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Deploying smart grid technologies can help countries, like Kenya, to increase the amount of its growing energy demand with renewable energy sources
Technology company General Electric (GE) has announced an open innovation challenge that seeks breakthrough ideas to create smarter, cleaner, more efficient electric grids, and accelerate the adoption of smart grid technologies.
The company will award US $200 million to winning ideas, making it the largest challenge of its kind.
Now open for entries, the global challenge invites researchers, entrepreneurs and start-ups to share their best ideas, about making smart grids that meet society’s needs and cope with today’s energy challenges.
Idea proposals are sought in three broad categories: Renewables, Grid and Eco Homes/Eco Buildings. GE will present each of five innovation challenge award recipients with $100,000 in cash, for a total of $500,000, to acknowledge these entries as examples of outstanding entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to bring to market more energy-efficient solutions to meet market demands,” said GE’s ecomagination leader for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mr Horst-Tore Land. “Now, we are expanding our ecomagination initiative to include open innovation and collaboration with the best technology minds in the world. Working together, we can help to solve our energy challenges on both the supply and demand sides.”
The ecomagination Challenge is open to the general public who can vote for the idea that they believe will have the most impact on the smart grid of the future. The idea that receives the highest number of votes will receive a cash award of US $50,000.
Finding more efficient electric grids and accelerating the use of smart grid technologies is relevant for Africa. Demand for electricity in Africa grows at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent according International Energy Outlook (IEO) 2010 projections. Fossil-fuel-fired generation supplied 81 percent of the region’s total electricity in 2007, and reliance on fossil fuels is expected to continue through 2035.
Generation from hydropower and other marketed renewable energy sources is expected to grow relatively slowly in Africa, according to IEO 2010. As they have in the past, non-marketed renewables are expected to continue providing energy to Africa’s rural areas; however, it is often difficult for African nations to find funding or international support for larger commercial projects.
The latest Kenya Power Report forecasts that the country will account for just 0.60 percnent of Middle East and Africa (MEA) regional power generation by 2014, with efforts to diversify supply away from hydroelectricity.
Direct burning of wood and waste materials, plus some renewables-based power generation, was the dominant energy source for Kenya in 2009, accounting for an estimated 78 percent of Primary Energy Demand (PED), followed by oil at 20 percent and hydro with a near 2 percent share of PED. Regional energy demand is forecast to reach 1,084.5mn toe by 2014, representing 24.85 percent growth over the period since 2009. Kenya's estimated 2009 market share of 2.19 percent is set to reach 2.40 percent by 2014.
Kenya's real GDP growth is forecast to average 4.96 percent a year between 2010 and 2014, with 2009 growth assumed to have been 2.50 percent. The population is expected to expand from 40.0mn to 46.6mn over the period, with GDP per capita and electricity consumption per capita forecast to increase by 87 percent and 13 percent respectively. Power consumption is expected to increase from an estimated 5.8TWh in 2009 to 7.6TWh by 2014, providing an improvement in market coverage on the basis of 5.9 percent average annual growth in electricity generation, according to the Kenya Power Report.
Deploying smart grid technologies can help countries, like Kenya, to increase the amount of its growing energy demand with renewable energy sources. New solutions are therefore needed to meet demand reliably and efficiently while reducing unwanted environmental emissions.
GE’s ecomagination Challenge is the largest ever of its kind and is open now for submissions at www.ecomagination.com/challenge. Deadline for all entries is September 2010, 30.
The Challenge, launched in collaboration with venture capital firms Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer and RockPort Capital, and Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief, Wired magazine, is part of GE’s ecomagination initiative and will help fund the most promising ideas.
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