April 2009 Archives - 5/5

Plant A Tree — Even Wall Street Agrees

April 3, 2009 By Alan Smith Leave a Comment

A new way to treat wood has trees back in the limelight: a hardwood’s reliability that even a rain forest mahogany tree can love.

Check out the world’s first heavy traffic road bridge made from Accoya® wood. The bridge, located in Sneek in the Netherlands, is “the first wooden bridge in the world that can support the heaviest load class of 60 tons”. At this week’s Wall Street Green Trading Summit, a panel on forestation introduced a new way of thinking about how to deal with destruction of the rain forest.

Fuel-Cell Firm Lilliputian Raises Cash, Keeps Mum About Commercial Launch Date

April 3, 2009 By Jennifer Kho 1 Comment

Wilmington, Mass.-based fuel-cell company Lilliputian Systems, which announced it raised $28 million this week, wants to set the record straight. In October, The Wall Street Journal wrote that the company would be shipping its matchbook-sized fuel cells late this year. But now, the company — which is developing the cells for a range of consumer [...]

Green Lithium Batteries Powered by Genetically Engineered Virus

April 2, 2009 By Amiel Blajchman 14 Comments

Researchers at MIT have managed to genetically engineer viruses so that they can build rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in the form of a plastic film. These new batteries could then be used in anything from cellphones to iPods to the rechargeable batteries in plug-in electric hybrid cars.

Upstate New York County Planning Garbage-to-Gas Plant

April 2, 2009 By Dave Tyler 7 Comments

New York’s Ontario County is exploring the possibility of turning garbage into gas at the county’s landfill. The county is debating whether to let Casella Waste Systems, which runs the landfill in the town of Seneca, build a $5 million pilot plant there. If the pilot proves successful, a $100 million plant could eventually be [...]

Google Earth Mash-Up Shows Best Areas for Renewable Energy Projects

April 1, 2009 By Ariel Schwartz 6 Comments

You might think that renewable energy developers have few problems convincing towns to let them move in. But things can get surprisingly tricky when it comes to wildlife protection, according to a new map from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Audubon Society. The Google Maps mash-up shows which renewable energy project locations are [...]

Duke Energy Plans Third Wyoming Wind Farm, Latest Step on Renewable Path

April 1, 2009 By Dave Tyler 10 Comments

Duke Energy announced plans to add more wind turbines in Wyoming

Duke Energy said today it will build a third wind farm in Wyoming and the Charlotte, N.C., based company plans to have the facility online by the end of this year. The Silver Sage Windpower Project will generate 42 megawatts of electricity with 20 2.1 MW Suzlon wind turbines. It will join Duke’s 29-MW Happy [...]

Can Concentrating Solar Power Outshine Fossil Fuels?

April 1, 2009 By Sean Sullivan 14 Comments

The evolution of industrial power has been largely a story of utility. Societies adopted the most productive means of producing power, irrespective of all other concerns. Wind and water power may have been cheaper and cleaner, but with available technology were far less productive ways of making stuff. Hence, they were abandoned in favor [...]