Elena Martin

Next Sunday 26 March, as usual, the clocks will change to daylight saving time. The clocks will have to be adjusted and 2:00 a.m. will become 3:00 a.m., i.e. the clocks will go forward by one hour.

TRUTH OR MYTH IN THE ENERGY SAVING OF THE TIME CHANGEOVER

Since 1940, Spain has been changing the time twice a year. But… Will there be a definitive change? At the moment it does not look like this will be the last change, as the government has fixed the start and end of summer time until 2026.

The aim of the time change is to adjust the working day to the hours of daylight in order to make better use of daylight and save energy. This change corresponds to the beginning of spring, when the days start to last longer and temperatures rise, giving way to summer. But does the time change bring about energy savings?

According to the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), the time change allows a 5% reduction in electricity consumption, which is equivalent to 300 million euros per year, between homes and businesses. For this to happen, it is necessary to dispense with artificial lighting when it is not necessary and make intelligent use of energy-consuming equipment, such as heating, domestic appliances, etc.

There are theories that defend and affirm that the time change has positive effects depending on the climate, but, on the other hand, there are hypotheses that affirm that the time change has negative effects on people’s health by affecting their mood.

As we have mentioned, for the time being, the time change will continue, but to save energy we can follow some tips on our own, such as:

• Use energy-saving LED bulbs, as in the long term it always pays to choose this type of lighting because of its duration and the difference in consumption.
• Buy efficient low-consumption appliances and use ecological programmes.
• Keep the house at the right temperature. For example, by installing a thermostat that regulates the heating temperature to avoid sudden changes in temperature.
• Insulate the home well to keep it warm or cool, as a large part of a home’s heating needs are due to heat loss, mainly through doors and windows.

Do you want to know more about energy? Access the Nara Solar blog.

Sustainability is about meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the needs of future generations. A sustainable city is one that offers quality of life to its inhabitants without putting resources at risk.

THE MOST SUSTAINABLE CITIES

Since 1972, at the Stockholm Conference, the collective conscience for the care of the planet became visible. As a result, more and more laws were passed to protect the environment.

Making cities sustainable is the 17th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations. It is expected that by 2030 there will be a total of 43 large cities and that by 2050 there will be 68% urban centres. Furthermore, the digitisation of these is set to be one of the keys to unlocking sustainable futures for cities.

We can highlight some of the following cities as the most sustainable:

• Amsterdam: this city stands out for its connectivity, quality of jobs and transport infrastructure. It covers an area of 219 km2 and has already decided to develop a circular economy model a few years ago. In 2009 it was elected as a European smart city.
• Oslo: For some years now, Oslo has been looking towards a sustainable future with the implementation of a good transport system. Green spaces, use of renewable energies and great opportunities to reduce greenhouse gases. In 2019 it received the European Green Capital
• Tokyo: is a city highly regarded for its technological influence. In fact, it has launched a national initiative known as Society 5.0, which aims to achieve a data-driven, human-centric, next-generation society using the latest technology such as Artificial Intelligence.
• London: The British can boast a good transport infrastructure. In addition, the percentage of electric vehicles registered in London is above average. London is the most populous city in the UK and is well positioned in almost all dimensions: it ranks first in human capital and international outreach, second in governance and urban planning, and is in the top ten in the dimensions of mobility and transport and technology.

As we can see, there is no single model for sustainable cities, but each one implements its own solutions, although all measures taken should aim at balancing development and well-being.

Wave energy is energy that harnesses the kinetic energy of waves produced on the surface of the sea by the wind to generate electricity. It is also known as wave power.

WHAT IS IT? HOW DOES IT WORK?

Wave energy is a type of energy that is still underdeveloped but has many advantages, including the fact that it is renewable and clean, so it does not pollute. On the other hand, however, one of the disadvantages is that both the installations and the distribution of the energy generated are very expensive.

