Solar in Japan, Model of Government Support: NPR has a radio piece on how Japan has helped create a market for solar through government support, and reports on a solar-filled Kobe neighborhood — NPR.EnerNOC Boosts So Cal Edison Deal: EnerNoc announced a contract to provide demand response services to Southern California Edison, adding to a [...]
Engineered Eggshell Fuel: Don’t feel like walking on eggshells? — how about driving on them. Ohio State University researchers have found a way to turn discarded chicken eggshells into hydrogen fuel. The process uses eggshells to “soak up” carbon dioxide from a reaction that produces the fuel – release.Hydrogen Storage: Speaking of hydrogen fuel, researchers [...]
Most greentech watchers have lost their sense of wonder over the fact that pond scum, a.k.a. algae, could be one of the most efficient ways to make biofuels for our cars. These tiny chemical factories can turn sunlight and nutrients into fuel with an efficiency unrivaled by traditional crops, all while using the CO2 that [...]
Wind energy developer EverPower Renewables says it has closed a $55 million financing commitment from Swiss cleantech investment firm Good Energies. This is the second deal of the week for Good Energies; it put more cash into thin film solar company Konarka.It also marks the latest deal in the wind energy sector. Earlier this week, [...]
Bob Metcalfe, the father of Ethernet and founder of 3Com (COMS), says the history of the Internet is a “rich vein to mine” when it comes to building the next generation of energy technology. He should know — he’s been researching network and information technologies for over three decades, delivering gems like Metcalfe’s Law, which [...]
On Sept. 13, 2005, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels declared that the little town of Reynolds, Ind. — with a population of just over 500 — would officially become BioTown, USA. The idea was to re-energize the town and make it energy-self-sufficient through biofuels and waste-to-energy technology. Residents were encouraged to purchase alternative fuel vehicles; the [...]
2007 is shaping up to be an excellent year for the solar power sector. In the first nine months through last Friday, Sept. 28, six solar stocks on U.S. exchanges have more than doubled their value.The biggest gainer is Littleton, Colo.-based Ascent Solar Technologies (ASTI), a maker of thin-film modules. Ascent’s stock has risen nearly [...]
With over a third of the world’s CO2 coming from energy production, innovations that promise to clean up that process are a breath of fresh air. So it’s fitting that a team of researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim have patented a new membrane technology that separates out CO2 from [...]
How Social Norms Effect Energy Consumption: If you have to read one article on this fascinating subject, check out this testimony from Robert Cialdini on this topic. Seriously, go read it now — The Oil Drum.Pentagon’s Eco Peeps: While we’re on the green military kick, the pentagon has been getting rid of ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) [...]
Investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS) has made a “significant investment” in Nordic Windpower, a company that manufactures utility-scale wind turbines. The investment, according to the privately held company’s release, will be used to help Nordic expand production efforts to the U.S.“The investment will enable Nordic Windpower to become a market and technology leader in the [...]
