10 must watch movies for an entrepreneur

1. The Social Network (2010)

2. Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 

  

4. Ctrl-alt-compete (2011) documentary

5. The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)

6. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

7. The Fifth Estate (2013)

8. Jobs (2013)

9. Jerry McGuire (1996)

10. Silicon Valley (2014)- HBO Series 

 

 

 

 

Potential of Power Generation via Water

Hydro-electric Power:

'Hydro' or water power refers to the energy of the movement of water being converted into electricity, hence the more common term 'hydro-electric power'. So as long as we have moving water we will have access to a sustainable and renewable energy source. But there are many ways to utilize the energy of our waters to create useable electricity. Here is brief introduction of some of the ideas currently being used or researched in the general field of Hydro Power.

Ocean Power:

First up is Ocean Power, often called marine power. The moon's gravitational pull as it revolves around us, and the sun's as we revolve around it, create the high and low tides around the world. This, combined with local weather patterns and ocean currents create huge movements of water which harness incredible amounts of kinetic energy. Ocean power is the phrase associated with capturing some of this energy and converting it into useable electrical power.

Current Power:

Or Ocean Current Power - This is a flow of water so immense that it is bigger than the flow of every river on the planet combined. If we could capture just 20% of its energy it could power the entire USA. Such technology is still in its infancy, and is largely based around turbine principals similar in concept to wind-turbines, but designed and engineered to live underwater.

Wave Power:
More specifically, wave power refers to the kinetic energy in ocean waves and its use either to drive turbines for electrical generation, or put to other mechanical uses such as pumping stations.

Osmotic Power:

This concept seems the most like science fiction of the various hydro-powers. However, it is a process which has virtually no fuel cost, and emits no noxious gases into our atmosphere. The idea is to extract energy from the difference in salinity between fresh water and sea water through the process of osmosis. A test plant has been constructed in Norway and has shown good early results – albeit on a small scale of just a few kW – and plans are being developed for a large scale commercial osmotic power plant right now.

Tidal Power:

Still in research and development phases the idea is to capture incoming tidewaters in lakes and as the tide goes out the water is channeled to drive turbines. Advances in turbine technology are opening up new opportunities to exploit tidal energies, which are easier to plan for than the more weather-related wave energies.

Hydro Power and Hydro Power in Nepal

'Hydro' or water power refers to the energy of the movement of water being converted into electricity. The general process is power generation by use of water. Hydroelectricity is one of the most mature forms of renewable energy, providing 19% of the world’s electricity consumption from both large and small power plants. The most common type of hydropower uses dam or reservoir for water holding still there are run-off type of project too. Hydro electric power is based on the principle of using falling water to spin a shaft connected to an electric generator. The greater the fall of water, the more power it has to spin. The greater the quantity of water, the greater the number and size of the shafts that may spun and the greater the electricity output. The amount of power produced depends upon following factors:

 1. The Flow [quantity of water passing]

 2. The Head available [Vertical distance of water can be made fall]

Advantages of Hydropower

1.      Non- polluting, clean and environment friendly

2.      A renewable source of energy

3.      Cost of generation, operation and maintenance is lower than the other sources of energy

4.      Ability to start and stop quickly and immediate load acceptance/rejection makes it suitable to meet peak demand and for enhancing system reliability and stability

5.      Long operating life

6.      Cost of generation is free from inflationary effects after the initial installation

7.      Storage based hydro schemes provide benefits of flood control, irrigation, drinking water supply, navigation, recreation, tourism and aquaculture, and

8.      Opening of avenues for development of remote and backward areas

Hydro Power in Nepal:

Hydropower so far has been only source of power generation of our country. The growing need of power is increasing day by day while power generation is lagging far behind than demand margin. Nepal is blessed with immense potentialities of hydropower generation. Our country ranks second in water resources after Brazil and posses large potentialities for hydropower generation. Nepal is gifted with economically exploitable hydro-power potential to the level of 42000 MW of installed capacity out of total hydro potential of 83000 MW. Nepal's immense hydropower potential needs to exploit in broadening the market that is developing in the domestic and regional areas.

Despite the immense hydropower potential in Nepal, only 40 % of its population have access to electricity including 33 % from NEA grid and 7 % from other alternative source of energy( NPC 10th Plan).

