Clipmarks | abailart's enrgy harvesting collection

streetlight prototype collects & uses mostly-dead household batteries (AA, AAA, etc.)

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:29:11 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: Neat idea - I'd gladly put something like this in the living room and use it to fully drain batteries before taking them to the battery disposal bin.

Clip Source: www.yankodesign.com

Trashing Batteries for Brighter Sidewalks

We all know alkaline batteries are really bad for the environment if you don’t dispose of them properly. The right thing to do is send them to special recycling centers but hundreds of tons end up in landfills where their toxic innards seep into the earth. Perhaps a good solution is the Energy Seed, an LED lamp post powered by trashed alkaline batteries.

The idea is to encourage people to throw their batteries away into the Energy Seed. There’s a slot for nearly every size battery. The unit combines any left over juice from all the batteries to power a super efficient LED ring.

Designer: Sungwoo Park & Sunhee Kim

Tags: design, lamps, lighting, environment

New Solar Cell Easy As Pizza To Make

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:33:44 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Too easy.

Clip Source: www.npr.org

Listen Now [2 min 59 sec] add to playlist

Weekend Edition Saturday, October 4, 2008 · The iJET is a new type of solar cell that's cheap and easy to make, requiring not much more than a pizza oven, some nail polish remover, and a common inkjet printer. Australian scientist Nicole Kuepper describes her invention.

Tags: science

Clean energy 2030

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:12:11 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: This is doable not only in US. It needs vision, leadership and active participation.

Clip Source: googleblog.blogspot.com

Right now the U.S. has a very real opportunity to transform our economy from one running on fossil fuels to one largely based on clean energy.

The energy team at Google has been crunching the numbers to see how we could greatly reduce fossil fuel use by 2030.

Our analysis, led by Jeffery Greenblatt, suggests a potential path to weaning the U.S. off of coal and oil for electricity generation by 2030 (with some remaining use of natural gas as well as nuclear), and cutting oil use for cars by 40%.

Our goal in presenting this first iteration of the Clean Energy 2030 proposal is to stimulate debate and we invite you to take a look and comment -- or offer an alternative approach if you disagree.

Over 22 years this plan could generate billions of dollars in savings and help create millions of green jobs.

(1) Reduce demand by doing more with less

(2) Develop renewable energy that is cheaper than coal (RE<C)

(3) Electrify transportation and re-invent our electric grid

Tags: energy, clean energy, google

Free-piston engine could be twice as fuel efficient as combustion engines

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:41:43 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: In conventional internal combustion engines, multiple pistons are connected via rods to a crankshaft that, via the transmission, drives the wheels. Free-piston engines do away with the crankshaft: the pistons aren't connected to anything. Instead, two opposing pistons just shuttle back and forth inside a chamber. To generate electricity, the pistons could be equipped with rows of magnets that shuttle past metal coils to create an electrical current.

Clip Source: nextbigfuture.com

Sandia National Laboratory led by Sandia researcher Peter Van Blarigan that has been testing physical components of free-piston engines which could be 50% efficient. This is about twice as good as current gas combustion engines and about as efficient as fuel cells. Fuel cells are too expensive. He is assembling a complete free-piston engine prototype, a project that he expects to complete within a year.

Piston power: In an unconventional engine design, a rod with a piston at either end shuttles between two combustion chambers. Magnets at the center of the rod move past metal coils (orange) to create an electrical current. Credit: Peter Van Blarigan, Sandia National Laboratory

Tags: technology, energy, fuel

Sahara Forest Project Will Generate Fresh Water, Solar Power & Crops in African Desert

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:17:21 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: This sounds like a really good idea. I am sure it will cost a fraction of the defense budget of certain countries.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Last week, a trio of visionaries launched the Sahara Forest Project to combine two innovative technologies, concentrated solar power (CSP) and seawater greenhouses, to produce renewable energy, water and food in the Sahara -the hottest place on earth.

The Sahara Forest Project aims to provide a new source of fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions, as well as providing conditions that enable re-vegetating areas of desert. The Sahara is used here as a metaphor for any desert that formerly supported vegetation and could do so again, given sufficient water.

Seawater Greenhouses have been built in some of the hottest regions on earth, Abu Dhabi and Oman for example, where they create freshwater from seawater, while providing cooler and more humid growing conditions

Concentrated solar power is increasingly seen as one of the most promising forms of renewable energy, producing electricity from sunlight at a fraction of the cost of photovoltaics.

Tags: renewable energy, fresh water, sahara

What Iceland Can Teach America

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:45:01 GMT

clipped by: LoPhatt

Clip Source: edf.org

As much as 70% of Iceland's total energy (and 100% of its electricity and heat) comes from renewable energy. This is the highest percentage of any country in the world and puts Iceland on track to meet its goal of providing 100% of its energy needs from zero-emission renewable energy sources before mid-century.

