New highly stable fuel-cell catalyst gets strength from its nano core

New highly stable fuel-cell catalyst gets strength from its nano core Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a new electrocatalyst that uses a single layer of platinum and minimizes its wear and tear while maintaining high levels of reactivity during tests that mimic stop-and-go driving.The newly designed catalysts are composed of a single layer of platinum over a palladium (or palladium-gold alloy) nanoparticle core. Their structural characterization was performed at Brookhaven's Center for Functional Nanomaterials and the National Synchrotron Light Source.

YouTube - Tough Realities of Renewable Energy, by Craig Shields

YouTube - Tough Realities of Renewable Energy, by Craig Shields

Silicon strategy shows promise for batteries: Lithium-ion technique for electric cars, large-capacity storage

Silicon strategy shows promise for batteries: Lithium-ion technique for electric cars, large-capacity storage ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2010) — A team of Rice University and Lockheed Martin scientists has discovered a way to use simple silicon to radically increase the capacity of lithium-ion batteries.

Fuel cells in operation: A closer look

Fuel cells in operation: A closer look ScienceDaily (Oct. 7, 2010) — Measuring a fuel cell's overall performance is relatively easy, but measuring its components individually as they work together is a challenge. That's because one of the best experimental techniques for investigating the details of an electrochemical device while it's operating is x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Traditional XPS works only in a vacuum, while fuel cells need gases under pressure to function.

Crude Alternatives: Energy Industry Heavyweights Debate Fuels of the Future: Scientific American

Crude Alternatives: Energy Industry Heavyweights Debate Fuels of the Future: Scientific American With the world's energy demands expected to increase more than three-fold over the next century, ExxonMobil and Shell executives acknowledge the necessity (and difficulty) of unseating inexpensive and efficient crude oil and coal
By Larry Greenemeier September 28, 2010 0

Reverse Combustion: Can CO2 Be Turned Back into Fuel? [Video]: Scientific American

Reverse Combustion: Can CO2 Be Turned Back into Fuel? [Video]: Scientific American In the 1990s a graduate student named Lin Chao at Princeton University decided to bubble carbon dioxide into an electrochemical cell. Using cathodes made from the element palladium and a catalyst known as pyridinium—a garden variety organic chemical that is a by-product of oil refining—he discovered that applying an electric current would assemble methanol from the CO2. He published his findings in 1994—and no one cared.

Out-of-this-world proposal for solar wind power - tech - 24 September 2010 - New Scientist

Out-of-this-world proposal for solar wind power - tech - 24 September 2010 - New Scientist Forget wind power or conventional solar power, the world's energy needs could be met 100 billion times over using a satellite to harness the solar wind and beam the energy to Earth – though focussing the beam could be tricky.

Gas diffusion layer for fuel cells made of carbon fiber fabric

Gas diffusion layer for fuel cells made of carbon fiber fabric Toho Tenax Co. Ltd., the core company of the Teijin Group's carbon fibers business, has developed a gas diffusion layer (GDL) made of a carbon fiber fabric for use as an electrode component for fuel cells.

World's Largest Wind Farm Opens in U.K.: Big Pic : Discovery News

World's Largest Wind Farm Opens in U.K.: Big Pic : Discovery News Sept. 23, 2010 -- The world's largest offshore wind farm opened in Britain on Thursday, as part of the government's bid to reduce the carbon emissions that drive climate change.

Born-again solar cells are more efficient - tech - 11 September 2010 - New Scientist

Born-again solar cells are more efficient - tech - 11 September 2010 - New Scientist Plants counteract the damaging effects of the sun by constantly rebuilding their photosynthetic parts. To mimic this, a team led by Michael Strano at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology created a solar cell using light-harvesting proteins, lipids and carbon nanotubes. These stick together and the nanotubes channel electrons generated by the proteins to an external circuit.

Selenium makes more efficient solar cells

Selenium makes more efficient solar cells: "Research reported in the journal Applied Physics Letters, published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), describes how solar power could potentially be harvested by using oxide materials that contain the element selenium."

The next best thing to oil - tech - 12 August 2010 - New Scientist

The next best thing to oil - tech - 12 August 2010 - New Scientist: "A renewable carbon economy? Surely that's a pipe dream? Perhaps not, now that solar power facilities are cropping up in deserts across California, Spain and North Africa. The idea is to use the sun to power chemical plants able to split carbon dioxide. Combine the resulting carbon monoxide with hydrogen and you have the beginnings of a solar fuel that could one day replace oil."

