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Still more info... - ...on the recent MIT discovery on splitting water without expensive catalysts. This article describes some related materials research, to replace the use of platinum in the fuel cell equation, to keep the ultimate price even lower.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 20:34
"Energy nirvana" - Here's more on the recent solar power storage breakthrough announcement: a Computerworld article and a video clip with MIT researcher Daniel Nocera.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 16:56
H2Oin the news - It's official! At a NASA news conference today, it was confirmed that there is honest-to-goodness water on the planet Mars. Finding the stuff on the first planet we searched hard for it is good news for those who have wondered how widespread the building blocks of life were in the universe.
Meanwhile, back on the Mother Planet, MIT scientists may have hit on the Holy Grail for cheaply separating the H from the O, so cheaply that the method could be used on a household basis, eliminating the need for an electrical grid hookup altogether.Thanks, Mace!By recombining the molecules with a standard fuel cell, the O2 and H2 could then be used to generate energy on demand.Labels: green power, space
—Mike @ 21:10
Wind-Powered Town - Very cool: Rock Port, Missouri has become the first US town solely powered by wind energy. Four turbines supply electricity to its 1,300 residents. Here's a video.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 20:40
A new, different and bold approach - We've become numb through years of leadership vacuum, so it's kind of startling when someone steps forward to issue a challenge. Al Gore did just that today when he ignored the politics of the day, and tapped into people's thirst for change by announcing his Generational Challenge to Repower America. That link will bring you to the full text of the announcement; further information is available at WeCanSolveIt.org.Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 21:16
T. Boone Pickens is out to save America... - ...and he has a plan. It's PickensPlan.com.Labels: green power, politics
—Mike @ 22:13
Japan's New Green Car Push - With no ceiling to gas prices in sight, things are heating up even more with hybrid car planning. As this article details, there are plans for better gas-electric hybrids, plug-in versions, lithium-ion batteries, fuel cell hybrids, more intensive battery research, and all kinds of new thinking. It surprises me a bit that people are so surprised by the trend; it's been coming on strong for ten years now, as near as I can figure. That the US automakers were caught so unaware, while still mired in manufacturing behemoth SUVs and trucks, is shameful.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 21:45
Floating Solar Island Concept - According to this article, "each island would generate hundreds of kilowatts of electricity that would be almost five times cheaper than current electricity rates... full production of these islands could begin as soon as 2011."Labels: green power
—Mike @ 00:01
132,320,807 miles / 89,863 tanks / 6,814 cars / 1 database - It's the Hybrid Mileage Database at GreenHybrid.com, a comparison of the median lifetime fuel economy of all hybrid cars, taken from real owners' data. [Thanks, Eric!] While driving a group of co-workers to lunch today, we had a lengthy discussion about mileage, driving habits, grades of gas, etc. I’ve been taking more local roads than highways this week, and my mileage on this tank of gas has increased about 3 mpg over my usual blend of highway/local roads. I’m currently getting between 50 and 51 mpg, which is a bit higher than the GreenHybrid chart shows as the average for the Prius model 2. I love having more than 100 miles clocked on a tank of gas and not seeing the fuel indicator move off of full yet.
Meanwhile (as expected), GM has officially announced the concept Chevy Volt electric car has been funded for full production, for delivery in late 2010 (Not soon enough if you ask me; I'm sure GM would like to be producing them right now as well!) And it looks like the Hummer's days are numbered (condolences to the wannabe soldiers on the roads). Consumer expectations have (finally) changed drastically.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 23:02
8 reasons to rejoice when gas hits $8/gallon - Short term pain? You bet. But the long term gain is what this excellent article is focusing on.Labels: currentEvents, green power, transportation
—Mike @ 10:29
Energy from the sea - According to this article from ecogeek.org,Recently Marine Current Turbines successfully completed the installation of the world's first megawatt-scale tidal turbine. And now we've got the first images of the turbine installed to prove it. The 1000 ton SeaGen tidal turbine was secured to the seabed and linked with Northern Ireland's electric grid. MCT will now spend about 12 weeks testing the capabilities of the turbine before regularly feeding power into the grid.It's estimated that this technology has the potential to supply 20% of the energy used by the US.
