CleanTechnica

Suniva, Inc., a solar manufacturer based in Georgia, is aiming to bring a commercial, grid-connected, stored solar energy system to the state for the first time.  The company has just announced a partnership with Georgia-based GS Battery USA Inc., that will combine Suniva’s solar modules with high tech batteries on a 30 kilowatt solar plant at GS Battery’s headquarters in Roswell, Georgia.

To make it a trifecta, a third Georgia-based company, First Century Energy of Atlanta, is the designer of the solar array.  It’s an interesting sustainable energy threesome given that GS Battery is a subsidiary of GS Yuasa Group of Japan, which is a global battery technology leader that has just contracted with NASA to assemble lithium ion battery cells in Roswell — and there’s a couple of other U.S. government connections, too.

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In a high tech, low key twist on American Idol, green technology competitions are springing up all over the country.  Among the newer ones is the Clean Energy Prize sponsored by the University of Michigan and DTE Energy, and it offers some clues about the technology stars of the sustainable energy future.  For one thing, they better be prepared to go on stage and pitch their talent – one element of the competition is an oral presentation before a panel of judges.

DTE’s involvement is another interesting aspect of the competition.  A large part of the company is a conventional natural gas utility, Detroit Edison, but an emerging part is DTE Energy Ventures, which focuses on sustainable energy tech.  That puts DTE among a growing list of large energy companies that are turning more investment resources over to sustainable fuels – yet another indicator that peak times for fossil fuels are on the horizon. Read the rest of this entry »

Like some tantalizing cursed treasure, boron nitride nanotubes have been tempting researchers with their promise of high heat tolerance, which makes them excellent candidates for components in the next generation of microscopic-scale high efficiency electronics.  But for years the tiny nanofibers, which are similar to carbon nanotubes, have lead researchers down one blind alley after another.

The fact is that boron nanotubes are much harder to produce than carbon nanotubes.   They won’t catch on until that obstacle is overcome – and it seems that a team of researchers at Michigan Technological University has done just that.  Working with the same instrumentation used for carbon nanotubes, the team has developed a way to grow virtual “Persian carpets” of boron nitride nanotubes in the lab, paving the way for their commercial use.

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FloDesign, an R&D start-up in the US that has created a wind turbine design based on jet engine technology, just secured $34.5 million to help begin commercial development of its turbines. Lars Andersen, former president of Vestas China, has also just been appointed as the company’s CEO.

FloDesign claims that its turbines are 3-4 times more efficient than traditional open-fan turbines. They have several other beneficial features as well that help economically, environmentally, and in other ways.

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Huiming Yin, an assistant professor at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is developing a solar panel that could help put sustainable energy within reach of more U.S. households.  The system incorporates solar cells that have a conversion rate of 12 percent, which makes them a good deal less effective at converting sunlight to energy than some of the new technology on the market, but they have the potential to become a good deal more affordable.

Rather than focusing on getting the highest solar cell conversion rate, Yin is concentrating on other factors that can make solar power more cost-effective and attractive to homeowners and other property owners.  To do this he combines two emerging trends in the solar industry: “integrated” solar panels that double as building elements, and “hybrid” solar systems that produce both electricity and hot water.

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The Indian power ministry has revealed that it is in discussion with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to procure its latest solar powered battery storage technology. The Indian government has proposed that the technology be developed for commercial purposes under the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum.

The battery storage system would be a blessing for the recently announced National Solar Mission which aims at increasing country’s solar power generation capacity to 20,000 MW over the next one decade. Representatives from the Indian government will be travelling to the US to discuss issues related to Intellectual Property Rights and license to manufacture the product on a large scale. Read the rest of this entry »

Nano-scale medical research is promising some amazing breakthroughs in diagnosis and drug delivery techniques.  In spectroscopy, for example, tiny crystals called qdots (quantum dots, also called nanocrystals) can be used to study cells at the molecular level. It’s an emerging field that’s ready to explode into mainstream medicine – but there’s a catch.

Most qdots contain toxic heavy metals such as cadmium.  Aside from their effect on the person undergoing a procedure, the more widespread use of toxic metals in medicine raises concern over the impact those metals will have on the medical waste stream.  That’s where nanodiamonds come in.  The tiny diamond nanoparticles may offer the best of both worlds: a non-toxic alternative that enables qdot research to push forward, without introducing more harmful substances into the environment.

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The flywheel is an old technology that dates back to Neolithic-era spindles and potter’s wheels.  Flywheels made a huge splash during the Industrial Revolution (anyone remember steam engines?) and now they’re ready to take center stage in the new wave of sustainable energy.

In sustainable energy, flywheels come into play as a means of storing intermittent power. Wind power and solar power are notoriously fickle in many parts of the world, and some means of smoothing out the bumps is required.  Vycon is one of several companies exploring the potential of flywheels, and it has come up with some interesting twists. Read the rest of this entry »

Yowzers – according to the U.S. EPA, about four billion, yes billion pounds of carpet go into the waste stream every year – much of it is used, some is new carpet left over from building construction.  A lot of that carpet (and carpet backing) is made of cheap, durable polypropylene fiber, which makes up about 80% of the sales for commercial carpet.

Polypropylene, aka olefin, may be familiar to recycling addicts through its #5 plastic recycling designation, a number that can spell trouble.  Until now, recyclers have been slow to adopt #5, partly due to the expense of separating it from other materials.  Used polypropylene carpets on the other hand offer good potential for cost effective processing due to their sheer bulk and availability.

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Yeah, that’s what I said — What?!

Apparently, Bell Labs has launched a global effort to overhaul the internet and other communication networks to make them 1,000 times greener by the year 2015!

Bell Labs is the research arm of telecom giant Alcatel-Lucent. In this effort they are coordinating with 15 other initial members from industry, academia, science labs, and NGOs, including AT&T, China Mobile, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, and MIT’s Research Laboratory for Electronics. “Green Touch” is the name being given to the consortium.

How much energy do the internet and other communication networks use? They emit about the same amount of greenhouse gas pollution as 50 million cars — 300 million tons each year.

This consortium, along with anyone else who joins it (more on this below), is looking to make yearly emissions in 2015 a few times less than what the current daily emissions are.

The system for producing this green internet and communications revolution is quite unique.

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