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.

Read more of this story »

The US Treasury gave another $550 million in stimulus funds for renewable energy this week. This brings the total to over $1 billion.

Read more of this story »

Read more of this story »

In reference to Thomas Friedman’s book, Hot, Flat and Crowded, Boxer said yesterday: “The nation that aggressively addresses the issue of climate change will be the nation that will thrive, the nation that will lead, and the nation that will prosper.”

Read more of this story »

“We all remember this time last year,” said Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Monday. “We were in the midst of an energy crisis, paying $4 for a gallon of gasoline, and Americans were seeing their utility bills skyrocketing.” Since then, he went on to say, the energy problems haven’t disappeared and no changes in policy have been made. He warned that, though the prices have gone down, if we do not make any changes, we will fall into the same hole in which we found ourselves last summer.

His solution? Nuclear. Stating that “the cornerstone of any real solution to the American energy problem needs to involve offshore resources and nuclear power…which generates electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions and has a minimal impact on the environment.”  The first step to escaping America’s current energy crisis according to Wicker is to build more nuclear power plants.

Read more of this story »

Fuel cell technology is a pollution-free electricity generation technology that is expected to compete with traditional methods of creating and distributing electricity. Fuel cells can be likened to a continuously fuelled battery that operates by using the chemical properties of hydrogen and oxygen to create useable electric current.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/05/22/fuel-cell-technology-in-the-uk/feed/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/05/13/sarah-palin-on-energy-what-a-switch/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/05/13/sarah-palin-on-energy-what-a-switch/#comments Wed, 13 May 2009 20:43:55 +0000 Alan Smith http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/05/13/sarah-palin-on-energy-what-a-switch/ Am I the only one who noticed that Sarah Palin has pulled a huge switchover when it comes to her take on energy policy?

Because it’s dramatic, and may presage the switch that I have been hoping for for a while: the divorce of the idea that a Conservative Environmentalist in politics is an oxymoron.

Let’s assume that Sarah Palin is continuing to ride the publicity train because she still has plans for a 2012 run for President.   Leaving aside my personal opinion — that such a a nomination would fracture the GOP irrevocably, to the point that we would end up with three parties here in America –  lets look at how her energy policy was in 2008 and… beyond.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/05/13/sarah-palin-on-energy-what-a-switch/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/05/07/nasas-biofuel-proposal-off-shore-algae-harvesting-in-plastic-bags/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/05/07/nasas-biofuel-proposal-off-shore-algae-harvesting-in-plastic-bags/#comments Thu, 07 May 2009 10:10:31 +0000 Dr Vandana Prakash http://ecoworldly.com/2009/05/07/nasas-biofuel-proposal-off-shore-algae-harvesting-in-plastic-bags/

Picture: Offshore Algae Harvesting in Semi-permeable bags

NASA’s design calls for using large plastic bags, made of forward-osmosis membranes, and filled with sewage for offshore harvesting of algae for bio-fuel.

My earlier post about leveraging nanotechnology for increasing the commercial viability of Algal bio-fuel opened me up a fantastic world of realizations. The wonderful technologies being developed by NASA have been time and again used to improve the quality of life for the people who inhabit this world and not just the journeys and stays of astronauts in the space. And particularly, because I felt that my hope for algae as commercially viable source of alternate energy had an even greater chance of being realized because NASA researchers too are pitching their effots in the same direction.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/05/07/nasas-biofuel-proposal-off-shore-algae-harvesting-in-plastic-bags/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/23/nanotechnology-to-aid-the-commercial-viability-of-algal-bio-fuel-production/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/23/nanotechnology-to-aid-the-commercial-viability-of-algal-bio-fuel-production/#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:49:00 +0000 Dr Vandana Prakash http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/23/nanotechnology-to-aid-the-commercial-viability-of-algal-bio-fuel-production/ This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

The algae! Yes – the same slimy brown-green ‘plant’ that makes a pond or a lake look yucky – is the creating a great buzz as the most promising source of alternative energy. And now nanotechnology is being leveraged to add some more zing to the promise!

