theengineercouk and they should know) the season 1 cars will all use a common chassis being developed by Renault together with Spark Racing Technologies Snappily named the Sark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E it will feature technology from a range of different companies many of whom are also involved in Formula One
Formula E will become an open series in its second year when teams will be free to develop their own cars with whatever configuration of electric motors batteries and charging systems they believe will give them the biggest advantage in the race
gentlemen stroke your batteries
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free
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This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
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free
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This masterclass is perfect for everyone leading an organization alone or in a team Are you an entrepreneur director or manager Then this will definitely add value to your skillset
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PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 18
Qualcommrsquos Halo Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging (WEVC) technology is expected to be made available for Formula E race cars from the second season of the event Whatever that means
The electric motor and control electronics have evolved from parts originally created for the McLaren P1 hybrid sportscar The motor itself
being much smaller than an internal combustion engine at only 26kg and yet capable of providing more than 250hp
But by far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that torque delivery is almost instant giving the powertrain extremely fast acceleration Which going back to our original point is why theyrsquore so blinking quick
Indeed according to McLaren the electric system has the highest power-to-weight ratio of any automotive motor in the world
The energy for the electric motor comes from lithium-ion batteries mdash the same technology is used in laptop computers mdash which are located behind the driver within the carbon safety
cell The flow of energy between the battery pack and the electric motor being controlled by motor-control electronics with all the electrical systems operating at very high voltages up to 800V
Which leaves us with one final question One which always seems to crop up eventually in conversations about Formula E ldquoOkay okay okay we get it theyrsquore quick But will
they make that lovely noise Because honestly thatrsquos one of the best bitsrdquo
The answer to which is according to Peter van Manen managing director of McLaren Electronic Systems yes ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a combustion enginerdquo
We suspect hersquos bigging up the noise angle just a tad there and would prefer if only for reasons of nostalgia all the new Formula E racing cars to be fitted with high volume recordings of all the famous internal combustion racing cars of the past
Just in case we forget what they sounded like
gentlemen stroke your batteries
By far the most exciting technical fact about the Formula E (and indeed other electric cars) is that
torque delivery is almost instant
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 19
ldquoThe powertrain has its own characteristic sound which is
in fact very loud and just as exhilarating as the noise of a
combustion enginerdquo
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 20
AROUND THE WORLD IN
80DAYS
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 21
The competing teams will choose their own routes and means of transport All land- water- and air-vehicles are allowed as long as they run on renewable resources and donrsquot contain a combustion engine
The event literarily inspired by Jules Vernersquos book lsquoAround the world in 80 daysrsquo will set out to prove that modern transportation methods are more than up to the challenge At that time in 1873 steam powered vehicles were about to replace horses Today we are
facing another tipping point in history with the first mass market electric vehicles becoming available The teams will start in Western Europe before heading east to complete the first leg While discussions with cities are on-going the preferred route will include stopovers in the Middle East India and China After which the North Pacific Ocean will need crossing on the way to the west coast of the United States The teams will then race through a variety of landscapes
towards South America for their final stop before heading back to Europe From there a short leg ndash which letrsquos face it will provide some terrific live broadcasting possibilities - will complete the epic 40000 km journey
All eight participating cities will host a combination of competitive challenges for the teams alongside other ingenious forms of entertainment in a two-day programme focused on various target audiences
Starting in April 2016 a new lsquoaround the worldrsquo competition will challenge teams to race between eight of the worldrsquos most exciting locations without using a single drop of fossil fuel As Jules Vernersquos Passe Partout once said ldquoThatrsquos an awful lot of donkey rides unless of course we can find a helliprdquo
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 22
Worth NotingThe production team of Long Way Round (Claudio von Planta en Russ Malkin) are now connected with 80DR Von Planta together with his colleague Kevin Augello will film and produce for 80DR Russ Malkin will work as an executive producer
On April 9 2014 80DR was launched during a partners and investors dinner at the Reform Club in London (the very same venue used in the original book as the starting point for Vernersquos race)
Robert Llewellyn actor comedian writer Formula E co-commentator and the UKrsquos premier e-mobility specialist and general EV advocate played an active role during the Reform Club launch (He also hosts the YouTube show Fully Charged httpswwwyoutubecomuserfullychargedshow - well worth a look)
On April 11 after a conference on e-mobility in the North Sea Region the 80DR team conducted a small
80-hour rally from London to Oslo which simply dripped with media opportunities in all 7 countries of the North-Sea Region (UK Belgium The Netherlands Germany Denmark Sweden and Norway)
The first team to participate in 80D has already signed up Public announcements and details will follow after the launch on October 2 2014
one for the diary 80DR
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 23
Ambassadors
Race around the world in 80 days with sustainable mobility
80 Day Race | Tel +31 6 51544946 | www80drcom |fmanders80drcom
Maarten Steinbuch professor at the TU Eindhoven researching solutions for clean safe and sustainable smart mobility
Tim Coronel Dutch racing driver who harbours an ambition to be the first man to drive the Dakar rally fully electric
Louis Palmer the first man to circumnavigate the world in a solar
powered electric vehicle
Jan Lammers versatile Dutch racing driver winner of Le Mans currently racing trucks in the Dakar rally
The Dutch Organisation for Electric Transport supporting 80DR with their expertise and network
Hubert Auriol entered the first Paris-Dakar when it was organised in
December 1978 and went on to win it three times twice on a motorbike and once in a car thereby becoming the first man to win in two different classes After 16 years of participation he moved to the position of race director of the Dakar a position he held for 9 years He is now the race director and organiser of the Grand China Rally
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 24
make mine a leaf
After years of umming and erring talking up
