January 2018 Renewable Green Leaders Issue 009

RENEWABLE GREEN LEADERS

Bio | Geothermal | Hydro | Finance | Green Buildings | Legal | Recycle | Solar | Sustainability | Upcycle | Storage | Tidal | Waste | Wind

Renewable & Sustainability 2018 Trends A Fresh New Start For Engineers Tech Skills Every Millennial Engineer Should Know 6 Skills That Engineers Should Invest on Learning Qualities Of An Effective Engineering Team

The Latest Updates Why Los Angeles Painting Its Roads White

Losing Drive In Your Engineering Job? Ask Yourself These Questions

Doctorate Students Developed A System Allowing Hydropower Plants to Get the Same Output During Dry Season

How Engineers Can Balance Work With Their Passions

Engineers Hacked A Tesla to Run Both on Electricity and Hydrogen

Strategies For Engineers Who Want To Gain New Skills

Emirates Insolaire Solar Panels Add An Aesthetic Value To Producing Clean Energy

JANUARY 2018 ISSUE NO. 009

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It’s a brand new year and we’re happy to say GineersNow has gone a long way since it was launched two years ago. From entertaining our readers with our featured stories to giving them the latest updates about several industry trailblazers, we have continued to gather important information to help every engineer who crosses our path.

We have published several magazines earlier last year - focusing on five important industry fields such as renewables, HVACR, oil and gas, construction and power and water. On November, we’ve added a new magazine on our digital shelves - GineersNow: Social Impact Leaders, where we talk about several individuals and organizations who made an impact in their communities. We have also launched GineersNow Community where engineers can write their own stories and share important details about their work, their inventions and their ideas.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Now, as we start a brand new year, we are looking forward to bring you more exciting stories, more featured articles and more important news that create an impact on our communities wherever we are in the world.

This month, learn the latest trends in renewable energy and find out why it’s important to make a 100% switch to renewables now!

Don’t get left behind with the latest news on the industry. Find out why Los Angeles painted its roads white and how doctorate students developed a system that allowed hydropower plants to get the same output during the dry season. Learn how engineers hacked a Tesla to run both on electricity and hydrogen. Be amazed with these solar panels Emirates Insolaire developed to add an aesthetic value in producing clean energy.

In this issue, we also haven’t forgotten to include special articles to help engineers create a fresh new start for themselves. Whether you want to go the extra mile to be better at what you do at work or you just want to find a way to balance your work with your passions, we’ve got you covered. Learn important tech skills and find out what qualities your team must have to become an effective group. If you’re an engineer who wants to gain new skills, learn more about these strategies to help you achieve that goal. We have also prepared questions you need to ask yourself as a form of self-assessment if you’re losing the drive to pursue your career goals. For every engineer who is going through their own challenges at work, we have stories for each one of you.

Our company still has a long way to go before we become the most preferred source of news and featured stories for engineers but we’re slowly starting to leave a mark in the engineering industry. So go ahead, scroll through our pages and learn the latest news, find out more about this year’s trends and get inspired with our featured articles. Start the year right with GineersNow: Renewable Green Leaders.

Engr. Alice Hernandez Senior Editor-at-Large

Contents These Solar Panels Add An Aesthetic Value To Producing Clean Energy

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Qualities Of An Effective Engineering Team

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DEWA MD&CEO visits Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park

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Losing Drive In Your Engineering Job? Ask Yourself These Questions

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This Company Plans to Make Water, Electricity, and Hydrogen Out of Cow Manure

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How Engineers Can Balance Work With Their Passions

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The World’s First Algae-Based Renewable Flip Flops

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Weltec Biopower Expands Biogas Plant Of Milk Powder Manufacturer

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The World’s First Fully Solar-Powered Train Is Running In Australia

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ABB Technology Helps Dubai Develop Smart Solar Strategy

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Engineers Hack a Tesla to Run Both on Electricity and Hydrogen

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ABB Technology Helps Dubai Develop Smart Solar Strategy

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This System Allows Hydropower Plants to Get the Same Output During Dry Season

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China Is Building Solar Roadways

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Why is Los Angeles Painting Its Roads White?

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Tech Skills Every Millennial Engineer Should Know

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Why Everyone Needs To Support The Shift To Renewable Energy

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300 Days: That’s How Long Costa Rica Has Been Relying on Renewables This 2017

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Strategies For Engineers Who Want To Gain New Skills

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6 Skills That Engineers Should Invest On Learning

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These Solar Panels Add An Aesthetic Value To Producing Clean Energy Emirates Insolaire is proud to present its Kromatix technology which allows its clients to choose from a new set of colors for their solar panels.

We already know how important it is for different countries to shift to renewable energy given today’s environmental conditions. Different researches from institutions across the world have already reported that with renewables, such as solar energy, we can lessen our carbon footprint and have resources that will help us produce clean energy. Now, what if switching to renewables can help improve a place’s aesthetics too?

present its Kromatix technology which allows its clients to choose from a new set of colors for their solar panels. Forget about black and blue, Emirates Insolaire offers Kromatice solar glass in green, gold or terracotta. Hidden inside its opaque finish is its power-generating technology that helps produce clean energy. These solar products are not only available for rooftops, they can also be used in balconies and facades.

In an industry where solar panels are either produced in black or blue, this company based in Dubai is making solar panels more appealing to the public!

In the company’s website, it shared, “With KromatixTM technology, the solar panels are no longer architectural intruders. They can be harmoniously integrated into the building envelope. Roofs, facades and balconies are now fully available to collect the sun radiation and maximize the solar energy production.”

