Archive for the ‘Alternative Energy’ category

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: When Green Tech isn’t Green

February 18th, 2010

Everyone knows that finding a renewable source of energy is crucial to wean the world off fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions, but what are we willing to sacrifice for clean energy?

In Brazil, the government has given the green light for the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam that will be able to generate enough energy for over 23 million homes. However, its creation will see the flooding of huge portions of the Amazon basin, displacing indigenous tribes and putting 500 sq km of rain-forest underwater. The creation of the Belo Monte Dam is expected to begin in 2015 and is rumored to cost around $17 billion. Set to be situated on the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon in the northern state of Para it has been abandoned several times, noticeably in the early 90s due to its controversial nature and widespread global protests.

Lasers Take Science One Step Toward Unlimited Clean Energy

February 8th, 2010

Radical technological advances, cold fusion being an example, seem to belong in Star Trek episodes rather than credible scientific discussion. Last month one of these “far out” technologies, specifically the availability of unlimited energy, received an unexpected step towards plausibility from the scientists in Lawrence Livermore Labs.

The scientists, headed by Siegfried H. Glenzer and L. Jeffrey Atherton, are using 192 high powered lasers to focus large amounts of energy on a very small particle. The goal is to achieve “ignition,” or to heat the small elemental speck to millions of degrees Fahrenheit nearly instantly, creating a small scale reaction of our own sun. Once perfected, this reaction could yield a virtually limitless supply of clean energy.

“We’re confident of our ability to start seeking ignition this summer,” Atherton said in an interview. “And we’re optimistic that at some point soon we’ll achieve it.”

A recent article published by SFGate.com states: “To achieve that thermonuclear reaction, the scientists will attempt to use the lasers’ immensely powerful beams to reach temperatures of more than 200 million degrees Fahrenheit and pressures millions of times greater than Earth’s atmosphere – conditions found only in the interior of the sun and stars…

“If those experiments succeed, the hydrogen isotopes would be crushed instantly and explode inward until they fuse and yield vastly more energy than the laser beams had pumped into them.”

One small step for lasers… one giant leap for Clean Tech.

A Grammy for Green Tech: The Clean Tech Open

February 4th, 2010

Did you watch the Grammy Awards this week? I did. It got me thinking: they should have awards like this for every profession, especially green tech! One web search later, I found they exist! The award ceremony is called the Clean Tech Open, and it was most recently held in San Fransisco, featuring the latest green thinkers from every section of the US. Recently Popular Mechanics did a feature article of a few prize winners:

Green Building Award: BottleStone

“…a combination of clay, cement, and old glass that looks uncannily like real granite, but takes much less energy to produce…”

Transportation Award: ElectraDrive

“…ElectraDrive aims to make electric conversion more accessible to the masses with its one-size-fits-all conversion kit. The kit’s designed to turn just about any car into an EV, whether it’s a sleek convertible or a hulking truck—you just take your car’s gas drivetrain out and put the company’s ElectraMount module in…”

Energy Efficiency Award: Viridis Earth

“…Viridis Earth manufactures $350 retrofit devices that can make your old a/c unit an energy-efficient wunderkind. One device cuts an air conditioner’s energy consumption by 20 to 30 percent, a reduction so substantial that the retrofit typically pays for itself in less than a year…”

Renewables Award: Focal Point Energy

“Lots of companies that use hot water or steam for manufacturing rely on gas or electricity to generate their heat. But it’s much more efficient to gather sunlight and use it to heat the water directly… “To collect the heat, we use a reflective membrane made out of a Mylar-like material,” says Howard Harrenstien… The reflector focuses incoming sunlight into a concentrated beam, which can then be aimed at water-filled containers to make the contents boil.”