Chemists report promising advance in fuel-cell technology

Chemists report promising advance in fuel-cell technology: "In a new study, chemists at Brown University report a promising advance. They have created a unique core and shell nanoparticle that uses far less platinum yet performs more efficiently and lasts longer than commercially available pure-platinum catalysts at the cathode end of fuel-cell reactions."

Observations: What happens when coal is gone?

Observations: What happens when coal is gone?: "In two centuries, people will still want to drive cars, fly in airplanes and have lighting in their houses. “Everybody I know thinks there will be big price increases with the end of easy oil and there’ll be a struggle over the resources,” he said Monday. The young scientists in the audience “need to figure out how to keep that struggle from turning into a hot war.”"

Highly Efficient Solar Cells Could Result from Quantum Dot Research | Renewable Energy World

Highly Efficient Solar Cells Could Result from Quantum Dot Research | Renewable Energy World: "Tesax, United States -- Conventional solar cell efficiency could be increased from the current limit of 30 percent to more than 60 percent, suggests new research on semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots, led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas at Austin."

Green machine: Cars could run on sunlight and CO2 - tech - 02 June 2010 - New Scientist

Green machine: Cars could run on sunlight and CO2 - tech - 02 June 2010 - New Scientist: "Experimental solar-powered reactors have shown they can create the building blocks for synthetic liquid fuels. They've got a way to go, but these projects could take a big chunk out of net carbon dioxide emissions without the need for major changes to either vehicles or refuelling infrastructure."

Electric car travels record 1,000 km on single charge - Yahoo! India News

Electric car travels record 1,000 km on single charge - Yahoo! India News: "An electric car fitted with special lithium ion battery created by Japanese company Sanyo, traveled at a speed of 40 kilometer per hour, as it drove non-stop around a car racing course in Shimotsuma for 27.5 hours covering 1,003 km without being recharged, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported."

IEA: Solar Power Could Produce Nearly One-Quarter of Global Electricity by 2050: Scientific American

IEA: Solar Power Could Produce Nearly One-Quarter of Global Electricity by 2050: Scientific American: "SOLAR SUPERPOWER: Photovoltaic and concentrated solar power could account for 22 percent of global electricity production by 2050 under the right conditions, the IEA reports.
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Solar panels could produce electricity at the same price as coal- and natural gas-burning power plants by the end of this decade if countries direct resources at this rapidly advancing corner of the energy industry, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency."

A Fast Soluble Carbon-Free Molecular Water Oxidation Catalyst Based on Abundant Metals -- Yin et al. 328 (5976): 342 -- Science

A Fast Soluble Carbon-Free Molecular Water Oxidation Catalyst Based on Abundant Metals -- Yin et al. 328 (5976): 342 -- Science: "We report that the complex [Co4(H2O)2(PW9O34)2]10–, comprising a Co4O4 core stabilized by oxidatively resistant polytungstate ligands, is a hydrolytically and oxidatively stable homogeneous water oxidation catalyst that self-assembles in water from salts of earth-abundant elements (Co, W, and P). With [Ru(bpy)3]3+ (bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine) as the oxidant."

Skip the hard cell: Flexible solar power is on its way - tech - 13 April 2010 - New Scientist

Skip the hard cell: Flexible solar power is on its way - tech - 13 April 2010 - New Scientist

Battery Breakthrough Technology Could Power Homes for Pennies Per Kilowatt Hour

Battery Breakthrough Technology Could Power Homes for Pennies Per Kilowatt Hour: "Ceramatec's new battery, however, uses solid materials to store between 20 and 40 kilowatt hours of electricity at temperatures of only 90 degrees Celsius. In contrast, most high-density batteries use liquids heated to dangerous temperatures of roughly 600 degrees."

Significant step toward lightweight batteries

Significant step toward lightweight batteries: "ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2010) — A team of researchers at MIT has made significant progress on a technology that could lead to batteries with up to three times the energy density of any battery that currently exists."

Closing in on a carbon-based solar cell

Closing in on a carbon-based solar cell: "ScienceDaily (Apr. 10, 2010) — To make large sheets of carbon available for light collection, Indiana University Bloomington chemists have devised an unusual solution -- attach what amounts to a 3-D bramble patch to each side of the carbon sheet. Using that method, the scientists say they were able to dissolve sheets containing as many as 168 carbon atoms, a first."

