ClimateTechWiki

Solar photovoltaic, or simply photovoltaic (SPV or PV), refers to the technology of using solar cells to convert solar radiation directly into electricity. A solar cell works based on the photovoltaic effect. R&D and practical experience with photovoltaics have led to the development of three generations of solar cells: Crystalline silicon based solar cells, thin film solar cells and third generation PV. 

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Smaller-scale wind turbines can be found in a wide range of applications including off-grid power; either directly by charging a storage battery or in combination with another form of generation to cover intermittent periods when there is little to no wind. In such instances small wind may be cost effective depending on the costs of alternate off-grid technologies and fuel prices; however the overall contribution of small wind to climate change mitigation will probably be limited due to the long payback periods required to offset the carbon used in their manufacture.

The district heating net is a pipe network that supplies heating and hot water for connected consumers from a central power plant. It is a more efficient way to provide heat and power compared to localized boilers. District cooling is the cooling equivalent of district heating. Working in accordance to similar principles, district cooling delivers chilled water to buildings like offices and factories. Trigeneration is when electricity, heating and cooling are combined in the same plant.

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According to the EC (19 November, 2008) “waste means any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.” Recycling materials and products – that are considered waste - is an ancient practice which shows that in times of resource scarcity (i.e. shortage of virgin materials) societies attach more economic and societal value to their own waste. This implies that throughout time the definition of waste can change as well. Generally speaking longer use or reuse of materials and products this is often mainly to cover a society’s needs.

Traditional methods of food drying is to place the foodstuffs in the sun in the open air. This method, called sun drying, is effective for small amounts of food. The area needed for sun drying expands with food quantity and since the food is placed in the open air, it is easily contaminated. Therefore, one major reason why sun drying is not easily performed with larger quantities of food is that the monitoring and overview becomes increasingly more difficult with increasing food quantities.

Genetic make-up influences fitness and adaptation and determines an animal’s tolerance to shocks such as temperature extremes, drought, flooding, pests and diseases. Adaptation to harsh environments includes heat tolerance and an animal’s ability to survive, grow and reproduce in the presence of poor seasonal nutrition as well as parasites and diseases. Selective breeding is a technology that aims to improve the value of animal genetic diversity. This technology can be applied to all types of livestock, including cattle, sheep, goats, alpacas and guinea pigs.

Over 97% of the water on earth is unsuitable for human consumption due to its salinity. The vast majority (about 99%) of this is seawater, with most of the remainder consisting of saline groundwater (US Geological Survey, 2010). Purification of this saline water holds the promise of nearly unlimited water resources for human civilizations in coastal regions. However, purification of seawater is expensive, energy intensive and often has large adverse impacts on ecosystems. Despite these drawbacks, desalination can be an appropriate technological choice in certain settings.

Flood hazard mapping is an exercise to define those coastal areas which are at risk of flooding under extreme conditions. As such, its primary objective is to reduce the impact of coastal flooding. However, mapping of erosion risk areas may serve to achieve erosion risk reduction. It acts as an information system to enhance our understanding and awareness of coastal risk.

Energy storage provides a variety of socio-economic benefits and environmental protection benefits. Energy storage can be performed in a variety of ways. Examples are: pumped hydro storage, superconducting magnetic energy storage and capacitors can be used to store energy. Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages. One essential differentiating characteristic of the different technologies is the amount of energy the technology can store and another is how fast this energy can be released. This technology description focuses on Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES).

A climate change monitoring system integrates satellite observations, ground-based data and forecast models to monitor and forecast changes in the weather and climate. A historical record of spot measurements is built up over time, which provides the data to enable statistical analysis and the identification of mean values, trends and variations. The better the information available, the more the climate can be understood and the more accurately future conditions can be assessed, at the local, regional, national and global level.