Green Building Award runner-up: Solar Red

“…By devising a system that can be put up by the same guys who nail on your roof tiles (no professional solar installer required), Solar Red has succeeded in cutting the cost of home solar by 25 to 50 percent…”

Obama Pursuing Climate and Clean Energy Targets: Year 1

January 12th, 2010

6820_NpAdvHover President-Elect Barack Obama’s transition, the Center for American Progress proposed a 10-point clean-energy agenda for the president and Congress that would speed the economic transformation to a clean energy economy.

A review of these items today finds that all were adopted or are working their way through the process. This is a startling achievement amidst the worst economy in 70 years, two wars, and an opposition party disinterested in cooperation. President Obama did much of what he promised, and he can do more in 2010 by cajoling Congress to do its part.

Europe Shows the Way to Energy-Efficient Design

January 12th, 2010

From the Matter Network:

After the EU signed Kyoto, requiring it to reduce carbon emissions 8% below 1990 levels by 2012, many products and design changed there, diverging from US standards. Cars, for example, became smaller, lighter; and more fuel efficient. Even US automakers not known for efficiency make 62 MPG cars for Europe. Germany and Spain introduced Feed-in Tariffs that paid homeowners to make solar power on their roofs.But most interestingly, for Americans now considering energy efficient retrofits with a new “Cash for Caulkers” program being considered, a whole new industry was created by the need to supply new energy efficient building innovations. Energy efficient glass.

Malawian High School Drop-Out Electrifies Village

October 11th, 2009

Picture this. You’re a 14-year-old boy from Africa and you’ve just got kicked out of school because you couldn’t pay $80 in school fees. What do you do?

Considering you don’t have a lot of money to spend, and your country severely lacks natural resources, you don’t have a lot of options. But here’s just a guess: you most likely won’t end up inventing a windmill that powers your entire village.

But that’s exactly what William Kamkwamba did.

After getting booted from the classroom, Kamkwamba headed straight for the library, where a book with photographs of windmills caught his eye.

“I thought, this thing exists in this book, it means someone else managed to build this machine,” he said.

Armed with the book, the then-14-year-old taught himself to build windmills. He scoured through junkyards for items, including bicycle parts, plastic pipes, tractor fans and car batteries. For the tower, he collected wood from blue-gum trees.

“Everyone laughed at me when I told them I was building a windmill. They thought I was crazy,” he said. “Then I started telling them I was just playing with the parts. That sounded more normal.”

That was 2002. Now, he has five windmills, the tallest standing 37 feet.

The windmills generate electricity and pump water in his hometown, north of the capital, Lilongwe. Neighbors regularly trek across the dusty footpaths to his house to charge their cellphones. Others stop by to listen to Malawian reggae music blaring from a radio.

This just goes to show that as long you have perseverance and passion, truly anything is possible.

Energy From Thin Air

October 7th, 2009

In our pursuit of green, clean energy it seems that we are going back to basics. Over five thousand years ago sailors used wind for travel and millers harnessed it to crush grain into flour.

Wind power is growing exponentially in this country. Over the last five years wind power has quadrupled making the U.S. the leading producer of wind energy with 25,176 plants. Over the next five years 40,000 more turbines will be installed many of which will be replacing older with more efficient models.

Even in the face of a global economic crisis, wind companies are hopeful and intend to replace 45% of the outdated models by 2015. Wind companies are aiming to produce 20% of our nation’s energy by 2030 all of which will be nearly pollutant free. Although they are clearly planning long term they still bring gale force power to today’s world. Their growth in 2008 channeled some 17.7 billion dollars into the economy and in the first quarter of 2009 alone prevented 52 million tons of carbon dioxide from ever reaching the atmosphere. Wind power and its applications will certainly blow you over.

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Posted in Alternative Energy, Clean Tech, Home Energy, Innovation, Technology, Wind, renewable energy

Tags: clean energy economic growth wind power

Iceland is a Hot Spot for Clean Energy

October 7th, 2009

iceland-geothermal-to-thaw-frozen-economy_1 How much potential does geothermal energy, a cheap and renewable energy source, have to meet America’s clean energy needs?