Molten metal batteries to be clean energy reservoirs - tech - 09 April 2010 - New Scientist

Molten metal batteries to be clean energy reservoirs - tech - 09 April 2010 - New Scientist: "A BATTERY able to match the output of those used in cellphones from 1/20th of their electrode area may have you dreaming of more talk time.

But putting it in your pocket would be a bad idea - it's full of molten metal. Instead, its inventors hope it will provide much-needed storage capacity for electricity grids.

Grid-scale batteries would boost efficiency by allowing solar energy to be used at night, for example, or excess power from a nuclear plant to be stored for later."

India’s per capita Energy consumption one of the lowest in the world ! | Energy

India’s per capita Energy consumption one of the lowest in the world ! | Energy: "I hit upon an interesting graph, while researching upon the consumption of energy amongst developed and emerging countries. I expected that India’s energy consumption will be low, but I did not expect that it would be one of the lowest in the world."

Energy storage's quiet revolution - Small Times

Energy storage's quiet revolution - Small Times: "A series of recent small announcements suggest that energy-storage technologies are quietly making progress toward commercialization nonetheless. 'There seems to be a lot more buzz in the last few months, and what's interesting is it's not all on the automotive side,' said Sara Bradford, a principal consultant for global research firm Frost & Sullivan. While automobiles remain a key area for new energy-storage technologies, she's seeing a 'spillover effect' as research and investment spreads into other areas, including grid applications for utilities and nonautomotive transportation."

Smallest superconductor promises cool electronics - tech - 30 March 2010 - New Scientist

Smallest superconductor promises cool electronics - tech - 30 March 2010 - New Scientist: "Engineers trying to maintain the exponential growth in the power of electronics have two preoccupations: making components smaller and making them produce less waste heat. The creation of a one-molecule-wide wire that can conduct electricity without any heat loss suggests a new type of electrical connection could tackle both problems at once."

Solar Thermal: The Next Generation : Greentech Media

Solar Thermal: The Next Generation : Greentech Media: "Last year we wrote an article comparing the four main solar thermal technologies: towers, troughs, Stirling dishes and flat plate reflectors.

Those four concepts still lead the industry and it has evolved pretty much as most have predicted. Companies with towers and heliostats such as BrightSource Energy and eSolar lined up a number of deals in the past year although they've had to face questions about environmental impact and financing."

Oceanology: The offshore engineering adventure - environment - 29 March 2010 - New Scientist

Oceanology: The offshore engineering adventure - environment - 29 March 2010 - New Scientist: "THE race towards a low-carbon economy is about to speed up - a lot. By 2020, if all goes to plan, more than a quarter of the UK's electricity supply will come from offshore generators exploiting wind, wave and tidal power. Vast investment in new ideas and technologies will be needed if these machines are to perform in sites that are farther offshore, in deeper water or in more ferocious currents than ever before."

Cheap and green: Spin-off to revolutionize sustainable energy

Cheap and green: Spin-off to revolutionize sustainable energy: "Science Daily (Mar. 28, 2010) — Zero-carbon, renewable energy which is cost-competitive with fossil fuel generated sources is surely the Holy Grail of the engineering world."

Nanowire advances promise improved light-emitting diodes and solar-energy generation

Nanowire advances promise improved light-emitting diodes and solar-energy generation: "Science Daily (Mar. 23, 2010) — A recent advance by Arizona State University researchers in developing nanowires could lead to more efficient photovoltaic cells for generating energy from sunlight, and to better light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that could replace less energy-efficient incandescent light"

CultureLab: Power to the people: In praise of batteries

CultureLab: Power to the people: In praise of batteries: "BATTERIES get a bad press. They are always flat when you need them, or too heavy and cumbersome. Rarely does anyone appreciates just how wondrous an invention the battery is: the miracle of electricity in a handy package."

Algae's solar electrons hijacked to steal power - tech - 17 March 2010 - New Scientist

Algae's solar electrons hijacked to steal power - tech - 17 March 2010 - New Scientist: "May lead to a more efficient exploitation of photosynthesis to power machines: with biofuels we are already converting solar power into a form that engines can use, but almost three-quarters of the sunlight energy absorbed by the organisms is lost before it can be turned into the sugars or starches used to make biofuels."