Emirates Insolaire, a joint venture of Dubai Investments PJSC and SwissINSO, is proud to 10

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Even though solar transmittance may vary based on the color used, the company assures its clients that their products’s transmittance is more than 85 percent. Together with their solar panels, Kromatix modules are also manufactured which have an average efficiency of more than 15 percent. These products were developed together with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Their website also explained the color principle behind the solar panels: “The colored appearance results from the reflection of a narrow spectral band in the visible part of the solar spectrum. The rest of the solar radiation is transmitted to the solar panel to be converted into energy. The colored coating stacks are optimized to offer the best compromise between color intensity and solar panel efficiency.”

Adding an aesthetic value to the solar panels doesn’t mean only the richest companies can afford it. With an estimated 5.5 kilowatt solar system, it will cost you around $1300 to $1500.

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DEWA MD&CEO visits Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), visited the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the Independent Power Producer model (IPP). The solar park has a planned capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030, and a total investment of AED 50 billion and will eventually save approximately 6.5 million tonnes per annum in carbon emissions.

The solar park supports the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to promote sustainability and transform Dubai into a global hub for clean energy and green economy, through the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, so that 7% of Dubai’s total power output will come from clean energy by 2020, 25% by 2030 and 75% by 2050.

Nasser Lootah, Executive Vice President of Generation, Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development & Excellence, and Jamal Shaheen Al Hammadi, Vice President of Special Projects were also present.

At the beginning of the visit, Al Tayer inaugurated the Visitors’ Centre, which was built by Shuaa Energy 1, as part of the 200 MW second phase of the solar park, inaugurated in March. Mohammad

Abdullah Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, welcomed Al Tayer during the visit.

The centre includes a reception hall for VIP guests.

It includes the latest SCADA and smart monitoring systems, It also includes a room to view all the solar park’s projects. Representatives from Shuaa Energy 2 briefted Al Tayer on the progress of the third phase of the solar park, which was established by DEWA, which owns a 60% stake in the company. Shuaa Energy 2 was launched in partnership with the Masdar-led consortium, and Électricité de France (EDF), through its subsidiary EDF Energies Nouvelles. The consortium owns the remaining 40% of Shuaa Energy 2. Masdar owns 24% and EDF Energies Nouvelles owns 16%.

The international consortium led by the renewable energy contractor GranSolar from Spain, is handling the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC). It includes Acciona from Spain and Ghella from Italy. The first 200MW stage is 70% complete, and is expected to be operational

by April 2018. The 800MW third phase will be completed in 3 stages over 16 square kilometres.

The 300MW second stage will be operational in the first half of 2019, and the third 300MW stage will be completed in the first half of 2020. DEWA registered the lowest Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) worldwide of USD $2.99 cents per kilowatt hour (kW/h) for the third phase of the solar park.

This Company Plans to Make Water, Electricity, and Hydrogen Out of Cow Manure Once completed, the project is the first to generate 100 percent renewable power and hydrogen on a commercial-scale.

We know that cow manure is an organic matter often used as fertilizer in agriculture. But little did we know that it can be made into essential substances like water and hydrogen.

Methane gas is found in cow manure. It is a natural substance which has its pros and cons – its potential as a fuel has long been established.

But it is only now that Japanese automaker Toyota wants to hone this potential. The company has made plans of building a power plant at the Port of Long Beach in California solely for the extraction of the water, electricity, and hydrogen from cow manure.

Called the Tri-Gen Project, it will be the first to generate 100 percent renewable power and hydrogen on a commercial-scale.

Estimates say that the plant, which is expected to come online in about three years from now, will produce 2.35 MW of electricity and 1.2 tons of hydrogen a day.

Doug Murtha, Toyota’s North America group vice president for strategic planning, shared how this project forwards the company’s green initiatives.

“Tri-Gen is a major step forward for sustainable mobility and a key accomplishment of our 2050 environmental challenge to achieve net zero CO2 emissions from our operations,” Murtha said.

Other than pushing the agenda of reducing emissions, this project was instigated to power the car manufacturer’s Mirai sedans and the upcoming Project Portal semi truck which run on hydrogen fuel cell.

“Environmentally conscious motorists demand newer, cleaner forms of transportation,” Toyota said in its website. “[The] Mirai fuel cell vehicle helps answer that demand alongside our other alternative fuel vehicles to power a better future,” it wrote.

That is enough power to accommodate 2,350 average homes and enough fuel to operate 1,500 hydrogen-powered vehicles daily.

Moreover, this pilot plant will be home to one of the largest hydrogen fuelling stations in the world.

“In most states, you have a conventional natural gas pipeline network that provides heat for your stove or furnace. The majority of natural gas comes from drilling for well gases,” said Matt McClory, senior engineer with Toyota research and development.

“We’re trying to green up this process. One way is to find renewable sources, like from gases emitted from landfills, wastewater treatment plants and farm animals.”

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The World’s First Algae-Based Renewable Flip Flops This sustainable innovation will definitely have a positive environmental impact on our world.

Nowadays, the effort to eliminate or reduce the amount of pollution we create on this earth is dramatically increasing. Many companies and startups are working on various projects that lead to renewable and sustainable products that can replace non-renewable products. Recently, researchers and students from UC San Diego have done the same. They created the world’s first algae-based, renewable flip flops.

According to UC San Diego News, 3 billion petroleum-based flip flops are produced worldwide every year, and eventually ending up 14

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as non-biodegradable trash in landfills, rivers and oceans around the globe.

According to Stephen Mayfield,a UC San Diego professor of biology who headed the research effort with Skip Pomeroy, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, “Even though a flip flop seems like a minor product, a throwaway that everyone wears, it turns out that this is the No. 1 shoe in the world. These are the shoes of a fisherman and a farmer. This is the No. 1 shoe in India, the No. 1 shoe in China and the No. 1 shoe in Africa. And, in fact, one of the largest pollutants in the ocean

is polyurethane from flip flops and other shoes that have been washed or thrown into rivers and flow into the ocean.”

The first prototypes of their new invention was developed in a York Hall chemistry laboratory.

