Power

Major Railways reforms - surge pricing and Spanish Talgo trains on Indian tracks !!

Trains are once again going to be the favourite of the Indian business class as the Railways have taken up two major reforms aiming at productivity improvement in Indian Railways. 

Most of our public amenities suffer due to lack of professionalism and utter disregard for customer satisfaction (forget customer delight!) and the lack of a sense of urgency to improve human and system productivity. Slowly the Railways is changing from that mindset and has started giving greater importance to the travelling public and caring for his comfort and delight !

One of these steps is allowing surge pricing (revenue or yield management) which permits increasing fares by 10% for every 10% filling of seats, on certain premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi express trains which has already started giving great convenience to the passengers not forgetting the almost Rs 100 crore extra revenue that has been added to the Indian Railway's coffers during the past one week.

High speed Talgo trains (upto 250 kmph) will redefine luxury
yet again  on Indian Railways

The other reform taking place is the test run of the light, high speed Spanish Talgo trains on Indian rails. Trial runs having been successfully completed, it is just a matter of time before Talgo trains will be introduced between metro cities to begin with and later across the country's major rail sections.

Spanish Talgo trains offer many advantages on Indian rails. Some of the important ones are highlighted here. 

1. Light-weight - A 30% reduction of weight,

2. Low operating costs - a 30% reduction in costs in fuel,

3. higher speeds - higher speeds of up to 250 kmph (demonstrated at 160 kmph on Delhi Agra route)

4. time savings - savings in travel time (upto 4 hours already demonstrated on the New Delhi Mumbai route),

5. Low Capital costs - substantial reduction in capital costs for bogies,

6. Low maintenance and costs - low maintenance needs,

7. Use existing railway infrastructure - ability to use existing railway infrastructure for high speed travel (due to low weights and resultant low dynamic forces on the tracks),

8. Modern in-house facilities - modern amenities inside the train and

9. High safety - zero compromise on safety features as certified by Railway Board 

add to the attractiveness of the much popular 75 year old Spanish company's Talgo trains on Indian rails !! The two steps together will bring cheer to rail travel.

Since the Indian Railways has great potential to grow and provide services to more people, the Indian Railways should seriously consider of getting Talgo to set manufacturing facilities in India and transfer technology to our manufacturing bases spread across the country. 

http://m.indiatoday.in/story/talgo-trains-all-you-need-to-know-high-speed-spanish-trains-come-to-india/1/649659.html

George

One of the world's largest - 648 MW Solar power plant at Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu

The 4000 acre Kamuthi solar park in South Tamil Nadu 

One of the world's largest solar power plant, the 648 MW plant, comprising 2.5 million solar panels employing 8500 people in a  record time of 8 months, spread over 2500 acres of land ( at a rate of 3.85 MW/acre of land) in Kamuthi, Ramanathapuram dist, South Tamil Nadu is promoted by the Adani group at an investment of about $750 million.

Watch the National Geographic special ..

Tamil Nadu (Southern part of India) gets a daily solar irradiance of 5.6 - 6 KWh/sq.m and gets clear 300 sunny days a year. Recently National Geographic gave a 30 minute peep into the largest solar power house on planet earth at Kamuthi .. Click here for details..

Airports are super critical applications and more so if it is an international one. The first and only 100% solar energy powered international airport in the world in Kochi, Kerala is yet to be challenged by any of the nations in the world. The Kochi airport is just 12 MW in comparison. The Bangalore and Hyderabad airports are also slowly going the solar route. The Adani Kamuthi solar park is three times the size of the solar power plant of 200 MW in the Gobi desert North China.

The greatest advantage South India has in terms of solar energy is that for almost 300 days in a year, there is solar energy incident in South India. If we just harness 1% of this total solar energy, it can meet the complete energy needs of the country.

With the powerful incentivised Central govt push, particularly by the PM Modi, to the solar energy drive of 20,000 MW (20GW) by 2020 and 100 GW by 2025 AD, India is clearly poised to give innovative energy leadership to the world in renewable, sustainable, low carbon footprint energy resources to meet the growing energy needs of 1.25 billion people of India, yearning to be the most vibrant and advanced nation of the world by 2035 AD.

The world's largest solar park till now has been in California San Luis Obispo County, Topaz project, with 550 MW capacity and 9 million solar panels, built by First solar with a 16.8% module efficiency.. (Click on link here..).

The power generated at the Kamuthi park will be bought by the Tamil Nadu State Electricity Board at a rate of Rs 7.01/KWh for a period of 25 years.

By 2020 AD, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) will have the largest solar energy plant in the world, the 2000MW plant in Pavagadda, near Tumkur in North Karnataka, South India, which will be three times the size of the Kamuthi plant. Click for details here ..

With the re-emergence of the two oldest global civilizations of 6000 years, India and China along with the nascent and puny 240 year old US, will these three great nations of the contemporary world with their energy independence wipe out the Arab stranglehold of the world through oil ? US is already the worlds largest fossil oil producer, through shale oil, a non renewable resource.

