The Aerogenerator is a new turbine design measuring 900 feet across and potentially generating up to 20 megawatts of power.
The Aerogenerator has two arms coming out of its base to form a V-shape, with rigid “sails” mounted along their length. The arms act like aerofoils as the wind passes over, helping to generate lift.
The first Aerogenerator could be up and running by 2013.
Vodafone is offering a $32 solar-powered cell phone for sale in India, where 1/3 of the population does not have access to electricity.
It needs eight hours of direct sunlight to be fully charged and can support 200 standby hours and 240 minutes of talk time. It also comes with an electronic charger, an FM radio and a powerful torch light.
Researchers are studying the possible use of butter, spoiled or non-food grade, as a biofuel.
Scientists recovered the fat from a quarter-ton of butter, 1 billion pounds of which are produced annually, and converted it into the fatty acid esters that constitute biodiesel. The resulting material met all but one of the official test standards for biodiesel, they said, only failing because of a slightly excessive sulfur content, and with further purification or by blending with biodiesel from other sources, butter biodiesel could add to the supply of bio-based fuel for diesel engines, the ACS said.
The ethanol industry in Minnesota pumped $2.5 billion into the state’s economy and supported more than 6800 jobs.
The annual report from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture says ethanol production in the state increased to 862 million gallons in 2009 from 550 million gallons five years ago.
It estimates production will increase to 1.1 billion gallons this year with an economic impact of $3.1 billion and around 1,500 additional jobs.
Sicily unveiled the world’s first concentrated solar power plant that uses molten salt to produce electricity at all hours of the day or night.
Heat from the molten salt is used to boil water and drive the turbines, just like other fossil fuel plants. CSP plants use the same kind of steam turbines as typical fossil fueled power plants. This makes it possible to supplement existing power plants with CSP or even to retrofit plants to change over to clean energy producing technology. Some existing CSP plants have used molten salt storage in order to extend their operation, but the collectors have relied on oil as the heat collection medium. This has necessitated two heat transfer systems (one for oil-to-molten-salt, and the other for molten-salt-to-steam) which increases the complexity and decreases the efficiency of the system. The salts used in the system are also environmentally benign, unlike the synthetic oils used in other CSP systems.
Exelon City Solar, the country’s largest urban solar power system, was unveiled in Chicago last week.
The solar array, Exelon reports, will generate 14,000 megawatt-hours of energy each year – enough to power 1,500 average homes. It will offset the emissions of 31.2 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year, as well.
Terra-Gen’s Alta Wind Energy Center near Tehachapi, California placed a record order with Vestas for 190 wind turbines that can generate 570 megawatts.
The contract includes delivery and commissioning as well as a five-year service and maintenance agreement. Delivery is scheduled for late 2010. The first 50 wind turbines will be commissioned by the end of 2010 and the remaining ones will be online in the first half of 2011.
The UK’s What Car? Green Awards named the Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI 105 Bluemotion this year’s Green Car of the Year.
Steve Fowler, Editor in Chief for What Car? said of the award, “The Golf is a well deserved award winner: carbon dioxide emissions are a paltry 99 g/km making it exempt from road tax and its average fuel economy is 74.3 mpg. So, as well as being impressively green, the Golf is classy, well made, practical, safe, brilliant to drive and an affordable long-term investment.”
The Golf Bluemotion uses a variety of technological enhancements. These include a Start/Stop system, regenerative braking, hill hold, longer gear ratios, low rolling resistance tires, and a multifunction computer showing recommended gear changes for greater fuel economy. The Start/Stop system turns the car off when it is sitting rather than keeping the engine idling.
If ethanol consumption goes significantly beyond its use as a 10% additive in gasoline, a dedicated ethanol pipeline may be feasible, according to a Department of Energy study.
Sioux Falls-based Poet and Magellan Midstream Partners LP are studying the feasibility of a $3.5 billion, 1,800-mile pipeline that would send ethanol from plants in Iowa, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to distribution terminals in the northeastern United States.
The companies’ analysis of their project concludes that it is economically viable with transportation rates about 15 percent lower than rail rates. The venture becomes more viable if flexible fuel vehicles that run on E85 become more popular and the Environmental Protection Agency allows higher concentrations of ethanol in gasoline.
A high speed train station in Shanghai has become the world’s largest stand-alone integrated photovoltaic solar project.
The system, which started transmitting power to the grid in Shanghai Sunday, is capable of producing 6.3 million kilowatts hours of electricity each year, supplying power to 12,000 households in Shanghai.
The solar-powered train station has produced 300,000 kilowatts of power since it began operating in early July. It is expected to reduce coal consumption by 2,254 tons and cut carbon emissions by 6,600 tons.
Written by 
Recent comments