It consist of a flexible, spongy slipper with a Triton logo and a simple strap. Once they go into full production later this year, the researchers’ projected cost would be $3 a pair. This innovation would be a a great change for the world environmentally.

The researchers teamed up two years ago and created the world’s first algae-based surfboard.

The UC San Diego scientists cooperated with a local surfboard blank manufacturer, Arctic Foam of Oceanside, to work out how to create a surfboard from algae oil. Their idea was instantly accepted by a surfing industry that was looking for sustainable and environmentally friendly products. This made the 2 professors think of their next step– flip flops.

Last April, Mayfield and Pomeroy were awarded a $50,000 proof-of-concept grant from their campus Office of Research Affairs when they demonstrated the feasibility of their new innovation. The two professors and Michael Burkart, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry created a startup company named Algenesis Materials. Here, they employ some of the students who are working on the flip flops.

“Teaching chemistry in the classroom is sometimes like trying to teach soccer at the chalkboard,” Pomeroy said. “In the laboratory, students are far more engaged when they’re actually trying to solve a problem. Most people will tell you that our students are really, really bright, but they don’t always have practical experience. This is a way to provide them with that.”

The Triton flip flops, shoe soles as well as other polyurethane products that the scientists create from living algae oil are sustainable since the carbon that is used to construct them was pulled from the atmosphere, rather than the underground oil reserves. The scientists also plans to make them biodegradable, by chemically converting the algae oil into polyurethane in a way that will allow the carbon bonds to be degraded by microorganisms.

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The World’s First Fully Solar-Powered Train is Running in Australia It will begin making regular solar-powered journeys this January 2018.

The world’s first fully solar-powered train has successfully gone on its first run. The Australian Byron Bay Railroad doesn’t go very far but it will begin making regular solar-powered journeys this January 2018.

Byron Bay, New South Wales, is located in

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eastern Australia and is known for being a surfer and traveller paradise with a population of around 5,000. This new train service covers 3 km between the city’s center and its North Beach district. It is part of longer 132 km line that connects Australia’s Northern Rivers region north of the capital Sydney.

While this solar-powered train lacks distance, it makes up for it in style. The train is a 1949 refurbished ‘red rattler’, and it uses curved solar panels that have been custom-built on its roof.

It can carry a capacity of 100 passengers.

“We searched the country and found a dilapidated vintage train, restored it, and are now powering it with a 4.6 billion-year-old power source,” Jeremy Holmes, Byron Bay Railroad Company’s development director said in a press statement.

sunny days a year, but when the sun isn’t out the train can charge in a special shed.

If ever the town would have a prolonged cloudy weather, the train is equipped with on-board batteries that it charges with local green energy sources. In addition to that, in case of prolonged lousy weather and an electrical failure, the train also has a diesel engine on board as a last-case scenario. According to the train website “Due to the fact that the track is level with only one small curve, the train can run on a minimal amount of energy with the engine idle most of the time,”

The towns in New South Wales have over 200

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Engineers Hack a Tesla to Run Both on Electricity and Hydrogen For that, the electric-powered vehicle has doubled its range.

Hydrogen has so much potential as an alternative to gasoline. And now, engineers in a gas supplier in the Netherlands have honed this potential by making an electric-powered vehicle run on hydrogen.

That’s right: there’s now a Tesla Model S, a renowned electric vehicle, which has hydrogen as its secondary power source. Made by Holthausen Group, it is aptly named Project Hesla, the first electric- and hydrogen-powered Tesla in the world.

Having two power sources, the vehicle now can travel twice as far compared to the range of the Model S P100D. From 506 kilometers, Hesla is able to travel nearly 1,000 kilometers using a fullycharged battery and full supply of hydrogen.

The science behind this car is fairly easy.

Hydrogen molecules are pumped into a fuel cell, where an anode removes their electrons, which pass through a circuit to the battery to give it additional charge. The converted hydrogen now as ion pass into a cathode, to reunite with electrons and bind with oxygen to form water and exit the fuel cell.

But building Hesla wasn’t easy, according to Holthausen Group engineer Max Holthausen. He referred the vehicle’s system as “a big maze.”

Tesla wasn’t involved in the making of Hesla so the Model S was acquired second-hand. For this, the engineers had to develop and implement a workaround.

Other than finding ways to put hydrogen as another power source for the vehicle, Holthausen Group had to spend so much. The conversion was estimated at $58,000 excluding the vehicle’s cost.

That only means that the Hesla has a price tag of $205,000.

But all of this about Hesla doesn’t end here. A report by The Drive indicated that the engineers are still working on perfecting their prototype.

Could we expect more of these innovations from engineers? It’s unlikely. Because hydrogenpowered fueling stations are hard to find.

In the United States, there are only 39 of them, majority of which are on the West Coast.

Moreoever, cost is the one of the biggest reasons why hydrogen is not yet a popular source of power not only in vehicles. To be able to have scale, scientists have to find ways to make the hydrogen production a lot cheaper.

This System Allows Hydropower Plants to Get the Same Output During Dry Season Normally, hydropower plants during the dry season have low outputs due to lack of strong currents.

Hydroelectric power stations, or hydropower stations, are installations which take advantage of moving water masses flowing in the rivers to transform them into electricity. The power generated depends upon the flow of the water, which is why during the dry season where there is no strong current, the hydropower plants tally low outputs.

“Traditional hydroelectric power stations have a fixed water flow requirement, which means electricity outputs drop dramatically during the dry season,” said Lyu Mingsheng, a doctorate student of Hunan University in China.

Not taking the situation down, he and his colleagues who are also doctorate students developed a solution: a system to increase the electricity generation of small- and medium-sized hydropower stations during dry season.

According to Lyu, the system they developed fixes the current situation where power output is directly proportional to river flow. This means that the output will remain the same throughout all seasons once the system will take effect.

