energy Archives – The Green Optimistic

Study: Coal kills more Americans than it Employs

Guest Contributor — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 19:05:59 +0000

A new study finds that the coal industry kills more Americans than it employs. Joshua Pearce led the study and is the Richard Witte Endowed Professor of Materials Science & Engineering as well as a professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Michigan Tech. He first became interested in the idea of a “corporate death […]

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Ørsted Acquires Lincoln Clean Energy to Form Onshore Wind

Ally Munda — Sat, 06 Oct 2018 19:20:38 +0000

Danish power giant firm Ørsted announced on Monday, October 1, the completion of its acquisition of 100% equity interest Lincoln Clean Energy LLC (LCE), a US onshore wind energy developer. The acquisition was valued at approximated $580 million. Ørsted has since restructured its business units and created a new unit called Onshore Wind. The acquisition was first […]

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Kelvin’s Water Dropper – How to Build a Water-Powered Spark Generator

Arsenij Percov — Sat, 21 Jul 2018 20:13:34 +0000

The instructables’ user KentG13 showed how we can make a Kelvin’s Water Dropper (also called Kelvin’s Thunderstorm) at home in a “Macgyver” style. The device uses falling water to generate voltage differences by electrostatic induction occurring between interconnected, oppositely charged systems. It can put out several thousand volts of electricity, but because of low amperage, […]

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Why It Finally Does Make Financial Sense to Buy an Electric Car

Arsenij Percov — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 14:22:20 +0000

15 years ago the only affordable option for the mainstream consumer who wanted an electric car was the G-Wiz. It was an 8ft 6in by 4ft 3in vehicle that could hide behind a Smart car. It was classed as a “heavy quadricycle” and was exported to America under the condition of a maximum speed of […]

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The Energy Metals Conundrum

Nicholas Say — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 21:17:50 +0000

The seemingly unending debates about if sustainable power could ever become economic are over. And the greenies won. Wind and solar power generation are now able to compete with just about any other form of power generation. In some cases, offshore wind delivers power for a lower cost than any other option, and with no […]

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Conergy Builds World’s First Islanding Solar Power Project

Courtney Lepping — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 18:34:53 +0000

An islanding solar project reliant on battery backup is about to undergo a two-year test. Conergy (a well-known solar company), along with Origin Energy, BHP Billiton, Ergon Energy, and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARNEA), just established a Knowledge Sharing Project to bypass renewable energy setbacks. These companies will monitor a $42.5 million Lakeland solar project […]

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Zero-Point Energy Nanomagnet Stores Data In Small Spaces

Courtney Lepping — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 05:56:41 +0000

The European research institution Jülich just released new information on “zero-point energy” and its effect on the stability of nanomagnets. If scientists can determine how to magnetically store data, information can be stored in extremely small spaces. Quantum mechanics becomes important when we’re talking about small spaces, such as nanometers. Magnetic moments are difficult to […]

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New NANO Li-Ion Battery Does not Catch Fire, Designed for Defense Missions

Courtney Lepping — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 11:36:36 +0000

Many battery cells experience thermal runaway, a condition that results in damage from overheating. Kokam Company produced a new battery, composed of Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC), Lithium Titanate Oxide (LTO) and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), to overcome this problem. NANO battery technology is a new kind of lithium-ion battery that passed ballistic testing and was […]

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New Texas Toyota Headquarters Going Green

Courtney Lepping — Sat, 18 Jun 2016 06:09:44 +0000

Toyota’s headquarters is moving to Texas and making a shift towards environmental practices. Toyota consulted the Texas energy management and consulting services firm, Priority Power Management (PPM), to design a plan for a headquarters based on renewable power. The Plano headquarters campus will be ‘going green’ with LED lights, solar panels, building shells designed to […]

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Apple May Enter the Renewable Energy Market

Courtney Lepping — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 13:12:24 +0000

Apple may be planning to sell electricity power to the U.S. markets. The company just filed a request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to receive permission to sell its excess energy. Although money might be an important factor, Apple will apparently sell the energy at market rates. This all stems from Apple hoarding […]

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Hellisheidi Researchers Transform Carbon Dioxide into Mineral

Courtney Lepping — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 20:56:25 +0000

Researchers at the largest geothermal facility in the world, The Hellisheidi power plant beat the time constraints predicted for carbon storage. Storing carbon dioxide underground has been a problematic topic because of suspicions that the natural chemical reactions required would just take too much time. It took less than two years for 95% of the […]

