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Category Archives: Renewable Energy
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Allison Boyer in Renewable Energy 409 days ago
Wyndham Worldwide’s new headquarters in Parsippany, N.J. is all about renewable resources. According to Green Lodging News, the new facility is powered 100% by wind energy. The building opened in 2009 and they expect to receive a LEED Silver award. According to Environmental Leader, Faith Taylor, vice president, sustainability and innovation for Wyndham Worldwide, told… Read More…
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Adam Williams in Renewable Energy 493 days ago
The SolarBee Long-Distance Circulator (LDC) is a solar-powered water mixer. One unit is reported to be able to stir 35 acres of fresh water, improving its quality by creating flow. It also can be used in waste water lagoons. SolarBee’s LDC also is intended for use in storm water ponds for the primary purpose of… Read More…
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Shirley Siluk Gregory in Fun / Offbeat 531 days ago
Any one out there care to try this? The UK’s Register Hardware this week features a video in which Blake Farrow, a US “boffin” (for “eggead”), as they describe him, shows how to make a working solar cell using such odd ingredients as powdered donuts, Starbucks tea, a pencil, cellophane tape and Everclear. It might… Read More…
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The manufacturing costs of solar power — or at least for thin-film photovoltaic panels — have broken below a golden benchmark, as reported by Popular Mechanics: $1 per watt. First Solar, based in Tempe, Ariz., has brought the costs down to $0.98 per watt. The company says that further cost reductions will be achieved as… Read More…
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Hilarides Dairy, in California, has converted a pair of big rigs (18-wheelers) to run on biomethane produced from cow manure. The effort is thought to be the nation’s first trucks powered by chow chips. Hilarides plans to use manure produced by 10,000 cows, generating 226,000 cubic feet of biomethane daily — enough to reduce the… Read More…
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Scientists are continuously looking for a way to make solar power cheaper, and they may have found it – in iron pyrite. Iron pyrite, or fool’s gold, is just one of the alternatives to silicon that’s being researched for use in solar panels. From BusinessGreen: Iron pyrite, copper sulphide and copper oxide were at the… Read More…
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The 2016 Olympic Games location will be announced in October, and a number of cities around the world are hoping to be named. Tokyo has pledged to go green if they are chosen. According to AboutMyPlanet.com, if the Japanese city plays host, they’ve announced that they’ll power the games entirely from green energy sources, including… Read More…
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Amy Bell in Renewable Energy 573 days ago
The recent discovery that butterfly wings have tiny scales that act as solar collectors has led scientists in Japan and China to design a more efficient solar cell that could be used for power in the future. Using natural butterfly wings as a template, the scientists were able to make copies of the solar collecting… Read More…
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Jennifer Lance in Environmental & Climate Science 608 days ago
No more squeaky voices from floating balloons. No more Goodyear blimps. We may have reached peak helium levels, as this inert gas is endangered. According to Scientific Blogging, helium is not readily renewable and is made through from uranium and thorium decaying over billions of years: Lee Sobotka, professor of chemistry and physics at Washington… Read More…
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The search for alternative fuels is nothing new, but one New Zealand airline think they may have found a solution in, of all places, a poisonous plant. This week, Air New Zealand tested fuel made from the oil of the jatropha plant as part of their search for alternatives to traditional fuel. On December 30,… Read More…
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Innowattech, a green energy technology company in Israel, is developing energy-generators for three main transportation methods: railroads, roads, and airport runways. The concept uses piezoelectric generators — Innowattech’s specialty — to transform kinetic energy from passing planes, trains and automobiles into electricity. From Innowattech: The system,based on a new breed of piezoelectric generators, harvests energy… Read More…
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Timothy B. Hurst in Renewable Energy 677 days ago
Despite their fully opened parachutes, doesn’t it seem like these basejumpers are still moving pretty fast when they make contact with the ground below the turbine? I guess that’s normal. Watch for yourself: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/9I-NIiqRn_A&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1] Wind Energy Planning
