Renewable Energy

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

EBDI ethanol engines surpass gasoline engine efficiency

By Mike Hanlon

18:30 February 6, 2009 PST

Automotive technology specialist Ricardo has revealed the development of technology that optimizes ethanol-fuelled engines to a level of performance that exceeds gasoline engine efficiency and approaches levels previously reached only by diesel engines. The technology, called Ethanol Boosted Direct Injection (EBDI), takes full advantage of ethanol’s best properties – higher octane and higher heat of vaporization – to create a renewable fuel scenario that is independent of the cost of oil. Read More

nPower PEG uses motion to charge mobile devices

By Noel McKeegan

01:07 January 10, 2009 PST

Battery running low on you're mobile phone? Sounds like it's time for a walk. That's the reality of the nPower PEG, a personal energy generator that, like battery-less flashlights which require shaking to produce energy, puts Faraday's Principle of Electromagnetic Induction to work to create a totally renewable energy source for charging your handheld electronic devices. Read More

750kW CIGS thin film solar array goes online in Arizona

By Emily Clark

22:34 December 9, 2008 PST

Arizona is now home to the world’s largest solar array using Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells. The 750-kilowatt (kW) system, located at Global Solar’s manufacturing facility in Tuscon, is the first commercial-scale deployment of the company’s CIGS technology. Read More

Californian wasteland becomes home to clean energy

By Kate Seamer

16:37 December 7, 2008 PST

California based Premier Power Renewable Energy Inc has reached the halfway point in completing the United States largest system of bi-directional solar trackers in Richmond near San Francisco. A solar tracker is a device onto which solar panels are fitted which tracks the motion of the sun across the sky - ensuring that the maximum amount of sunlight strikes the panels throughout the day. The beautiful thing about this project is that clean energy is being produced on previously unusable contaminated land. Read More

California's largest single solar installation powers-up

By Emily Clark

21:58 December 2, 2008 PST

In March this year Gizmag reported on Southern California Edison’s (SCE) plan to create the State’s largest single solar photovoltaic installation. The company has now announced that the first of its major commercial rooftop solar installations is complete, and powering homes in Southern California. Read More

World's first wave farm up and running

By Emily Clark

21:47 November 30, 2008 PST

The world’s first commercial wave farm in Portugal is now operational. Three 750kW Pelamis Wave Energy Converters (PWEC) have been installed in the first stage of a project which, when complete, will provide enough clean energy to meet the needs of 15,000 households. Read More

Unique hydro energy system harnesses slow water currents

By Noel McKeegan

22:21 November 24, 2008 PST

Hydro-power systems are by far the most widely used form of renewable energy on the planet, but despite their eco-friendly appeal the implementation of large scale facilities - particularly where dam building is involved - has some serious environmental and economic drawbacks. One solution to this impasse that is growing in support is to use leaner, less destructive systems to better harness current flow and provide energy at a local level. This is the thinking behind VIVACE, a machine developed at the University of Michigan which applies the same principles fish use to swim efficiently in order to generate power from currents much slower than those required to drive designs based on turbines and water mills. Read More

HP plots course for doubling renewable power use

By Emily Clark

21:00 October 20, 2008 PDT

HP has announced details of renewable energy initiatives within its facilities, research and products with the aim of doubling the company’s global purchase of renewable power by 2012. Currently using under 4% renewable energy, the global technology giant hopes to increase its use to 8% within the next four years. Read More

French skyscaper puts focus on renewable energy

By Noel McKeegan

22:42 October 19, 2008 PDT

Extensive use of solar and wind power plus a healthy dose of CO2 munching foliage will mark the slim, 318 meter tall Generali Tower when it becomes a fixture of the Parisian skyline from 2012. The design from Valode & Pistre was selected in an international competition and will form a key plank in the nine year plan to revamp the La Défense business district first announced by the Public Body for the development of La Défense (EPAD) in 2005. Read More

Solar Stik portable solar generator

By Emily Clark

00:37 September 18, 2008 PDT

Portable solar panels are popping up at an increasing rate in campgrounds and caravan parks where they are an environmentally friendly and mercifully silent alternative to fuel burning generators. This example from Solar Stik offers rugged solution that can be used in conjunction with a wind generator and adapted for a variety of applications on land and water. Read More

BioSolar's renewable backsheet for solar panels

By Kyle Sherer

00:00 September 17, 2008 PDT

Currently, photovoltaic modules in solar panels employ petroleum-based plastics as a protective backing, increasing their overall carbon footprint and maintaining a reliance the fossil fuel economy. To free solar power from the uncertainties of oil prices, and to help make them a truly green power source, BioSolar has developed bio-based components that are ready to replace the backsheet, substrate and superstrate components of solar panels. The materials have a lifespan of 20-25 years, and, most importantly, they are 25% cheaper to manufacture than the plastic alternative. Read More

Solar trees take root at the University of California

By Emily Clark

23:24 September 8, 2008 PDT

The University of California in San Diego (UCSD) is undertaking an unusual forestry project on the roof of two of its parking garages. The “Solar Trees” being constructed on the roofs will comprise steel components fitted with a canopy of Kyocera photovoltaic modules to provide solar energy for the university. Read More

