Distributed Gas Production - Just like solar - needs to be managed into the grid.
IN 2020, THE ENERGY GRID WILL FEATURE A NEW
source: biogas, generated from domestic
organic waste, using micro anaerobic digesters
(AD). This will enable us to recapture the fuel
value of waste to power our homes and o ces.
Heat and energy microgrids already exist,
including one in Brooklyn, New York, which
makes it possible to exchange locally generated
renewable electricity. This energy is currently
mostly from solar, but it can easily be extended
to include other renewable sources. Indeed,
London’s energy network already integrates
centralised anaerobic digesters.
This type of distributed infrastructure will
initially arrive in cities such as New York, Paris,
Lisbon and Barcelona, which already have local
initiatives in place, and they will be designed
into the fabric of new-build developments in
rapidly urbanising areas. And, as waste-management
units can be incorporated into buildings,
cities will not have to completely overhaul
their ageing infrastructure to accommodate
growing populations and energy demands.
ADs also produce water, and this could be
used in urban farming, air conditioning,
cleaning and general irrigation as well as
helping cities that are facing water shortages
and groundwater depletion. Chennai, Cape
Town, Cairo and Mexico City are already struggling
with these problems, and in 2020, the
numbers will increase. That will also benefit
a city’s energy usage. Transporting water is
energy-costly – in southern California, water
is transported 600km to where it is needed,
on a route that includes a 600-metre-high pass
over the Tehachapi mountains.
To enable more AD units in cities, we must
take steps to address the gap between building
design, legislation and city infrastructure
requirements. But there will be plenty of
non-energy-related reasons to do so, too. On-site
waste-to-energy solutions will reduce the
number of refuse lorries on the road, combating
congestion and the seven million deaths that,
according to the World Health Organisation,
occur annually due to air pollution
Biogas from waste is a hugely under-tapped
resource. In 2020, ADs will enable buildings
to incorporate waste recycling, gas generation
and water-recapture capacities in their core
design, taking us further along the road
to cities being smart and energy e cient.
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