To complete their mission, Iceland plans to use geothermal electricity to split hydrogen from water and use hydrogen fuel cells for its fishing fleets and transportation sector, the last industries in Iceland still using fossil fuels.

The Iceland story shows what's possible and serves as an example of what's possible here in the U.S. if our leaders take action.

A 2006 MIT study concluded that about 100 Gigawatts of economically viable energy could be developed in the lower 48 states. That's enough energy to power 50 million homes.

Icelanders are therefore blessed with rich geothermal and hydroelectric resources. But so is America.

The key to oil independence is a new electrical grid

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:17:49 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: It seems that with alternative sources of energy, such as wind and solar, the United States has the potential means to substantially reduce our dependence on oil - especially once plug-in cars are on the market.

But until we substantially upgrade our nation's electrical grid with modern technology that will enable the energy created by these sources to be transmitted intelligently around the county, their impact will be limited.

It's going to take a greater commitment from Congress to jump start this. Making it happen will provide a huge boost to our economy, environment and political leverage with the Middle East, Russia, Venezuela and more.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.

The grid today, according to experts, is a system conceived 100 years ago to let utilities prop each other up, reducing blackouts and sharing power in small regions. It resembles a network of streets, avenues and country roads.

“We need an interstate transmission superhighway system,” said Suedeen G. Kelly, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

“The windiest sites have not been built, because there is no way to move that electricity from there to the load centers,” he said.

Tags: alternative energy, grid, electricity, wind, solar

Hydrogen harvested using nature's recipe

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:59:05 GMT

clipped by: pokkets

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Dani Cooper

Researchers have split water into hydrogen and oxygen by replicating how plants use photosynthesis to make carbohydrates.

The team of Australian and US researchers says their findings, published in the latest Angewandte Chemie International Edition could lead to a cheap and easy way of making hydrogen, which many experts believe is the green fuel of the future.

Professor Leone Spiccia, of Monash University's School of Chemistry says the team has mimicked the process of photosynthesis, whereby plants convert light and atmospheric carbon dioxide into energy.

The new system involves an electrode coated with a proton conductor that is then impregnated with a form of manganese.

Manganese clusters are essential to a plant's ability to use water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to make carbohydrates

However instead of creating carbohydrates, the team have used nature's recipe to split water into its two elements, oxygen and hydrogen.

with the help of sunlight and 1.2 volts of electricity.

Energy at your feet

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:04:37 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: Finally, unlike roof-top solar arrays, which some find unattractive, the solar collectors in roads and parking lots would be invisible.”
In the lab, small slabs were exposed to halogen lamps, simulating sunlight. Larger slabs were set up outdoors and exposed to more realistic environmental conditions, including direct sunlight and wind. The tests showed that asphalt absorbs a considerable amount of heat and that the highest temperatures are found a few centimeters below the surface. This is where a heat exchanger would be located to extract the maximum amount of energy. Experimenting with various asphalt compositions, they found that the addition of highly conductive aggregates, like quartzite, can significantly increase heat absorption, as can the application of a special paint that reduces reflection.

Clip Source: www.wpi.edu

Alternative Energy Hits the Road

Anyone who has walked barefoot across a parking lot on a hot summer day knows that blacktop is exceptionally good at soaking up the sun’s warmth.

Now, a research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has found a way to use that heat-soaking property for an alternative energy source. Through asphalt, the researchers are developing a solar collector that could turn roads and parking lots into ubiquitous—and inexpensive–sources of electricity and hot water.

Asphalt has a lot of advantages as a solar collector,” Mallick says. “For one, blacktop stays hot and could continue to generate energy after the sun goes down, unlike traditional solar-electric cells

In addition, there is already a massive acreage of installed roads and parking lots that could be retrofitted for energy generation, so there is no need to find additional land for solar farms.

Extracting heat from asphalt could cool it, reducing the urban ‘heat island’ effect

Tags: environment, energy

"Wind Yourself Up"

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:57:15 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: www.realitysandwich.com

Wind Yourself Up

Intended to be as simple and common as an umbrella, the Wing personal windmill, when turned into the wind, generates enough electrical energy to power such things as laptops, mobile phones, personal refrigerators or lights.

Equipped with a carrying case and geared towards mobile, nomadic or off-grid lifestyles, Wing can also be used as a secondary source of energy in the home.

Electric bike recharging its battery via the braking system

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:33:31 GMT

clipped by: Fast T friend
clipper's remarks: Panasonic says in internal experiments, the regenerative braking system extended the assisted travel range from 90km to 125km when riding in normal mode. Using the bike’s automatic mode, the maximum distance owners will be able to cover is 182km.

Clip Source: www.crunchgear.com

Last week Panasonic presented [JP] a new electric bicycle to be released on the Japanese market on August 20. The so-called Vivi RX 10-S will cost $1,400. Panasonic hasn’t said yet whether they will bring the bicycle to overseas markets as well.

