The U.S. Department of Energy has just announced its approval of a construction plan for the nation’s first commercial offshore wind power project, Cape Wind. It’s the beginning of a network of wind power projects envisioned by the Obama administration through the Atlantic Offshore Wind Consortium, which has united ten
After all that fire and brimstone over the impending phase-out of incandescent light bulbs, lighting giant Philips has stepped in to pour oil on troubled waters. The company has just launched
Greenfire Energy, a novel geothermal/CCS startup that is attempting to extract geothermal energy using injected CO2 as the working fluid instead of water, has been selected to receive $2 million in funding from the Department of Energy, according to Penelope Kern at Energy Prospects.
A Colorado law allowing for the creation of solar gardens represents another step in the effort to feed solar electricity to the grid from smaller players.
Europe’s UpWind project is delivering on its promise of developing a 20 MW (megawatt) wind turbine, using only current technology and materials. The largest wind turbines in use today are only about
Solar Junction, a company headquartered in San Jose, California has once again broken the efficiency world record for production-ready solar cells, which was confirmed by the United States’ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) last week. The new record, 43.5%, is 1.2% higher than the previous record.
The cost of fuel is something on a lot of people’s mind these days. And in these times, I think it’s worth looking back and noticing who pushed for great fuel economy standards in cars, efficient and useful mass transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities that you can actually use, and the rapid development of electric vehicles. Do you know who’s on your side.
Beyond renewable energies, natural gas is one of the cleaner energy sources out there for those wishing to leave a green footprint. However, the techniques being used to obtain this gas are starting to make some worry.
This has been a rather unfortunate week for proponents of fracking, the drilling operation that involves pumping chemical brine underground to loosen deposits of natural gas from shale formations. First, Cornell University released a study indicating that natural gas from fracking is not a cleaner alternative to coal. Then over the weekend, word leaked out of a
An innovative new way to store wind power has been invented by researchers at the the University of Nottingham. Literally in inflatable bags under the ocean. A university spinoff, NIMROD Energy Ltd, has been launched by Professor Seamus Garvey, based on the research. Next month a prototype is to be tested in seawater.