Designed for small- and medium-sized hydropower plants, the system is based on a

variable speed, constant frequency motor. This allows the steady power output of the hydropower plants in China.

Installing the system has its effect on the environment, the researchers said. That’s because improving the generating capacity could mean the reduction of the number of hydropower plants needed in the future.

“The new technology will transform the dam construction in China, making it more environment-friendly,” Lyu said.

Other than its environmental friendliness, the system will have great impact in the power output of the Chinese hydropower plants.

Lyu cited official figures published in 2013 that stated China had more than 45,000 hydropower stations in rural areas, with the total installed capacity exceeding 65 million kilowatt (kW).

The total installed capacity will increase by 19.5 million kW once the new system will be applied to each of the hydropower station in China. That’s equal to the output of the Three Gorges Dam which is 22.4 million kW, Lyu shared.

Tech Skills Every Millennial Engineer Should Know Knowing how to use technology is one thing, but learning how to use them efficiently is another.

Other than the good old hard drives, there are already cloud systems that can back up your data for you. Just make sure to encrypt them with a strong password, especially if they contain important documents.

Know how to install an antivirus programs

Knowing how to use technology is one thing, but learning how to use them efficiently is another.

For many, these skills may seem easy, but believe me there are a lot who lack them and as a result, they lose productivity at work. If you’re part of the latter group, then do your best to improve yourself. Here are the four main tech skills every millennial engineer should know.

Use the search engine in an advanced way While almost everyone knows how to search what they need in a search engine, it may be a good tip to learn how to use it in a more advanced way.

Add quotation marks and the boolean operators OR, AND, and NOT. This will help you save a lot of time as well as remove the unwanted results from the beginning.

Also make sure that as you scan through the search results, that you know how to distinguish a reliable resource from a bad one.

Back up your data Prevention is better than cure. You won’t know when your computer decides to crash or gets stolen. That is why it is important to back up all of your important files, photos or documents.

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This skill is essential since you need to protect your computer from external attacks to be able to protect your data. As our world is getting more and more advanced in digital technology, it gets even harder to protect our privacy. That’s why we need to learn how to install and update our antivirus programs for our computers to be safe from anything malicious.

Access your office from anywhere If you’re an engineer who works remotely, then good for you, you have your work wherever you go. But if you work in an office and need to travel on a business trip, or need to work from home, it’s important that you can access all of your work files remotely from any location. Most offices nowadays have a virtual network where their employees can connect to wherever they are on the grid.

300 Days: That’s How Long Costa Rica Has Been Relying on Renewables This 2017 And this year is not even over yet.

There are many countries around world which shifted from fossil fuels to renewable energy as their sources of electricity. Targets have been made by these countries to be fully dependent on solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, and nuclear but perhaps one country is ahead of everyone in this aspect.

Costa Rica already made a feat in 2016 when it was able to power itself without burning fossil fuels for 250 days. And this year, it has even surpassed that number: the Central American country has clocked up 300 days generating electricity from renewable energy sources.

A rainforested country with a geographical area of 51,100 square kilometers, Costa Rica has a population of about 5 million. While it ranked 129th worldwide in terms of landmass, it is still quite unbelievable that an entire country has run entirely on renewable energy.

A report by Costa Rica’s National Center for Energy Control said that 99.62% of the country’s electricity production is now generated from five renewable sources.

Hydropower is the leading source, generating 78.26% of the total power generation. Wind comes after with 10.29%, geothermal energy with 10.23%, biomass and solar 0.84 percent%, and hydrocarbons 0.38%.

The 300-day mark was recorded as of November 18, meaning that Costa Rica still has enough time to beat their 2015 record which is 299 days of dependence on green energy.

Moreover, another record has also been made

by Costa Rica in terms of using its backup in the absence of renewable energy sources.

In 2017, the Central American country did not use its thermal backup for more than 200 days because green sources were available anyway.

This beat the 76-day and 75-day streaks in 2016 and 2015 respectively.

It is worth noting, however, that while the country as generated electricity totally on renewable energy source, it is still using fossil fuels for petrolbased vehicles and gas heating of buildings.

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6 Skills That Engineers Should Invest on Learning They might be soft skills, but they pay off forever. n college, engineering students are trained to be technically proficient so they can do their respective jobs later on and build a career on them. Rarely do engineering schools train the students on soft skills, or those which do not require formal technical training, as such can only be learned through work experience and exposure to organizations.

This is why on their first jobs, engineers should have a mindset that it is not only the technical or engineering stuff that needs to be focused on.

The soft skills are just as important, even if they are difficult to learn.

Here are seven of those skills which might be quite challenging to learn but definitely worthy as they pay off forever: 22

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Knowing when to shut up To make suggestions and give comments is one thing, to talk mindlessly or without consideration is another. While it feels good to say what you want to say, engineers should also learn that not all receiving ends appreciate honest talks.

Be mindful about the consequences of your words because it could create conflicts in your workplace.

Being emotionally intelligent We could never emphasize more how important emotional intelligence is for engineers. Perhaps equally important as the intelligence quotient, EQ affects how you manage behavior, navigate social

complexities and make personal decisions in and out of your job. The core of this skill is being able to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.

Managing time It is important for engineers to be productive, deliver results, and beat deadlines. And the best way to do that is if you are able to manage your time effectively. Which tasks are the least and most important? Being able to prioritize is also a skill.

no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. This is considered a skill since it is often difficult to say no, especially to a higherup.

Getting high-quality sleep Even in college, engineering students do not get enough sleep. Bad news is that it carries over in the workplace, making it indeed a skill for engineers.

Enough rest is required for engineers to perform peak performance at work. This is backed by science.

Saying no

Staying positive

An engineer who is a yes man or a woman can have its consequences. For one, studies show that the more difficult you have saying

Engineering is difficult work. Tough times bring out the worst in you, so it pays to keep that mindset of staying positive and motivated.