my own green credentials (while secretly admitting that they were actually more of a light turquoise shade if I didnrsquot include my day job as an environmental consultant) and generally talking the walk I decided to do something properly green At home as part of my personal commitment to change I ordered a Nissan Leaf It arrived just yesterday on the back of a truck all shiny and red on the outside black on the inside and green under the hood It looked great Not in quite the
same way that a Tesla Roadster would have looked great in exactly the same position or even the Tesla Model S or the BMW i3 but great all the same Indeed it wouldnrsquot be pushing it too far to say that a wave of paternal pride rode over me that morning as I clinked the keys to my shiny new car It had taken me a long time to commit to getting an electric vehicle Itrsquos a big commitment and the circumstances needed to be right But finally it all came together I think lsquoBut how did I come to this decisionrsquo I hear you heckling from the back of the room
A question I should start to answer by explaining our previous domestic car situation (PDCS) Most days I drive a 1973 Citroen DS21 a fantastic piece of kit but sadly as thirsty as a dive bombing pelican On a bad day a liter of petrol takes me 5 km (or about 14mpg) To make matters worse our household car is a Mercedes R Class Also very thirsty on the fuel albeit not as bad as the DS It just didnrsquot feel right clocking up 25 to 30000 kilometers a year in these 2 cars So thus armed with the hefty sword of environmental
MAKE MINE A
LEAF2050 Magazinersquos co-founder and Planet B Ventures director Jan-Willem Bode finally flicks the switch on his electric car dream But not without checking the numbers first
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 25
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 26
responsibility I finally felt equipped to take on the numbers For it was there I had always feared my dream of going electric would falter and with it the chance to smirk and wave as I glide past my neighbour on his silly little electric bike Having made many a spreadsheet in the course of my day job I decided to make a ridiculously complex one for
this situation as well In short I calculated everything from NPVs to IRRs and bit by bit the case for buying an electric vehicle started to add up Until that is I went to work one day and was greeted by one of my co-workers in his shiny BMW i3 One thing led to another and we started talking about electric car options both of us absent-mindedly stroking his BMWrsquos sleek black panels and he told me that instead of buying it he had opted for leasing
I hadnrsquot even considered leasing which I then quickly added to my spreadsheet in the form of a 3-year comparison between continuing to drive the DS and leasing a Nissan Leaf Both assuming an annual mileage of 10000 and zero road tax on account of one being an electric car and the other a classic For the LeafLease costs per month pound250
Electricity per month pound10Insurance pound300 per annum For the DSDepreciation and maintenance pound165 per monthPetrol pound340 per month based on 1 liter of petrol for 6 kmInsurance pound800 per annum Which taking into account the appropriate reductions in VAT and corporate tax in its capacity as a company car left me with a total saving in favour of the Nissan Leaf of pound3500
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS So all in all a clear economic case for an electric vehicle The environmental case is clear as well We buy 100 renewable electricity at home and that is where we will mainly be charging the Leaf thus making
it 100 CO2 free With a CO2 intensity of 231 kg of CO2 per liter of petrol I will be saving a total of just over 6000 kg of CO2 by deciding to drive electric And why the Leaf Well first of all costs I would love to have started driving the Tesla Roadster but a) it isnrsquot practical and b) itrsquos expensive The Model S is v cool but not available and also quite a bit
make mine a leaf
Even the sexy BMW i3 clocked up a coquettish pound2000 per annum saving compared to the DS
Jan-Willem Bode (partner at Planet B Ventures) Internet new economy and sustainability entrepreneur
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 27
more expensive I also loved the BMW i3 but for cost reasons I decided against the BMW as well (I have to admit though that I deliberately didnrsquot test drive it for the simple reason that the last time I test drove a more expensive car I ended up getting it) I then went through the Google process I quickly found out that the main comparison in that price class is between the Nissan Leaf the Mitsubishi I MiEV and the Citroen C-Zero
All tests come out in favour of the Leaf Plus despite my tendency to be an early adopter the Nissan Leaf has been on the road a lot longer than the others so I kind of figured that some of the teething problems would have been dealt with So here I am The numbers seem to add up I have started driving a cool 10000 miles without any CO2 emissions and it has to be said am feeling quite good about myself
Next time I will write something about the pitfalls of actually getting the Leaf delivered insured and ready to be charged as well as the first experiences of driving it
Oh and handy tips for stopping smirking while driving
Jan-Willemrsquos brand new Nissan Leaf and the ignominiously deposed DS
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 28
letter from the lowlands
LETTER FROM THE
LOWLANDSBy Freerk Bisschop
Firstly I would like to point out that the title lsquoLetter
from the Lowlandsrsquo was not my idea but Irsquom willing to roll with it for the time being Whatever they call it this is my chance to pitch in a few ideas from the Netherlands which as everyone knows once led (not any more) the world in sustainability renewable energy development and energy efficiency And liquorice but thatrsquos another story
As you have probably noticed our lead story this issue is the launch of the all-electric
Formula-E championship which will be kicking off in Beijing in September An event which seems to be drawing a similar reaction from the mainstream press as did the arrival of punk music back in the 1970s A mixture of excitement fear and old-fashioned reproach
ldquoCan this really be as exciting as lsquoproperrsquo Formula 1 racingrdquo the petrol-heads on the motoring pages are asking their sensibilities addled by decades spent in gasoline-drenched pit lanesOf course it can And hopefully
once everyone sees how exciting electric cars are to drive ndash all that immediate torque bubbling under the hood ndash we will start seeing the electrical vehicle revolution really gaining some momentum
All we need now is to get some of those E-curious car buyers to give an electric car a whirl To feel that torque for themselves and be amazed (as everyone is on their first electric ride) how smooth and relaxing they are to drive
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 29
MI COCHE TU COCHE
A need which is currently being addressed here in the Netherlands in the form of a campaign encouraging existing electric vehicle owners to invite their neighbours for a test drive One day only the 20th of September
ldquoAre you proud of your electric carrdquo the campaign organised by lsquoSlim Op Weg Natuur Milieursquo asks ldquoAre you excited about electric cars and want others to enjoy the same experience Then herersquos your chancerdquo
Followed by some crisp and witty blurb about how great and simple the idea is and details on how to lsquoZoek Een Showroomrsquo at your own house and start enticing those passing neighbours into your cunning web
They already have 54 lsquonew showroomsrsquo For more details visit httpwwwinstapdagnl(in Dutch)
