Scott Bilby: This morning on Beyond Zero we’re talking to Graham Ford. He’s the CEO of Heliodynamics, a company based near Cambridge in the UK, and the maker of solar concentrating technologies that convert solar energy into usable electricity and heat, and of particular interest to Beyond Zero is their use of combined solar thermal and photovoltaic technology in some of their products.
Welcome to the show Graham.
Graham Ford: Well, it’s great to be here.
Beyond Zero interviews David Orr, whose latest book 'Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse' can be pre-ordered here.
Scott Bilby: My name is Scott Bilby and this morning on Beyond Zero I'll be speaking with David Orr. David is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College and a James Marsh Professor at the University of Vermont.
He is the recipient of four Honorary degrees and other awards including The Millennium Leadership Award from Global Green, the Bioneers Award, the National Wildlife Federation Leadership Award, and a Lyndhurst Prize acknowledging "persons of exceptional moral character, vision, and energy."
Scott Bilby: This morning on beyond zero we’re talking with Rainer Aringhoff from Solar Millennium. Solar Millennium is a company that develops and implements solar thermal solar plants; with existing plants currently in Spain. They also have a focus on other areas around the world including the United States, China and North Africa.
Scott Bilby: This morning on Beyond Zero, we'll be talking to with Sylvia Tulloch, Managing Director of Dyesol Industries, an Australian renewable energy company that supplies equipment, materials and components for what are called dye solar cells. Dye solar cells turn sunlight into electricity by imitating the way plants convert sunlight into energy.
Scott Bilby: As listeners will know, there was a large-scale, intense and tragic series of fires that occurred throughout the period of early February (2009). February the 7th in particular was known as Black Saturday. Some people, including foresters, quickly laid the blame at the feet of the environment movement because the environment movement they say is supposedly against what is known as 'controlled burning', and have supposedly influenced the Victorian state government to reduce 'controlled burning' in public forests.
Scott Bilby: We are looking forward this morning to talk to Janet Larsen, Director of Research at the Earth Policy Institute. She is a co-author of a book called, ‘The Earth Policy Reader’, which tells us about how the global economic accounting system does not account for ecological deficits such as overfishing and unsustainable logging, and the large economic cost we suffer as a consequence.
Concentrating Solar Trough Reflectors are one of the main types of Solar Thermal power plants, they are commercial and ready to deliver baseload, intermediate and peaking power now.
Compared to solar power towers they have a low concentration ratio which is on par with Linear Fresnel Reflector systems, concentrating around 80-100 suns on an absorber pipe.
Scott Bilby: Today we are talking to Steve Hollis, CEO of Lloyd Energy Systems, an Australian company that has created a large scale, low cost, energy storage system based on high purity graphite.
Welcome to the show Steve.
Steve Hollis: Thank you.
Concentrating Solar Power Towers are one of the main types of Solar Thermal power plants, they are commercial and ready to deliver baseload, intermediate and peaking power now.
Compared to other solar thermal technologies such as Troughs and Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector systems, they produce much higher temperatures, focusing upto 2000 suns onto the receiver.
Scott Bilby: This Morning on Beyond Zero we're talking with Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute co-founder, chairman and chief scientist. He's an expert on energy use and energy efficiency. He's been advisor to industries in the US for many years and also advised the US Departments of Energy and Defense. He's also authored and co-authored many books on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
See Victoria's open cut mines from a birds eye view using Google Earth.
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