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Qualities Of An Effective Engineering Team Here are some tips for maximum productivity as a team What makes the perfect engineering team?

While there isn’t such a thing as perfect, but we can try to be as close to it as possible.

Strong engineering teams are the foundation of high-performing companies. If employees don’t cooperate and don’t work well with each other, many problems can happen like poor organization, missed deadlines, blaming and conflict in the workplace.

So here are some qualities that can help you ensure that you and your teammates can have maximum productivity during your work as a team.

Effective Communication Don’t forget that communication is a two-way

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process. If you are more of a speaker, learn to listen. In contrast, if you are more of a listener, learn to speak up as well. When you are in a team, being able to communicate openly is the first step to effective communication. Share your thoughts, opinions and ideas with all the members of the team.

Effective communication is needed to be able to keep track of progress and work together efficiently.

Focus On Goals And Results Effective teams set team goals based on outcomes and results, not just on the amount of work being done. A straightforward plan ca then be set on how the team is going to achieve their objectives, as a group and as an individual contribution.

Delegation and Contribution Each member is delegated a certain task, and in turn each member gives their contribution based on their task delegation.

Good teamwork means every member contributes their fair share of workload and they fully understand what their responsibilities are. They know that their presence and work is necessary for the team to be successful.

They Offer Each Other Support Team members are ready to

assist their teammates when they need a helping hand with work.

Good Leadership Every effective team has a leader that they trust and respect. This person serves as a glue that holds the team together and is responsible for setting the pace, offers encouragement and motivation, and makes sure all members of the team are updated.

makes sure that their own tasks are organized, and the leader makes sure that everything is organized in an overall level.

Fun All work and no play? No way!

This can lead to team burnout, lack of productivity, and loss of motivation from the whole team. That’s why it’s important to add some enjoyment.

Effective teams get together outside of the office sometimes to socialize and have some fun.

Organized Organization is important for any project to run smoothly.

Each member of the team Renewable Green Leaders

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Losing Drive In Your Engineering Job? Ask Yourself These Questions Re-ignite your drive to push yourself forward or make a change?

There will be a point in our careers when we will need to stop and think about where we are, where we have been, why we are still here, and what lies ahead of us. It’s that point in time where you’re going to decide whether you need to reignite your drive to push yourself forward in your current career, or you need to make a change and find a new path.

So what do we do when we get to this point in our careers? One of my mentors in the past taught me to ask myself a set of questions that I should ask myself every 6 months or whenever 28

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I’m starting to ponder about my love for my career.

#1 Am I Continuously learning?

Learning isn’t confined in the four corners of a classroom. One way to know if your career is healthy is when you know that your are continuously learning. Are you gaining new skills?

Are you encouraged to attend seminars? Are you finding ways to improve your work? Or are you learning new things at work, but feel dissatisfied and want to learn something that is more

and passion in our work. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to find a new job ASAP. It may mean you just need a breather like a vacation. Maybe you need a fresh project to work on, whether it’s a project at your company, or a personal project at home.

#5 Am I happy?

challenging? It’s important to know whether you are learning new things at your current career and if what you are learning is sufficient enough to make you a better professional.

#2 Am I growing?

In any career, not just in engineering, career growth is one of the most important aspects that should be checked every now and then. Is the path clear for you to be able to get to the next level at your company? Are you being trained for leadership roles? Do you see a different department where you could use your skills more?

Take note of the path you are taking. We all have different ways to interpret growth. There are people who see growth as climbing up the career ladder and become a boss or manager in their company, while there are others who want to find growth elsewhere– such as a different department or a different company or field.

#3 Is respect present?

Never settle in a company that makes you feel degraded and unappreciated. Always choose to be in an organization where your opinion matters.

#4 Am I doing my best?

There will be occasions wherein we will lose our drive

There is no perfect job. Even your dream job will have it’s consequences and difficulties, as a matter of fact, ALL jobs have their difficulties. That’s why, it’s always better to choose a job that is close to your passions.

It will definitely have difficulties along the way, but all your hard work will be worth it because you know you’re working for what you love.

It’s difficult to have a definite yes to all these questions, but if you have answered “no” to most of them, then it may be time to ponder if you need to take a new direction in your career.

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How Engineers Can Balance Work With Their Passions While we love our jobs as engineers, we also have other passions that we want to give some of our time to.

A lot of people have different passions that aren’t related to their professions, such as art, dance, photography, music, etc. In an ideal world, our professional jobs and our passions would be one and the same. However, while we love our jobs as engineers, we also have other passions that we want to give some of our time to, and the problem lies there. Working full time as an engineer while trying to give time for your passions can be difficult to balance. So here are some tips on how you can balance work with your passions.

Be Strict With Your Schedule If you really want to balance your work and passion and you’re the type of person just chooses to “go with the flow”, then this is the time you should be strict with your schedule. The best way to balance any activity is to practice disciple. Make sure you set a time every week for finishing work (including a leeway for emergency overtime), so that you also have time for your passion.

Start A Bit At A Time Having a jam packed week of full time work and 30

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your passion activity can really take its toll on you. So start slow. Schedule your passion activity only once a week for the first month, and slowly increase the frequency of your passion activities as time goes by. By doing so, you would lessen the possibility of physical and mental burnout.

Choose A Day Off You should have a day in the week wherein you will neither work nor do your passions. This will be your day for ultimate relaxation, pampering, resting, and recharging for the next week to come. While this is not entirely possible because of the demanding day jobs, do your best to schedule some days in a month for this.

Count Your Hours of Sleep No matter what your work and passion schedule is, always make sure you have enough sleep–that is 6-8 hours. Remember, if you are not able to recharge your body, you won’t be able to function properly throughout the next day. Prioritize your body, it will thank you.

