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Climate Change Belief Research - great cause for concern
By Mike Hanlon
03:54 March 25, 2009 PDT
It just goes to show you what a bad state the education system is in when just 51% of the population believe that climate change is caused by human activities. Opinion Research Corporation surveyed 1,000 people in late January and found that 29% believe climate change is occurring naturally, 15% believe climate change needs to be proven scientifically either way and 3% believe climate change doesn’t exist. Oh, and for the record, of those who got it right, 55% were male, which means ... we're no longer sure whether to be more concerned about global warming or global ignorance. Read More
Could changing the color of the sky to counter global warming backfire?
03:38 March 25, 2009 PDT
The concept of delaying global warming by adding particles into the upper atmosphere to cool the climate could unintentionally reduce peak electricity generated by large solar power plants by as much as one-fifth, according to a new study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Read More
Qatar’s giant cactus: a shining example of biomimicry
By Karen Sprey
17:46 March 23, 2009 PDT
London may have The Gherkin but it’s not a patch on the cactus-inspired design for the new Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture (MMAA) building in Qatar. The spectacular office building and adjoining botanical dome is a great example of biomimicry, a discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. This increasingly prominent approach has yielded advances in fields as diverse as aerodynamics, robotic navigation, clothing design, UAVs and the detection of water pollution. It makes sense that architectural design can also learn from nature. Read More
Don't be a pig with your power usage
By Jude Garvey
00:27 March 18, 2009 PDT
Educating children about power usage can be a difficult task. It’s not easy explaining the concept of electricity to a five year old, let alone the fact that we have to pay for it. This cute little pig might help to solve this problem and monitor television and game usage at the same time. Power Hog is a power-consumption meter design concept in the form of a green and silver piggy-bank. You simply plug the tail into the power outlet and the snout into the electric device, feed in some coins and this little piggy does the rest. When the Power Hog is connected the dollar sign glows green, it fades when there is sufficient credit and alerts you that money is running low by blinking red. Read More
Spain sets new wind power record supplying 40% of total demand
By Paul Evans
01:30 March 12, 2009 PDT
Wind Turbines in the north west of Spain set a new record for power generation on March 5th as gales blew across the country, with more than 40% of the country's energy needs being generated by wind turbines. The new record stands at a peak of 11,180 megawatts (11.18 GW) of electricity supply beating the previous record of 10,032 megawatts. The percentage of demand supplied depends on time of day as demand rises and falls throughout the day. Read More
Salinity power as renewable energy
By Matt Kennedy
23:40 March 11, 2009 PDT
Green energy comes in many guises these days, from wind-power to wave-power. One of the more compelling of the new kids on the eco-energy block is salinity power, which uses the concurrence of salt-water and freshwater in estuaries and marries it with the natural, effortless process of osmosis. Read More
The next step for carbon sequestration?
By Darren Quick
17:22 March 11, 2009 PDT
The debate about the benefits of using Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) to fight against climate change is ongoing. One one hand there are reservations regarding suitable sequestration sites that provide sufficient security to store CO2 for centuries as well as the cost of implementing such a system, which could draw important funds away from the development of renewable energy technologies. On the other, we are still heavily reliant on burning fossil fuels to produce energy and this infrastructure can't be replaced overnight. CCS is obviously attractive to existing power generation companies as it allows them to keep hold of their existing infrastructure and for this reason, it is more than likely that CSS schemes will continue to gather momentum. So where to we can CO2 be stored? Scientists at Columbia University’s Earth Institute and the U.S. Geological Survey have produced a new report that maps large rock formations in the United States that can also absorb CO2 and are exploring ways to speed up the CCS process. Read More
LED street lamps deliver 88% power saving in Japan
By Mike Hanlon
16:20 March 9, 2009 PDT
The cost and energy-efficiency of solid-state lighting are driving many new applications, and the recent installation of the first LED street lights in Osaka Prefecture in Japan, has already been found to provide an overall savings of 88% in electricity bills over the older high-pressure mercury lamps used elsewhere in the region. Each of the LED-based street lamps installed at a park on the Kizu River utilizes 36 cool white LEDs. The LED array generates 30 lux at a pole height of 4.5 meters, comparable to the brightness of mercury lamps, while using just 25 W of power per fixture. Read More
Oyster ocean power system to provide 1 GW by 2020
By Paul Evans
17:27 March 8, 2009 PDT
A new milestone for marine energy was achieved recently when UK based Wave and Tidal Technologies company Aquamarine Power Ltd signed a 1,000 MW (1 GW) Development Agreement with the renewable energy development division of Scottish and Southern Energy, Airtricity. Aquamarimes's Wave Power device, called Oyster, is a near shore hydroelectric wave power system. Still at the full scale prototype stage, the Oyster is based around a large movable buoyant barrier structure that is mounted on the seabed in depths of 10 – 12 m (33 – 40 ft) and pivots like a gate. Read More