Observations: Storing megawatts: Liquid-metal batteries and electricity

Observations: Storing megawatts: Liquid-metal batteries and electricity: "Making aluminum requires a lot of electricity. That's because the metal bonds tightly to oxygen and it takes a lot of energy to break that bond. In essence, the process of making aluminum is a giant battery with the silvery metal being reduced to purity at the cathode while oxygen bonds with the carbon anode to make, you guessed it, CO2. It takes roughly 15 kilowatt-hours of electricity to make just one kilogram of aluminum via electrolysis."

Will Agribusiness Be A Growth Market for Solar? : Greentech Media

Will Agribusiness Be A Growth Market for Solar? : Greentech Media: "Produce and solar, it turns out, have a lot in common.

Agribusiness has a number of characteristics that could make it a prime sub-market in the solar business, according to Mike Miskovsky, General Manager of Canadian Solar's U.S. operations."

Nanotube cuff is 'solar cell' for exhaust pipes - tech - 09 March 2010 - New Scientist

Nanotube cuff is 'solar cell' for exhaust pipes - tech - 09 March 2010 - New Scientist: "The hot gases passing through a vehicle's exhaust could be tapped to generate power, using 'cuffs' made from a new carbon-nanotube-based material. The 'thermocell' produces electricity at a similar cost per watt as commercial solar cells."

New process yields high-energy-density, plant-based transportation fuel

New process yields high-energy-density, plant-based transportation fuel: "ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2010) — A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers has developed a highly efficient, environmentally friendly process that selectively converts gamma-valerolactone, a biomass derivative, into the chemical equivalent of jet fuel."

India Announces Coal Tax To Fund Renewable Energy Projects: Scientific American

India Announces Coal Tax To Fund Renewable Energy Projects: Scientific American: "In a landmark announcement the Indian Finance Minister, in his annual Budget speech, put forward the proposal of setting of National Clean Energy Fund which would be constituted through tax lieved on coal usage in the country."

Where Will the U.S. Get Its Electricity in 2034?: Scientific American

Where Will the U.S. Get Its Electricity in 2034?: Scientific American: "Cleaner coal, nuclear, solar, wind: these are some of the options for power generation to feed the U.S.'s electric power requirements. That need is expected to grow by 30 percent during the next 25 years, according to the Energy Information Administration, even with a slew of energy-efficiency measures and improvements to the grid infrastructure that delivers the electricity. But the primary source of electricity in 2034, according to a new projection from consulting firm Black & Veatch, will be natural gas. It is the fossil fuel with the least greenhouse gas impact on the atmosphere—burning it releases 43 percent less CO2 than burning coal—and looks set to increase its share of the electricity market, even with looming regulations to restrain climate-changing emissions. And there's this boost, too: new, vast reserves of natural gas found in places like the Marcellus Shale Formation, which stretches from West Virginia to New York State."

Bloom vs. Solar: Which One is Best? : Greentech Media

Bloom vs. Solar: Which One is Best? : Greentech Media: "Corporate buyers and households will be asked to pick between fuel cells and solar. Here’s how they stack up.

Bloom Energy today formally unveiled its energy server, an industrial solid oxide fuel cell that can convert natural gas or other hydrocarbons into electricity pretty much on demand."

Silicon wire forest makes wearable solar cells - tech - 21 February 2010 - New Scientist

Silicon wire forest makes wearable solar cells - tech - 21 February 2010 - New Scientist: "SOLAR cells built into clothing sound like a great way to charge gadgets while on the move, but for the idea to work the cells will have to be both flexible and cheap.

With that in mind, Harry Atwater and his team at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena have developed a bendy solar cell made from an array of microwires encased in a clear flexible polymer. It uses just 1 per cent of the expensive silicon needed by a regular solar cell with the same output, and is just 5 per cent of the size (Nature Materials, DOI: 10.1038/nmat2635)."

Siemens AG - Siemens lights up the world’s biggest revolving Christmas star

Siemens AG - Siemens lights up the world’s biggest revolving Christmas star: "Lighting installation by multimedia artist Michael Pendry shines over Munich since the first Advent

The lighting installation can be seen until Epiphany on January 6, 2010, at the northern gateway to Munich – every day before dawn and beginning at dusk. “The Siemens Superstar is a pioneering technological project and an important symbol for the Global Climate Conference in Copenhagen. Green innovations are lighting our way to a better future,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher. “Munich has a new landmark for the Christmas season. It stands for renewable energies and energy efficiency – and these are also important issues for Munich. By 2025, we want Munich to be the world’s first city to meet all its energy requirements from renewable sources,” noted Munich’s Mayor Christian Ude enthusiastically. “I like to take art outside the narrow confines of museums,” explained lighting artist Michael Pendry."

