The state of Tennessee just got its first Bloom Energy “Server”, which turns any gaseous fuels into electricity using its cheaper new kind of fuel cell. Installed in collaboration with the TVA and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, these 100 KW Bloom Boxes have just been installed on the top … [continued]
The U.S. Navy has been placing a well-aimed barrage of funding toward sustainable new energy technology in recent years, including new solar installations at naval bases, high-efficiency desalination systems, and even camelina biofuel for Navy fighter jets. Now the Office of Naval Research has upped the ante with grants for … [continued]
The Oil Spill’s Unlikely Victim: As oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill continued to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, it tarred the feathers of an endangered creature: the climate bill. Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman introduced a retooled American Power Act on Wednesday to little fanfare. Perhaps that’s … [continued]
A team of German researchers has nudged aside a U.S. record for thin film solar efficiency, previously held by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at 19.9%. The new German solar conversion efficiency record of 20.1% is for CIGS thin film solar technology, which is based on a compound of copper, … [continued]
Could a solar-powered dirigible be the cargo ship of our peak-oil, carbon-constrained future? If the inventor of the patent pending High Speed Solar Airship is correct, the future of long haul cargo combines solar powered transmission married to centuries-old dirigible technology. Like the old blimp, a gas envelope lifts … [continued]
South Dakota’s potential for utility-scale wind projects could be seriously curtailed by three bills now in the House that reduce the attractiveness of investment in a permanent, safe and clean energy source that could bring billions in much needed revenue to the state. Like cutting itself off at the knees … [continued]
Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of $135 million to facilitate the construction of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle power plant. Although the power plant will be using coal as the primary fuel it air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the plant will be lower than the conventional … [continued]
The first round of federal ARPA-E funding for future energy kick-started a stunning range of 37 different projects last year, from fuel-secreting bacteria to liquid batteries and a way to create solar energy by mimicking photosynthesis. Now the agency has launched a new round that narrows the target down to … [continued]
Like some 21st-century version of The Blob, a thick, gooey tide of glycerin is overwhelming world markets. A large part of the glycerin glut comes from biofuel refineries, which put out enormous quantities of crude glycerin as a byproduct. Though high grade glycerin is used to make products like soaps, … [continued]
In a blow to the deal struck between the Obama administration and India during pre-Copenhagen visits, in which the President arranged for the transfer of innovative new clean coal technologies; Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) might be removed from the list of technologies that industrial countries can invest in to … [continued]