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Save by Using More Energy for Heating, Researchers Say

Courtney Lepping — Sat, 04 Jun 2016 20:21:21 +0000

There are ways to save money while using more energy to heat a building. The only condition: raise the heat during the nighttime. Aarhus University researchers created this environmentally-friendly, financially-winning system by using simulations and calculation models. Increasing the use of 10 percent more energy will save the same percentage on the heating bill. This […]

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Energy and Lives saved by Toyota’s New Thermo-Tect Lime Green Paint

Natalie Pullen — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 04:46:26 +0000

As a road runner I know just how vital visibility is. Safety should remain paramount above fashion. Thankfully running apparel and fashion trends appear to have turned safety conscious. The rather gordy, luminous and highly visible neon colours are currently very trendy. It hasn’t always been the case. Similarly, cars sell on fashion and marketing. […]

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Clean Energy Won’t Need Battery for Storage, Say Stanford Scientists

Annika Tostengard — Sat, 12 Dec 2015 15:49:45 +0000

Stanford scientists recently revealed a study supporting the idea that the United States could generate all of its power using clean energy technology. Not only is it possible to run the country off electricity, battery storage will not even be necessary to compensate for the intermittency fo energy sources like wind and solar. The scientists […]

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How “Phantom Loads” Are Hurting Your Energy Bill and the Environment

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 18:56:09 +0000

“Phantom loads” are electronics that always run, regardless of whether they are being used or not. Most people are aware of the harm that these electronics can have on the environment: inefficient electricity use greatly increases the output of the coal plants that supply power and, therefore, increases fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere. Unplugging […]

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UK Renewable Energy Companies Given Less Access to Government

Annika Tostengard — Fri, 27 Nov 2015 17:57:22 +0000

The UK government prioritizes relationships with fossil fuel companies, rather than those that generate renewable energy, according to a new analysis by The Guardian. Ministers have held 112 meetings with executives from Shell while BP has enjoyed 79 meetings with government officials. While there were a total of 119 with renewable energy executives, they were split […]

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4 Ways to Use Less Energy at Home

Annika Tostengard — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 12:56:03 +0000

The Department of Energy has several recommendations as to how homeowners can use less energy and save on their energy bills, especially during the winter when heaters are often on full blast. Homes in the United States have also grown about 30% larger since 2000 while using just 2% more energy, thanks to much-improved materials […]

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Remote and Island Communities Reap the Benefits of Renewable Energy

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 16:04:26 +0000

Islands and remote communities are in a tough position. Their infrastructure and transportation rely on oil, but their location makes ensuring a steady supply of reasonably-priced fuel a challenge. That’s why many of these communities have turned to renewable energy as the price of the technologies drop. The Rocky Mountain Institute recently released a report […]

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TerraPower is Researching a New Renewable Nuclear Energy Reactor Design

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 04:25:12 +0000

New designs for nuclear energy reactors could lead to a very sustainable, steady, and abundant source of renewable energy. One of the companies working on sophisticated ways to produce that energy is TerraPower, a company with ties to both of Microsoft’s founders. Bill Gates is also an advocate and financial supporter of the company. That’s […]

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Big Oil and Gas Companies Will be Struggling in Years to Come

Annika Tostengard — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 05:38:10 +0000

As oil prices drop, the biggest oil and gas companies may be the ones that suffer the most. While smaller companies may find it easier to start and stop work as the market fluctuates, the largest companies will likely have a difficulty adjusting. In addition, companies are also cutting their exploration budgets, which will significantly […]

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Quant F – Flow Cell Sports Car on Display at Geneva Motor Show

Annika Tostengard — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 16:58:46 +0000

This year at the Geneva Motor Show, an exciting new technological wonder was on display: a sports car that runs off “flow cell” technology. The Quant F, as it’s called, from carmaker Nunzio La Vecchia, gets 746 kW (1,000 hp) of energy and can travel 500 m (805 km). The sports car was actually around […]

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“Rectenna” Device Turns Light into Electricity in a Different Way

Annika Tostengard — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 06:23:52 +0000

Scientists at Georgia Tech have found a way to turn light directly into electricity with a device called an optical “rectenna”. The breakthrough’s goofy name comes from the fact that it is made of both an antenna and a rectifier diode. The technology is simple, efficient, and has the potential to completely change the way […]

