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Monthly archives for February, 2012

Cool Planet BioFuels announces breakthrough in biomass-gasoline production

Feb28
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

Camarillo, California-based Cool Planet BioFuels announced a breakthrough in the production of biomass-gasoline production.

The company said it has been able to produce 4,000 gallons of acre biomass-to-gasoline conversion in its pilot testing, which it says is about twelve times the yield than current, corn ethanol production levels. Cool Planet Biofuels said it used the high yield plant giant miscanthus, developed at the University of Mississippi, in the pilot effort. The company said it expects a more conservative 3,000 gallons/acre under regular growing conditions, versus the test using optical crop growth conditions.

Link to original article

Posted in Biofuel, Biomass

Apple to build largest solar array in North Carolina data center

Feb27
2012 1 Comment Written by admin2

Apple announced that it will build the largest end-used owned solar array at its data center in Maiden, North Carolina.

Apple will be adding to this impressive list a 100-acre, 20-megawatt solar array that will supply 42 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy every year. Apple will also be installing a 5-megawatt fuel cell installation that will be powered by 100 percent biogas and provide more than 40 million kilowatt hours of 24×7 baseload renewable energy annually.

Link to original article

Posted in LEED, Solar

Chick-fil-A receives 1st LEED Gold for TX restaurant

Feb22
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

Chick-fil-A’s Fort Worth, Texas restaurant was awarded the chain’s first Gold LEED certification.

Water Usage – The restaurant utilizes low-flow fixtures in both the restrooms and the kitchen. An underground cistern (the size of a swimming pool) collects rainwater for landscape irrigation. As a result, Montgomery Plaza uses 40 percent less water when compared to a typical Chick-fil-A Restaurant.
Energy Efficiency – The restaurant features skylights in the dining area and windows in the kitchen, as well as the installation of energy efficient appliances. As a result, Chick-fil-A at Montgomery Plaza uses 14 percent less energy than industry standards.
Air Quality – Materials used in construction at Montgomery Plaza were specially selected because they do not emit harmful gasses. As a result, this restaurant has 30 percent more fresh air than a typical building.
Diverting Waste – 20 percent of the building material budget for Chick-fil-A at Montgomery Plaza was spent on products with recycled content. In addition, more than 50 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill. All cardboard and foam cups used in the everyday operations of the restaurant are being recycled.

Link to original article

Posted in LEED

US approves first nuclear reactors since 1978

Feb21
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction of two nuclear reactors near Augusta, Georgia, the first such approval since 1978.

Only this twin set of reactors in Georgia, another pair in South Carolina and the completion of an old reactor in Tennessee are likely to be built in the U.S. for at least the next decade. “We won’t build large numbers of new nuclear plants in the U.S. in the near term,” says Marvin Fertel, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a lobbying group for the nuclear industry.

Link to original article

Posted in Nuclear

“School in a Box” to launch in South Africa

Feb20
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

Ireland’s Institute of Art, Design and Technology has developed “School in a Box”, a carry-on luggage-sized case that includes an iPad with pre-loaded curriculum, a solar panel, projector and speakers.

The aim is to bring classrooms in sub-Saharan Africa into the digital age, said the students at IADT this morning.

So what’s the plan for School in a Box? Fifteen units will initially be deployed for three rural schools in South Africa by the Cape Peninsula Institute of Technology (CPUT). The order will be shipped from Ireland next week.

Link to original article

Posted in Solar

Kansas City stadium’s beer to be cooled by solar

Feb14
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

The Kansas CityRoyals’ Kaufman Field unveiled the “largest in-stadium solar array in Major League Baseball”.

That array consists of a string of 120 solar panels — 60 on each of side of the CrownVision board — that have been installed on top of the canopy of Kauffman Stadium’s Outfield Experience seating area. These panels will provide part of the electrical energy required to operate the stadium — specifically, the amount of energy needed to cool fans’ brews.

Link to original article

Posted in Solar

540-foot solar power tower built in Nevada

Feb13
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

The centerpiece of the Crescent Dunes solar thermal power plant, a 540-foot solar tower, has been completed.

The critical component of the Crescent Dunes project is its molten salt storage. The reflected sunlight is directed onto a large heat exchanger called a receiver, which is located on the tower. Molten salt — not oil like other concentrated solar power plants — is within the receiver and absorbs heat from concentrated sunlight, reaching up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The molten salt flows down the piping inside the tower and into a thermal storage tank, where the energy is stored until electricity is needed.

Link to original article

Posted in Solar

Biomass plants to burn Japanese quake debris

Feb10
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

Japan will build four new biomass plants that will burn wooden debris from last year’s earthquake and tsunami.

The plants to be built in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures are expected to burn a total of 200,000 tons of debris a year, generating 16,000 kw and covering the consumption needs of 30,000 households.

Their operation to accelerate the disposal of debris while promoting renewable energy is expected to start by March 2014, the officials said Tuesday.

Link to original article

Posted in Biomass

Wind, solar make up 68% of new EU power in 2011

Feb09
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

Sixty eight percent of the European Union’s new power installations in 2011 came from wind and solar projects.

Solar

Solar PV was the leader in new power installations in 2011, accounting for 21 GW (46.7%) of new power capacity, as you can see above, but I haven’t seen much detail on that yet, as all the info I have is from EWEA.

Wind

With 9,616 MW of new wind power installed in 2011, the EU now has 94 GW of wind power capacity installed, 11% more than in 2010. In total, wind power accounted for over one-fifth (21.4%) of new power installations in the EU in 2011.

Link to original article

Posted in Uncategorized

Grass clippings may eventually produce solar energy

Feb08
2012 Leave a Comment Written by admin2

MIT’s Andreas Mershin and his team of researchers have developed a process that isolates functional photosynthesis cells from grass clippings. Sometime in the future, it may be possible to cut grass, add chemicals to the clippings, paint the mixture on your roof and produce solar energy.

Taking a cue from how light is harvested by densely-packed trees, Mershin and his team have fabricated tiny forests of zinc oxide nanowires interspersed with titanium dioxide “sponges.” When this mini array is then coated with the photosynthetic molecule extract, the electricity produced can actually be harvested to do work. The major drawback currently is the low 0.1% efficiency of the experimental cells, but the ongoing flurry of research into biophotovoltaics is expected to boost that to commercially viable levels (at least 1-2%) fairly soon.

Link to original article

Posted in Solar
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