THE CHICKEN AND EGG DILEMMA
Another whistle I would like to blow in and around the general theme of EVs is that of an initiative here in my country called lsquoFastnedrsquo which is setting about providing the extensive charging infrastructure that will be required once all those EVs start tripping off the production lines Leading the charge ndash if yoursquoll excuse the cheeky pun ndash rather than following it Thereby avoiding that boring old
chicken and egg dilemma the EV detractors seem to love banging on about
Their website httpwwwfastnednl is worth a read in its own right They explain how they are aiming to provide a countrywide-network of fast charging points for all kinds of different EVs with all the electricity coming from 100 renewable sources And how most mid-journey top ups will take between 15 and 30 minutes with customers controlling the transaction via an app on their phone
Plus lots of useful information for people in the process of choosing which type of electrical vehicle suits them best ndash they have varying charging requirements ndash and how to go about making that decision
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 30
MARIJUANA POWER
And lastly because who I am to mess with established national stereotypes I would like to leave you with a story I recently read on NBC about an exciting new battery technology based on marijuana Or to be more accurate on industrial hemp old Johannarsquos (allegedly) non-psychoactive cousin
Apparently a team led by David Mitlin an engineering professor at Clarkson University has discovered that hemp can be converted into super-powerful super capacitors for energy storage far more cheaply than graphene
The technology was a star performer at the American Chemical Societyrsquos national meeting in San Francisco (A more juvenile mind than mine might even suggest that the
crowd were acuteblownrsquo away by the results) Particularly the bit when the hemp-derived carbon was shown to perform ldquoa little bit betterrdquo than graphene but at approximately 1000th of the cost
As NBC reported ldquoSupercapsrdquo are often characterised as the super-battery of the future but Mitlin said the technology is
actually more complementary to next-generation batteries He has launched a spin-off venture called Alta Supercaps to develop the idea An early challenge for which will presumably be to get a few laws changed in America where it is currently illegal to grow hemp for anything other than lsquoresearchrsquo purposes Right on man right on
Freerk Bisschop (director at Planet B Ventures)
letter from the lowlands
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 31
ME AND MYBEETLELike millions of other people Jeroen Meinders loves the original VW Beetle convertible But he also cares about the planet So to be true to both his mistresses at the same time he did the obvious thing and converted his beloved Beetle into a high-performance electric car Why wouldnrsquot you
ldquoThe best thing I have discovered driving my EV for the past four years is that the only maintenance I had was because of the age of the car 1974 Never ever any trouble with the electric stuff
ldquoAs for performance the top speed of my electric Beetle is well over 160 kmh the lsquooldrsquo would hardly get to 120
ldquoAnd as for CO2 efficiency - convert the old into the new
and avoid recycling thatrsquos making use of our assets the best way possiblerdquo
The sister car the black beetle from the boys from Rebbl We drove an electric rally through the alps what a fun thing to do Nothing can beat the silence
The all electric Beetle convertible in the lobby of the Ajax stadium No problem to drive in there without any polluting gases
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 32
CRASHBANG
WALLOP
Is the concept of driverless cars simply too scary for most people to envisage or will we all one day be simply flopping into our vehicles putting our feet up and saying ldquohome please Jamesrdquo
ldquoAfter you no really after you okay well oh dear whoops bangrdquo
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 33
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 34
From a transportation expertrsquos point of view the
day when we are all nipping about in self-driving cars canrsquot come quickly enough No congestion no accidents no road rage Who wouldnrsquot want that
And as everyone has probably heard one of the worldrsquos biggest tech companies Google is already putting prototypes through their paces
But it seems in the rush that somebody might have overlooked the importance of getting the general public on board with the idea Instead of just drooling over it from a control junkiersquos perspective (Irsquom thinking a bald-headed man in a leather armchair stroking a cat and whispering into a microphone ldquoAll clear once again at the Hanger Lane gyratory
systemhelliprdquo)
It seems that ordinary people (formerly known presumably as lsquocar driversrsquo) still have a few basic safety concerns It will after all require a sizeable leap of faith to hand our steering wheels over to machines Our experiences with satnavs being all we have to go on so far in that regard
Indeed a new survey carried out
by the University of Michiganrsquos Transportation Research Institute discovered that most respondents in the United States Britain and Australia still have concerns about purchasing and travelling in self-driving cars while admitting to finding the technology more than a little arousing
The bottom line being that when push came to shove 60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about travelling in self-driving cars
Apparently the survey asked people about cars that can drive themselves either partially (ldquoLevel 3 technologyrdquo) or completely without human input (ldquoLevel 4rdquo technology) Roughly
54 were wary of the level 3 vehicles and 60 more than a little freaked by the idea of handing over driving responsibility completely
But surely itrsquos just a case of people getting used to new technology Itrsquos not as if nervous crowds in shopping centres are still gathering at the foot of escalators Wersquove grown to generally trust them although like stroking a horse you have to be careful of that last little
crash bang wallop
60 described themselves as being ldquoconcernedrdquo or ldquovery concernedrdquo about
travelling in self-driving cars
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 35
jumpy off step at the endThe point being that driverless cars (which in our vision of the future will all be electrically powered) will inevitably be subjected to far more rigorous standards than we humans let alone the cars and trucks we are in charge of
ldquoThe first accident thatrsquos caused by a computer malfunction will freak everyone out far beyond the thousands of car accidents caused by humansrdquo Eno Center of Transportation Director Joshua Schank commented last year
Which will surely mean that as the laws surrounding this
technology are developed they will take these concerns on board and make sure that the compliance standards are strict and the machines we will be trusting are regularly checked (Itrsquos hardly our fault wersquore still affected by the way Yul Brynner turned on us in West World)
Scardie cats apart the biggest single barrier to mass adoption will actually be cost
For while the survey found that 42 of people would lsquoconsiderrsquo buying or leasing the cars ndash enough perhaps for a foothold in the market - early adopters are more likely to come in the form of taxi setups
or companies like Uber If the streets were full of easy to hail sensibly priced taxis constantly at our beck and call who wouldnrsquot be tempted to use one