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Shell Abandons Arctic Oil Drilling

Annika Tostengard — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 06:20:28 +0000

Royal Dutch Shell is giving up Arctic oil drilling, for now. After spending $7 billion on the search and fighting for the right to drill in the waters off Alaskan shores, the company simply could not find enough oil to make the project financially advantageous. Environmental groups in Alaska are ecstatic over the news, after […]

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New Technology Recovers Energy from London’s Underground

Mila Luleva — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 08:39:52 +0000

New hybrid technology, tested on London’s underground system, can recover enough energy to power busy stations and lead to great energy savings. The underground system in London is one of the busiest in the world with over a billion passengers boarding the fast trains on annual basis. Unfortunately, the great popularity and convenience of this […]

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DIY Energy-Saving Kitchen Design in 4 Steps

Annika Tostengard — Sun, 16 Aug 2015 06:50:42 +0000

Kitchen appliances are some of the most electricity-hungry devices in the home. Even seemingly small appliances like toaster ovens consume a surprising 0.75 kWh every hour. If a new kitchen renovation is in your future, or you’d like to start saving on your electricity bill every month, follow these five tip to make sure the kitchen […]

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Solar Impulse News: Grounded for Now

Annika Tostengard — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 19:57:46 +0000

After breaking the record for longest flight without refueling, Solar Impulse is grounded in Hawaii. The solar-powered plane’s batteries were damaged during the trek from Japan to Hawaii, and it is expected that it will not be able to fly again until next year. While this is bad news for the Solar Impulse team as well as […]

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Largest Solar Plant Ever Built Under Construction This Year

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 10:59:13 +0000

The largest solar plant ever built is under construction in Oman. Interestingly, the solar panels are being used by an oil rig in order to extract hard-to-extract fossil fuels. The CEO of GreenPoint, which is the company behind this giant undertaking has stated that he expects the new solar panels to reduce natural gas consumption by […]

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Electric Usage Now 22% Renewable

Annika Tostengard — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 19:51:25 +0000

New numbers report electric usage by countries involved in the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) have been released for 2014. The OECD includes 34 countries around the world. The analysis was released by the International Energy Agency, and it shows that while renewable energy sources account for a greater percentage of the total energy used […]

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Oil Spill Costs BP $18.7bn

Annika Tostengard — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 05:03:52 +0000

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened in 2010, but BP has only now reached a settlement with the Department of Justice. The agreement states that BP owes $5.5bn to the United States as outlined in the Clean Water Act, and that this money will be paid out over fifteen years. BP must pay $7.1bn […]

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The Truth About Your Electric Bill, Six Issues to Consider

Mila Luleva — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 18:06:51 +0000

For many, picking the right utility company and tariff plan, and then setting up a standard order to pay the bill, is all they should do when it comes to household electricity, According to governmental statistics, in the past decade the average energy bill has increased by nearly 10%. Nevertheless, not many have looked into where […]

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Top 10 Energy Technologies That Can Transform The World

Mila Luleva — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 18:33:40 +0000

With warnings about climate change firing from all directions, it is about the right time we all start considering alternative technologies to generate energy. Needless to say, it would be best if we roll up our sleeves and get on with building our own wind turbines or solar panels in the back yard, but if […]

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Evaporation-Powered Energy Generator, The Latest Renewable Energy Technology

Mila Luleva — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 20:39:42 +0000

If you thought that all means and potential of different sources of renewable energy have already been identified and tested on a large scale, you would be mistaken. Scientists keep finding new means to produce the precious resource, and it is only a matter of time before the next best technology takes over the market […]

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London’s Heating System Powered by Energy Harnessed From the Tube

Mila Luleva — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 15:13:13 +0000

How many times have you been on an underground train feeling extremely warm and short of breath when at the same time outside winter temperatures are below freezing? The passengers of the London Underground experience this feeling at least once a day, every day of the week. The temperatures inside the busy trains get so […]

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DOE Announces Safeguards to Protect Energy from Climate Change

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 13 Jul 2013 02:54:13 +0000

On Thursday, the US Department of Energy (DOE) released a report that stated that action must be taken to address the increasing number of blackouts and disruptions to power and fuel delivery across the nation. The droughts of 2013, coupled with hotter temperatures across the country and rising sea levels are impacting the ability of […]

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TVs, Computers and Icemakers in U.S. Use as Much Energy as Mexico

