December 2008
Monthly Archive
Saltire Prize draws international interest
Posted by admin on 31 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Ocean Energy
Scotland’s Saltire Prize has received 33 registrations of interest for the $14.5 million marine technology contest.
The registrations of interest follow the release earlier this month of some criteria for the competition. The prize will be awarded to the team that can demonstrate a commercially viable wave or tidal power system that generates at least 100 gigawatt hours of power over two years. The technology will also be judged based on cost, environmental sustainability and safety.
US now largest wind power producer
Posted by admin on 30 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Wind
The United States surpassed Germany as the world’s largest producer of wind power this year.
2007 saw the third straight year of record growth for wind power in America, and even if we can’t keep that up for 2008, the future of wind energy looks strong. At maximum capacity, we’d produce roughly 21 gigawatts of power with wind, though it’s unclear exactly how much we’re actually producing.
Air New Zealand tests jatropha fuel
Posted by admin on 29 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Biofuel
An Air New Zealand jet will test a 50/50 blend of jatropha biofuel and A1 aviation fuel today.
Air New Zealand said it expected biofuel to make up about 10 per cent of its total fuel burn of 9 million barrels a year by 2013, thereby reducing its carbon footprint by 400,000 tonnes a year. It was the first airline in the world to set such a target.
Minnesota installs US’ first underwater turbine
Posted by admin on 28 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Hydro
Houston’s Hydro Green Energy installed the United States’ first underwater turbine on the Mississippi River near Hastings, Minnesota.
The new propeller has the ability to produce some 35 kilowatts of power, and will soon be joined by a second one that will produce about the same amount of electricity. Together, these turbines will increase the output of an upstream hydroelectric power plant by 5 percent. Moreover, although the figures may not seem like much now, keep in mind that these machines are built to operate in large numbers, and a simple calculus may show us that 400 of them can yield the same amount of current as the dam itself.
Ethanol-fueled Ford goes 250+ mph
Posted by admin on 26 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Ethanol
Brent Hajek, a corn farmer, built an ethanol-powered Ford Mustang that can go over 250 mph.
Brent Hajek of Ames says he wants the world to know fuel containing 85% ethanol doesn’t reduce a car’s performance.
Steinway installs solar panels in factory
Posted by admin on 26 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Solar
Steinway makes pianos the old fashioned way, but the company recently installed solar panels on the roof of its Queens factory.
Sunlight strikes the panels. The mirrors focus the rays on a tube in the center of each panel. Circulating through the tube is a mixture of water and glycol. The sunlight heats the mixture to 350 degrees.The system pumps the water into an 80-ton double-effect absorption chiller that serves as a heat exchanger. The chiller takes away the superheated water, leaving the cool air for dehumidifying.
In the winter, the system can also convert the superheated water into steam to heat the factory.
Christmas display lit by solar
Posted by admin on 24 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Solar
Fayetteville, NC’s Ray Samples uses a 75-watt solar power panel to light his Christmas tree.
Made up of 36 solar cells, the solar panel is mounted on a frame just inside the fence of his front yard, pointing southward to catch the sun. The solar modules face the tree, which is anchored to a concrete base placed on a dormant flower garden.
QVC goes solar
Posted by admin on 23 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Solar
Television shopping channel QVC installed a one-megawatt solar power plant in its distribution center in Rocky Mount, NC.
SunPower Tracker solar tracking technology was used in the solar array. The company says the system is able to capture up to 25 percent more energy than fixed solar systems by following the sun’s movement across the sky, and brings the added benefit of reduced land-use requirements.
Denton, TX plant converts trash into energy
Posted by admin on 23 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Biomass
A Denton, TX mini-power plant, a partnership between Denton Power LLC and the city, converts trash from the city landfill into fuel by trapping methane and carbon dioxide, processing it, and selling the resulting fuel back to the city.
When it reaches full capacity in January, the mini power plant will supply enough energy for an estimated 1,000 to 1,600 homes.
Alternative energy become hot financial investment
Posted by admin on 22 Dec 2008 | Tagged as: Finance and Investing
There seems to be bipartisan support to wean the United States from its dependence on foreign oil by promoting alternative energy. Alternative energy is a growing category of mutual funds.
Even though alternative energy is a relative new fund category, the industry itself is quite vast. It encompasses the obvious, like solar panel makers and wind farm operators, but it also includes software designers working on “smart” power grids and even utilities that generate megawatts from hydro or geothermal assets. Alternative-energy stocks range from behemoths like General Electric (GE), which competes in the water and power sectors, to American Superconductor (AMSC: 16.45, +0.46, +2.87%), a small manufacturer of high-temperature superconductor wires that can carry 10 times the electricity of traditional cables.