With the added bonus (hopefully) of avoiding all that embarrassment at the end of a normal taxi journey as yoursquore waiting for your change and the driverrsquos deliberately fumbling in his wallet in the hope yoursquoll pick up on his lsquowherersquos my bleeding tiprsquo body language but yoursquore buggered if yoursquore going to tip him because hersquos already just relieved you of 50 quid thanks to that snarl up in Hammersmith which he surely could have avoided
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 36
In short the price of this technology is likely to be higher than the 30 premium on the cost of a regular car that most people in the survey said they would lsquoconsiderrsquo
ldquoThe first wave of autonomous vehicles could cost over $100000 five times the cost of the average new vehiclerdquo one estimate recently said ldquoEven that might be an underestimate The 3-D sensors alone on Googlersquos autonomous car cost about $70000 Those costs would presumably come down over time but no one knows how rapidly Plus therersquos the possibility that strict regulations could drive the price up furtherrdquo
But letrsquos face it the numbers men at the worldrsquos many haulage and shipping companies must be licking their lips at the thought of all those fully automated fleets with their vastly reduced running costs That temptation will inevitably be too great and the age of the affordable self-driving car will be upon us
The benefits are surely too many to ignore
Right now in America alone more than 33000 people die each year from automobile crashes And roughly 40 of fatal accidents are caused by alcohol distraction drugs or fatigue all of which would be taken out of the equation once
humans are taken off the wheel
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion In the sense that journeys would be quicker because cars driven by robots could travel at steadier speeds and avoid traffic jams
Then of course therersquos fuel efficiency With the scardie cat human drivers out of the way self-driving cars and trucks will intelligently bunch close together and move at steadier speeds A collective action which The Rocky Mountain Institute estimates would lead to a reduction in wind drag and a consequent reduction in fuel use of 20 to 30
crash bang wallop
Self-driving cars would also theoretically reduce congestion
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 37
As the fear of crashing decreases the cars will be made out of lighter materials again with reciprocal savings in fuel use
And letrsquos face it commuters will be able to kick back after a couple of glasses of wine and let their designated drivers take them sensibly home while they read a book or shout lsquoYour carrsquos a rubbish driver materdquo out of the window when they get bored
One reservation though And that is the hope that when driverless cars do take over our
streets ndash itrsquos going to happen ndash the manufacturers will resist the temptation to equip them with voices
Voices which will probably start out sounding like British Airways pilots ldquoGood Evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this our 1045pm service from the restaurant to home Wersquoll be cruising at an altitude of about ground level and maintaining a speed of 30 miles per hour We thank you for choosing to buy a Toyota Boomerang the car that always comes backrdquo (Toyota 10 and you can have that)
But which will eventually degenerate into celebrity voices
Or worse still in a gesture of ironic tragedy London cab drivers
ldquoEvening guvna time for home is it Will you look at that Should be criminal Was in my day I blame the taxman At least Dick Turpin wore a mask Blah blah blahrdquo
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 38
Itrsquos the age-old futuristic vision Yoursquore rushing to catch a train but must first park your electric car inside the station garage You risk losing precious time searching for a space (ideally one where you can charge your vehicle) and missing your train Wouldnrsquot it be nice if in these collective visions we could imagine being able to drop the darned car off right in front of the station and letting it do the rest
Exactly
And itrsquos not actually that way off thanks to an exciting little EU ICT research project mysteriously known as lsquoV-CHARGErsquo (One can only assume the person who named the project is a fan of the Iron Man movie trilogy) A project which scored very highly in initial tests at Stuttgart airport in April 2014
In the future they tell us more and more people are expected to drive electric cars for energy consumption and environmental reasons As a result people
are also likely to switch more frequently from one transport mode to another ndash creating the need for better parking solutions at transport hubs
To prepare for this mobility shift the V-CHARGE consortium ndash comprising six partners from four countries - is working on a fully automated parking ndash and charging ndash system for electric cars at public car parks Currently they have two electric test vehicles one in Wolfsburg and one in Zurich and a third one is under development
ldquoThe idea is that we can actually use technology to give people a better mix of public and private transportrdquo says Dr Paul Furgale scientific project manager for V-CHARGE and deputy director of the autonomous systems lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) ldquoWith a fully automated park and ride drivers can get out of the car and immediately board the train without looking for parking This will save each driver several minutes a dayrdquo
Another advantage of V-CHARGE is that it will lead to smoother traffic inside the garage ensuring empty spaces are filled quickly and congestion kept to a minimum
SMARTPHONES AND SENSORS
Using V-CHARGE drivers will be able to exit the car in front of the car park and use a smartphone app to trigger the parking process A bit like in all those old westerns when the dust-covered ranch hands would gallop up to the saloon desperate for a few shots of dangerously potent whisky and then just throw their reins at the conveniently located tethering rail Without wasting a single moment (In reality there were probably dozens of horses wandering around on those film sets causing mischief at next-doorrsquos production of Pinocchio)
It works like this
The vehicle first connects with the car parkrsquos server which receives a drop-off signal from the phone the server then
JUST DEAL WITH ITMy Car Drives Parks And Charges Itself For Me ndash How Clever Is That
just deal with it
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 39
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 40
figures out the route and communicates this to the car which drives itself to the designated space
If another vehicle crosses its path the electric car either stops to let it pass or manoeuvres to avoid it While in the garage the car can also be programmed to drive itself to a charging station Upon returning the driver uses the same app to summon the car ndash fully charged and ready to drive
Since GPS satellite signals donrsquot work inside garages the scientists have developed a camera-based system which equips each car with a total of 8 cameras
The car needs to connect to the garagersquos server and download a map which gives a description of the surroundings By comparing the data collected by the cameras with data from the map the vehicle can figure out exactly where it is and where it is going and self-navigate to an appropriate spot
The system will work in any garage as long as cars are fitted with sensors and cameras similar to the ones already used today in parking assistance and emergency braking systems
SAFETY AND ACCURACY
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to 10km an hour during the autonomous driving