Mila Luleva — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:03:32 +0000

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released a striking report indicating that household devices in the U.S., such as TVs, computers and ice makers, use more energy than what 200 countries, including Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, use to power their economies. Thankfully, the findings of the report entitled “Miscellaneous Energy Loads […]

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WWII Bunker Turned into Green Power Generating Facility in Germany

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:38:08 +0000

An old World War II bunker used for sheltering 30,000 people in Hamburg is going to be transformed into an energy-generating facility that will provide heat for 3,000 homes and electricity for 1,000, reports Inhabitat. A large solar array has already been attached to the roof and exterior, and an open-air terrace will open this […]

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Block-Level Electricity Usage Mapping May Encourage Energy Efficiency

Leigh Hutchens — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:36:01 +0000

The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) has published a map that shows how inefficient one city building is in comparison with another. The web application provides the municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), and city planners the ability to see how LA blocks compare to each other and […]

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US Department of Energy Plans for the Future with Biofuel Projects

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 07:21:38 +0000

The Department of Energy has awarded $6.1 million to four biofuel-related energy technology projects, not least of which include engineered bioenergy crops and a molecular sieve for biofuel production. The DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) awarded funding to 66 different projects, all involving biofuel-related energy. The projects focus on a host of varied technologies, […]

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Tesla Motors’ Elon Musk on the Future of Energy and Transport

Benji Jerew — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 19:30:50 +0000

Visionary and entrepreneur Elon Musk knows how to get things done. As CEO of Tesla Motors, he fought conventional wisdom and now has one very popular electric vehicle [EV], which is sold out. In the end, we’ll have to see whether he won that fight or not, but so far it looks promising. Musk also […]

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Antiquated Electric Grid Needs a Reboot

Leigh Hutchens — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:46:01 +0000

Electric companies played soothsayer to customers days before Hurricane Sandy’s arrival. They warned of extensive power failure and potential widespread outages. Their predictions were accurate and Sandy affected an immense number of customers in New York and New Jersey. Sadly, none of the power outages resulting from Sandy should be surprising. The hurricane only served […]

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Stony Brook Gets Award for Piezoelectric Railroad Energy Harvestor

Leigh Hutchens — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 07:38:54 +0000

Engineers at Stony Brook University in New York have won a national award for developing an energy harvestor that significantly reduces railroads’ carbon dioxide emissions. The harvestor may even save $10 million in New York trackside power supply costs and has the potential to reduce carbon dioxide by 3000 tons per year, equating to a […]

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Urine-Powered Generator Delivers Hours of Continuous Electricity

Leigh Hutchens — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:17:32 +0000

In 2009, the founders of the international organization Maker Faire Africa envisioned an environment where inventors and problem solvers could meet annually to focus on finding simple breakthroughs to solve immediate crises in Africa and then determine ways to propagate the solutions. This year’s Maker Faire Africa convened in Lagos, Nigeria. At the 2012 meeting, three 14 […]

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Quantum Batteries Nearly Perfect, Theory Says

Leigh Hutchens — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:26:17 +0000

Entanglement, or the quantum link that happens when separate particles share a wave function, may make quantum batteries almost perfect. Engines and refrigerators have often been the subjects physicists have amused themselves with in the quest to calculate the properties of quantum machines. However, the primary question is how efficient and useful these devices actually […]

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Wind Turbine Innovator Inspires Community Involvement

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:32:56 +0000

On October 25, Kean Stimm of Kean Wind Turbines, Inc. announced his self-proclaimed engineering breakthrough to the Springville Area Chamber of Commerce and Springville-Griffith Institute high school upperclassmen. Stimm’s goal for the lecture was to inspire the next generation of engineers and activists and to highlight the importance of community involvement in realizing sustainable energy […]

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Geothermal Power a Possible Solution for Japan’s Energy Crisis

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:10:20 +0000

While unquestionably tragic, the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011 has Japan reconsidering previously feared forms of renewable energy. Long-neglected geothermal energy is now being considered thanks to the country’s massive energy shortage. Even onsen (hot spring) resorts, major Japanese tourist attractions, once vehemently against the use of geothermal power, are […]

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Energy-Starved Japan Kicks Off Campaign to Battle Shortage

Leigh Hutchens — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:09:46 +0000

Japan implores citizens to band together to combat the national energy shortage. On Thursday, Japan debuted its ‘warmbiz’ energy-saving campaign, encouraging people to take energy measures during colder months. After 2011’s Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster, Japan is facing a significant nation-wide energy shortage, and all but two nuclear reactors are idle. Until the tsunami damage […]

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Japanese Researchers Find Ways To Produce Biobutanol More Efficiently

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 10:04:07 +0000

Butanol can be made greener by the research of a Japanese institute, who developed an energy-saving biobutanol with a density of at least 80 percent. They derived their biobutanol from a 1 percent concentrated butanol and used a zeolitic separation membrane.

