Audi Planning to Win 2008 LeMans with Biodiesel
http://www.motorsportinsight.com/?p=59
Audi’s R10 diesel won LeMans last year, the first diesel engine powered vehicle to do so.
Archive for December, 2006
STEREO Sends Back First Solar Images
NASA’s twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatories (STEREO) sent back their first images of the sun this week and with them a view into the sun’s mounting activity.
A close up of loops in a magnetic active region. These loops, observed by STEREO’s SECCHI/EUVI telescope, are at a million degrees C. This powerful active region, AR903, observed here, produced a series of intense flares over the next few days.
Merry Christmas
I will not have time to write much more this year. Merry christmas, see you next year!
EU and USA sign new Agreement on Energy Efficiency of Office Equipment
The EU and the USA have signed a new Agreement to continue the ENERGY STAR programme for office equipment for another five years. The Agreement features energy efficiency criteria for computers, copiers, printers and computer monitors, and is expected to yield 30 TWh electricity savings – the approximate equivalent of the electricity demand in Hungary - in the EU over the next three years. ENERGY STAR is part of the Commission’s strategy to better manage energy demand, contribute to the security of energy supply and mitigate climate change.
The new Agreement was signed by the Finnish Presidency of the EU and the US Environmental Protection Agency in Washington yesterday. The initiative was welcomed by EU Member States as the programme also provides them with valuable data on the efficiency of office equipment, which they can subsequently utilise in their own public procurement initiatives.
The strangest bio fuel sources
With the second generation bioethanol plants there is no limits to what organic material you can make fuel out of. Grist have some nice examples including: Credit-card statements, human fat and dead cats. Link
The Alternative Energy Store Named on the 2006 Inc. 500 List
The Alternative Energy Store has been named one of the United States’ fastest growing private companies by inc.com on their 2006 Inc. 500 List. Their commitment to consumer education, efficient use of technology, business model and commitment to the environment has positioned them to take off as the alternative industry continues to grow. The Hudson, Massachusetts based, privately held renewable energy purveyor ranked #440 on the list with an impressive 335.8% three year growth.
“We are excited and honored to be a part of the 2006 Inc. 500 List,” said Sascha Deri, one of Alternative Energy Store’s founding partners. “We’re fortunate to have such a valuable team of hard working and dedicated people in our company. They have really been the reason for our success and rapid growth.”
The Alternative Energy Store is creatively taking advantage of the burgeoning renewable energy boom, helping consumers and business owners optimize their energy resources to spend less and reduce their dependency on fossil fuels. By branching into the South American market and offering a wide and deep product offering on their newly enhanced website, this efficient and dynamic company is positioned to further capitalize on a growing industry.
Clean technology is truly one of the industries to watch. More and more residences and businesses are seeking methods of reducing their dependencies on non-renewable fuel sources creating a spike in growth among solar panel, wind turbine and hydro-electric power system manufacturers. In fact, according to CleanTech.com, the alternative energy industry is now the 3rd largest venture capital investment category.
Read the rest of this entry »
Largest International nuclear contract in history signed
China National Nuclear Corp. selected the Westinghouse/Shaw consortium to build four nuclear reactors for an estimated
US$8 billion, the largest International nuclear contract in history. The 1.1 gigawatt plants will use Westinghouse’s advanced AP1000 design, which was only fully certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last year, writes The Energy Blog
EU Trade Chief SaysEurope Can Green Globe by Pushing Trade Partners
Europe can green the globe by pushing trade partners to eliminate tariffs on clean and renewable power technology, EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said Monday.
“It should be possible to agree a zero percent deal for these key goods,” Mandelson said in a podcast posted on the Web site of the European Commission’s trade department.
He said he was writing to Pascal Lamy, the head of the World Trade Organization, to ask him to spearhead this push as the world was faced with the “urgent challenge” of greening the growth of rapidly expanding economies China, India and Brazil.
Europe had a lot to gain in getting ahead of the curve on technologies and services that attempt to tackle climate change and European companies are already exporting wind farms and solar panels to China, he said.
China worries environmentalists by building one coal-powered electricity plant a week to feed its booming economy, adding to the carbon emissions that cause climate change.
“We can … export the tools and expertise to tackle climate change worldwide,” he said, stressing that other countries could also win, citing India’s growing exports of low-power water heaters and China trading wind-powered electricity generators with Africa. More at ENN
Planting forest to prevent global warming only works in the tropics
Planting forests to combat global warming may be a waste of time, especially if those trees are at high latitudes, new research suggests. Scientists say the benefits that come from trees reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide can be outweighed by their capacity to trap heat near the ground. Computer modelling indicates that trees only really work to cool the planet if they are planted in the tropics. Link
Solar Panels using Blueberries
Scientists from the University of Tor Vergata, located in Rome, announced that they developed a new type of solar panel made with the pigment of blueberries. The panel, as opposed to traditional ones, eliminated completely the use of silicon. The result is a much cheaper product and more efficient to a certain extent because the panels are more flexible and in the near future they could even become transparent sheets.