The Secret Ingredients Inside IBM’s New Solar Cell

Greentech Media: "In the solar business, it's a code word for 'headache.' One of the major hurdles facing manufacturers of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and copper indium selenide (CIS) solar cells lay in orchestrating those active ingredients to form uniform, consistent crystals in an evenly spaced manner so mass manufacturing becomes economical.

The techniques for applying selenide vary: some create copper, indium and gallium selenides and then apply these substances to substrates, while others introduce selenide with a jet of hydrogen gas in a high temperature chamber.

'It becomes a complicated process to control all of these elements,' said David Mitzi, who leads a team at IBM Research that last week unveiled an unusual solar cell made from copper, tin, zinc, selenium and sulfur (CTZSS). 'Cadmium telluride (the basis for First Solar's solar cells) is pretty simple. You can evaporate bulk cad tel and get it to land as bulk cad tel.'"

Electric cars are going places

Electric cars are going places: "Electric cars have many merits: They are quieter and require less maintenance than cars with internal combustion engines. A network of smartly located charging stations covering the entire Harz region in Germany is bound to make electric cars a regional feature."

IBM's New Solar Cell: It's a CTZSS! : Greentech Media

IBM's New Solar Cell: It's a CTZSS! : Greentech Media: "CTZSS. It doesn't really roll off the tongue as easily as CIGS, but IBM says that its new solar cell could potentially lower the price of solar power in the future.

The solar cell is made from copper, tin, zinc, sulfur and selenium, all of which are somewhat earth-abundant, according to IBM. The test cell achieves a 9.6 percent efficiency, or around 40 percent higher than the 6.7 percent ceiling achieved by other, earlier cells made from the same materials. (That's a cross-section of IBM's Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 compound and not a dental X-ray.)"

Green Energy "Oasis" to Bloom in the Desert?

Green Energy "Oasis" to Bloom in the Desert?: "A renewable-energy 'oasis' slated to be built in 2010 may serve as a proving ground for new technologies designed to bring green living to the desert.

The planned research center is part of the Sahara Forest Project—but that doesn't mean it'll be built in Africa. Sahara means 'desert' in Arabic, and the center is meant to be a small-scale version of massive green complexes that project managers hope to build in deserts around the globe."

Converting waste heat into electricity? Mismatched alloys are a good match for thermoelectrics

Converting waste heat into electricity? Mismatched alloys are a good match for thermoelectrics: "ScienceDaily (Feb. 1, 2010) — Employing some of the world's most powerful supercomputers, scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have shown that mismatched alloys are a good match for the future development of high performance thermoelectric devices. Thermoelectrics hold enormous potential for green energy production because of their ability to convert heat into electricity."

Super material will make lighting cheaper and fully recyclable

Super material will make lighting cheaper and fully recyclable: "ScienceDaily (Feb. 6, 2010) — With the use of the new super material graphene, Swedish and American researchers have succeeded in producing a new type of lighting component. It is inexpensive to produce and can be fully recycled."

Sunny Record: Breakthrough for Hybrid Solar Cells

Sunny Record: Breakthrough for Hybrid Solar Cells: "Scientists at the Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) and the Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF) have succeeded in developing a method for treating the surface of nanoparticles which greatly improves the efficiency of organic solar cells. The researchers were able to attain an efficiency of 2 percent by using so-called quantum dots composed of cadmium selenide."

Shining a Light on Plants' Quantum Secret to Boost Photosynthesis: Scientific American

Shining a Light on Plants' Quantum Secret to Boost Photosynthesis: Scientific American: "In less than one billionth of a second, plants from algae to redwoods transform 95 percent of the sunlight that falls on them—1017 joules per second bathe the planet—into energy stored chemically as carbohydrates. The quantum key to doing that lies in a phenomenon known to physicists as quantum coherence, according to new research published in Nature on February 4. (Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.)"

The Prospects of Amorphous Silicon PV: Down, But Hardly Out : Greentech Media

The Prospects of Amorphous Silicon PV: Down, But Hardly Out : Greentech Media

Nature's hot green quantum computers revealed - life - 03 February 2010 - New Scientist

Nature's hot green quantum computers revealed - life - 03 February 2010 - New Scientist: "WHILE physicists struggle to get quantum computers to function at cryogenic temperatures, other researchers are saying that humble algae and bacteria may have been performing quantum calculations at life-friendly temperatures for billions of years."