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Hydrology Student Invents Solar Powered Mass Desalination System

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:51:54 +0000

Worldwide terminus lakes could benefit from a new system to desalinate water, using a low-cost solar pond and patented membrane distillation system powered by renewable energy.

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Charge Your Gadgets With Regen ReNu Solar Charger

Cristi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:23:17 +0000

Regen ReNu is a good alternative solution to power you gadgets free of charge. The ReNu charging device has a solar panel design which could fit very well into a modern environment. The ReNu can be used to charge a variety of electronic gadgets like the iPhone, iPod or other USB devices.

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Oceanlinx Prepares to Deploy 2.5MW Tidal Power System Near Sydney

Cristi — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:22:19 +0000

Engineers are performing the last tests and measurements before the grid-connection off the coast of Port Kembla, near Sydney. The system will be generating about 2.5MW by harvesting air pressure that will turn a wind turbine.

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Precision Nanoparticles Technology to Revolutionize Solar Cells

Cristi — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:35:50 +0000

The chemists from the Idaho National Laboratory and Idaho State University may have found the gold mine of solar energy efficiency. They invented the manufacturing of a highly precise and uniform nanopaticle that improves solar cells and further spurs the growing nanotech revolution.

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Meteosat Used to Detect Faulty Solar Panel Power Stations

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:28:18 +0000

Italy is known for its plans to develop photovoltaic power as one of their main sources of energy. Having such a wide experience in solar power harvesting, several issues arise regarding the solar panels' maintenance. Every PV plant has a sensor verifying the quantity of light arriving at its location at any given moment during the day.

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Todd Ditmire’s Petawatt Laser: One Step Closer to Nuclear Fusion

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:53:27 +0000

Todd Ditmire, from the University of Texas, has invented a laser device that can produce petawatt power through a process of chirping, that takes a short light pulse (150 femtoseconds) and stretches it out in time, amplifies it to higher energy and then recompresses it to about 100 femtoseconds in time, obtaining 190 joules of energy.

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New Method of Guiding Light Through Polymer Helps Solar Cells Get Cheaper

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:21:58 +0000

New research is paving the pathway towards better and more efficient solar cells, as University of Florida chemists have invented a method of "hacking" the molecular structures of the materials the solar cells are made of, in order to gain a maximum transfer efficiency from them.

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The Sea Snake: Scotland's 750kW Wave Powered Project

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:47:58 +0000

Scotland built a 180 m tube they call "The Sea Snake", that will capture the waves' movements and energy and transmit it via subshore cables to the land.

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Helix-Shaped Vertical Wind Turbines Will Power GSM Towers in Africa & US

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:36:53 +0000

Too often, regardless of the energy sources being used, the GSM transmission towers' power fails, because of various reasons: theft, heavy rain/snow, disturbances in the grid lines. Helix, a San Diego-based wind company, is working on a wind turbine that is designed to power base stations in hard to reach, remote locations from Africa and the US.

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BlackLight Power Sells 400 MW Free Energy Generator to Akridge Energy

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:26:51 +0000

On July 30, BlackLight Power announced a commercial license agreement with Maryland-based Akridge Energy. BLP will allow Akridge to use their energy producing process for generating electricity in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Colombia, up to a maximum continuous capacity of 400 MW.

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Efficient Electricity Production from Onion Juice

Cristi — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 08:00:34 +0000

The future life style is quite different than we could imagine right now. Many experts predict that we will not need to transport our energy around the world as it will be produced in our community.

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Solar Stirling Engine System Working in Colder and Darker Areas

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:22:55 +0000

Stirling engines become more and more used and promoted among alternative energy circles. The interesting fact with them is that they can be fueled by any source of heat, and the cleaner the source is, the better the stirling engine does to the environment.

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Scientists Developing Artificial Leaves to Produce Energy

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:11:49 +0000

Mimicking nature has been man's dream since he tried inventing the airplane, and even earlier. Mimicking a leaf for obtaining energy from the Sun has been even more challenging than learning to fly, though, until now, nobody succeeded imitating the evolution or creation or whatever our nature is made of.