Tidal power has several advantages over wind. The power generation is more predictable (since you always know when the tide will turn) and it is believed that they will have less ecological impacts.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 09:05
Prius sales top one million - Want one? Better move fast. [Thanks, Mace!]Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 12:15
Prius.3 - Consistent with the change from the first generation Prius to the second generation, Toyota is once again rumored to be offering a roomier, more powerful, yet more economical vehicle in the upcoming 2009, third generation Prius. This article has more of the details of what we can expect next January.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 07:26
Once upon a time... - 35 years ago, to be precise, someone invented a car (or rather, re-engineered a 1959 Opel T-1) that was measured as getting 376.59 miles per gallon of gas. That's 35 years ago. How did they do that, and what ever happened to that technology makes for an interesting story.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 21:55
American Ingenuity lives - A company called AFS Trinity Power says it's ready to go to production with "Extreme Hybrid" (XH) technology -- 40 miles on electric-only power, 150mpg, using plug-in energy storage, ultracapacitors and other existing technology. They're ready to lease the technology to car companies, or are willing to build it themselves.This has been a collaboration of rocket scientists and car guys. They have taken the best from aerospace and computer science as well as automotive engineering to produce in a very short time frame and largely with off-the-shelf components a working vehicle prototype in which the XH plug-in hybrid drive train has been demonstrated in a family-size SUV.Check out the videos and read a few pages from the web site... good stuff.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 22:36
Ethanol breakthrough - In the meantime, GM has announced a "cellulosic ethanol production breakthrough" by a partner company named Coskata. They claim to have developed a way to produce 97% pure ethanol from "organic matter (including garbage, and old tires)" for under a dollar a gallon, or about half what it costs to produce a gallon of gasoline at today's prices. They say they're preparing to massively scale up production to 100 million gallons per year by 2011. Sounds like another step in the right direction in reducing our foreign oil dependence.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 22:47
After selling a million hybrid cars... - ...Toyota has officially announced that it will also be offering its first plug-in hybrids in a couple of years, as spelled out in this NY Times article. It seems they need to figure out if this is something consumers want, though, and whether to offer it on all hybrids or as an option. They'd also like to study what the overall effect of plug-in would be on the environment. It's starting to get a bit more confusing.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 22:24
Solar power at 99 cents a watt - Not a pipe dream, it's now a reality. After years of development, the California-based company Nanosolar has shipped its first commercial panels. Named by Popular Science Magazine as the #1 Innovation of the Year for 2007, their Powersheet technology is printed out in continuous rolls like a newspaper instead of the bulky, expensive and fragile silicon-based collectors previously used, and holds great promise to supercharge the solar power movement.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 13:46
You've seen those new LED Christmas lights? - They're showing up everywhere this season, and it's a great trend. I once blogged about LED-based lighting eventually replacing traditional room lighting, and now it looks like the first such products have become commercially available.Labels: green power, technology
—Mike @ 08:56
Time flies - The Toyota Prius hybrid is already celebrating its 10th birthday next month. Here's an interesting look back (and forward) at the story of alternative automotive technology. Also, it sounds like the Chevy Volt may become a real thing before too long, according to this information. And lastly, it appears that Mitsubishi might have a little electric magic up its sleeve as well.