Solar panel industry achieves Holy Grail - $1 per watt grid-parity
By Paul Evans
15:02 March 3, 2009 PST
Arizona based First Solar has achieved a major milestone in reducing the manufacturing cost for solar panels below the $1 per watt price barrier - the target necessary for solar to compete with coal-burning electricity on the grid or grid-parity. Using cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology in its thin-film photovoltaic cells, First Solar claims to have the lowest manufacturing cost per watt in the industry with the ability to make solar cells at 98 cents per watt, one third of the price of comparable standard silicon panels. The efficiency is in part due to a low cycle time - 2.5 hours from sheet of glass to solar module - about a tenth of the time it takes for silicon equivalents. Read More
LED streetlight smart management system undergoes testing
By Darren Quick
22:36 March 2, 2009 PST
Man’s primal fear of the darkness has helped spawn cities that are illuminated by massive numbers of streetlights – so many in fact that they represent almost 40 percent of a typical city’s electricity spending. While energy efficient LED streetlights have helped cut that figure considerably, the integration of intelligent management systems should help drive it down even further. LED exterior lighting manufacturer BetaLED is pursuing this avenue by pitting two leading forms of lighting control systems against each other in a test to discover which system produces the biggest reduction in operating and energy costs. Read More
Ocean-power installation up and running
By Paul Evans
13:54 March 2, 2009 PST
Renewable Energy Company Oceanlinx has re-deployed its full-scale wave energy conversion unit at Port Kembla in Australia. First deployed in 2005, the unit has been undergoing planned refurbishment and modifications for the past several months. The Oceanlinx wave generator, which is an Oscillating Water Column (OWC) device capable of generating peak power outputs of between 100 Kw and 1.5 MW, is one of six installations around the world currently being trialed. Read More
Shenzhen's solar-and-wind-powered skyscraper
By Karen Sprey
17:24 March 1, 2009 PST
Traditional architecture has been swept away and replaced by skyscrapers in China’s bid to modernize its cities and house its huge population and thriving business interests. Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong province has grown from a fishing village in the 1970s to a vibrant economic and financial centre - one of China’s most successful special economic zones. Now its skyline will be graced with a 49-storey solar-and-wind-powered tower designed by Austrian architecture firm Coop Himmelblau. The second skin of the building will be lined with photovoltaic cells and feature mechanisms to provide natural ventilation, reduce wind pressure, shade the interior from sun and display multimedia banners. Read More
Bottled water uses 2000 times more energy
By Mike Hanlon
16:52 February 28, 2009 PST
New research from the Pacific Institute estimates that bottled water is up to 2000 times more energy-intensive than tap water. Similarly, bottled water that requires long-distance transport is far more energy-intensive than bottled water produced and distributed locally. Indeed, when all the sums were done, it seems the annual consumption of bottled water in the U.S. in 2007 required the equivalent of between 32 and 54 million barrels of oil—roughly one-third of a percent of total U.S. primary energy consumption. Read More
Magenn floating wind generators take advantage of high altitude winds
By Loz Blain
16:15 February 26, 2009 PST
Wind power is notoriously flighty, particularly at ground level. Most turbine-on-a-post wind powered generators operate at around 20-40% of their rated generation capacity, simply because wind is intermittent and changes direction. But a generator situated 500-1000 feet above ground level would enjoy much more consistent strong wind - which is why the Magenn MARS system makes so much sense. It's a helium-filled rotating airship that spins in the wind on the end of a variable-length tether that also acts as a power transmitter, and it's expected to operate at more like 50% of its rated capacity. Each MARS system will be cheap and portable, which will make them extremely useful in rural, camping and emergency situations. A prototype has successfully been flown in North Carolina. A great idea that makes economic sense. Read More
New carbon capture technology promises cleaner power plants
By Darren Quick
13:41 February 26, 2009 PST
While we are constantly covering advances in alternative energies the hard fact is that we are heavily reliant on the burning of fossil fuels to meet our energy needs - and in the medium term, given that the political will and economic benefits of finding green solutions is only just starting to gather momentum, we are stuck with them. That means we have to clean them up. We recently covered the discovery by Indian scientists of naturally occurring bacteria that convert CO2 into calcium carbonate and could be used on existing fossil fuel fired power plants and now Colorado based company, ION Engineering, have developed technology that could be used in a similar way to economically remove CO2 and other contaminants from fossil fuel power plant emissions and raw natural gas. Read More
Solar wrapped batteries charge themselves
By Paul Evans
21:45 February 25, 2009 PST
From the files of “why don’t they make that?” comes a rechargeable battery with integrated solar cell charger. The “SunCast” prototype uses flexible solar cells from IFE and some C sized NiMH rechargeable batteries. Scientists at IFE have been experimenting with the production of flexible solar cells and were kind enough to send some samples to the “SunCast” battery designer Knut Karlsen. Read More
