Monthly Archives: February 2011

Wind-Powered Cargo Ships Make a Comeback

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Eco Marine Power develops wind and solar power system for cargo ships

Sailing ships once carried much of the world’s cargo across the seas, until canvas sheets were replaced by low-grade “bunker” oil. Now it appears that wind power is about to make a comeback, in the form of rigid “sails” that double as solar panels. The patent-pending technology, called the Aquarius Solar and Wind Marine Power System, is being developed by a company called Eco Marine Power. The dream of a high tech, sustainable energy cargo … Read More

FACES of Coal Fiddles While Appalachia Gains New Green Jobs

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Penn State student documents impact of mountaintop coal mining on communities

Green tech has made some stunning advances in the past few years, so it’s tempting to look forward to the day when coal eases its headlock on the American power grid. Coal is an out of date fuel that costs an estimated $500 billion yearly in public health impacts. However, even if domestic coal use fades and green jobs replace coal jobs, exporting Appalachian coal will still be a big business. We’ll still be blowing … Read More

U.S. Military Transforms Landfill Gas into Renewable Energy

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fort benning will convert landfill gas to renewable energy

America has found an unlikely leader into a sustainable new future, and that’s the U.S. military. From solar power to wind turbines, high efficiency LED lighting and even geothermal installations, the Department of Defense has been pulling out of fossil fuels and getting into clean energy and conservation. The latest foray is being lead by Fort Benning, Georgia, which is about to install two new power stations that will convert the facility’s landfill gas to … Read More

New “Wireless” Electric Bicycle Can Charge Your iPhone

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shadow-ebike

Daymak has a new, completely wireless (as in, no wires on the bike) bicycle you may want to check out. There is actually a tiny bit of wiring in the bike, but it is fully sealed in the bike’s front hub. This is the first fully electric, wireless bike in the world. The bike includes an innovative USB port for powering your iPhone, iPad, Nook, or any other similar device. Daymak is going to sell … Read More

India, Russia Exploring $220 million JV for Solar PV Cells

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Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cell

The Indian government and Russia’s Rusnano are considering to form a joint venture to manufacture solar PV module-grade silicon ingots. The plan is to build a manufacturing facility in Russia where ingots will be produced and then exported to India. While India has a number of solar PV module manufacturers, like Moser Baer, Tata BP Solar and IndoSolar, there are almost no producers of silicon ingots. Indian manufacturers import silicon ingots and then process them … Read More

Dog-Killing Superfund Site Gets Solar Powered Cleanup

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EPA uses solar power for Frontier Fertilizer Superfund site cleanup

Somewhere in Davis, California the ghost of a dog is smiling. The notorious Frontier Fertilizer Superfund site in that city was supposed to take 150 years to clean up using energy-gobbling pumps and treatment equipment. The contamination started back in 1972 but only came to light in 1983, when a hapless dog died of pesticide poisoning after falling into pit at the site.  Efforts to clean the site started in 1992 and was estimated at … Read More

Solar ‘Energy Telescope’ Focuses on More Output, Less Cost

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energy telescope_balllens_400x228

A University of Arizona engineering team led by Roger Angel has designed a new type of solar concentrator that uses half the area of solar (PV) cells used by other optical devices and delivers a light output/concentration that is over 1000 times more concentrated before it even hits the cells. This comes as a result of a broader goal to make solar energy cost competitive with fossil fuels (target = 1$/W) without the “need for … Read More

Another Big Win for Koch Tea Party Funding – New Hampshire Abandons its RGGI Polluter Controls

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pollution-dependent

New Hampshire’s newly elected veto-proof Republican majority is swiftly consolidating the pro-pollution agenda provided by oil billionaires Charles and David Koch, the heads of Koch Industries. The New Hampshire House passed HB 519 by 246-104 on Wednesday, repealing its membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), after a successful robocall campaign fronted by Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity, one of the national Tea Party groups created by the oil billionaires. The legislation under attack funds … Read More

World’s Largest Container Ships Will Be Recycled…Eventually

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Maersk will build world's largest container ships, then recycle them

Plenty of people are interested in recycling shipping containers – the military even mods them out to build fake training villages – but what about recycling the entire ship? Well, Danish shipping giant Maersk is going for it on a grand scale. The company is ordering up to 30 new ships at $190 million a pop. Called the Triple-E class, they are said to be the largest vessel of any kind (at least, for now), … Read More