Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - Political leaders and scientists around the world must shift their focus to sustainable sources of energy, a professor from a German university said in a lecture at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Heinz Schmidt-Walter, electrical engineering professor and associate dean at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt, Germany, pointed to some of the innovative steps that already are well under way in his country during his lecture, "Alternative energy systems: Today and tomorrow," in the Pioneer Student Center on the UWP campus on Nov. 12.

Enough energy can be harnessed from the sun to serve the majority of the world's energy demands. For instance, he said the energy that could be collected in a one-square-meter area could power a German household for a day - "but not an American one" he added, smiling, "you would need two."

The amount of solar energy being harnessed in Germany has grown dramatically since the government passed a law that pays people who invest in solar cells approximately twice the price of the electricity they produce for 20 years. It takes approximately 10 years to make enough to pay for the equipment, so the remaining 10 years is profit. The program is funded through utility bills, rather than tax dollars, he said.

"In some villages, nearly every roof has solar cells," he said, adding that a large industrial plant near Frankfurt has its entire roof covered with solar cells.

Schmidt-Walter also discussed other promising sources of sustainable energy, including wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and bio-gas. He said that wind turbines now produce about 10 percent of all energy in Germany but that there is not a lot of room left to grow because most suitable locations in the country already have windmills. Germany also has installed windmills in the North Sea, but that has proved to be expensive and complicated, he added.

Schmidt-Walter said about 11 percent of all power in Germany now comes from sustainable sources, compared to approximately 2 percent in the United States.

He suggested all consumers must be smarter about how they use energy. For instance, he said that an incredible amount of power is used unnecessarily because devices are left plugged in and draw power while they're on standby. He also said that using power during times of lower demand will help reduce the generating capacity necessary to meet peak power demands.

"We have to change our thinking and use energy when it is there," he said. "For example, we should, in the future, run washing machines at noon when the sun is available."

Schmidt-Walter said that one complication with relying on renewable energy is that it is not necessarily available when it's needed. For instance, the wind isn't always blowing to turn windmills. That raises the need to enhance current technology to store energy, he said.

One of the more efficient storage methods is producing hydrogen, which can be stored and used later. While there are some complications with storing and using hydrogen - including storage methods and safety concerns - it is an efficient source of energy, he said.

Increased use of hydrogen also means that fuel cell technology must be advanced, he said.

Schmidt-Walter said that there is a lot of potential for development with hydrogen-powered cars. He said they use energy more efficiently than diesel vehicles.

He said he recently had an opportunity to test drive a hydrogen-powered car developed by Mercedes Benz for half a day. He was very enthusiastic about the ability of the car to accelerate.

It's likely that hydrogen-powered vehicle technology will advance over the next few years, he said, noting that Opel - a Europe-based division of General Motors - now has 200 engineers working solely on fuel cells and hydrogen technology.

For more information on Schmidt-Walter's lecture, contact James Hamilton, UWP professor of chemistry and engineering physics, at (608) 342-1670 or hamiltoj@uwplatt.edu.

Contact: James P. Hamilton, UWP Department of Chemistry and Engineering Physics, (608) 342-1670, hamiltoj@uwplatt.edu Written by: Gary Achterberg, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194, achterbergg@uwplatt.edu