Mix salt water with fresh water and there you have it: instant carbon-neutral energy.  The process is called osmotic power, and a company called Statkraft has just opened the world’s first osmotic power plant in Norway.

For now the plant has a limited production capacity and will focus mainly on testing and developing the technology for commercial application.  When osmotic power does go commercial, it could make a significant contribution to a sustainable, carbon neutral energy future.  The company estimates that the global potential of osmotic power is equivalent to half of the European Union’s current energy production.

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Researchers from the US Air Force Academy have a new, outside-the-box idea for dealing with these problems — use an aerospace approach.

This is yet to be developed to full-scale and tested in that form, but early computer and model-scale tests are showing higher efficiencies than wind turbines, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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In total, the report showed that China, Japan, and South Korea will invest about $509 billion in clean tech over the next 5 years, whereas the US (with our greenest President in decades, maybe ever) is only expected to invest $172 billion (about 3 times less) — this is assuming the climate and energy legislation in Congress passes.

If the US were to invest the same percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as South Korea, it would invest almost $140 billion per year ($700 billion over this five year period)! Compared to China, the anticipated per-GDP investment ratio is 1:4 (US to China).

In 2008, Japan almost matched US R&D spending on energy and achieved almost the same number of international clean energy patents despite having dramatically lower GDP.

The financial investment is not the only thing giving these countries a major advantage in this field, though.

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The 97th spent months prepping for its evaluation and earned a “you knocked our socks off” comment from the ESOHCAMP program manager, but that’s not the only sustainability feather in Altus’s cap.  The base is also home to one of the Air Force’s premier green remediation sites.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/altus-air-force-base-is-flying-high-on-new-green-award/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/new-report-forecasts-solar-boom-in-nc-growing-solar-in-north-carolina/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/new-report-forecasts-solar-boom-in-nc-growing-solar-in-north-carolina/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:26:23 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/new-report-forecasts-solar-boom-in-nc-growing-solar-in-north-carolina/
A new report by Environment North Carolina’s Research and Policy Center, “Growing Solar in North Carolina,” found that North Carolina (home of my UNC Tar Heels) could be a solar power giant soon.

The new report found that North Carolina has a lot of solar energy potential due to its “vast” solar energy intensity (which is nearly as much as Florida’s) combined with other economic, policy and technological factors.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/new-report-forecasts-solar-boom-in-nc-growing-solar-in-north-carolina/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/arpa-e-37-top-funding-goes-to-renewable-storage-in-liquid-battery/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/arpa-e-37-top-funding-goes-to-renewable-storage-in-liquid-battery/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:30:08 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/arpa-e-37-top-funding-goes-to-renewable-storage-in-liquid-battery/
DOE’s new renewable energy Venture Capital unit ARPA-E has just funded an entirely new kind of liquid battery innovation from MIT professor Donald Sadoway, that works like an aluminum plant running in reverse; producing power instead of consuming it.

Under the ARPA-E program at the DOE, the Obama administration has provided record-setting funding for advanced breakthroughs in renewable energy technology - that could propel America to the front of the post-oil age economy.

Just 37 technologies were selected for their potential transformational impact in the world, out of 3,600 applicants. Of the 37 winners; Sadaway’s has received the most funding; with $7 million.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/19/arpa-e-37-top-funding-goes-to-renewable-storage-in-liquid-battery/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/16/using-co2-to-extract-geothermal-energy/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/16/using-co2-to-extract-geothermal-energy/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:06:02 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/16/using-co2-to-extract-geothermal-energy/
As part of developing new energy resources that don’t emit carbon dioxide, the DOE is funding 9 trials that use supercritical CO₂ to extract more geothermal energy.

The idea started in 2000 at Los Alamos National Laboratory; when physicist Donald Brown thought of pumping geothermal fluid using supercritical CO₂ - a pressurized form that is part gas, part liquid; instead of water.  Theoretically this should flow more freely through rock than water, because it is less viscous than water.

Then, six years later; in modeling the technology Lawrence Berkeley hydro-geologist Karsten Pruess projected that not only should it perform as expected but that it would also yield a 50% hotter geothermal resource.

Now the DOE is funding this promising research with $16 million in nine trials to see if this will work in the real world.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/16/using-co2-to-extract-geothermal-energy/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/15/doe-hires-a-vc-for-the-green-fdr/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/15/doe-hires-a-vc-for-the-green-fdr/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:52:35 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/15/doe-hires-a-vc-for-the-green-fdr/

Under the new Green FDR administration of President Obama, there has been such an increase in renewable technologies funding, that keeping up with qualifying and selecting the best of the best in innovative new renewable energy tech is overwhelming the Department of Energy.