Zayed Future Energy Prize, Amitabha Sadangi, Business Wire India, Press Releases

Zayed Future Energy Prize, Amitabha Sadangi, Business Wire India, Press Releases: "The Zayed Future Energy Prize, a global annual award established to recognise achievements in the renewable energy industry, selected Amitabha Sadangi, CEO of International Development Enterprises India (IDEI), as a finalist for the successful deployment of low-cost irrigation technology to farmers in India. This technology, which has reached over one million farmers, has resulted in diesel savings of 533 million litres and a reduction in carbon emissions of 1.8 million tonnes."

weSRCH.com - A Wave of Energy Solutions - Paper Details

weSRCH.com - A Wave of Energy Solutions - Paper Details: "Wave energy is an emerging technology and a suite of diverse systems have been designed and are being tested. Most of these technologies aim to generate electricity in-water, and then transmit this ashore. Waves represent the optimum energy source for significant sustainable local power generation. Bermuda is an ideal location to demonstrate the commercial technological viability and profitability of cutting-edge, wave-energy generating technology."

Nanotube dye makes wearable batteries - tech - 31 January 2010 - New Scientist

Nanotube dye makes wearable batteries - tech - 31 January 2010 - New Scientist: "FED up with your MP3 player running out of juice? Maybe your shirt could help. A newly developed carbon-nanotube-based ink that can soak into fabrics could turn clothing into wearable batteries.

Yi Cui and colleagues at Stanford University in California created the ink, made with single-walled carbon nanotubes. The team dyed porous fabrics with the ink to create a conductive textile with very low resistance. The fabric maintained performance after repeated washes, suggesting that the ink is durable (Nano Letters, DOI: 10.1021/nl903949m).

Cui says it's possible to treat the dyed material with an electrolyte to create a fabric capacitor capable of storing and releasing electrical charge. That, he says, means the technique could be harnessed to power wearable devices."

Sweet success for sustainable biofuel research

Sweet success for sustainable biofuel research: "Scientists have found a way to increase fermentable sugar stores in plants which could lead to plant biomass being easier to convert into eco-friendly sustainable biofuels."

Researchers coax bacteria to make biodiesel | Green Tech - CNET News

Researchers coax bacteria to make biodiesel | Green Tech - CNET News: "Biofuel start-up LS9 and California researchers on Wednesday claimed a breakthrough in converting non-food biomass into biodiesel using a genetically modified form of e. coli bacteria.

The research, done with the University of California at Berkeley and the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), is a step toward lowering the cost of making biodiesel from wood chips, corn stover, and other residual agricultural products. The group published its results in the journal Nature on Wednesday."

Green Power Island – The Storage Solution for Renewable Energy Overflow | SocialEarth

Green Power Island – The Storage Solution for Renewable Energy Overflow | SocialEarth: "The problem of overflow storage has been a hindrance to the renewable energy industry, namely wind power, but the increasing demand for renewables has opened up new opportunities for technology to meet this challenge. Danish architectural firm Gottlieb Paludan has taken on this issue. They created a low tech solution for storing overflow energy, and have done it with high tech innovation. Green Power Island is the result of careful engineering and design, implementing technology and nature for a sustainable future."

100 Percent Renewable? One Danish Island Experiments with Clean Power [Slide Show]: Scientific American

100 Percent Renewable? One Danish Island Experiments with Clean Power [Slide Show]: Scientific American: "WIND POWER: All told, the wind turbines on Samso supply more power than the residents need--Samso exports 80 million kilowatt-hours of wind-produced electricity annually--thus offsetting some of the island's nonrenewably powered activities, such as its cars, trucks and ferries."

Farming Fuel in Middle Eastern Salt Marshes: Scientific American

Farming Fuel in Middle Eastern Salt Marshes: Scientific American: "A new biofuels project at Abu Dhabi's Masdar Institute of Science and Technology will unite Boeing, Honeywell and others in search of a system to produce fuel and other useful products from biomass and seawater.

The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Project is focused on integrating aquaculture and farming to create a closed-loop system that thrives in areas where fresh water is scarce."