After successfully demonstrating fully automated valet parking in the Bosch parking garage at Stuttgart airport scientists are focusing now on improving the accuracy of parking manoeuvres and in perfecting navigation This way the vehicles can deal reliably with any situation that arises including changing lighting conditions or areas frequented by pedestrians
ldquoParking areas can be extremely complexrdquo explains Dr Furgale
ldquoThe push in the last part of the project will be to really focus on dealing with dynamic environments and tracking dynamic objects on the scenerdquo
The project expects to demonstrate a proof-of-concept automated park amp ride system by September 2015
The complete lsquovalet parking and chargingrsquo system is expected to be on the market in the next decade Nevertheless some of the components might be available much sooner
Eventually Dr Furgale believes the same technology could be used to develop autonomous parking systems for electric cars on city streets ldquoThat will be more of a challengerdquo he says ldquobut once you have the maps in place the rest of the technology will come togetherrdquo
V-CHARGE is a 4 year project funded with euro 56 million by the European Unionrsquos SeventhFramework Programme (FP7)
just deal with it
With safety in mind car speeds are limited to
10km an hour during the autonomous driving
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 42
lsquoWhy re-invent the wheelrsquo somebody must have muttered at the DECC in London a few days ago when a Populus opinion poll (on behalf of UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG)) suggested that contrary to the findings of previous polls the UK general public are actually rather coming round to the idea of fracking for shale gas after all
(A finding which was duly reported by several mainstream media outlets Thereby resulting in a noticeable sense of ldquoOh well I suppose if everyone else is okay with ithelliprdquo type sentiment rippling through the generally apathetic underbelly of UK public opinion Impressionable beast that it is)
Accompanied perhaps by a quick search on YouTube for a memorable clip from the 1980s comedy lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo entitled lsquoLeading Questionsrsquo
(see link above) in which cabinet secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby teaches the Prime Ministerrsquos principal private secretary Bernard Woolley exactly how easy it is to ensure that an opinion poll produces exactly the result you want it too
Woolley The party have had an opinion poll done and it seems all the voters are in favour of bringing back national service
Sir Bernard Well have another opinion poll done that shows voters are against bringing back national service
Woolley But they canrsquot be for it and against it
Sir Bernard Oh of course they can Bernard Have you never been surveyed
Followed by a master class example of how leading questions can be used to illicit
diametrically opposed opinions on the same issue from the same person
Go on treat yourself
httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv=G0ZZJXw4MTA
Hence the appearance today of a new survey from the DECC confirming that contrary to the findings of the Populus poll the general public arenrsquot coming round to the idea of fracking at all actually
Populus Hey treehuggers Says here that 57 of people are now in favour of fracking while just a measly little 16 are opposed to it What do you say to that
DECC Well letrsquos see according to our poll fresh off the press today not old and smelly like yours a puny little 24 of people are in favour of environmental vandalism sorry fracking while a massive
IN OUR HUMBLEOPINIONUK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Takes Lead From 1980s Episode of lsquoYes Prime Ministerrsquo
humble opinions
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 43
24 are definitely against it Put that in your pipe and smoke it (Not literally obviously because that would be irresponsible)
It seems the only thing the two pollsters agreed on was that thanks to their combined efforts between 50 and 75 of people now know what the word lsquofrackingrsquo means
But it does seem the DECC gang might have a teensie weensie point when it comes to the bit about how Populus lsquophrasedrsquo their questions says Leo Barasi on his blog Noise of the Crowd
ldquoA question on fracking thatrsquos 146 words long describes the process with reassuring terms like lsquotiny fracturesrsquo and lsquoapproved non-hazardous chemicalsrsquo and tells us that it could meet the UKrsquos natural gas demand for 50 years with no challenge to the data no costs
or consequences no alternative energy sources Thatrsquos not an attempt to find out what the public think about fracking Itrsquos message testingrdquo
Of course at the root of the problem about shale gas and fracking lies the age-old thorny dilemma of cash versus conscience We the general public have always had a bit of a problem when it comes to that
On the one hand we are being sold a short-term solution to our energy problems in the form of a lsquodashrsquo for gas from within our very own shores all wrapped up in the shiny tinsel of a distant memory about gas burning 50 cleaner than other fossil fuels like coal and oil Yippee No
And then just when we think we can congratulate ourselves for being at least 50 green the
wind and solar lsquonuttersrsquo start banging on about how shale gas isnrsquot actually all that clean once you take into account the energy required to release it and the way it causes earthquakes and contaminates our fresh water supplies
Talk about mixed emotions
A bit like your 9-year old child being offered a millionairersquos salary to become a chimneysweeprsquos apprentice
It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the run up to the UK general elections a time when the real politicians - the sound bite writers and the spin doctors - really come into their own So bottom line be on your lookout for lsquoeasy to manufacturersquo opinion polls
Mind you thatrsquos only our opinion
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 44
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 45
ldquoToday therersquos no legislation regarding how much
intelligence a machine can have how interconnected it can be If that continues look at the exponential trend We will reach the singularity in the timeframe most experts predict From that point on yoursquore going to see that the top species will no longer be humans but machinesrdquo
These are the words of Louis Del Monte physicist entrepreneur and author of
ldquoThe Artificial Intelligence Revolutionrdquo Del Monte spoke to Dylan Love of businessinsidercom about his thoughts surrounding artificial intelligence and the singularity an indeterminate point in the future when machine intelligence will outmatch not only your own intelligence but the worldrsquos combined human intelligence too
The average estimate for when this will happen is 2040 though Del Monte says it might be as late as 2045 Either way itrsquos a timeframe of within three decades
ldquoIt wonrsquot be the lsquoTerminatorrsquo scenario not a warrdquo said Del Monte ldquoIn the early part of
the post-singularity world one scenario is that the machines will seek to turn humans into cyborgs This is nearly happening now replacing faulty limbs with artificial parts Wersquoll see the machines as a useful tool Productivity in business based on automation will be increased dramatically in various countries In China it doubled just based on GDP per employee due to the use of machinesrdquo