We're back from our wonderful Caribbean Cruise vacation with friends Rick & Erica (our first vacation together in more than a quarter century, since before their daughters were born); will blog more once I dig out from the 500 personal e-mails, 850 work e-mails, 18 inches of postal mail, and 25 pounds of laundry ;-)Labels: friends, green power, transportation, travel
—Mike @ 14:21
Beaming electricity from space - From time to time, we hear about the possibility of someday harnessing solar energy in Earth orbit, and beaming it to the ground in the form of usable power. Now, a new six-month Pentagon study has "produced some very positive findings about the feasibility of space-based solar power and its potential to strengthen U.S. national security."Labels: green power, space
—Mike @ 22:53
Choose Renewables - The new web site chooseRenewables.com offers one-stop shopping if you'd like to explore ways to save energy at your home. It will even tell you how well-suited your home is for using alternative energy sources, including available financing incentives.Labels: green power, services
—Mike @ 21:22
Gutsy? Desparate? Or just crazy? - GM already has this commercial touting the Chevy Volt, even though a prototype is still a few months away, the batteries are still being invented, and the product is an estimated three years away. Pundits say GM is taking a risk; I say they know its a sure thing!Labels: green power, transportation, videos
—Mike @ 23:05
The ultimate fuel? - Watch this collection of videos to see with your own eyes how inventor John Kanzius prove that he can make plain ordinary salt water burn. Oh, and he's also working on curing cancer and new desalination methods. Just another day in the lab, I suppose. [Thanks, Dave and Joe!]Labels: green power, medical, science
—Mike @ 19:38
and then there's EEstor - and all the rumors and hype around its ultra-secret ultra-capacitor, which supposedly could take a five-minute charge and power an electric vehicle for 500 miles. Could be it's all ultra-hype. Time will tell.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 13:06
While GM develops the Volt electric car... - the rest of the automotive world isn't sitting still. Volvo just announced their own electric concept car, the ReCharge, which they claim can go 65 miles in electric-only mode. Competition is a wonderful thing! Gentlemen, start your engines... err, flip your electric switches!Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 16:03
Oh, and here's another use for plug-in hybrids - During power outages, you can have your car power the house!During a recent six-hour power failure, Mr. Factor estimated that his 2005 Prius used less than one gallon of gasoline.[Thanks, Crys!]Labels: green power
—Mike @ 09:57
Competition is a wonderful thing - Here's another Wall Street Journal article, this one summarizing the current plans by Toyota and GM to begin using new lithium ion battery technology in their hybrid offerings. The automotive landscape will be undergoing some radical changes in the next two-to-four years.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 13:28
Things are heating up in plug-in hybrid development - This Wall Street Journal column and video does a good job in summarizing where things stand with the Toyota Prius and the GM Volt, and shows an actual test version of a plug-in Prius. Conversion kits may become readily available before long, and after that... well, things may progress a little faster than anticipated.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 21:55
The Maglev Wind Turbine - According to the vision of inventor Ed Mazur of Arizona, his Maglev Wind Turbine will be the largest and most efficient wind turbine ever constructed, "using less than 100 acres to generate the same amount of electricity that it takes more than 500 wind mills using tens of thousands of acres." He's now launched a company, Maglev Wind Turbine Technologies, which hopes to replace traditional windmills' reliance on "obsolete mechanical components such as roller bearings, transmissions and generators which absorb much of the potential power because of friction". Sounds reasonable to me! He states that he intends to generate 25% of the U.S. and world’s power needs by 2020. Whether that's attainable or not will depend in large part on his ability to turn a dream into a successful business, but I do love dreamers.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 11:43
Rumors abound - ...that Toyota will be making an announcement about a plug-in hybrid Prius this fall.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 01:21
Automotive technology at the crossroads - Some have expressed concerns that using cars like the Chevy Volt would simply shift CO2 generation produced by the burning of fossil fuels from the vehicle to our electric power plants. However, this new study says it ain't so. The study indicates that a shift in technology will actually produce an overall major net benefit, and is well worth the effort.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 15:26
Blowing air - Did you know that the US is the fastest growing wind market worldwide? In fact, we had the fastest growing capacity in the world in both 2005 and 2006. Also, according to this report, our cumulative wind capacity is currently third, behind leader Germany and just behind Spain, and performance of turbines has improved about 30% over the last eight years. Steps in the right direction.Update: The U.S. wind power industry will see half a trillion dollars of investment by 2030 to take the renewable source up to 20 percent of U.S. electricity generation... this would be a lofty rise from wind's use for less than one percent of U.S. power today.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 09:00
Volt progress report - Nick Zielinski, Vehicle Chief Engineer for the Chevy Volt, answers questions about the Volt submitted via the GM FastLane Blog, in this 8-minute video. It's interesting to watch GM's turnaround in trying to take the lead on green technology.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 09:44
Cars aren't the only good hybrid transportation candidates - GE is looking at hybrid locomotives!The energy dissipated in braking a 207-ton locomotive during the course of one year is enough to power 160 households for that year.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 10:45
Compact Flourescent light bulbs may not be the ultimate answer after all - The more promising technology might actually come from new advances in LEDs, those little light-emitting diodes we've become accustomed to in all kinds of electronic devices.By 2027, LED lighting could cut annual energy use by the equivalent of 500 million barrels of oilLabels: green power
—Mike @ 16:03
CO2 scrubbers - Thinking out of the box, a scientist named Klaus Lackner has invented a device he claims can sop up excess carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, as a way to head off global warming.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 22:20
New kid on the block: Nissan - My brother-in-law arrived at our house Sunday in his brand new 2007 Nissan Altima Hybrid... what a gorgeous car. It's bigger and more luxurious than the Toyota Prius (leather interior, heated seats, Bose sound system), so the mileage is "only" an estimated 42mpg, but they did an excellent job. They even offer the familiar push-button start and keyless entry.