Greencore's solar powered air conditioner

By Emily Clark

07:52 August 25, 2008 PDT

It's an idea that makes perfect sense - when it's hot, the sun is out, so why not utilize that energy to help cool down. Californian based Greencore has developed a hybrid solar-powered air conditioning system for both fixed and mobile applications which can cool a room up to 600 square feet in size using a single 170 watt solar panel, or switch to using power from the grid when necessary. Read More

Student develops low-cost wind turbine for the developing world

By Emily Clark

04:08 August 21, 2008 PDT

A student from the University of Portsmouth in the UK has created a wind turbine made totally from recycled matter. Aimed at servicing the renewable energy needs of some of the word’s poorest countries, the low cost wind turbine is designed to be built by unskilled workers in less than a day using locally sourced scrap materials. Read More

Clinton Foundation considers 5,000MW solar station in India

By Emily Clark

21:15 August 13, 2008 PDT

August 14, 2008 According to Treehugger and The Business Standard, the US-based Clinton Foundation is currently in talks with the Indian government to undertake the world’s largest single location solar project. Costing around US$475 million and with an estimated output of 5,000MW (5 gigawatts), the Gujurat-based “Integrated Solar City” would rival even the biggest coal-fired power stations. Read More

Solar energy system goes to market

By Emily Clark

13:22 August 2, 2008 PDT

SolarCraft has completed a 35.4 kilowatt solar energy system at the new Hamilton Marketplace Complex in Novato, California. The system will enable the new shopping center to generate enough clean electricity to spare the air nearly 31 tons of harmful greenhouse gases annually, equivalent to the air filtering of 6.2 acres of trees. Read More

Anaconda aims for affordable wave power

By Emily Clark

00:17 July 4, 2008 PDT

A giant rubber tube known as the “Anaconda” may present an viable solution to the challenge of generating electricity from the power of ocean waves. Under development in the UK, the simple design means it would be cheap to manufacture and maintain, resulting in clean electricity at a lower cost than other types of wave based energy production. Read More

Solar Collector: interactive modern art with an eco twist

By Emily Clark

22:31 June 29, 2008 PDT

Gorbet Design has created a solar installation that cleverly combines modern art with renewable energy technology. The Solar Collector's 12 cylindrical shafts rise up from a grassy hilltop at the Waterloo Regional Operations Centre in Cambridge, Canada. Read More

Heel-strike generators to harness pedestrian power

By Emily Clark

19:31 June 23, 2008 PDT

Peak oil is proving a great motivator for the exploration of radical alternative energy ideas and

ongoing developments show that we haven’t even scratched the surface. The latest shining example comes from the UK, where plans to harness the power of pedestrians to generate electricity are underway. Read More

Quantifying the benefits of biofuels

By Jude Garvey

22:13 June 16, 2008 PDT

A team of researchers from the University of Washington researched the impact on soil fertility and effects on food supply when fuels based on crops such as corn and soybeans are mixed with fossil fuels. They discovered that the large amounts of energy required to grow corn and then convert it to produce ethanol had a net energy gain that was modest and that corn-based ethanol was the worst offender amongst the alternative energy fuels. Read More

Clear Skies Solar to build 8MW Photovoltaic Farm

By Emily Clark

23:03 June 10, 2008 PDT

In yet another example of California's leading role in solar-power, Clear Skies Solar has announced plans to build an 8MW solar farm in Cantil. The project will encompass 34 acres of land and cost around US$44 million. Read More

245MW solar power deal for California

By Emily Clark

00:55 June 4, 2008 PDT

Following on from an announcement to create a 65 million square foot solar panel installation in California, Southern California Edison (SCE) has announced plans to purchase 245MW of solar power from eSolar through a series of pre-fab solar plants. Read More

"Avalanche effect" research promises greater solar cell efficiency

By Emily Clark

23:43 May 27, 2008 PDT

Research continues to improve efficiency in solar cells, whilst simultaneously finding ways to lower the costs of module production. The latest research from TU Delft and the FOM Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter surrounds the use of semiconducting nanocrystals (crystals with dimensions in the nanometer size range) to demonstrate a phenomenon called the “avalanche effect” which has the potential to significantly boost solar cell efficiency. Read More

StatoilHydro to build 2.3MW offshore floating wind turbine

By Emily Clark

00:35 May 27, 2008 PDT

The world desperately needs viable sources of renewable energy and wind power is among the most promising solutions, but one downside is that turbines can be considered a blight on otherwise picturesque landscapes. The solution seems obvious enough - move the towers far out to sea where not only are they out of sight, but where the wind is at its strongest and most consistent. We first encountered this idea back in 2006 when we examined the efforts of MIT researchers to integrate a turbine with a floating platform similar to those used by offshore oil rigs. Now news that Norwegian oil and gas company StatoilHydro plans to invest around US$80 million to build a full scale offshore floating wind turbine. Read More