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WELTEC BIOPOWER Expands Biogas Plant of Milk Powder Manufacturer The German plant manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER recently signed the contract for a biogas plant extension of the milk powder producer Estancias del Lago (EDL) in Uruguay.

The German plant manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER recently signed the contract for a biogas plant extension of the milk powder producer Estancias del Lago (EDL) in Uruguay.

From late 2018, the plant with its eight digesters will generate a rated thermal input of more than 6 Megawatt from cattle manure and fodder leftovers. The company will use the biogas for drying and steam generation purposes in the production process.

Founded in 2007, the agricultural company EDL now farms an area of about 37,000 ha. On this area, the South Americans grow maize, sorghum and soya as feed for their approximately 14,000 dairy cows. The company foundation was accompanied by the establishment of a huge site in Durazno, north of the capital Montevideo. Apart 32

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from the cowsheds with milking centres and feed silos as well as the biogas plant, the premises now host a dairy and a grain mill. In Durazno, Estancias del Lago produces about 20,000 t of milk powder a year for export. Most of the milk solids are sold to China, Brazil and the Middle East.

In 2013, WELTEC had set up the first 800-kW biogas plant for EDL. Back then, expansion plans were already being considered. First, however, more cattle were needed. In the meantime, the number has therefore been stocked up from 8,000 to 14,000 cows. Now, 1,365 t of cattle manure plus 8.4 t of feed leftovers are available for the energy generation.

In view of the dimensions of the AD plant,

the structural preparations already started in September 2017. In early 2018, WELTEC BIOPOWER will begin installing the six new 5,000-m³ stainless-steel digesters and the two 1,050-m³ pre-storage tanks for the slurry. With WELTEC’s custom-developed process control system CeMOS, the entire biogas plant will be fully automated from the end of 2018.

“As was the case back in 2013, the main reasons why the company opted for us were the high requirement profile and quality standard” explains Jens Albartus, Director of WELTEC BIOPOWER. For the plant expansion, the customer thus again wants to make use of stainless steel. “We wanted to work with an experienced manufacturer with industrial expertise”, explains Franz Cifuentes, Director of EDL. Equipped with experience gained in the construction of large biomethane parks such as the one in Könnern, Germany, WELTEC is in charge of the entire building site management in Durazno, including the ancillary work.

Two gas boilers use part of the 30,000 standard m³ of biogas that is produced every day to generate heat for the biogas process. Most of the biogas is transferred to the close-by milk powder production facility via a pipeline. The biogas covers up to 35 percent of the heat required for the drying process. 100 percent of the steam needed is generated with biogas.

All operational units of the entire site are run in a very sustainable way. EDL contributes to this by growing its own fodder. The digestate from the biogas plant is used as fertiliser. Moreover, the cylce is closed by raising its own dairy cows and processing the milk on site. At the facilities located just 150 m from the cowsheds, the milk is processed to powder within four to eight hours.

Another synergy has been established between EDL’s fuel production and other parts of the business: Apart from soya oil for the biodiesel plant, the oil mill yields press cake that is fed to the animals.

By means of plant extension, EDL can use its huge supply of raw material to establish a smart synergy between its agricultural and industrial operations. This is exemplary especially in view of the fact that this strategy is pursued throughout the country. Meanwhile, energy efficiency and renewable energies are the main drivers of the diversification of Uruguay’s energy mix. The efforts are promoted by progressive environmental laws. In relation to the share of the primary energy, renewable energies already accounted for 57 percent in 2017. To further boost this share, the government in Montevideo has formulated the goal of using a growing portion of the agricultural leftovers for the generation of energy. The project Estancias del Lago is a fine example of how this can be achieved.

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ABB Technology Helps Dubai Develop Smart Solar Strategy

ABB AbilityTM Electrical Distribution Control System delivers key data to shape next-generation solar power for the city.

ABB technology is supporting the development of new smart solar power systems for the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Electric & Water Authority (DEWA) is using the ABB AbilityTM Electrical Distribution Control System to help develop data-driven strategies that maximize year-round solar energy production as part of the Smart Dubai initiative.

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Smart Dubai is the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The city is hard-wiring Smart Design into its fast-evolving infrastructure in a series of greenfield initiatives that offer emerging economies a blueprint for sustainable development.

The ABB AbilityTM Electrical Distribution Control System is being employed by DEWA to monitor production at ABB’s Al Quoz photovoltaic solar system. The 312kW installation is the largest privately owned solar rooftop in the region, powering the ABB facility and feeding surplus energy into the grid. ABB’s cloud-based platform makes it easy for DEWA analysts to integrate the power production data with other information, such as weather forecasts and actual rooftop temperatures.

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, said: “Dubai has come a long way in its transformation into a smart city under the guidance of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, whose forward-looking vision embraces the establishment of a Smart Government that can serve people anywhere, anytime through smart, connected systems that take the quality of living for Dubai residents and visitors to a whole new level. The vision also sets out a clear path for government organisations to initiate the transition towards the digital era by developing and enhancing their services to meet people’s demands and achieve their happiness. Since 2009, DEWA has embarked on offering smart services, and is today the first government organisation to achieve the 100 percent smarttransformation of its services after the Smart Dubai initiative was announced.”

“DEWA works in line with the UAE Vision to achieve smart transformation, and to support the leadership to meet the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda, and Dubai Plan 2021. We seek to promote Dubai as a smart, sustainable, and integrated city with high-tech infrastructure to support social and economic development as well as promote sustainable use of resources by ensuring best practices in consumption, efficiency and governance.”

Dubai aims to generate 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and the development of a viable solar power market is key to this. DEWA is fast-tracking the introduction of digital innovations that will help better manage the city’s energy consumption

and production with smart grids and smart meters.