Algae are some of the simplest of the living organisms and can’t even be classified as plants as they lack any differentiation into various structures such as leaves, roots or other organs that characterize a plant. Yet this simple structure is the very reason for the alarming growth rate of the algae: Under optimal conditions, it can double its mass overnight.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/04/23/nanotechnology-to-aid-the-commercial-viability-of-algal-bio-fuel-production/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/#comments Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:19:56 +0000 Eva Pratesi http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/

It’s plentiful, it’s homegrown, and it could help clean up the environment while powering our cities. The idea of transforming algae into a fuel is a reality. Nowadays there are numerous implementations of algae into the renewable energy market.

Read more of this story »

]]> http://ecoworldly.com/2009/03/27/algae-a-new-fuel-for-the-venice-seaport/feed/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/02/25/would-you-vote-for-a-green-energy-act-to-create-50000-jobs/ http://ecoworldly.com/2009/02/25/would-you-vote-for-a-green-energy-act-to-create-50000-jobs/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:04:48 +0000 Gavin Hudson http://ecoworldly.com/2009/02/25/would-you-vote-for-a-green-energy-act-to-create-50000-jobs/ Ontario, Canada presented legislation on Monday to encourage renewable energy growth. The government estimates the act would create 50,000 new jobs.

The Green Energy and Green Economy Act of 2009, if passed, would implement a feed-in tariff to fund renewable energy construction. It would also boost domestic requirements for renewable energy, a move that would create jobs in many sectors, from steel mills and law firms.

“Ontario’s Green Energy Act could propel the province past California as the most innovative North American leader in the renewable energy field,” said Denis Hayes, the former director of the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory and founder of Earth Day. “This is the sort of healthy, friendly competition between Canada and the US that will leave us both better off.”

Read more of this story »

One of 30 wind turbines in the Kentish Flats wind farm, which produces up to 90 MW of renewable energy for the UK.

Another 5,000-7,000 wind turbines could generate enough electricity by next decade, concludes a British government energy department study.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change study concluded that another 5,000-7,000 wind turbines could be built off the coast by 2020, generating 25 GW of energy, equivalent to 25 large coal-fired power stations. The new capacity would be on top of 8GW already being built or in planning, making a total of 33GW.

The results of the year-long research into the geology, birds and marine life goes even further than the Carbon Trust, a company set up by government to help businesses reduce carbon emissions, which last year said the UK could build a total 29GW of off-shore wind.

However, the announcement was clouded by claims from the energy company E.ON that the economics of what is the UK’s biggest current off-shore wind project, the London Array off the coast of Kent and Essex, were “on a knife edge”.

Read more of this story »

Such a state-of-the-art “smart grid” can increase the efficiency of green energy sources. It will require a trained workforce and extensive educational programs.
A smart grid is the computerized version of the network that brings us our electricity. It utilizes the instrument and control technology that is commonplace in factories. It will insure that power is delivered where and when it is needed and energy sources — especially green sources — are used most efficiently.

Read more of this story »

Innowattech, a green energy technology company in Israel, is developing energy-generators for three main transportation methods: railroads, roads, and airport runways. The concept uses piezoelectric generators — Innowattech’s specialty — to transform kinetic energy from passing planes, trains and automobiles into electricity. From Innowattech:

The system,based on a new breed of piezoelectric generators, harvests energy that ordinarily goes to waste and can be installed without changing the habitat.

Sources: Inhabitat.com and Innowattech

Now, there are caveats, obviously. Since the thing “isn’t actually a plan for action”, doubts remain on the efficacy of Sarah seeing the light.  People have been quick to point out the failures of the plan — and rightfully so.   “Drill Baby Drill!” still rings in my years, and we have yet to see Palin embrace a logical route to some of the saving and greening that she sees in Alaska’s future.