ldquoBy the end of this centuryrdquo he continued ldquomost of the human race will have become cyborgs [part human part tech or machine] The allure will be immortality Machines will make breakthroughs in medical technology most of the human race will have more leisure time and wersquoll think wersquove never had it better The concern Irsquom raising is that the machines will view us as an unpredictable and dangerous speciesrdquo
Del Monte believes machines will become self-conscious and have the capacity to protect themselves They ldquomight view us the same way we view harmful insectsrdquo Humans are a species that is ldquounstable creates wars has weapons to wipe out the
world twice over and makes computer virusesrdquo Hardly an appealing roommate
He wrote the book as ldquoa warningrdquo Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more capable and wersquore adopting it as quickly as it appears A pacemaker operation is ldquoquite routinerdquo he said but ldquoit uses sensors and AI to regulate your heartrdquo
A 2009 experiment showed that robots can develop the ability to lie to each other Run at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in the Ecole Polytechnique Feacutedeacuterale of Lausanne Switzerland the experiment had robots designed to cooperate in finding beneficial resources like energy and avoiding the hazardous ones Shockingly the robots learned to lie to each other in an attempt to hoard the beneficial resources for themselves
ldquoThe implication is that theyrsquore also learning self-preservationrdquo Del Monte told us ldquoWhether or not theyrsquore conscious is a moot pointrdquo
ldquoIrsquoLL BE BACKrdquoBy 2045 lsquoThe Top Species Will No Longer Be Humansrsquo
Which Might Change Things A Bit
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 46
BARCELONA SPAINrsquoS
CIUDAD DEL SOLBarcelona may be famous for Gaudiacutersquos modernist architecture and
its world-class Picasso museum but therersquos something else for which the city of 16 million should be known its commitment to
sustainability In fact Barcelonarsquos solar energy regulations have become a model for other municipalities with more than 70 Spanish
municipalities following the cityrsquos example
By Laurie Guevara-Stone
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 47
SOLAR HOT WATER
In 2000 Barcelona became the first European city to have a solar thermal ordinance All new buildings and existing buildings undergoing major renovations are required to use solar panels to supply 60 percent of their hot water requirements Swimming pool heating must be met 100 percent from solar energy The ordinance applies to all commercial buildings and all residential buildings with more than 16 apartments This policy has increased the amount of solar thermal panels in the city 4000 from 11 square meters
per 1000 people in 2000 to over 40 square meters per 1000 people today
The policy has been so successful that 70 other municipalities in the country replicated it and in 2006 the Spanish government became the first in the world to enact a national building code requiring the installation of solar panels for hot water
SOLAR PERGOLA
In 2002 the city established the Barcelona Local Energy Agency which initiated a 10-year
plan for energy conservation and sustainable energy production the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan The plan provided a set of 55 strategies ranging from energy conservation measures to education programs
One part of the plan was to increase the use of solar energy not just for heating water but also for electricity In 2004 Barcelona hosted the Universal Forum of Cultures an international event held every three years to promote peace sustainable development human rights and respect
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 48
for cultural diversity The site chosen for the event was in an industrial area on an extremely polluted river known as the ldquoChernobyl on the river Besogravesrdquo As part of revamping the area the city installed a 443-kilowatt PV array the largest urban PV system in Europe at the time This PV array built as a pergola creates shade beautifies the area with interesting urban architecture and feeds 554 MWh of power per year to Barcelonarsquos electric grid reducing the cityrsquos carbon emissions by 440 tonnes per year
Two years later in 2006 Barcelona passed a Solar Photovoltaic Ordinance requiring all buildings of certain sizes to use PVmdashall commercial buildings with a roof surface area over 3500 square meters must produce 10 percent of their electricity consumption with PV and office buildings with a minimum surface of 1500 square meters must produce 12 percent of their electricity consumption with PV All hotels and hospitals with over 100 beds must also incorporate PV systems
There are also solar panels on the city hall bus stops schools and libraries bringing the total
installed PV capacity in the city to 14 MW in
2008
By the end of 2011 Spainrsquos Catalonia regionmdashof which Barcelona is the capitalmdashhad a cumulative installed solar PV capacity of 234 MW
And to further reduce the Cityrsquos electric bill Barcelona is retrofitting its streetlights with LED bulbs that run on motion sensors with a goal of having 3360 efficient street lamps on 160 streets by 2015 These wireless street lamps are expected to decrease the cityrsquos municipal power bill by a third
PUTTING WASTE TO USE
Another goal of the Barcelona Energy Improvement Plan was to greatly increase the cityrsquos use of renewable energy sources Besides the abundant
solar energy that falls on
barcelona
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 49
Barcelona the city also produces a lot of organic waste City officials decided to use that waste for some of their heating and air conditioning needs
In 2002 Barcelona installed a district heating and cooling system that relies on urban waste The biomass for the CHP plant called Districlima comes from maintenance of the cityrsquos numerous parks and gardens (approximately 7200 metric tons per year) and maintenance of the outlying forests (another 28000 tons per year) It has grown each year
A second power plant was added in 2012 to handle power peaks There are now 15 kilometers of pipes and 80 connected public and private buildings the largest district heating and cooling network in Spain with 74 MW of cooling power and 52 MW of heating power The system reduced CO2 emissions by 17500 metric tons in 2013mdashthe equivalent of planting 875000 trees six times more trees than the city currently has
TACKLING TRANSPORTATION
However the main emitter of
greenhouse gas emissions in Barcelona was the transport sector So part of the energy plan was developing public transport infrastructure Barcelonarsquos transport system Transports Metropolitan de Barcelona (TMB) runs all the cityrsquos buses and the Metro
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe with 400 natural gas vehicles 82 hybrids and the rest (approximately 500) with particulate traps that reduce annual emissions of NOx (71) and particles (85) for each bus TMB is also currently testing a pure electric bus with a range of 120 miles enough to cover a full-service urban line
The city also has more than 500 hybrid taxis 294 municipal electric vehicles (such as for trash collection and streetlight maintenance) 262 public charging stations 130 electric motorbikes and an estimated 400 private electric vehicles on its streets
Bicing is Barcelonarsquos bike share program inaugurated in 2007 Bicing has 6000 bicycles at 400 stations throughout the
city There are currently over 121000 users generating 14 million trips per year on the cityrsquos 181 kilometers of bike lanes Approximately 50 percent of all trips in the city are currently made on foot or on bicycle and only 20 percent of trips in the city are made by private vehicles