Several systems have been devised to obtain this type of energy. The most common consists of a series of buoys that transmit the movement produced by the waves to turbines, which are generally placed on the seabed in the following way:

1. Buoys are placed in the sea, which are responsible for transmitting the force of the waves to turbines.
2. By means of air chambers into which the waves enter, the water level is raised, which generates a compression effect of the air inside.
3. The air is expelled upwards, hitting the turbine.
4. With the force created by the turbines, electricity is generated.

Another type of installation that we can mention for obtaining this energy is from “articulated sea serpents”. This system consists of a 150-metre-long floating structure with several hinged sections that are placed parallel to each other in the direction of the wave. The resulting movement drives a hydraulic system that pumps oil to turn electric generators.

There are three types of wave energy, which are defined according to the equipment used to generate it:

• Near-shore equipment: the energy is produced close to the breaker. They are located on the bottom or on the surface, floating.
• Equipment embedded in the shore: they can be located in or out of the water.
• Offshore equipment: they use highly powerful wave profiles, as well as high energy densities.

Finally, it should be noted that wave energy generates minimal environmental impact, both visually and in terms of noise.

Want to know more about renewable energies? Visit the Nara Solar news section.

By 2050, electricity is expected to come from 100% renewable energy sources. But… Is it possible to achieve a 100% renewable energy supply for everyone on the planet?

RENEWABLE ENERGY AS THE MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY

In the long term, consuming energy from renewable energy sources is not only the best option but the only option because the way we currently produce and use energy is not sustainable. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas are the main contributors to climate change, and only with sustainable renewable energy sources can we guarantee energy for all people in the future and avoid an environmental catastrophe.

By 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), oil and gas production will fall by 40-60%. However, energy consumption and demand for energy is not slowing down and several energy companies are already increasingly extracting unconventional oil and gas, such as shale gas, but at an unprecedented cost in economic, environmental and social terms.

2050 will be the year when renewables overtake coal, oil and gas, according to the latest BloombergNEF report. By that year, the demand for electricity will grow, partly driven by the rise of electric vehicles. In addition, the consumption of renewable energy sources for the population’s energy needs will drive down their production costs, something we are already seeing today.

The definitive conquest of renewables by 2050 is already starting to become a reality and the investment summit is being led by solar and wind energy, as opposed to fossil fuels, which will receive much less investment for the generation of new plants.

Countries such as the United States have already seen renewables overtake coal in electricity generation, with an output of 68.5Gw/hour. This is a historic and encouraging figure due to the development of new wind and solar farms.

So… What is expected from renewable energy in 2050?

• Wind and solar will account for 96% of the total energy supply from renewables.
• Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced.
• Renewable energy will employ 35 million people
• Renewables will become more cost-effective, bringing their cost down to 53 euros/MWh.

Green hydrogen is considered a clean, powerful, efficient and CO2-free energy carrier, which can be a great tool for combating climate change. Today, the International Energy Agency already considers that the production of green hydrogen from clean energy is gaining unprecedented momentum.

WORLD LEADERS IN HYDROGEN PRODUCTION

The global green hydrogen potential is already more than sufficient, although there are still some countries where the potential is restricted with low green hydrogen production.

Green hydrogen is expected to account for up to 12% of the world’s energy by 2050. Who is set to lead the way in green hydrogen?

China: the Asian country is the world’s leading producer of green hydrogen. Currently, its annual consumption is more than 24 million tonnes. Although most of the country’s production is “grey hydrogen”, i.e. it is generated with fossil fuels such as coal, this trend has been changing since 2019 as the country is developing more than 30 green hydrogen projects, produced from renewable energies.

The European Union: recognises that green hydrogen is a key technology and fundamental to achieving policy goals such as the European Green Deal. The EU plans to install 40 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen electrolyser capacity by 2030.

India: as stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the launch of the country’s National Hydrogen Mission in 2021, green hydrogen could help India achieve energy independence by 2047 and increase its commitment to renewable energy.

Japan: Japan’s national hydrogen strategy was made official in 2017. Although the country lacks the natural resources needed to achieve sufficient levels of wind or solar power to produce clean hydrogen on its own, it is developing long-term supply agreements to import hydrogen from abroad.