But, you have to admit that “a list of resources on which local communities may use to develop their own solutions” is a good thing to have, and some of the plans on the list are big enough (like a hydro electric dam - feasibility study coming June 1, 2009) that some State money would have to be involved.  State money means Federal money at this point, which might even mean the project actually gets built.  Further, response from Alaskan Environmental groups, folks who have not always been so hip to Sarah’s game, are giving the plan rave reviews.

The cynical side of me says that she found some good ‘ol timey environmentalism because she has seen greenwashing go over real well in other polls.  I also register some minor concern that the Heartland Institute thinks it is a good plan.  But, in the end… who am I to question motivation?  I’ve made it through the beginning of the plan (here, in PDF form, if you are interested) and any call for 50% green energy is so much further down the right path then the “Drill, Baby, Drill!” portion of Palin’s career that I wonder how the switch happened.

Palin has some other problems up there in Alaska.  She’s in the news for a lot of the wrong reasons, and has decided that she should capitalize on her moment in the sun to write a book — sure to help her popularity ratings that are already dipping on the perception she doesn’t give Alaska enough time.

But this is a Green blog, not a general politics blog!  So, with the caveat that the invitation might not be permanent, and that I still need to see more actual action before the accolades start rolling off my typing fingers… Sarah, welcome aboard the (I can’t believe I am writing this!) Clean Energy Bandwagon!

I’m excited by nothing so much as the vibe that the soft war - the war of common perceptions - is shifting ground.  Even if it’s just an endorsement of the principle, and even if it’s a calculated political move, Palin gets credit for making theLet’s see if she can bite the Libertarian bullet and accept a handout from the Feds to help get her plans off the ground.

Icelandic star — and part time swan — Björk is using her celebrity to jump start a venture capital fund focused on women, and the environment.

Read more of this story »

Read more of this story »

Albania Aims to Build the Largest Wind Farm in Europe

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is visiting today Albania to sign energy deals worth more than euro 2 billion for the construction of an undersea gas pipeline linking the two countries, a regasification plant and a large wind farm. Italy’s energy deficit and internal problems in building new infrastructure make Albania an attractive option for sourcing electricity.

Read more of this story »

American Honda Motor Company presented its new Micro-sized Combined Heat and Power (MCHP) Deluxe co-generation unit at Greenbuild 2008 in Boston, Massachusets.  The unit has been around for a while (in Japan since 2003, and here in the US since 2007).  The system provides home heating or water heating along with power generation in one package.  It also includes a generator to provide power during an outage.

When installed in combination with a furnace system such as ECR International’s “freewatt,” homeowners can expect to save between $500 and $1,000 per year on their power bills.  This is achieved through the power-generating capabilities of the MCHP, plus the fact that the “freewatt” system provides additional electricity as a by-product of its heating process.

Read more of this story »

Delivering quite a blow to both Gordon Brown and Britain, BP has dumped its plans to build out wind farms and other renewable projects in Britain for projects in the United States. The US government incentives for clean energy projects provide convenient tax shelter for oil and gas revenues - something BP is looking for with an estimated $8 billion earmarked for the initiative.

Convenience is another factor. BP, which has a representative on the ruling board of the British Wind Energy Association, said difficulty in getting planning permission and lower economies of scale made the UK wind sector far less attractive than that of the US.

>>More on wind energy in Europe

Read more of this story »

However, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, during the first half of 2008, renewable sources made up more than 10% of all domestic energy production.

For the period January 1 - June 30, 2008, the United States consumed 50.673 quadrillion Btus (quads) of energy - of which 34.162 quads was from domestic sources and 16.511 quads was imported.

Domestically-produced renewable energy (biomass/biofuels, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind) totaled 3.606 quads — an amount equal to 10.56% of U.S. energy consumption that is domestically-produced.

Read more of this story »