Barcelona also launched the worldrsquos first electric scooter sharing program MOTIT All a commuter needs is a smartphone to reserve a scooter that can be picked up and dropped off at numerous locations around the city The bright purple scooters go 40ndash60 kilometers on a single charge and even come equipped with a helmet
The City also implemented smart parking spaces to help reduce the amount of time spent searching for parking Sensors detect if a parking spot is vacant and drivers can get the info on their smartphones The sensors also provide data about parking patterns helping improve management of urban mobility
In 2011 the Barcelona Energy Agency drew up a second energy plan called the Energy
The TMB bus network which transports 190 million passengers per year has one of the cleanest bus fleets in Europe
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 50
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan of Barcelona which includes 108 projects to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and to improve air quality and energy supply systems The plan includes implementing more renewable energy systems increasing efficiency and promoting transportation alternatives
All of these measures have helped Barcelona become a leader in sustainability Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels in the industrialized world at under 4 metric tons of emissions per person per year (Houston is at 141 and Paris is at 52) And the city is still moving forward ldquoIn 2020 Barcelona could be a more environmentally conscious cityrdquo
according to Irma Soldevilla i Garcia of the Barcelona Energy Agency ldquoin which careful energy consumption will be a regular part of peoplersquos livesrdquo
Laurie Guevara-Stone is a writereditor for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) where she writes blogs and articles on all the issues that RMI addresses
Barcelona has one of the lowest per capita greenhouse
gas emission levels in the industrialised world
barcelona
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 51
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 52
In our continuing effort to help bring food sources closer to where we need them our focus in this issue is on a bold attempt by Hong Kong-based designers Ova Studio Ltd to turn old shipping containers into vertical farm structures
Known as The Hive-Inntrade City Farm the modular structure is being built in downtown New York the containers designed and used as farming modules acting as an ecosystem in which each unit plays a role in producing food harvesting energy and recycling waste and water
ldquoThe idea of this ecosystem is to bring farming downtown and grow fresh produce near their urban consumers Containers can be owned or rented by major organic brands local restaurants or even serve as private local gardens kitchen gardens They can also serve educational purposes for the neighbouring schools
copy 2014 OVA Studio Ltd
FOOD IN THE SKY
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 53
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 54
FROM FIELD TO FARMSome farms in Brazil lose 10 to 12 of their yield at various points along the postharvest route Thatrsquos a lot of food falling through the cracks But according to a study by the University of Illinois itrsquos the will as much as the way thatrsquos missing
This was one of the findings in a study that examined how managers of large farms in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso may be negatively affecting the efficiency of their own operations
ldquoClearly there are things that you can do to reduce lossmdashyou can put bed liners in trucks you can adjust your combine you can harvest more slowlymdashbut for the farmers in Mato Grosso itrsquos not a high priorityrdquo said Peter Goldsmith ldquoIt doesnrsquot seem rational If you see soybeans bouncing off your windshield from the truck ahead of you and bands of soybeans along the berm why wouldnrsquot you try to prevent it It appears that farm managers in Brazil actually allow loss to happen because the cost of reducing loss is greater than the
benefitsrdquo
Goldsmith said that one of the basic research questions of the ADM Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss which funded this study is about why loss occurs He said that
although there are hundreds of articles about postharvest loss no one is working with the farm managers to find out from a managerial and organisational perspective what drives this loss
In short there is a discrepancy
between the reality of the postharvest loss and what the managers believe to be acceptable loss
Goldsmith explained that in tropical systems where the farming season lasts much
longer than in the United States the more intensive production results in two crops a year on the same plot of groundmdashsoybeans followed by corn
ldquoBecause they are in such a hurry to get the soybean crop harvested so they can get the
maize crop planted before the rainy season they may harvest too fast desiccate green soybean to advance harvest or expose soybean to the weather during transport all of which results in a 10 percent lossrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level
ldquoThe loss isnrsquot intentional but rather a level that the farm
manager is willing to live with in order to get that second
crop of cornrdquo
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 55
that the farm manager is willing to live with in order to get that second crop of cornrdquo
A lack of understanding and awareness is also part of the problem ldquoWhen a farmer doesnrsquot think that harvest speed is important they have more loss Likewise if a farmer doesnrsquot think that combine adjustments are important theyrsquoll have more loss Those who realize that maintaining equipment is important have less loss Consequently technical training in the field with the equipment could be beneficial But the cost of reducing loss further using current technology may exceed the benefits Farmers may be unwilling to pay or invest in loss reductionrdquo
In addition to harvest speed the study identified several other factors contributing to grain loss lack of truck regular maintenance lack of adjustment to the combine at the platform bad weather bad road conditions and a lack of employee training
For the study an initial focus group of seven farmers was conducted to help frame the questions for an online survey The survey respondents represent some of the largest farmers not just in Mato Grosso but in the world
ldquoThis dominant class of medium- and large-tropical farm acreage operators who
are producing most of the new grains are filling the gap between where we are now and where we need to be in 2050 to feed the worldrdquo Goldsmith said ldquoSure we can expand our crop among the developed countries of the world but wersquore only helping at the margin The potential for new grain producers on new land is coming from farmers in the Southern Hemisphererdquo
The study entitled ldquoManagerial factors affecting post-harvest loss the case of Mato Grosso Brazilrdquo was co-authored by Anamaria Gaudencia Martins and Altair Moura and was published in a 2014 issue of the International Journal of Agricultural Management
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 56
SHUTTHAT
DOORTop Universities put thinking caps on to make UKrsquos
non-domestic buildings totally energy efficient
Southampton researchers are aiming to improve energy efficiency cut costs and reduce carbon emissions in the countryrsquos non-domestic buildings
Southampton is one of six universities (along with Imperial College London Cambridge Edinburgh Oxford and Strathclyde) which will share pound4m in funding to really stick their inquisitive little academic noses into the problem and see what fiendish plans they come up with
