Clipmarks | djkraz's 'alternative energy' clips

California to get world's largest solar farm

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 04:27:20 GMT

clipped by: djkraz

Cleantech America, a San Francisco based developer, has launched a project to build the world's largest solar farm, giving this Spanish solar tower a run for its money, as well as insulting the work of countless Tesco engineers and their puny, insignificant solar roof. When completed in 2011, the 80-megawatt spread of solar panels will cover roughly 640 acres and be 17 times the size of the largest US solar farm in existence. The project, which will generate enough power for nearly 21,000 homes, will be sold to the Kings River Conservation District, a public agency that purchases power for 12 cities and two counties in California's Central Valley. The company hopes that a solar farm of this size will be an industry-wide tipping point for energy providers, and will drive the cost of solar energy downward. Meanwhile, Tesco and Spain will be plotting their sublime revenge.

Tags: solar, solar power, energy, alternative energy

Finally a wind power generator that won't make your neighbors hate you!

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:50:42 GMT

clipped by: djkraz
clipper's remarks: This is great. It looks like it would be relatively cheap and not so monstrous like a wind mill. I sure hope it comes to market...

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

A West Australian inventor believes he has developed a way to generate electricity for homes using wind power.

Graeme Attey of Fremantle designed the concept which uses a modular wind turbine that is small enough to sit on a the roof of house.

Mr Attey says his modular wind turbine is about a metre in length and half a metre in height, and creates power using blades which are rotated by the wind.

Tags: green, wind power, alternative energy, technology

SunPower announces 22 percent efficient solar panels

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 04:35:52 GMT

clipped by: djkraz
clipper's remarks: I wonder how long till they get around 50%, or if that's even possible. Anyway, it's really awesome to see advances like this.

The SPR-315 solar panel is based on the company's brand spankin' new Gen 2 solar cells, which have a rated power output of 315 watts and boast 22 percent photovoltaic (PV) efficiency -- that's opposed to the 7% to 17% common in most commercial PV systems.

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

Silicon Valley-based SunPower Corporation is looking to add a bit more juice to your rooftop, announcing its highest power and most efficient solar panel to date. The SPR-315 solar panel is based on the company's brand spankin' new Gen 2 solar cells, which have a rated power output of 315 watts and boast 22 percent photovoltaic (PV) efficiency -- that's opposed to the 7% to 17% common in most commercial PV systems. According to SunPower, that means you should get roughly 50 percent more power per square foot of roof area than the average solar panel, using half as many panels. Whether it'll also cost you half as much or not has yet to be seen, but we should find out by the time the SPR-315 solar panels are available in the Spring of next year, after we too have coated our country cottage in the stuff, and start contributing to -- not pulling from -- the grid.

Tags: solar, alternative energy, green, solar power

Is your wheelchair a gas guzzler?

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:46:21 GMT

clipped by: djkraz

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

Suzuki Motors unveils MIO: the fuel cell-powered wheelchair

If you're trying to get away from that gas guzzling wheelchair, but feel a bit awkward rolling in the less-than-glamorous solar-powered edition, Suzuki Motors has got your back. Taking a leap forward from its previous lead-acid battery-powered electric wheelchair, the MIO is a motor-driven cart that gets its juice from an ultra-green fuel cell. The cell works in conjunction with a "large capacity Li-ion secondary battery," and while we aren't certain of how quickly this bad boy can streak down the quarter mile, it can supposedly cruise for 25 miles on a single fill up (four liters) of methanol solution. Aside from the power source, the MIO sports armrests that serve double duty as safety barriers, ergonomic handlebars, a comfortable mesh seating surface, and even an LCD panel that shows such useful data as fuel level and power status. While Suzuki insists the unit is simply a prototype, and refuses to hand out pricing details while it "judges consumer interest," the MIO should still be a bit easier to acquire than the sold out Tesla should it ever hit stores.

Tags: wheelchair, alternative energy, suzuki, mio, fuel cell

Turning Cheese Whey into a Renewable Fuel (ethanol)

Thu, 04 May 2006 18:09:16 GMT

clipped by: djkraz
clipper's remarks: It's getting closer and closer to the car from back to the future. Stick a bag of garbage in your gas tank and you're good to go for a couple days, um or maybe years of time travel....

Clip Source: www.wsaw.com

In this old cheese factory outside Stratford, Joe Van Groll has come up with a way to turn cheese whey permeate, a byproduct of the cheese making process, into liquid gold...or more specifically, ethanol.

"The formula's been in the works for about eight years, and we bought this plant three years ago to test out the formula, and now we're ready to go full-scale production with it," says Van Groll.

The process starts with whey permeate. Van Groll mixes it with a special yeast recipe he's keeping under wraps. It travels through a few vats, where the yeast multiplies, then moves into a fermenter.

This yellow liquid is the result. It's then seperated into yeast and ethanol.

"If you have 100 gallons of cheese whey, typical cheese whey permeate coming out of a plant, you'll get about 10 gallons of pure ethanol," Van Groll says.

But Van Groll wants to keep his operation small. For now, he and one other employee will run the plant, and he doesn't plan on patenting his secret formula

Tags: alternative energy, biofuel, cheese, ethanol, renewable energy

awesome resource for biodiesel including where to get it

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 06:12:00 GMT

clipped by: djkraz
clipper's remarks: The second sentence on the home page starts:

From Henry Ford's thwarted plans to fuel the nation with crop waste to Saudi Arabia's most guarded secret

I am now on a mission to figure out what is behind this. Henry Ford had the foresight to build for biodiesel... I want to know who, why, where, and how his plans got "thwarted".

Clip Source: www.biodieselamerica.org

Tags: biodiesel, biofuel, alternative energy, henry ford

Ford Escape Hybrid E85

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 05:50:58 GMT

clipped by: djkraz
clipper's remarks: Now if they just make it bigger!
Seriously though, this is really awesome. A hybrid that will run on ethanol. Not only will it get great gas or ethanol mileage, but it will run clean even when using fuel!

"Ethanol is renewable, made from virtually limitless feedstocks, and does not come from fossil energy sources such as petroleum or natural gas," said Brian Rippon, policy manager, Global Public Policy, Government Affairs. "It can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions because the process of making it recaptures carbon. No other currently available vehicle technology or alternative fuel - including hybrids or natural gas - provides those benefits."

Clip Source: media.ford.com

Ford's research vehicle the Escape Hybrid E85 is the first hybrid vehicle capable of running on a blend of up to 85 percent ethanol. For more information on Ford's alternative fuel vehicles, click here.

Tags: hybrid, ford, escape, suv, alternative energy, biofuel

If only they would have taken que from Henry Ford!

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 05:44:06 GMT

clipped by: djkraz
clipper's remarks:

Ford's research into ethanol goes all the way back to Henry Ford's Model T, designed to run on ethanol, gasoline, or a combination of the two.

I think my jaw hit the floor when I read this. I really wonder why it took them this long to figure out that he was on to something all those years ago. I'd also like to know why they chose something dirty and hard to get like oil vs something clean and renewable like ethanol.

Clip Source: media.ford.com

Ford's research into ethanol goes all the way back to Henry Ford's Model T, designed to run on ethanol, gasoline, or a combination of the two.

Tags: alternative energy, ethanol, biofuel, hybrid, gas, pollution