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 that ordinarily goes to waste and can be installed without changing the habitat.
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:
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 PV modules mounted on tracking systems.
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 pump into your vehicle, using the built-in 50-ft retractable fueling hose.
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 homes, and are calculated to save 0.5 kilograms of carbon emissions for each kilowatt hour of solar energy used.
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 from 105 megawatts to over 500 megawatts, with the panels overtaking the production from the turbines themselves. While the wind turbines work best under the high-speed gusts of nighttime, the solar panels will thrive during the day under the Mediterranean sun.
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.
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.
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, filter water and create an environment for plant growth.