Nuclear, Thermonuclear Sins, and Infrastructure: A Day at the World Future Energy Summit : Greentech Media

Nuclear, Thermonuclear Sins, and Infrastructure: A Day at the World Future Energy Summit : Greentech Media: "Abu Dhabi-The Third Annual World Future Energy Summit formally has kicked off in Abu Dhabi. World leaders, scientists and executives spoke. But rather than write stories on each, here's a selection of quotes and comments from them all."

21-Megawatt Solar Power Plant Opens in California

21-Megawatt Solar Power Plant Opens in California

Greentech Media: Video: Nanosolar Hits 16.4 Percent Efficiency in Lab

Greentech Media: Video: Nanosolar Hits 16.4 Percent Efficiency in Lab

Greentech Media: EPRI on Renewable Energy: Single Well Geothermal

Greentech Media: EPRI on Renewable Energy: Single Well Geothermal

Greentech Media: The India Solar Market: How Big and How Soon?

Greentech Media: The India Solar Market: How Big and How Soon?

GTM Research

GTM Research

Greentech Media: Car Fuel for $1.40 a Gallon?

Greentech Media: Car Fuel for $1.40 a Gallon?
Cobalt Biofuels of California has developed a new process for fast production of bio-fuels.

Titanium oxide and carbon nanostructures improve lithium-ion batteries

WWW > News Item: "Titanium oxide and carbon nanostructures improve lithium-ion batteries"
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Princeton University researchers devised a method for building tiny titanium oxide and carbon structures that greatly improve the performance of lithium ion batteries. This new material stores twice as much electricity at high charge/discharge rates as batteries that don't use it.

Polymer-ceramic composite electrolyte enables rechargeable lithium-ion battery

WWW > News Item: "Polymer-ceramic composite electrolyte enables rechargeable lithium-ion battery"
The solid electrolyte developed by INL chemist Mason Harrup and his colleagues is a unique mixture of a gel-like polymer ceramic – properly mixing the polymer and ceramic creates a clear membrane. Harrup and his Iteam found that the composite membrane, originally investigated by Eastman-Kodak for antistatic applications, could be sandwiched between two electrodes and act as an electrolyte. The membrane easily conducts positive ions but not electrical current, providing effective electrical insulation with virtually no electrical leak.

Thin-film lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable

WWW > News Item Solid state rechargeable lithium and lithium-ion batteries which are less than 15 µm (micrometers) thick have been developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These batteries have high energy and power densities, can be cycled thousands of times, and they can be fabricated in arbitrary shapes and to any required size to meet the requirements of a specific application.

Composite cathides extend life of lithium-ion batteries

WWW > News Item

Greentech Media: How Efficient Can Solar Get?

Greentech Media: How Efficient Can Solar Get?

China will build 2 gigawatts of solar thermal power plants by 2021

Greentech Media: ESolar Lands Whopper Contract For Solar Thermal in China

The Hindu : National : Manmohan Singh launches ‘Solar India’

The Hindu : National : Manmohan Singh launches ‘Solar India’

Lithium-air batteries could displace gasoline in future cars

Lithium-air batteries could displace gasoline in future cars

New solar pond distillation system devised

New solar pond distillation system devised

Scientists' breakthrough in production of biofuels

Scientists' breakthrough in production of biofuels

Solar and Biomass Plants to Work in Tandem in China - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com

Solar and Biomass Plants to Work in Tandem in China - Green Inc. Blog - NYTimes.com

India launches Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

Government of India is launching its ambitious solar energy initiative, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) on January 11, 2010. The highlights of the mission are:
1. Production and deployment of 20,000 MW of solar power by 2022
2. Creation of indigenous capability for solar manufacturing.
3. Off grid operation reaching 1000 MW by 2017 and 2000 MW by 2022.
4. Erecting of solar thermal collectors over 15 million square meters by 2017 and 20 million square meters by 2022.
5. Deployment of 20 million solar lighting systems for rural areas by 2022.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India will launch the Programme today at New Delhi. For more details visit www.mnre.gov.in

Welcome to Renewable Energy Developments.

Fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gas are fast depleting and may not last over another century at the current levels of consumption. Their use leads to green house gas emissions which produce excessive global warming. Hence the survival of human civilization depends on the deployment of non-polluting and renewable energy sources like the sun,wind, earth and sea. Solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, energy from bio-mass, and hydrogen energy are at different levels of development today. Many new forms of sustainable energy may emerge in the future. All of these developments will be discussed here.