Our Projects: Building Sustainable Futures

N3 Global Hub Zone 

 

A Model City Using Renewable Energy

By Michael Lee, N3 Consultant

 

Renewable energy is the power of the future. Power from the sun, wind, and other natural and renewable sources will be where we create the energy necessary to power our everyday lives.

 

Several examples of systems have been tested and deployed in cities worldwide, from solar or wind farms pouring power into the grid throughout the United States. Today, solar and wind-based power augments the existing power infrastructure and will gradually show the way to a self-sustaining power generation capability. Solar and Wind-based power is used to pump water and power water purification systems in areas to provide permanent fresh water or for irrigation where disasters have destroyed the local infrastructure. Solar-powered street lights light streets in several African and Asian cities.

 

A great deal of creativity is being displayed in various locations worldwide. The next step will be to make renewable energy a primary concentration and bring the systems together as a model for the rest of the world.   The city would be something like this:

 

As you fly into the city, you will find it hard to miss the solar farms. They fill large expanses of land near the town, and it is evident that the existing power grid facilitates power distribution into the most populated areas. At the airport, the solar-powered surveillance and security system around the perimeter is a bit daunting, and the lighting that is powered by solar is hard to miss.   All seems normal inside the terminal, but it is evident that all the lighting has been a focus…many LEDs and some low-power, beautiful lighting assemblies. Heading to the parking garage, you notice the solar charging stations for electric cars, and you are a little surprised to find that is what you will be renting. When driving out of the airport, all traffic signals and intersections have solar power systems as primary or backup power, and you can see the cell towers off in the distance being powered by solar and small wind generators. The one thing you notice that is different from everywhere else you have been – it's quiet.

 

 

This city does not exist yet. We all know it is coming. These are not systems out of a science fiction magazine. They exist and are deployed in various places around the world. We aim to help bring them together into a single location that can serve as a demonstration or model city for the rest of the world.   All primary services are powered by solar and wind. They will include:

 

 

• All wireless communications – cell, WiFi, WiMAX sat comms, and backhauls,

• All water purification, desalination, and pumping for distribution,

• All lighting for streets and common areas,

• All intelligent traffic signals and monitoring

• All surveillance/monitoring, security, access control to government and municipal properties,

• All meter readings and innovative grid applications for power management and monitoring,

• All vehicle battery charging stations, fast charge facilities,

• All home powering systems augment existing power and feed the grid.

• All internet access in schools, business, and government buildings, "netbook" powering for students, and remote applications

 

Bringing these services together requires excellent planning and will create many jobs. This is not just a model to show how power can be made and used. It promotes a new way of life and thinking based on efficiency in our power consumption and continually looking for products that support that environment. 

 

The Plan – It is about creating jobs.

 

Each of the systems referenced in this document is available from suppliers worldwide. The plan for the modern city is one of integration. All systems can be monitored or managed, either for power generation or power consumption, or from an application standpoint - is the system on or off, or how much is flowing? All the systems must be assembled. All will be shipped in and assembled locally. The assembly steps will be operated by locals who have been or will be trained to gather these types of systems. All equipment for the locally designed solar farms will be shipped in and installed by our local installation teams. Monitoring systems on the farms will be developed, fabricated locally, and installed by our installers.   Smart Grid-compliant meters and required wireless infrastructure will be assembled locally, installed, manned, and managed by local energy professionals.

 

N3 Global Solutions is simply the catalyst to integrate disparate systems into an integrated, environmentally friendly, self-sustaining environment. That environment can create hundreds of jobs for locals and show the world that renewable energy can not only supply the power for the critical applications of a city but also create jobs and new businesses worldwide. This is only the start. Once people understand how to use renewable power efficiently and harness power consumption, they will build even more creative systems to continue this movement. Then, it will be our job again to bring that to the rest of the world.

 

Other examples:

 

Small, portable water

Street Light   

Solar on the roof of commercial building

purification system

Solar installed in the parking area

Solar farm from the air     

Airport Surveillance

 

These are small and simple solutions. Each creates multiple jobs.

 

  

N3 Global Solutions, LLC designs power systems using renewable energy for mission-critical applications in areas where power is difficult to provide, unreliable, or inaccessible.