The official line of course being more like ldquoThe research will address how to use technology data and information mathematics and sociology to create better energy strategies and behaviours in public and private non-domestic buildingsrdquo
Non-domestic buildings such
as offices supermarkets hospitals and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
A great opportunity for the owners of those buildings to lead by example and get that 18 number as close to zero as possible as quickly as possible
And why not
Planning energy saving techniques and implementing change with the cooperation of building occupants is going to be essential And whorsquos to say we should make those changes obligatory by law
After all the majority of those types of buildings are already being managed by professionals facilities managers who look after all the planned and unplanned
maintenance programmes agree budgets pay the fuel bills agree short- and long-term budgets that sort of thing
That plus the fact that most of the changes we already know about (let alone those that the universities might come up with) have relatively short pay back periods Certainly in the context of the life of most of the buildings concerned
The Southampton project which was awarded pound493000 of funding will examine how external digital cameras can be used to monitor the way windows blinds and lighting are used and how occupantsrsquo needs such as privacy comfort and security can be balanced with energy management
Project leader Professor Patrick James a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and the
(EVERARD)
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 57
Environment at the University of Southampton says ldquoIn a domestic setting a householder is directly responsible for the energy bills and would therefore not consciously leave a window open overnight in the winter In an office environment however there is no financial driver for people to behave in the same energy efficient manner While there may be a strong reason to open a window in an office (stuffiness high temperature) the driver to close the window (energy awareness) may be very weak unless there is an additional driver such as external noise rain or a security risk
ldquoThis poses a real challenge to the facilities manager lsquohappy
productive usersrsquo prefer control of the faccedilade which is what well designed non-domestic building environments should provide but providing this control introduces significant energy performance riskrdquo
Professor Philip Nelson EPSRCrsquos Chief Executive and former Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Southampton adds ldquoImproving energy efficiency is an important piece
of the energy puzzle Worldwide energy demand is rising as are global temperatures and sea levels We need to find smart solutions to how we use energy while improving the environment in which people have to work rest or play These
projects will go a long way to help improve our understanding of what goes on in non-domestic buildings and add to the armoury at the disposal of those managing these facilitiesrdquo
pound3m funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of the Research Councils UK Energy Programme (RCUKEP) and pound1m from the Technology Strategy Board
Non-domestic buildings such as offices supermarkets hospitals
and factories account for approximately 18 of UK carbon
emissions and 13 of final energy consumption
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 58
AIMING FOR THE PERFECT BUILDINGCARTIF III is a new building that forms part of an applied research institute called the CARTIF Technology Centre based in Valladolid Spain This building is singular In addition to displaying all of the characteristics of a highly energy efficient building it has a system of data collection and monitoring used to improve the optimal use of such facilitiesAacutelvaro Corredera and Roberto Sanz electronic industrial engineers from the energy division at the CARTIF Technology Centre talks about how energy efficiency systems work and their applicability within the context of the European-funded project DIRECTION designed to study buildings with a low energy consumption
Why is CARTIF III a model building of energy efficiency
Roberto Sanz (RS) Cartif III was selected as a showcase for the European project called DIRECTION and was partially built with funds from this project Different methodologies to improve energy efficiency were implemented along the construction of this building
Aacutelvaro Corredera (AC) This new building is innovative both in
terms of energy generation and energy management technologies It features a 45-kilowatt photovoltaic system a biomass boiler that caters to all areas of the building and a geothermal plant Furthermore it has advanced and comprehensive control of all the systems of energy generation and distribution such as lighting occupancy and access control It is also unique in that two-thirds of the building has an industrial use and the rest is devoted to office space it therefore caters for multiple needs
What is so innovative about the monitoring devices and databases used to optimise energy efficiency
RS Monitoring devices give us a comprehensive and global control In addition we can also collect all the data
about generation and energy distribution within the building facilities Such monitoring allows us to control energy generation from all sources including geothermal solar biomass while also monitoring their use through lighting and even room occupation This means that if an area is not occupied the system can be switched off
Through these control systems we have generated a database which contains nearly 1300 different variables We can now make fairly accurate simulations of how the building works We can also optimise its installations and working system to reduce energy consumption
How does such a monitoring approach contribute to the overall aim of this research
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 59
AC The aim of the project is to demonstrate that such kind of low energy buildings can become a reality Therefore we are collecting and processing data from these demonstrator buildings We can then use this data to calculate the parameters of energy consumption so-called key performance indicators
(KPI) and check whether the buildings have reached specific energy consumption targets Ultimately it can help check whether the building is working as anticipated
What are the opportunities for future low energy buildings similar to the CARTIF III showcase
AC On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to any builder But you have to consider the return you can make with savings in terms of building with these facilities services and the level of control systems that we are developing
RS Having an industrial warehouse combined with office space is a fairly common construction Future buildings of this type can have an energy-efficient building that allows big savings on the total energy consumption In the case of the showcase the expected energy consumption savings are around 84 The objective of the
project is to make the primary energy consumption lower than 60 kWhm2 per year This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 This approach may be applicable to other climates if the algorithms are tailored adequately
(Source 14 July 2014 youriscom)
On the face of it a building like this seems pricy to
any builder But you have to consider the return you
can make with savings in terms of building with
these facilities services and the level of control
systems that we are developing
PAGE 60
PAGE 60
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