The bike’s main feature is a braking system that can recharge a 10Ah Li-ion secondary battery, which weighs 2.5kg, has a rated voltage of 26 V and is located next to the rear wheel. Every time the owner brakes, a mini motor mounted on the front wheel generates power. According to Panasonic, charging the battery via this method alone proves to be almost impossible however. The recharging system fails when riding faster than 24km/h.

The so-called Vivi RX 10-S comes with an aluminum-made frame and weighs 25.7kg. The company says it aims at selling a total of 3,000 bicycles in the first year.

Tags: bicycle, electric, bettery, green, energy

Kites could provide electricity for 100,000 homes

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 22:53:25 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Several other scientists are investigating the use of kites to harness energy from the wind - which some researchers estimate provides more than 100 times the amount required to power the entire planet. In 2007, Google´s philanthropic arm invested about $10 million in a US kite company called Makani. An Italian company called Kitegen has a multi-kite scheme that could generate a gigawatt of power, as much as a standard coal plant.

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

High-flying kites tethered to generators could supply as much as 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 100,000 homes, according to researchers from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands.

The scientists have recently demonstrated that flying a single 10-square-meter kite could produce 10 kilowatts of power, which could supply electricity for about 10 homes.

In their next experiment, the researchers plan to test a 50-kilowatt version, called Laddermill. Eventually, their goal is to build a multi-kite system that could generate a full 100 megawatts.

Electricity produced by kites in the wind could be inexpensive, too. The researchers predict prices to be comparable with generating electricity using coal power, and half that of using wind turbines.

kites generate power by pulling on their strings that are attached to generators on the ground. After reaching their maximum height, the kites are reeled back down to repeat the process.

Tags: energy, clean energy, wind, kites

'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:34:51 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Sunlight has the greatest potential of any power source to solve the world's energy problems, said Nocera. In one hour, enough sunlight strikes the Earth to provide the entire planet's energy needs for one year.

"This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind,"

Clip Source: web.mit.edu

Scientists mimic essence of plants' energy storage system

In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.

Daniel Nocera describes new process for storing solar energy
View video post on MIT TechTV

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.

Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years,"

Tags: energy, solar power, storing

Cool! Nanoparticles

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:58:12 GMT

clipped by: rj3sp
clipper's remarks: Recent results from research of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) show that adding the right dash of nanoparticles to standard mixes of lubricants and refrigerants could highly contribute to energy saving in cooling systems.

Clip Source: www.nist.gov

Cool! Nanoparticle Research Points to Energy Savings

Adding just the right dash of nanoparticles to standard mixes of lubricants and refrigerants could yield the equivalent of an energy-saving chill pill for factories, hospitals, ships, and others with large cooling systems, suggest the latest results from National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) research that is pursuing promising formulations.

NIST researcher Mark Kedzierski has found that dispersing “sufficient” amounts of copper oxide particles (30 nanometers in diameter) in a common polyester lubricant and combining it with an equally pedestrian refrigerant (R134a) improves heat transfer by between 50 percent and 275 percent. “We were astounded,” he says.

Clip Source: www2.bfrl.nist.gov

Mark A. Kedzierski

Clip Source: www.nanowerk.com

Cool! Nanoparticle research points to energy savings

Clip Source: news.softpedia.com

Nanoparticles Could Improve Energy Efficiency

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Nanoparticle Research Points to Energy Savings

Clip Source: www.rdmag.com

Nanoparticles take chill off of energy consumption

Tags: nanotechnology, energy saving, cooling, nist, environment

0.3% of Saharan Sun Enough To Power Europe

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:42:28 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The visionary proposal comes as the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission released its strategic energy technology plan which highlighted photovoltaic cells as one of the eight technologies that need to be developed in the future. The plan also includes fuel cells, hydrogen, clean coal, second generation biofuels, nuclear fusion, wind and smart grids.

Clip Source: www.environmentalgraffiti.com

The major obstacle to using renewable energy has always been the inability to produce a constant supply of electricity to consumers.

However, scientists now believe that they have found a way to solve the supply and demand problem.

Arnulf Jaeger-Waldau of the European Commission’s Institute for Energy, speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona (ESOF), believes that the creation of solar farms in the Sahara desert could produce enough energy to meet all of Europe’s energy needs.

Power could be generated either through photovoltaic cells or by using the sun’s heat to boil water and power turbines.

The argument for solar farms in the Sahara is solid in that photovoltaic panels there could potentially generate three times more energy than panels in northern Europe.

It is estimated that capturing 0.3% of the sunlight falling on the desert would meet all of Europe’s needs.

around €450bn would be needed and scientists estimate that it would take until 2050

Tags: energy, economy, europe, solar energy