So Nobel-prizewinning scientist Steven Chu of the DOE has hired a professional Venture Capitalist to help run the DOE renewable energy loan guarantee program. VC Jonathan Silver of Core-Capital Partners will help the DOE eliminate the so-called “Valley of Death” between the university lab and commercialization of groundbreaking renewable technologies.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/15/doe-hires-a-vc-for-the-green-fdr/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/14/netherlands-opens-cow-dung-powered-plant/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/14/netherlands-opens-cow-dung-powered-plant/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:05:45 +0000 Beth Graddon-Hodgson http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/14/netherlands-opens-cow-dung-powered-plant/

It seems that the more time that goes on, the more we see poop being converted into a useful energy source. The latest nation to jump on board this new green trend in alternative energy is the Netherlands with the opening of a cow dung powered plant this Friday.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/14/netherlands-opens-cow-dung-powered-plant/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/14/exotic-behavior-shines-a-light-on-piezoelectricity/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/14/exotic-behavior-shines-a-light-on-piezoelectricity/#comments Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:40:04 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/14/exotic-behavior-shines-a-light-on-piezoelectricity/ A team of researchers from UC Berkeley and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Lab have discovered a new lead-free material that produces an electrical current when exposed to stress.  The phenomenon, called piezoelectricity, sounds exotic but it could some day become as common as backyard grills.

Piezoelectricity is a sustainable way to generate energy.  It works by applying pressure or stress to certain crystalline materials, including certain ceramics and even bone, so it’s a green alternative to burning fossil fuels.  Up to now, though, the most popular piezoelectric materials contain lead, a notorious neurotoxin.  The discovery of a lead-free material could open the door to a piezoelectric energy future in which people generate significant amounts of electricity just by moving through the civic infrastructure, from highways to flooring and revolving doors.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/14/exotic-behavior-shines-a-light-on-piezoelectricity/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/12/thin-film-solar-panels-to-double-their-share-of-the-market-by-2013/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/12/thin-film-solar-panels-to-double-their-share-of-the-market-by-2013/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:12:39 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/12/thin-film-solar-panels-to-double-their-share-of-the-market-by-2013/
A new report by iSuppli Corp. predicts that by 2013, 31% of the solar panel market will be accounted for by thin-film solar panels. These thin-film panels are rapidly replacing traditional crystalline photovoltaic panels.

Thin-film solar is being used in a variety of new applications, from solar roof shingles to solar tiles (like clay tiles) to solar panels glued right onto the roof. Its flexibility in use is one major benefit of this technology.

Lower cost is the number one factor responsible for its anticipated growth, but there are trade-offs as well.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/12/thin-film-solar-panels-to-double-their-share-of-the-market-by-2013/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/11/us-military-veterans-call-for-sustainable-fuels/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/11/us-military-veterans-call-for-sustainable-fuels/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:30:53 +0000 Tina Casey http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/11/us-military-veterans-call-for-sustainable-fuels/ On this Veterans Day, set aside to honor the sacrifices and contributions of U.S. military veterans, another contribution can be added to the rolls: veterans are playing a strong part in America’s transition away from fossil fuels into a more sustainable, healthful environment and a more secure energy future.

Veterans groups including Operation Free, VoteVets, and an ad hoc group of retired senior military officials are calling for more sustainable fuels and a lower carbon footprint, a position that reflects the Pentagon’s growing urgency to free its high mobility, high tech 21st century warriors from the burden of using fossil fuels that harken back to the days of kerosene lamps and horse drawn buggies.  It also reflects an under-the-radar green metamorphosis in the philosophy of U.S. national defense itself.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/11/us-military-veterans-call-for-sustainable-fuels/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/biggest-public-utility-in-us-exploring-geothermal-energy-to-help-ramp-up-to-40-by-2020/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/biggest-public-utility-in-us-exploring-geothermal-energy-to-help-ramp-up-to-40-by-2020/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:20:45 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/biggest-public-utility-in-us-exploring-geothermal-energy-to-help-ramp-up-to-40-by-2020/
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has signed a lease for exploring geothermal potential in Imperial County near the Salton Sea; as part of meeting its goal to make 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

It is offering to lease the land, initially for 5 years of exploration and study at $295,000 annually representing $100 per acre per year, under a MOU regarding “Imperial Valley Geothermal Feasibility and Exploration” while it determines the feasibility of geothermal production there.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/biggest-public-utility-in-us-exploring-geothermal-energy-to-help-ramp-up-to-40-by-2020/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/mms%c2%ae-and-mars-going-green-new-solar-garden-at-headquarters-in-new-jersey/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/mms%c2%ae-and-mars-going-green-new-solar-garden-at-headquarters-in-new-jersey/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:13:04 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/mms%c2%ae-and-mars-going-green-new-solar-garden-at-headquarters-in-new-jersey/
Candy giant MARS, parent company of M&M’S®, DOVE®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, and TWIX®, turned on a huge new solar array (a “solar garden”) at its headquarters in New Jersey today. No matter what you think of candy food like this, it is good to see such a company going solar. Popular with millions, billions perhaps, and about as mainstream as you can imagine, this is a good step for solar’s more widespread use across the country.