According to NPR.org, geothermal energy could bring clean power hundreds of millions of homes and factories worldwide.

Oil sources are lessening and are growing increasingly more expensive. The people are pushing for greener alternatives. With all this brouhaha about going green a few scientists peeped up about going “red”. Their “red” solution is harnessing red hot magma for geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is renewable and its factories produce almost zero greenhouse gas emissions and scientists in Iceland have successfully harnessed the power mother nature herself. Iceland sits on top of the schism of the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates along what is known as the Mid-Atlantic ridge. This ridge feeds some thirty volcanoes magma as the two plates rip apart. Icelandic scientist use the old adage, “where there is smoke there is fire,” with respect to how they harness this awesome, primal energy source. Surface volcanoes are like beacons indicating a “hot spot” or source of magma for the volcano. Geologists then carefully drill deep wells over these hot spots. Water and steam are launched forth, although not instantaneously, from the wells like man-made geysers. The steam is then stripped of impurities and pumped into turbines that power generators that create electricity. The hot water can be guided through pipes into radiators to heat homes and businesses.

95 percent of the homes in Iceland are already heated with geothermal energy, which is 5 times less expensive than oil heat. Where might we see geothermal energy used in the US? Perhaps in Northern California, which has the world’s largest hot spots with their natural geysers. Beyond that, there are not enough hot spots in America to power the entire country as Iceland does. Hippies need not break out their protest poster boards just yet although scientists at MIT estimate that geothermal energy could power up to 10 percent of the country.

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Posted in Alternative Energy, Clean Tech, Geothermal, Home Energy, Innovation, Technology, Water, renewable energy

Tags: Alternative Energy clean energy Geothermal heating iceland npr

Human Waste is Underrated

September 18th, 2009

: Learn from Elmo, and turn your human waste into renewable energy.

What do you do with your human waste? Well, if you’re no fun you probably just flush it down the toilet, re-enacting what you think is “normal” from what you’ve learned from the rest of society. But now, Frank Sinton, a tech entrepreneur and founder of PMC BioTec, says it’s time to break this silly social norm, stick it to the man, and save some money.

America spends $5 billion a year dealing with sludge. Biosolids producers pay hundreds of dollars a ton to remove it, quickly filling landfills or other means of disposal, Sinton said on Sept. 15 at the AlwaysOn Going Green Conference in Sausalito, California. The scope of the globe’s sludge problem is mindboggling. Every year, cattle feedlots produce more than 150 million tons of animal waste; the U.S. and Europe together generate 40 million tons of sludge from sewage treatment; and food production waste weighs in at a staggering billion tons per year.

So what is Sinton going to do about it? He and PMC have invented a $2 million machine similar to a giant port-a-potty that takes in sludge, mixes it with bacteria, or renders the organic matter into methane gas, an energy source that can offset the high power requirements of many biosolid treatment facilities.

Farmer Invents Solar-Powered Lawn Mower

September 18th, 2009

091309r2a People are amazing these days. Last December, a 70-year old Indian woman gave birth to her first child. And now, just this past week, although not as physically impressive, a 70-year man from Colorado invented a line of solar-powered lawn equipment. So much for moving to that lakefront property in northern Florida.

Tom Lopez, the man behind the invention, lives on 120-acre Lone Hawk Farm just west of Hygiene, CO. With that much land to cover, it makes perfect sense to create a solar-powered lawn mower. And the best part? It wasn’t even that difficult to make.

“That’s the thing about this stuff — it’s not rocket science,” said Lopez, a 1962 University of Colorado-Boulder graduate with a degree in aerospace engineering. “It just uses standard technology.”

Lopez has built several mowers and tractors by himself, and is working with another company on mass-production. That’s good timing, because after being featured in a national magazine, Lopez is getting calls from all over the country.

“One local (customer), and the rest are nationwide,” Lopez said. “I’ve even got one in Alaska.

One Colorado farmer’s invention could go a long way to decreasing pollution all over the world.