 Reasons For Development of Hydro Power in Nepal:

·     Minimal contribution to global warming: Hydropower generation does not generate significant quantities of CO2. Some CO2 is generated during construction, but this is minor and comparable to what would be required to construct any power generation facility.

·         Clean: Hydropower generation does not generate air or water pollution, although there is a potential  for water quality impacts in and downstream of larger reservoirs.

·    Security: Hydropower development requires large capital outlays. But, once built, they are not dependent on imported fuels and the security issues associated with being a landlocked country.

·      Stability: Cost of development, construction and operation can be well documented and predicted. Once built, the fuel is free and power generation costs are not subject to fluctuations in fuel or transportation costs. Many hydro projects I am working on are over 50 years old, and several are over 100 years old. Under the right conditions, hydropower facilities can run at low operational costs for 50 years or more providing low-cost, clean electric power.

·         Technological transfer and self-sufficiency: Within Nepal there is growing institutional knowledge and capacity regarding this sector. Enough projects have proceeded in Nepal to enable Nepalese nationals to complete much of the engineering, environmental and social work elements and analysis. In addition, there is now a large cadre of Nepalese construction workers who have worked with international construction companies and have had critical safety and technical training. As a result, Nepal has a trained work-force ready to work on large construction projects.

·        Power exports: Nepal has the opportunity to export power, thereby contributing to balance of trade   and providing needed revenues for the general economic and social progress. 

  Potential: Nepal has vast hydropower generation potential that has only lightly been tapped.

·      Poverty alleviation: Hydropower development, in association with linked development projects, can contribute to poverty alleviation and improved living conditions and health for communities in the project area as well as nationwide.

History of Photovoltaic cell and Solar Power

Photovoltaic solar cells are thin silicon disks that convert sunlight into electricity. These disks act as energy sources for a wide variety of uses, including: calculators and other small devices; telecommunications; rooftop panels on individual houses; and for lighting, pumping, and medical refrigeration for villages in developing countries. Solar cells in the form of large arrays are used to power satellites and, in rare cases, to provide electricity for power plants. 

When research into electricity began and simple batteries were being made and studied, research into solar electricity followed amazingly quickly. As early as 1839, Antoine-Cesar Becquerel exposed a chemical battery to the sun to see it produce voltage. This first conversion of sunlight to electricity was one percent efficient. That is, one percent of the incoming sunlight was converted into electricity. Willoughby Smith in 1873 discovered that selenium was sensitive to light; in 1877 Adams and Day noted that selenium, when exposed to light, produced an electrical current. Charles Fritts, in the 1880s, also used gold-coated selenium to make the first solar cell, again only one percent efficient. Nevertheless, Fritts considered his cells to be revolutionary. He envisioned free solar energy to be a means of decentralization, predicting that solar cells would replace power plants with individually powered residences. 

With Albert Einstein's explanation in 1905 of the photoelectric effect—metal absorbs energy from light and will retain that energy until too much light hits it—hope soared anew that solar electricity at higher efficiencies would become feasible. Little progress was made, however, until research into diodes and transistors yielded the knowledge necessary for Bell scientists Gordon Pearson, Darryl Chapin, and Cal Fuller to produce a silicon solar cell of four percent efficiency in 1954. 

Further work brought the cell's efficiency up to 15 percent. Solar cells were first used in the rural and isolated city of Americus, Georgia as a power source for a telephone relay system, where it was used successfully for many years. 

A type of solar cell to fully meet domestic energy needs has not as yet been developed, but solar cells have become successful in providing energy for artificial satellites. Fuel systems and regular batteries were too heavy in a program where every ounce mattered. Solar cells provide more energy per ounce of weight than all other conventional energy sources, and they are cost-effective.

Only a few large scale photovoltaic power systems have been set up. Most efforts lean toward providing solar cell technology to remote places that have no other means of sophisticated power. About 50 megawatts are installed each year, yet solar cells provide only about. 1 percent of all electricity now being produced. Supporters of solar energy claim that the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface each year could easily provide all our energy needs several times over, yet solar cells have a long way to go before they fulfill Charles Fritts's dream of free, fully accessible solar electricity. 

                                           Fig.Simple use of Solar Power