This facility is PSEG Solar Source’s first large-scale solar project. It is one of the largest solar projects in the state of New Jersey, which is already 2nd only to California in its amount of installed solar capacity. The MARS headquarters adjacent to the solar garden is the workplace of about 1,200 employees and is where M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies are manufactured.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/10/mms%c2%ae-and-mars-going-green-new-solar-garden-at-headquarters-in-new-jersey/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/09/new-zealand-environment-court-says-no-to-huge-wind-farm/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/09/new-zealand-environment-court-says-no-to-huge-wind-farm/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:26:46 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/09/new-zealand-environment-court-says-no-to-huge-wind-farm/
What would have been the Southern Hemisphere’s largest wind farm, a $2 billion NZD ($1.4 billion USD) and 630 MW wind farm in New Zealand, is not happening because New Zealand’s Environment Court says that it would ruin the surrounding landscape.

This project would have powered over a million homes and made a huge dent in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. It is not happening now because of a group of NIMBY activists and the Environment Court’s ruling.

This is a huge blow, in itself, to renewable and wind energy proponents, but it also brings concerns for future wind energy projects.

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/09/new-zealand-environment-court-says-no-to-huge-wind-farm/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/07/4-million-goes-to-mit-from-french-oil-company-for-solar-energy-battery-project/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/07/4-million-goes-to-mit-from-french-oil-company-for-solar-energy-battery-project/#comments Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:02:21 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/07/4-million-goes-to-mit-from-french-oil-company-for-solar-energy-battery-project/
Total, a French oil company, recently agreed to give the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) $4 million for a 5-year research project to develop stationary batteries that can more efficiently store solar energy.

More efficient energy storage has been a difficult issue for scientists to crack. It is a major issue preventing more widespread use of renewable energy, and solar energy in particular.

Is this project, one funded by a true oil giant, the one that will make it happen?

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/07/4-million-goes-to-mit-from-french-oil-company-for-solar-energy-battery-project/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/04/maldives-goes-from-underwater-meetings-to-huge-wind-farm/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/04/maldives-goes-from-underwater-meetings-to-huge-wind-farm/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:03:15 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/04/maldives-goes-from-underwater-meetings-to-huge-wind-farm/
Maldives, one of the most beautiful nations on earth, held the artistic, theatrical event of an underwater government meeting last month, to try to bring more attention to the threats of climate change. Now, they are getting more practical but still grabbing headlines — they are looking to build a wind farm that will generate 40% of the island nation’s electricity needs.

The wind farm plans were announced earlier this week. The project will include 30 turbines and is expected to provide the nation with 75 MW of power, powering the capital city, their international airport, and more!

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/04/maldives-goes-from-underwater-meetings-to-huge-wind-farm/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/united-technologies-rocket-scientists-to-build-150-mw-solar-heliostat-in-sonoran-desert/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/united-technologies-rocket-scientists-to-build-150-mw-solar-heliostat-in-sonoran-desert/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:55:01 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/united-technologies-rocket-scientists-to-build-150-mw-solar-heliostat-in-sonoran-desert/
SolarReserve; a California start-up spin-out from United Technologies’ Rocketdyne has filed an application with the CPUC to build a 150-megawatt heliostat solar farm with seven hours of after-sunset energy stored in molten salt. These are the rocket scientists responsible for our solar-powered space exploration.

Theirs would be the first heliostat type of solar array to produce grid power in California. Abengoa has several in Spain, and plans one in Arizona. United Technologies has licensed the original technology to the new company SolarReserve and its wholly owned subsidiary Rice Solar Energy, LLC, (RSE).

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/united-technologies-rocket-scientists-to-build-150-mw-solar-heliostat-in-sonoran-desert/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/china-forgets-china-only-wind-turbines-policy-but-why/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/china-forgets-china-only-wind-turbines-policy-but-why/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:18:02 +0000 Zachary Shahan http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/china-forgets-china-only-wind-turbines-policy-but-why/
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about China’s new policy to focus on buying (almost entirely) “China-grown” wind turbines and wind turbine technologies with Chinese patents. That policy wasn’t a big hit internationally and China is back-tracking.

However, is it changing its stance out of international moral pressure or a major financial incentive (recent deal) in the US? And who is to benefit the most from this shift?

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]]> http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/03/china-forgets-china-only-wind-turbines-policy-but-why/feed/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/02/waveroller-uses-swinging-door-for-underwater-wave-energy/ http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/02/waveroller-uses-swinging-door-for-underwater-wave-energy/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:01:47 +0000 Susan Kraemer http://cleantechnica.com/2009/11/02/waveroller-uses-swinging-door-for-underwater-wave-energy/
The simplest ideas are best at harnessing underwater wave energy. You don’t want lots of parts in the harsh marine environment (for machine parts) under the ocean. Here’s an idea from a diver from Finland who was almost hit in the head by a shipwreck door that inspired this invention: the WaveRoller.

Now the EU is funding the diver; Rauno Koivusaari, with $4.4 million for his company AW-Energy to build the first full scale demo of his invention.

Each one at full size weighs 20 tons and produces 300 KW.

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