Artificial Trees to Exploit Solar and Wind Energy
The human population of the world has trebled in the past fifty years from over 2 billion to 6 billion and will increase to about 12 billion in the life time of many of those living today. The farm animals needed to feed the human population has increased even more rapidly and by 2100 will exceed 100 billion. Therefore, world economies and survival are dependent on a diminishing resource of environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels. The result is global warming which is having a destructive effect on many eco systems and seems likely to reduce the quality and quantity of human life. The search for clean alternative energy is a major political, economic and social imperative. Existing sources of renewable energy, solar panels, parabolic sun collectors, wind and tidal turbines are inefficient, expensive and environmentally insensitive.
So, Alex van der Beek, whose previous professional experience was teaching alternative medicine, got an idea: Instead of ruining the natural landscape with conventional technology, why not generate electricity from something that blends in? Like a fake tree… He founded Solar Botanic, Ltd., in London last year with the ambitious plan to involve bringing together three different energy-generation technologies: photovoltaics (aka solar power, or electricity from visible sunlight), thermoelectrics (electricity from heat) and piezoelectrics (electricity from pressure), all in the unassuming shape of a leaf on its stem.
“Place thousands of these units, dubbed nanoleaves, on a natural-looking, though fake plastic tree—and one could have electricity production without spoiling natural landscapes”, van der Beek says.
The company is going to use Biomimicry in order to implement some of the nature’s processes in order to produce clean, environmental friendly energy. The tree, once installed, will replicate the functions of a solar-wind harvester. The solution is unique in a sense that the same installation can use two alternative energy sources to produce clean electricity.
Thus as the sun shines, the winds blow and the rain falls, millions of micro circuits are activated, each making its contribution to the electrical energy of the tree. According to the company’s website, “A Nanoleaf is thin like a natural leaf, when outside forces, like the wind pushes the Nanoleaf back and forth, mechanical stresses appear in the petiole, twig and branches. When thousands of Nanoleaves flap back and forth due to wind, millions and millions of Pico watts are generated, the stronger the wind, the more energy is generated.” The Nanoleaves reflect back only a small portion of the sunlight and the remaining light is used to produce energy. “Due to the unique combination of photovoltaic and thermovoltaic in our Nanoleaves it converts this thermal radiation into electricity, even hours after the sun has set,” the page further states. They can even convert the infrared radiations into energy.
At present, Solar Botanic is exploring several designs, from palm trees to broad leaves as well as flowers and shrubbery. Van der Beek predicts a tree with a canopy 20 feet (six meters) in diameter that provides a surface area of roughly 1,200 square feet (110 square meters) could power an average home, whereas groves of them could make ample amounts of electricity in and around population centers. “These trees could help avoid the long land lines that bring electricity to cities and homes,” van der Beek says.
Solar Botanic hasn’t settled on materials, but the nanoleaves would likely rely on highly efficient, thin-film solar cells, perhaps made of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), to convert sunlight into an electric current, van der Beek says.
Installation of an energy harvesting tree, van der Beek says, would simply require drilling a hole and then anchoring the extended tree trunk and base in the ground. The branches would go on much like those of an artificial Christmas tree, segment by segment. Should a section or leaf get damaged, customers could swap it out for a new or repaired piece of hardware, says van der Beek. Power lines running underground would bring the energy to a home or a central power storage area; inverters for turning the direct current generated by the faux tree into usable alternating current could go in the trunk or a nearby dwelling. Artificial trees with electrical outlets in mall parking lots could charge electric vehicles while the owner shops, he says.
In deserts, where hydroponics allow the cultivation of fruit and vegetables, Solar Botanic trees and plants both shade the growing tunnels, and provide electricity to circulate water and cool the interior. Conversely in cold regions Solar Botanic trees can provide cheap heating and lighting for crops which would not otherwise be viable.
Unfortunately, neither the Solar Botanic press release nor website says exactly how much power an artificial tree or plant can create. But the company estimates that an average-sized tree with a 6 sq meter canopy could generate enough energy for a single household.
These energy harvesting trees will look as natural as normal trees: “We want to keep the outside resembling a natural tree, so that means no nuts and bolts,” van der Beek says. Though the trunk would be made primarily of recycled materials including plastic bottles and car tires, van der Beek says it would also contain liquefied waste biomass-wood-processed via a steam-combustion technique developed at the State Institute of Wood Chemistry in Riga, Latvia. “The result is a fluid product that we mold into any form we like, so therefore we should be able to create trees that look, feel and smell like real wood,” van der Beek says. The leaves wouldn’t be shiny like a solar panel, either. Solar Botanic woods of oak, ash, beech or sycamore have the advantage over real deciduous trees in not losing their leaves in winter but continue creating energy.
The company is now looking to select final business partners for investment, R&D, manufacturing, distribution and marketing from organizations with relevant specialist knowledge and sector understanding.
Source: Scientificamerican.com; Cleantechnica.com; Azocleantech.com