South Korea: For South Korea, hydrogen is the key driver of its economic development and job creation. They have set an ambitious target of installing 200,000 FCEVs by 2025. This figure implies a 20-fold increase of those installed in 2020. South Korea has plans for hydrogen to cover 10% of its cities’ energy needs within 8 years. It also plans to increase its share to 30% by 2040.

Green hydrogen promises to be a key factor in tackling future energy crises, such as the one we are currently experiencing in Europe, where growing demand has triggered a rise in fuel prices.

In the midst of the energy transition, energy digitisation is key to transforming energy production, distribution and consumption processes. Digitalisation makes us more efficient and optimises many of the processes. Moreover, thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI) we are able to handle more and more data in the energy sector.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

As renewable energies play an increasingly important role in the electricity sector, more and more companies are implementing digitalisation to optimise the energy processes and services they offer.

Electricity has been the driving force behind the industrial and social transformation of the world for more than a century, but to meet the transformation of buildings, cities, and production and industrial processes, the sector is having to change by force, relying on digital technologies.

In Spain, for example, thanks to digital technology and communication between systems, we have been able to achieve a high capacity for centralised management of distributed renewable generation through Red Eléctrica.

Some of the benefits of digitalisation in the electricity sector are:

• Higher profit margins.
• Maximising grid availability and improving grid reliability.
• Possibility of offering products and services with added value.

It should also be noted that the digitisation process has some risks related to:

• Cybersecurity: digitisation implies greater exposure to cyber attacks and these would also affect the renewable energy sector. It is therefore important to create security protocols and mechanisms.
• Information privacy: it is necessary to increase and guarantee the confidentiality of the data that consumers produce.
• Regulatory bodies: it is necessary to accompany the digitalisation process with regulatory bodies that meet the requirements of energy and digital policy in order to guarantee an objective, agile and non-discriminatory process.

There is no doubt that, in the midst of the energy transition, digitalisation is reaching the renewables sector. Do you want to know how the energy sector is harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence? We talk about it in the following article.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND RENEWABLE ENERGIES.

Renewable energy sources are increasingly being used. They have also reached the countryside in the form of solar farms, photovoltaic farms or solar farms using a large number of solar panels to collect energy.

SOLAR FARMS, SOME OF THEIR ADVANTAGES AND RISKS

A solar farm is a set of photovoltaic solar panels located on the same plot, generally owned by the community to produce their own energy. This way of obtaining energy has proliferated a lot in Spain due to the high solar radiation that we have, as well as the many advantages that solar energy presents.

Investing in solar farms is a success, not only at the level of sustainability and the environment, but also because it has many benefits. Among them we can highlight the following:

• They are profitable, since we get energy efficiently and taking care of the environment.
• Installation costs are shared by all co-owners.
• In approximately 8 years they can reach self-financing, ceasing to produce expenses and producing benefits.

Although, like everything else, it also presents some risks, since from the outset a high investment is needed, a large area of land and a highly dependent climate.

We have previously mentioned that solar farms have community objectives, but they can also have commercial objectives. In this case, the energy generated in the orchards is sold for public service. These would house a capacity that would reach 2,000 MW, unlike the community ones that would generate a maximum of 5 MW.

Finally, we must differentiate between orchards and solar farms. A solar farm has land that was for agricultural use, with small extensions and normally owned by individuals, while a large solar farm may or may not have been land for agricultural use, its extensions are large, group owned and High voltage transformers are required.

Do you want to know more about renewable energy? Visit our news section.

On 19 January, Nara Solar, a company specialising in renewable energies, together with 30 other companies and federations, signed a charter with the aim of strengthening agrovoltaic activity in France.

NARA SOLAR AND 30 OTHER COMPANIES IN SUPPORT OF AGROVOLTAIC INITIATIVE IN FRANCE

Agrovoltaics is a technique that combines agricultural production and renewable energy generation, where solar panels and crops coexist on the same surface.

According to this charter, the signatories consider agrovoltaics to be a tool at the service of agriculture and the community, making possible an energy transition without conflict of use. The farmer will be involved in the development of such projects and will be advised by an agricultural organisation.