The technology is based on the idea that organic semiconductors could reduce drastically the cost of production of the solar panels, which is one of the main drawbacks of this alternative energy source. It is estimated that the standard solar panels manufactured with silicon have an efficiency rate of 15%, meaning that the electric energy produced is 15% of the solar energy captured. The solar panels using only organic materials, like the pigments of blueberries, are achieving an efficiency of 4% in the laboratories, but the hybrid panels created with a mixture of organic and inorganic material are already presenting efficiency rates of 10% or more, close to what current commercial panels offer, writes the Italian newspaper La Republica.
Investors fear oversupply of ethanol
The ethanol industry appears poised for another big year in 2007, as companies scramble to take advantage of continuing government subsidies and a growing political desire to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
But Wall Street investors who went pedal-to-the-metal during ethanol’s midyear IPO frenzy seem to be easing off the accelerator upon warnings of volatile commodity prices and a potential oversupply down the road.
VeraSun Energy Corp. and Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc., the country’s second- and fourth-largest ethanol producers, respectively, went public in June amid perfect market conditions. Corn was cheap, gas cost a bundle and refiners were clamoring for more ethanol to use as a cleaner-burning alternative to the additive MTBE.
But autumn brought falling gas prices, and ethanol companies saw their stock prices drop by more than 40 percent.
The deteriorating market conditions also prompted the US’s third largest ethanol producer, Iowa-based Hawkeye Holdings Inc., to postpone its planned IPO, writes Bismarc Tribune. Link
Solar Cell Surpasses 40 Percent Efficiency
Spectrolab, has achieved a new world record in terrestrial concentrator solar cell efficiency. Using concentrated sunlight, Spectrolab demonstrated the ability of a photovoltaic cell to convert 40.7 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) verified the milestone. High efficiency multijunction cells have a significant advantage over conventional silicon cells in concentrator systems because fewer solar cells are required to achieve the same power output. This technology will continue to dramatically reduce the cost of generating electricity from solar energy as well as the cost of materials used in high-power space satellites and terrestrial applications.
“This solar cell performance is the highest efficiency level any photovoltaic device has ever achieved,” said Dr. David Lillington, president of Spectrolab. “The terrestrial cell we have developed uses the same technology base as our space-based cells. So, once qualified, they can be manufactured in very high volumes with minimal impact to production flow.”
Researchers have been working toward the “40 percent barrier” for the past two decades. In the 1980s, multi-junction solar cells achieved about 16 percent efficiency, and DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory broke the 30 percent barrier in 1994. Today, most satellites use these multi-junction solar cells, and Spectrolab, a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, recently produced its two millionth solar cell using multi-junction technology. The new Spectrolab cell, developed with DOE funding, could lead to more affordable solar power systems here on Earth, costing as little as $3 per watt to install and producing electricity at a cost of 8 to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. Read the rest of this entry »
Free guide to off grid homes
Off the grid blog writes:
“I found a fantastic government resource [PDF], with documentation on what you need to consider when going off the electrical grid either as a new home builder, or home renovator. There are pages and pages of detailed suggestions, and steps for planning an ideal off-grid home, so browse or delve right in. You can’t help but learn something by reading just a page of it. Here are a few interesting points and definitions from the document:
Off-grid homes have shortened the [electricity delivery] line and have the electricity generating equipment in their backyards [instead of hundreds of kilometers away]. Their electricity comes from a photovoltaic array (solar panel), wind turbine, micro-hydro turbine and/or a fossil-fueled generator. Collectively, the other parts of the system equipment are known as the balance of system (BOS) and include low-voltage (12 volt) direct current (DC) electrical storage (batteries) and regulating equipment (controller, inverter, battery charger, DC disconnect and monitor) right in the house. Instead of paying for someone else to look after the supply of electricity, people living off-grid need to be their own power managers.”
Ecobabes 2007
The 2007 ecobabes calendar is out! You may wonder what an ecobabe is. First of all she is good-looking and somehow working to protect the environment or promote renewable energy. From the ecobabes website:
“An ecobabe is a woman working to create a better world for all of us and all our children. She is aware that she has an impact on the planet and makes choices to try to minimize her negative effects and to affect the change she wants to see in the world. ecobabes are all unique, all working on different issues, all living different lives, and all ages.”
Say hello to Ms. January Edyie:
And my two favourites Ms. May, Camila
Ms. November, Karen
The ecobabe calender is made by The Climate Protection Campaign - you can fint the entire calender and interviews with the babes at www.ecobabes.org
Hybrid Sailboat
Everything is going either hybrid, hydrogen or solar. The Energy Blog writes today about a new french hybrid sailboat:
A French catamaran offers a different approach to power and propulsion
The novel part of the Lagoon 440 is its propulsion system—it’s a diesel-electric hybrid. Twin electric motors, one mounted in each hull, power the boat. Link
Dynamic underground stripping - a new way to clean contaminated soil
Last week I did a story for a company magazine about a new way of cleaning polluted grounds. A factory in Roedekro in Denmark has for years polluted the underground with perchlor and it had allready hit the groundwater near drinking water well. Removing the contaminated soil was not an option because of the huge amounts and the fact that the usefull factory buildings are placed right above the contamination. The solution was dynamic underground stripping - a method where steam is blown into the ground and sucked out again. This method for treating underground contaminants with heat is much faster and more effective than traditional treatment methods, but it has not been used much because the process is very difficult to control. Once the steam pumping has begun it is critical that absolutely nothing can cause downtime in the months it takes. The result can be that the chemicals are pressed out of the area and out of control. Read the rest of this entry »