“ABB’s cloud-based platform is enabling a new generation of data-driven strategies for power distribution systems. Data from ABB AbilityTM Electrical Distribution Control System enables DEWA to understand the effect of temperature and other seasonal changes on the yield from solar power systems,” said Loay Dajani, ABB Lead Division Manager – MEA, Electrification Products Division. “The ABB AbilityTM Electrical Distribution Control System is the perfect platform for this kind of collaborative project, producing the data needed for power distribution systems to integrate effectively into smart city concepts.”

Although the UAE enjoys long periods of sunshine each year, the high ambient temperatures can also limit the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. In June, July and August, ambient temperatures in Dubai can reach 5052°C. In these conditions, roof-mounted solar power systems can reach temperatures of 68°C. The ABB AbilityTM Electrical Distribution Control System is a cloud-based platform for electrical systems that monitors plant performance, uses data analysis to identify optimization opportunities, and enables the remote implementation of more effective power management strategies. It connects the electrical equipment, using the Emax 2 smart circuit breaker, with cloud-based intelligence and algorithms, removing the need for expensive additional devices and complex programming.

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally.

Continuing more than a 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 136,000 employees. www.abb.com

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China Is Building Solar Roadways It will be used to power the towns surrounding it, and will soon wirelessly power electric cars.

China is currently building a 2km-length solar highway. This means that the solar panels on the road will be providing power to the towns that are surrounding it. The project engineers hope that this will also soon wirelessly power electric cars that are driving on the road.

The Jinan South Ring Expressway will start off in the eastern Chinese city of Jinan, which has around 7 million people living there. It is known as a tech and transportation hub, the home to Sinotruck, which is the country’s state-owned heavy duty truck manufacturer. According to state-owned media the solar-powered part of the expressway will be completed and opened by the end of December. The road is capable of carrying up to medium-sized trucks.

The Chinese engineers created three layers to build this photovoltaic highway. The uppermost layer is transparent concrete that is similar to asphalt.

The next layer is the solar panels that absorbs the sun’s rays while it is protected by the uppermost layer. The bottom most part is a strip of insulation to make sure that nature doesn’t interfere from the bottom up.

Other than being a power source, the road also has another benefit. The heat from the panels can transfer through the concrete, which allows it to melt snow.

Solar roads are still a new innovation, but they have been around since 2014, where one opened in the Netherlands. This innovation is in line with China’s renewable energy pursuit in recent years, from farms to the largest solar park in the world.

Solar road projects have often been questioned for their high cost and low output. But other roads generally focused on adding solar panels on top of current roads, in contrast to China’s layered protection. Once the road will be opened, we’ll be able to see if this innovation may crack the solar road problem.

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Why is Los Angeles Painting Its Roads White?

The city mayor started a project covering LA roads in white paint. But why?

Roads are normally paved with darker shades of grey – the color of concrete and asphalt. But if you happen to pass by Los Angeles in California and see white or light grey ones, do not be surprised for that color has its purpose.

Initiated by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, painting the Los Angeles roads as white aims to help cool the city.

A reflective white coating called CoolSeal was originally developed by engineers for military air 38

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bases to keep spy planes cool while they rest on the tarmac. But it was discovered that the same material could keep streets and parking lots a lot cooler than usual.

“We found that on average the area covered in CoolSeal is 10 degrees cooler than black asphalt on the same parking lot,” said Greg Spotts, the assistant director of the Bureau of Street Services for San Fernando Valley, one of the hottest spots in Greater LA. The coating was first tested in 2015 in this part of the town.

A city like Los Angeles is prone to a phenomenon called urban heat island effect. This means that the shortage of trees, which provide shade, and the black pavement, which absorbs heat from the sun, have a tremendous effect in the overall temperature of the area.

The CoolSeal is quite an investment. For $40,000 per mile and lasting for seven years, it is hoped to result in cooler streets which in turn could cool homes, keeping energy costs and health risks low.

The long-term goal of the city mayor is to reduce the city’s average temperature by 3 degrees

Fahrenheit over the next 20 years.

While painting the roads white is its primary initiative to keep the city warm, Los Angeles urges its residents to plant more trees and apply white paint to rooftops for those who do not have solar panels.

Mayor Garcetti realizes the need for this kind of initiatives. “This is an urgent challenge, and it’s much bigger than one person,” he said in a statement.

“Climate change is a fact of life that people in Los Angeles and cities around the world live with every day,” he added.

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Why Everyone Needs To Support The Shift To Renewable Energy

Things are looking up for the renewable energy sector as we enter a brand new year. Several nations have created changes to use renewables to power up homes, industries and offices. For the bulk of 2017, inspiring stories and updates were reported - creating hope to everyone as effects of global warming pose as a threat to every living being. As we start the new year, let’s take a look at what to expect in the energy sector and why it matters to get involved in this pressing matter.

This 2018, several companies across the globe want to focus on energy efficiency and fossil fuel alternatives. With the rise in demand for renewable energy, the future of industries such as oil and gas becomes uncertain - although it remains the same for renewable energy as several 40

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companies and organizations face challenges in pursuing production of clean energy.

Despite the uncertainty of the policies for renewable energy under the Trump administration, demand for renewables was shown to increase and Asian countries have shown interest in converting to renewables, spearheading this important movement. Several Asian markets in India, Malaysia and the Philippines started to expand their businesses in renewables, while China was reported to have more than 40 percent of capacity growth in global renewable energy in 2016. As several countries start to expand on renewables, others will soon follow to keep up with the increasing demand for renewable energy.

Expect global renewables capacity to double in the next 10 years.

renewable energy can aid in the reduction of emissions in the electricity sector by 81 percent.

In relation to the decrease in global warming emissions, the health of the general public will improve drastically. Pollution produced by coal and natural gas plants has lead to several health problems in several communities. These problems include cancer, neurological damage, heart attacks and other serious problems.