In the event that the farmer ceases his activity, a follow-up will be carried out during the first years by an organisation independent of the farm’s projects, allowing the restoration of the land after the dismantling of the installation.

All the signatory companies and federations will promote an equitable distribution of the income from this activity: one part will be reserved for the owner, one part for the operator and one part for a territorial agricultural collective.

To ensure that all criteria are met, the signatories have asked the State to provide a simple doctrinal basis and clear guidelines for the attention of the investigating authorities.

Agrovoltaics in France could bring solutions to the challenges of the energy transition, as well as challenges to the economic viability and ecological transition of the agricultural sector. Certainly, solar energy integrated into agricultural production looks set to play an important role in solar development in France.

A rechargeable battery is a battery that can be recharged, unlike a conventional battery that cannot be recharged. Although rechargeable batteries are capable of being recharged, it should be noted that this process cannot be carried out an infinite number of times.

RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES AS A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT

Rechargeable batteries are much less polluting for the environment. These devices work by means of electrochemical reactions, which are electrically reversible, that is to say: when the reaction takes place in one direction, the materials are exhausted and in order for them to be recharged, an electric current must be produced in the opposite direction to regenerate them.

We can highlight three types of rechargeable batteries:

1. Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd): These are those that have a memory effect. In other words, the remains of the charge remain in the battery, taking up space and reducing its capacity. They usually have a low charge capacity and need to be charged often.
2. Nickel-Metal-Hydride (Ni-MH): They are more expensive and do not suffer from memory effect. One Ni-MH battery is equivalent to 100 conventional batteries.
3. Lithium-Ion (LiIon): These have the highest capacity. They can be found for example in mobile phones, computers and even in electric vehicles. They also have no memory effect.

Nowadays, in our homes, for example, we have a multitude of devices that work with batteries, such as remote controls, watches, cordless phones, etc. By replacing conventional batteries with rechargeable ones, we will be generating much less waste, as we can recharge them in some cases up to 300 times.

The use of this type of device helps to reduce the materials and energy used to manufacture hundreds of single-charge models. In addition, a conventional battery needs 50 times more energy in its manufacture, while a rechargeable battery can provide 2,500 times more energy.

What are some of the other advantages we can highlight?

They are economical, although the initial price is higher than conventional batteries, they pay for themselves quickly.

They are easy to use, as when they run out we only have to recharge them to use them again without having to go out to buy a new one.

They emit 28 times less greenhouse gases.

Rechargeable batteries are a good choice if we want to protect the environment. And if we keep them in optimum condition, we can make the most of their potential.

Light pollution is pollution caused by light emissions from artificial sources with high intensities. Although it is one of the most unnoticed environmental problems, it can have negative consequences on health.

CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF LIGHT POLLUTION

Light pollution is that glow or glare in the night sky caused by artificial light that we have all seen at some time or another.

The main cause of this type of pollution is the malfunctioning of artificial lighting. Why? Because most streetlights emit light upwards, when the light is actually needed on the ground, which means a greater administration of power, resulting in a waste of energy.

It should be borne in mind that poor lighting is not the only cause of light pollution. Other influencing factors are:

1. The projectors or laser cannons that cause over-lighting in cities.
2. Excessive lighting for advertising purposes.
3. The absence of an efficient switch-off and switch-on schedule.

The effects of light pollution do not only spread through cities, but their consequences are spread throughout the atmosphere. These consequences affect all human beings living on the planet:

• It has negative effects on the Earth’s biodiversity.
• In humans, it can lead to a disruption of the biological clock, as sleep is affected by the lack of darkness.
• The great waste of energy, which leads to more waste and contributes to the acceleration of climate change.

Now… How can we reduce light pollution in our environment?

• By using energy-efficient, low-pollutant spectrum lamps.
• By dimming or progressively reducing the amount of light from street lighting.
• By using the minimum necessary lighting intensity.

Our aim is to make the sky darker again and to achieve good lighting, which can be defined as lighting that is produced efficiently.