Flexible Thin Film Solar Cells to be printed like money
By Paul Evans
20:37 February 23, 2009 PST
Scientists developing flexible, large area, cost-effective, reel-to-reel printable plastic solar cells have announced that trials have commenced which promise a new era of solar cells that are printed like money. These printable solar cells offer advantages over traditional solar technology because of the potential to mass produce the cells cheaply using polymer printing technology, a process which has already been used in banknotes in more than 20 countries. Read More
Naturally occurring bacteria converts CO2 into calcium carbonate
By Darren Quick
18:56 February 23, 2009 PST
Expensive carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects are gaining momentum around the world as a way to combat greenhouse gas emissions (or is that sweep them under the carpet?), India’s Economic Times has reported that a team of Indian scientists have discovered a naturally occurring bacteria that could help fight global warming by converting CO2 into calcium carbonate (CaCO3) - a common compound found as rock all the world over. Read More
Febot uses wind power to recharge batteries
By Karen Sprey
15:08 February 23, 2009 PST
We're always on the lookout for new, ‘greener’ ways of saving or renewing energy. South Korean designers Ji-yun Kim, Soon-young Yang and Hwan-ju Jeon have developed the Febot, a small, easily-assembled portable battery charger concept that harnesses the power of the wind rather than using electricity. Place a rechargeable battery inside the Febot and stick it on the outside of a window or wall, or any other outdoor surface, using the suction cap at the base of the unit. Read More
Outback Australian town to run on solar power 24 hours a day
By Paul Evans
17:32 February 22, 2009 PST
If ever there was a perfect candidate for solar power, the north-west Australian town of Cloncurry is it. The town has long claimed the title of Australia's hottest recorded day - 53 degrees Celsius in the shade in 1889 - and is now is gearing up to produce solar thermal power capable of supplying all of ts electricity needs, 24-hours a day. The system will use up to 8000 mirrors will reflect sunlight onto graphite blocks through which water will be pumped to generate steam that will operate a conventional steam turbine electricity generator. Because heat stays in the graphite, the system will work through the night and on overcast days. Read More
80% of wars occur in biological hotspots
By Mike Hanlon
11:53 February 22, 2009 PST
Since the rise of the state some 5,000 years ago, large scale warfare has been a permanent global fixture. History shows that the motivations for war are different for those ordering the conflict than for those undertaking it and now a startling new study has found 80 percent of the world's major armed conflicts occur in biological hotspots. That is, the richest storehouses of life, the areas essential for both biodiversity conservation and human well-being, are also the regions of the most human conflict. Millions of the world's poorest people live in hotspots and depend on healthy ecosystems for their survival. Is it time for civilization to take political and social responsibility and protect these places? It certainly makes more sense than fighting over oil! Read More
Microbial toxin-eating technology trial a success
21:06 February 19, 2009 PST
We live in a society that is creating more toxic chemicals everyday. In nearly all forms of production many undesirable chemicals get produced which cannot simply be disposed of, even in industrial settings. If these chemicals are tipped down the sink or flushed down the toilet they will end up back in our water streams and pollute our precious and already strained environment. The standard solution is to transport harmful chemicals to distant chemical treatment facilities where they can be broken down and disposed of responsibly, but these processes use a lot of energy and often produce many undesirable byproducts such as oily polluting residues that end up in landfill. That's where this ecologically friendly bacterial treatment from Microbial Solutions' comes in. Microcycle, as it's known, turns toxic exhausted metal working fluids into grey water that is safe to dispose of into the sewerage system. Read More
World's largest solar panels go into production
By David Greig
06:07 February 19, 2009 PST
Solar panel manufacture is a costly process making it difficult for solar electricity to compete with power generated from fossil fuels. One way of driving these costs down is through the production of larger panels, enabling installation costs to be reduced. To this end, Solar Panel Manufacturer T-Solar Global S.A. has just announced that it has begun volume production of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. The solar panels are sized at 5.7m2 or 2.3m X 2.6m - that's the equivalent to the combined area of over six 42 inch plasma TV’s and T-Solar says that they are ideally suited for solar farm applications where installation costs can be reduced by about 20% over smaller scale panels. Read More
Waste2tricity - turning garbage into electricity
By Darren Quick
20:19 February 17, 2009 PST
It’s common knowledge that the majority of electricity generation and waste disposal methods currently in widespread use are not very environmentally friendly. New British venture Waste2tricity aims to kill two environmentally damaging birds with one stone by taking carbon based waste, either municipal solid waste (MSW) or waste from business and industry, and converting it into clean electricity, thereby reducing the amount of rubbish going to landfill and potentially making a significant contribution to the UK electricity supply. Read More
Freedom Glen
- November 25, 2009 @ 02:47 UTC