Here is a model 17 MW solar plant developed by Tata Solar Power systems in Mithapur, UP 

George ..

Ref : https://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/06/adani-group-set-648-mw-solar-power-tamil-nadu/

PS : The list of the top solar plants is given here    The Tengger desert solar park in China with 1500 MW is the largest solar plant as of 2018 April. By December it will be overtaken by Pavaguda solar park near Tumkur which will be a 2000MW plant. (2 GW). Kurnol solar plant, 1000MW covers an area of 24 sq.km. The Saudi solar park costing $200 billion will be funded by Japanese venture capital firm SoftBank would cover an area of 5000 sq.km and should be ready by 2030. (updated on 9 May 2018).

Global Water crisis

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3P_fJFwJNOdb0VxYzJwZUY3dEk/view?usp=docslist_api

Momentous times for Indian Science and Technology..

Two momentous months for ISRO, August and September of 2016.

For any space mission, reducing the overall weight of the rocket / space vehicle (or substituting with lighter fuel, enabling heavier payloads to be carried aboard and developing higher thrusts with better technology is always and will always remain the highlights of all future space research.

The majestic GSLV Mk II with 2 strap on motors

Firstly, the great step, yesterday, ISRO has mastered cryogenic technology which besides providing 1.5 times thrust sends heavier payloads up to 2.5 T, to outer space (replacing heavy solid fuels) to geostationary orbits. 

The average speed for yesterday's 36,000 km journey of the 542 Tonne rocket with the satellite payload of 2.2 T, to geotsationary orbit ay 36,000 kms altitude took 17 minutes at velocity of 35.3 kms/sec (1,27,058 kmph).

The second feat was the air breathing rocket, scramjet, which besides on our Brahmos cruise missiles (at Mach 3, six times faster than the fastest US missile, Tomahawk), fuels our reusable launch vehicle, the Indian version of space Shuttle, which will bring down the cost of near earth (<100kms altitude) launches by 90%.

Feeling proud of ISRO and all friends working in that great organization.. 

Our Scientists and technologists are now showing that the scientists who did not ditch their motherland and stayed back are indeed far better than the worthless, opportunistic ones that migrated. 😊

Let us start believing in ourselves. We may have a lousy and a much-to-be-desired political and social systems in the country.

Let's be optimistic and hope the system would change for the better, a change being spearheaded by our private sector and selected very advanced high tech sciences public sector ! 

The CE20 Cryogenic engine which will power the third upper stage of the GSLV Mk III launch in December 2016 is going to be yet another milestone in Indian space industry. 

India as of September '16 has two power horses to ferry satellites and other payloads on our interplanetary expeditions. The much tested and reliable Polar satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) to ferry payloads of upto 1400 kgs to space and the operational Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) that can carry payloads of upto 2.5T to outer space.

In the case of GSLV, it is just a question of scaling up the payloads with more efficient and powerful cryogenic engines (under development) that can take payloads upto 10 T and more in future.

Ge..

Six Thinking hats - Edward DeBono.. Lateral Thinking..

A good video here ..

	The White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the facts."
	The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.
	The Black Hat is judgment - the devil's advocate or why something may not work. Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong. Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if overused.
	The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates.
	The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It's an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.
	The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It's the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats® guidelines are observed.

SpaceX' failures ..

Explosion at SpaceX launch pad destroys rocket, and Facebook satellite

Is US in the process of losing out in the space race to India after the SpaceX blast some hours back ?

NASA like the spoilt brat, woefully cannot undertake any smart, low cost mission to space, though it is reliable.

It is a fact as firm as a rock that US is no match for the Indians when it comes to low cost, reliable space endeavours ..

US space scientists have never acknowledged anywhere that they are no match for Indians when it comes to being smart with low cost space launches. (US leadership cannot be challenged in the area of innovation). US simply lacks the low cost technology and capability to match with India in such critical areas of space technology.

 

The younger private player Elon Musk's SpaceX has low costs (about 5x India's), but has poor mission launch reliability. In it's eagerness to piggyback on NASA's successes, Elon Musk's SpaceX is proving not only to be an expensive and risky space player, it is reaffirming itself as an undependable, costly, unreliable, inconsistent, dubious, fly-by-night type of operator and a totally unpredictable novice in space efforts.. No wonder US private companies find ISRO's launch vehicles more reliable than US vehicles to place their payloads into space. The just previous ISRO mission had 13 US private satellites taken aboard of a total of 20 satellites, to be launched at multiple altitudes, a very tricky and skilful maneouvre,

Facebook Zuckerberg's expansionist plans of spreading out to the unconnected people of the world in Africa thru his satellite thru this failed SpaceX mission, has once again pulled back American colonization of outer space !

India's ISRO's efforts at low cost successful launches and unparalleled reliability still remains as unruffled feathers in its cap.

The day is not far off when the world will look up to India and ISRO to give global leadership of offering high value reliable space launches to explore the unfathomed outer space, for the benefit of humanity as a whole !! 

 

George