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Jerry James Stone in Renewable Energy 678 days ago
Two Spanish Solar companies – Concentrix Solar and Abengoa Solar – announced they’ve connected a 2 Megawatt solar power plant to the public utility grid under Spain’s feed-in tariff law. The plant will supply 300 MW for around 153,000 homes. The companies say the plant is the first to combine silicon flat modules and concentrator… Read More…
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Calling itself the “world’s first portable, produce-where-you-consume, ethanol distiller,” the EFuel100 is an Easy Bake Oven of sorts. The EFuel100 Web site says: Just add the EFuel100 Feedstock Mix (EFuel100-FM, sugar and yeast) to the unit and press START–set it and forget it. In about 5-7 days, a tank full of Ethanol100 is ready to… Read More…
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West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency conceived India’s first solar-powered housing project: Rabi Rashmi Abasan, located in New Town, Kolkata (Calcutta). Bengal DCL engineered and managed the plan. SunTech India is responsible for 26 photovoltaic systems using 464 units of Conergy C125W solar modules. The modules draw 2 kilowatts of power for each of the… Read More…
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/paxI4y_WmZI&hl=en&fs=1] Shawn Frayne demonstrates and talks about the concept of “flutter” to create energy using wind, but not wind turbines.
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Alex Felsinger in Renewable Energy 701 days ago
If all goes to plan, solar panels placed at the bases of the wind turbines will feed power through the farm’s existing grid. Wind-energy purveyors Moncada Energy Group hope to install thin-film solar panels at its existing wind farms by the end of next year. The solar panels could increase power production at Moncada’s farms… Read More…
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Spanish car company SEAT (Sociedad Espanola de Automoviles de Turismo) has a solar-powered, three-wheeled two-seater for the eco-crowd: the Brisa (Breeze). The design concept is credited to Miguel Ángel Iranzo Sánchez, while the inspiration for the sleek, fluid design is said to come from the designer’s love of flamenco and the sea. Source: Environmental Graffiti… Read More…
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Would love to bike commute to work but don’t feel up to it? Wouldn’t mind an electric bike but would love one that’s as green to ride as a traditional 20th Century-style bicycle? The Cycle Sol is a concept that aims to address those concerns, making biking an ergonomic, speedy, environmentally-friendly go-go ride. Source: The… Read More…
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Of all places to start a greenhouse, the Sahara Desert would likely rank pretty low for many. But someone is working on a plan to make food growing happen there. The Sahara Forest Project aims to use massive greenhouses to direct the sun’s rays for heat and energy, which is planned to regulate the air,… Read More…
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Oh, the irony: a team hoping to break a land speed record for a wind-powered craft while calling attention to the twilight of the fossil fuel era and climate change has been undone by … climate change, apparently. The Ecotricity Greenbird team had hoped to speed across a dry lake bed in Australia, but the… Read More…
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More advancements out of the yea-for-sun! department. What follows is a line from the description of the the Snippy e-paper reader as put out at the Greener Gadgets Design Competition 2008: “Snippy is an ultraportable handheld electronic viewer for textual and graphic information which harvests operating energy from the sun and transparently links to other… Read More…
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This sleek, dynamic next generation of Toyota Prius is shooting for solar-powered air-conditioning. The 1KW of electricity grabbed via rooftop solar panels won’t have the capacity to power much more than that. But it’s a solar start. Source: Ecotech Daily
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Levi Novey in Renewable Energy 722 days ago
This Friday, John C. Mankins, a former NASA employee who is an expert on space solar power will make a big announcement about a potentially huge alternative energy breakthrough. The basic idea is that satellites in space will collect solar energy and beam it down to the earth. Apparently, Mankin was involved with a project… Read More…
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Swedish company Home Energy recently unveiled a new look for a home-based wind turbine. Opting away from the traditional rotor style, the Energy Ball funnels wind within the turbine’s blades. This innovation is hailed for its increased efficiency and lower noise levels and vibration, making it more appealing for small-scale, personal, home use. Source: Inhabitat