When he first told me he was ordering it, I was wary because Nissan had no hybrid experience yet, but then I found out it's yet another car company re-selling the Toyota hybrid technology, so Toyota still wins in the end. I'm sure they're selling previous versions of the hybrid technology to these other car comanies, and saving the latest innovations for themselves, but they're very smart to do it this way (which is another reason they just overtook General Motors to become the world's biggest carmaker). It's a win for them, it's a win for the buying company because they don't need to do so much R&D on their own, and it gets the technology out there quicker. Plus, he can take full advantage of the tax breaks, because Nissan hasn't reached its IRS sales quota yet.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 09:59
Is this the way power will be distributed in the future? - Some cities are starting to form mini-energy districts to ensure reliable power. Sounds very smart to me.Labels: currentEvents, green power
—Mike @ 17:16
Using the tides - Underwater turbines are taking advantage of nature's tidal forces in New Yrok's East River, in this experiment to generate electricity. Kind of like underwater "wind"mills...Labels: green power
—Mike @ 08:59
Automotive X Prize - In order to "to inspire a new generation of super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change", the folks who brought us the Space X Prize that led to the development of Spaceship One are now offering a multi-million dollar prize for the first 100mpg production-ready car! [Thanks, Mace]Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 11:12
The world's first solar power plant... - ...will be built in Sicily, and should be online by 2009.it will produce solar energy 24 hours a day, not just when the sun is shining. The plant's battery of parabolic mirrors will focus the sun's rays on pipes, through which runs a saline liquid that can store heat up to 550C and retain it for hours.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 08:38
Battery development details - It's been said that the main sticking point in bringing GM's Chevy Volt concept electric car to market by 2010 is the development of the battery technology that will be needed. So, how's that going anyway? According to this in-depth article, it's going very well indeed!Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 16:17
More on the Chevy Volt concept car - The Volt is getting a lot more press at the Chicago Auto Show. This video about how the car is engineered is quite interesting. From the video:We are committed to bringing this to market as fast as we can.In a poll, 99.3% of 420,231 respondents said they would consider buying one.
--Rich Lannen, GM Engineer
And, there's even news on the battery research front, on this page.
Lots more photos here.Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 20:43
Prius is (still) #1 ! - For the fourth year in a row, the Toyota Prius has been "ranked as the most satisfying vehicle overall", according to Consumer Reports. Go green!Labels: green power, transportation
—Mike @ 11:32
One scary film - Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth... go buy it, rent it, pay-per-view it or borrow it.Labels: currentEvents, green power, movies, nature, weather
—Mike @ 21:43
Free solar? - Here's some more thinking-out-of-the-box. A company called Citizenre is starting a program this September to jump-start residential solar use in a big way, by leasing the solar panels to homeowners. The company pays for the purchase, installation and maintenance. The homeowner pays whatever the going rate is for their electric utility at the time the contract is signed, guaranteed never to go up during the life of the contract, which can be up to 25 years. This article has more details, as does the Citizenre corporate web site.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 09:07
Interesting combination of technologies - As a proof-of-concept, the NJ home described in this article has eliminated their utility bills year-round through the use of solar power and "an electrolyzer that uses the solar power to generate hydrogen from water"...In the summer, the solar panels generate 60 percent more electricity than the super-insulated house needs. The excess is stored in the form of hydrogen which is used in the winter -- when the solar panels can't meet all the domestic demand -- to make electricity in the fuel cell.As a bonus, the owner of the home can also use the hydrogen to power his fuel-cell car. The costs are still way too high to replicate for the average homeowner, but the concept makes a whole lot of sense.Labels: green power
—Mike @ 08:54
More? - There's additional reading available in the Archives.
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