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DIY: Rick's Cheap Solar Panel Installation Powers His Home

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 07:03:18 +0000

A lot of people want to be green in using energy but they don't know where to start, or they don't have enough money/time at their disposal to actually start making something useful.

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Remarkable Lifetime Results for EV Batteries

Cristi — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:30:05 +0000

Scientists from Southern California Edison (SCE) have developed an tested for two and a half years a lithium-ion battery sub-pack with very encouraging results. The battery tested survived 180,000miles with no significant deterioration.

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Do Africans Plan to Produce Energy by Pulling a Roll After Them?

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:59:14 +0000

An african inventor, by his name Cedrick Ngalande, has invented a device called the Green Erg, that could harness the pulling force of a person or moving vehicle, and convert some of it into electricity. Though I don't see his invention any soon on any European or US market, it seems some say that it will have a great success in Africa, there where you have to make electricity out of anything.

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How to use solar energy at night or during rainy days

Cristi — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 11:23:38 +0000

In Granada- Spain, German scientists of Solar Millennium AG, have developed a solar-thermal power plant called Andasol 1. The most interesting thing about this power plant is that it can produce energy even when the sun is not shining: at night, on clouding or even rainy days.

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Latest Trend: Human Movement Powered Devices

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:51:45 +0000

Remember those movies presenting slaves hundreds of years ago spinning a huge wheel to provide the emperor with water and energy? They did not do it for fun, yet nowadays there are two recent mediatized inventions that caught my eye. Curiously enough, they are being developed by two telecom operators: Orange and NTT.

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TGER: the Machine that Turns Trash into Electricity

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:53:42 +0000

TGER is the name of the trash-eating machine. It uses multiple technologies to fuel a standard 60-kilowatt electrical generator.

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EnerDel to Make Longer Lasting, Cheaper Li-Ion Batteries by 2010

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:45:12 +0000

EnerDel, a company who has been on the market since 2004, makes serious promises about more efficient lithium-Ion batteries (LIB) to be manufactured in the very near future. They're planning to make 300,000 of them by 2010. They also say that their batteries keep their charge capacity for up to 300,000 cycles, or 10 years of life.

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Cheaper Fuel Cell Material Discovered: 50% more power

Ovidiu Sandru — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:34:46 +0000

Several researchers from the MIT succeeded in making a new kind of fuel cell. This one is a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC), and it doesn’t need the prior extraction of hydrogen from methanol, but instead, as the name suggests, it extracts and uses it directly. Until now, methanol fuel cells have had a great […]

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Body Heat to Electricity: German Scientists Working on Viable Design

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:41:32 +0000

German scientists have found a way of transforming body heat into electricity using thermoelectric devices. The discovery means that we may be able to operate our mobile phones using nothing but the warmth of our hands in the future. New circuits make it possible to harness body heat for generating electricity, scientists at the Fraunhofer […]

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Bluenergy: Wind and Solar Power in One Piece

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:32:59 +0000

The BSWT is a vertical wind turbine based on sailing engineering. The wind rotor is rotated by two spiral-formed vanes. For best performance, these vanes are covered in solar cells, so that sun and wind produce electricity as one element. The BSWT installation costs relatively little, produces no noise or significant shadowing, can be easily […]

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MIT Using Viruses To Create Power In Batteries

Ovidiu Sandru — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:21:43 +0000

MIT researchers have developed a new method of building batteries, solar panels and transistors by using… viruses! They announced the discovery of a new way of making the nanomaterials by using viruses as microscopic components. These viruses, inoffensive to the human body, were created to serve as microscopic assembly blocks. Initially, they were used for […]

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The Nuclear Era Will End Before 2030

Ovidiu Sandru — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:00:06 +0000

A parliamentary group, called “The Greens” has released a report on Wednesday in which they underline the lack of nuclear development during the latest years, although some over-exaggerate its growing line. Many aging reactors are to be closed before 2030, they having to be replaced with another 338 new ones. The development rhythm is far […]

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Nanotubes Produce Hydrogen

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:29:57 +0000

The prospect for the wide spread use of hydrogen as a portable energy carrier is dependent on finding a clean, renewable method of production. At Penn State University, a research group headed by professor of electrical engineering Craig Grimes in the Materials Research Institute is “only a couple of problems away” from developing an inexpensive […]