Another reason why the public needs to shift to renewable energy is the resources’ ability to replenish the supply of energy. While the shift is still on its early phase, studies have shown that renewable energy resources are capable of providing power for several communities. In line with this, renewable energy may require high capital cost but its low operating cost make up for it. This results to a more stable price over time.

Lastly, a shift to renewable energy gives more opportunities for companies to hire more people, thus, providing more jobs. Compared to technologies in the fossil fuel sector, renewable energy technology such as that of solar power requires more labor, making it a valuable factor in improving the economy as well.

The Obstacles It Faces In The Market Why It Matters To Shift To Renewables Most countries have already experienced the harmful impact of global warming - from the rise in sea level to frequent occurrences of deadly storms and drought. Due to the global warming emissions brought about by several industries in the energy sector, these emissions endanger our living conditions.

Shifting to renewable energy offers us an opportunity to save the environment and our communities as renewable energy resources produce little to no global warming emissions.

According to the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),

While the benefits of renewable energy make shifting more inviting, several barriers have made the shift difficult in the energy sector.

Setting politics aside, organizations and companies often consider these barriers before pursuing their shift to renewables.

Renewable energy may have cheaper operating costs but it requires a high capital investment for it to be efficient and competitive in the market. From the installations of solar and wind farms to high construction costs, converting to renewable energy may not be possible for institutions and companies that have limited budget. However, recent developments in its technology have made capital costs cheaper compared to its cost in the previous years (or decades).

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Another obstacle renewable energy shift faces is its market entry. With key players such as coal, nuclear and natural gas holding majority of the energy market power, the new technology offered in using renewable energy may be considered risky for most businesses.

Competing with big power players with a mature, well-established business model can be disadvantageous for industries promoting the usage of renewable energy resources. The only way for the renewable energy industry to boom is when governments and big corporations support clean energy by investing on it.

Over the years, several records have shown the progress and developments in the renewable energy sector. This good news threatens several renewable energy opponents, which often results to spreading reliability misconceptions about renewable energy resources. One argument presented by these opponents is its reliability to provide enough power for nations.

Contrary to these misconceptions, resources such as solar and wind are proven to be highly 42

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reliable, safer and more accessible compared to coal, gas and nuclear.

Accessibility On The Market According to Colin Beaney, Global Industry Director for Energy & Utilities at IFS, renewables will have a huge impact on the energy and utility market this 2018. With every progress made in renewables industry, a huge improvement will be noticeable on its technology. It becomes smarter and more importantly, it becomes affordable because of its lower construction, operating and maintenance costs.

What To Expect This 2018 Several nations have picked up the idea of turning waste into energy, as waste becomes a major problem in managing it. With more waste produced, landfill areas are expected to widen and it’s becoming a burden to cities such as New Delhi. Now, the Indian government is

starting to support plans of building a waste-to-energy plant that could help with their waste management.

China has also put importance in converting its waste to energy. An example is China Everbright International’s installation of its eighteenth waste-to-energy project in the Shandong Province.

Another trend this year would be upgrading several aging wind farms. Given that wind energy is one of the earliest technologies used in renewables, several companies would like to ensure the longevity of the wind farms, along with improving its efficiency and operational costs. By adding energy storage to its features, these companies will be able to improve their energy production. Storage technology will play a crucial role in the progress of the renewable energy sector in the energy market.

In a report published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, it shared: The global energy storage market will double six times between 2016 and 2030, rising to a total of 125 gigawatts/305 gigawatt-hours. This is a similar trajectory to the remarkable expansion that the solar industry went through from 2000 to 2015, in which the share of photovoltaics as a percentage of total generation doubled seven times. Eight countries will lead the market, with 70 percent of capacity to be installed in the U.S., China, Japan, India, Germany, U.K., Australia and South Korea. Energy storage, both utility-scale and behind-the-meter, will be a crucial source of flexibility throughout this period and will be essential to integrating increasing levels of renewable energy.

Several reports have shown that the global capacity of renewables has increased over the years. In BMI’s 2017 Global Renewables Outlook, renewable energy production is predicted to double between 2016 and 2026. Now, it’s starting to become a major force in the energy market for big companies as it made up more than half of the world’s new power generation capacity.

With a goal to achieve the Paris Agreement goals of keeping global warming below 2 degree Celsius, global insurers will more likely help achieve this goal by investing more on renewable energy instead of supporting coal-fired power plants. While nothing can be certain on today’s policies on renewable energy, the future is still bright given the recent developments of its technology. May it bring progress on our slow but steady shift to clean energy.

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Strategies For Engineers Who Want To Gain New Skills They say to be able to excel in your career, it’s important to pick up new skills that can help you grow professionally.

They say to be able to excel in your career, it’s important to pick up new skills that can help you grow professionally. However, not many of us know where to start, so here are some strategies that can help you learn new skills.

Memory Tricks Engineers are naturally talented when it comes to creating memory tricks, it’s a skill we’ve all nurtured since engineering school. Use this skill when you are learning a new skill at work as well.

Accept Both Sides of The Coin When you are learning something new, it’s important to remember that you will need to accept not only the good sides of learning, but the bad sides as well. You will need to accept failure. You will need to be willing to have some sleepless nights. You will need to accept that it’s not going to be fast and easy. You will need to be resilient.

Practice This is where many people give up. Constant practice can be difficult, but it is needed for you to develop your new skill. There will be other people who are more talented than you are, and will be able to master the same skill in a shorter period, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep up with them. Run your own race and concentrate on your progress instead of other people’s. Soon, you’ll be able to master your new skill.

Find a Mentor One of the best ways to master a new skill is to find a mentor who can show you the ropes.

It’s always better to have a mentor than learn it yourself because you will be able to learn the skill more than just its theory. You will also be able to learn the skill through your mentor’s experiences.

These tips can also be applied in skills other than for professional purposes. Hopefully, these tips will be able to help you learn and master your chosen skill quickly.

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