Pacific Gas and Electric Now Under Contract to Deliver 24 Percent of Energy from Renewables by 2013 In a landmark announcement today, Optisolar and the Sunpower Corporation said they plan to build 2 solar plants that will produce a total of 800 MW of power. During peak hours, the plants … [continued]
Last week, I wrote about a farm in China that will power itself entirely with chicken manure. Now poop power has made it to mainstream America with an announcement that the California State Fair will play host to the first known amusement ride powered by cow manure. The Barnyard Animal … [continued]
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the United States has announced that a new device developed by its scientists can convert 40.8 percent of light that hits it into electricity. This bests the previous record of 40.7 percent set by a different organization. According to NREL spokesman George Douglas, the … [continued]
If you’ve ever seen the movie Idiocracy, you may have a vague fear of giant landfills toppling over and spilling into the streets. Fortunately, that fear may never become a reality now that the Powermaster ReCyclone is available. The ReCyclone works by grinding trash into small pieces, thereby reducing landfill … [continued]
Oregon is once again taking the lead with renewable energy by installing the country’s first highway solar energy project. The project will consist of a 104 kW solar photovoltaic system that covers 8,000 square feet and produces 112,000 kWh each year. That’s 28% of the energy needed to power the … [continued]
The move to a greener economy and standard of living was always going to have to be led by business. No matter what way you look at it, governments don’t like making big sweeping changes, but businesses will, especially if it helps with their public image or bottom line. Big … [continued]
It seems like new reports are practically coming out daily about the next great gasoline alternative— furfural, algae, and switchgrass, just to name a few. Now 3 more contenders have entered the ring: leaves, twigs, and bark. Australia’s Commonwealth Science and Research Organization (CSIRO) reports that lignocellulose, a component of … [continued]
Maybe you’ve heard about the proposed high-speed train in California. Well, Sweden is beating the West Coast to the punch with their Green Train. The Green Train, or Gröna Tåget, will cut energy use on rail lines by 30 percent through lowered operational costs and journey times. Top speeds reached … [continued]
Traditional solar cells only use up to 20% of the visible light they collect, and more efficient solar cells are too expensive for mass production. Now researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho Laboratory have figured out a way to capture solar energy on the cheap: plastic sheets filled … [continued]
Renewable forms of energy such as solar and wind are notorious for being unpredictable. That may change with the advent of the Previento System, a new type of software developed at Oldenburg University in Germany. The software, which uses weather models from multiple weather reporting services, is able to predict … [continued]
