Holland's jiving with alternative energy plans

Innovations range from zero-emission power plant to club 'charged' by people
Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 8 Nov 08;

A MARINA barrage that can power a town, a zero-emission power plant and a nightclub powered by human energy are three innovations moving the Dutch to the forefront of a power supply revolution.

Blue Energy offers promise to any country with a river delta, including Singapore's own Marina Barrage.

The system, which releases no greenhouse gases in the process, is being tested in the Netherlands, where a 76-year-old, 35km dyke cuts across three northern provinces. It is the site for an installation with special filters to pick up the electric currents that form when a river's fresh water meets salt water as it discharges into the sea.

The power could light up the homes of 1.7 million inhabitants by 2018 in these provinces.

Scientists from Wetsus, Centre for Sustainable Water Technology, who developed the system believe it offers more promise than wind turbines, as it is not weather-dependent.

The Netherlands' Economic Affairs Ministry has contributed ¥35 million (S$67 million) to this institute to support programmes including Blue Energy over five years, until 2012.

Speaking to The Straits Times, its director-general of enterprise and innovation Renee Bergkamp said: 'In a few years, we hope the plant will provide all three northern provinces of the Netherlands with energy.'

She expects that the dam bordering Lake IJesselmeer and the North Sea can generate enough current to supply 200MW of electricity in 10 years.

Improvements will be made in this time. Opened in June, the pilot project in a container now produces 20kW. This will be ramped up to 1MW when a permanent structure is set up on the dyke in two years.

If successful, Blue Energy's technology could one day be exported to any country with river deltas, such as Singapore, to provide an alternative to traditional fossil-fuel energised power grids, Ms Bergkamp said.

Water innovations have been exported from the Netherlands for decades. Technology for dams has also been adopted from the country, which has found ways to stay dry despite being below sea level.

The Singapore Delft Water Alliance is studying the latest innovations with researchers from the National University of Singapore. Most recently, Dutch companies like pump supplier Nijhuis worked with Singapore to control water levels in Singapore's own newly opened Marina Barrage.

In the northern Netherlands, a project to build the first zero-greenhouse gas emission power plant in the world is under way. It will use methane or natural gas trapped underground to produce enough electricity - 68MW - for a small town of 100,000 households in Drachten.

To be ready next year, the plant will ensure only pure carbon dioxide will be produced. To achieve this, the methane will be burnt in pure oxygen in the presence of water. The carbon dioxide will be pumped deep into the ground to help push up the fuel for use in the power plant, while storing the greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.

By powering the town this way, the Netherlands expects to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by one megatonne in six years, a small dent in greenhouse gases emitted if other countries adopt similar technologies. Canadian scientists have estimated the world needs to reduce its emissions this century by at least 2 million megatonnes to ensure it does not increase current levels of carbon dioxide.

Not all green innovations need to be serious, however. Rotterdam's Club Watt, a nightspot, hopes to offer the world's cities the first sustainable dance floor.

Jumps, bumps and gyrations compress special cells on the dance floor which create an electrical charge. The more vigorous the dance moves, the brighter the lights shine.

The Sustainable Dance Club, a company set up last year by a group of Dutch ecological inventors, engineers and investors, also uses rainwater-fed toilets and low-waste bars. Heat is recycled from the bands' amplifiers and other musical equipment.