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Nanologix turns urine to electricity

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:06:15 +0000

Everyone agrees hydrogen is a wonderful fuel to use, whether in fuel cells or normal engines, as the exhaust is pure water. However, there are three major problems with hydrogen: producing, storing and transporting it. Traditional methods of producing hydrogen use electricity for hydrolysis or reformatting natural gas into hydrogen. These methods waste energy, with […]

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The "reasonable" price of free energy

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 17:34:46 +0000

I know there’s a lot of talk on the internet about “how to produce the free energy”, “how to capture it” or simply how to lower or eliminate your monthly bills (electricity, gas, heating). In fact, the energy harvested here, on this site, doesn’t come for free. It simply exists in space and time and […]

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Green energy device patents

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:23:44 +0000

Disintegrating polystyrene Foam polystyrene is a major environmental concern. It is used as a protective packaging for all sorts of products, but it is not biodegradable. Various manufacturers have experimented in making it more environmentally friendly, for example by incorporating cellulose and starch which microbes can break down, or by adding light-sensitive polymers that degrade […]

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A nuclear fusion project approved to go

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:21:56 +0000

Reproducing the power of the sun on Earth is no easy task, but an international team of physicists based in Europe is now preparing to give it a go. If their attempt to develop nuclear fusion works, it could provide a limitless and clean source of energy that promises to end reliance on the fossil […]

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How to build a Joe cell free energy device

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 08:47:14 +0000

(Copyright 1998-2005 Educate-Yourself and Ken Adachi. All rights reserved) By Ken Adachi (Ken Adachi, Editor) http://educate-yourself.org/fe/fejoewatercell.shtml An Australian man, only identified by the name of Joe “X”, has designed a remarkable water Energy Cell that only utilizes water for a “fuel” and develops substantially more power than gasoline. It was originally designed for use in […]

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How to build a levitation (lifter) device in 1 hour

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 08:45:38 +0000

The Lifter is an asymmetrical capacitor which uses High Voltage ( > 20KV ) to produce a thrust. The Lifter works without moving parts, flies silently, uses only electrical energy and is able to lift its own weight plus an additional payload. The Lifter uses the Biefeld-Brown effect discovered by Thomas Townsend Brown in 1928. […]

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The Rotary Air Engine (Di Pietro motor)

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:57:22 +0000

The Di Pietro motor concept is based on a rotary piston. Different from existing rotary engines, the Di Pietro motor uses a simple cylindrical rotary piston (shaft driver) which rolls, without any friction, inside the cylindrical stator. The space between stator and rotor is divided in 6 expansion chambers by pivoting dividers. These dividers follow […]

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How much does it cost to make the world carbon free?

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:33:44 +0000

Are you carbon neutral yet? It sure seems like everyone else is. Al Gore has wiped away his carbon footprint. The World Bank aims to be carbon neutral by buying only green energy. Sky Broadcasting is touting itself as the first major media company to go carbon free.So how does Joe Consumer drop the carbon […]

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Diesel or Hydrogen?

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 21:31:14 +0000

by Jack Peckham San Diego-Futurists talk dreamily of a “hydrogen future” where the internal combustion engine and fossil fuels are replaced by “clean” hydrogen and fuel cells. But practical reality tells a far different story today: Diesel/ distillate fuels (including jet fuel) do all the heavy lifting on this planet-for good reason. That’s because distillates […]

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Tesla’s Radiant Energy System

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:52:33 +0000

Brooklyn Eagle July 10, 1932 Nikola Tesla states: I have harnessed the cosmic rays and caused them to operate a motive device. Cosmic ray investigation is a subject that is very close to me. I was the first to discover these rays and I naturally feel toward them as I would toward my own flesh […]

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Volvo puts its mind towards alternative energy

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:36:24 +0000

On climate, on energy security, time is not on our side. Researchers at NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, say that the record heat of 2006 was, in large part, caused by us. Researchers at NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, conclude in a article in Earth Observatory – “Greenland’s Ice Island […]

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Tesla Free Energy Device – The Bifilar Coil

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:31:51 +0000

Tesla’s free energy suppression is a conspiracy theory claiming that certain special interest groups are suppressing, or have suppressed in the past, technologies that would or could provide energy at reduced costs, reduced pollution output, or would or could reduce the energy consumption of various devices. Most of the free energy devices in question have […]

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