A British engineer, Alvin Smith, has developed a simple system, called Searaser, which uses ocean wave energy to produce electricity on demand - including so-called baseload power  - even at times when the sea is calm.

The system is based on a two-part pump. The bottom part of the pump is anchored to the ocean floor. The top part moves up and down with the motion of the waves and drives a piston within a cylinder in the bottom section. This action is used to pump water to a reservoir on a coastal cliff or hilltop.

Water from the reservoir is released as required to drive a conventional hydroelectric turbine.

As well as the ability to produce electricity at any time, the system avoids having complex equipment, such as turbines, exposed to the harsh conditions of the ocean.

A prototype system has been developed and has succeeded in pumping water to a height of 50 metres. The full-sized system will be able to pump water to a height of 200 metres. The developers of the system claim that a single, full-sized system will be able to supply sufficient electricity to power 470 households.

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Chrysler has demonstrated prototypes of "range exended" electric vehicles for each of its brands - Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. The first production vehicles will be available in North America from 2010 and later in Europe.

Chrysler uses the term "range extended" for plug-in series hybid vehicles in which an electric motor is used until the batteries run out and then an internal combustion engine takes over.

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It has been estimated that their is sufficient energy in the world’s ocean currents to meet 3,000 times the current power needs of the the entire world’s population. The difficulty is in harnessing that energy.

Turbines and watermills need water flowing at 5 to 6 knots to operate effectively. But most of the ocean currents flow at less than 3 knots.

Michael Bernitsas, a professor in the University of Michigan, has now developed a device that works in water flowing at just 2 knots.

The machine, called a VIVACE, relies on "vortex induced vibrations". These are undulations that a rounded or cylinder-shaped object makes in a flow of fluid. The presence of the object puts kinks in the current’s speed as it skims by. This causes eddies, or vortices, to form in a pattern on opposite sides of the object. The vortices push and pull the object up and down or left and right, perpendicular to the current. These powerful vibrations regularly damage docks, oil rigs and coastal buildings.

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According to an analysis done by energy experts at Google, the United States could wean itself from coal and oil for electricity generation and nearly halve its petrol consumption by 2030. 

The analysis was first published in October but has since been revised in the light of comments and changes such as the decrease in the price of oil. The new analysis is at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/clean-energy-2030.html.

Overall, the analysis found that by 2030, the United States could reduce fossil fuel-based electricity generation by 88%, reduce vehicle petroleum consumption by 44% and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 49% at a total cost of $3.86 trillion over the 22 years - but would generate savings of $4.68 trillion over that period - a net saving of $820 billion.

This would be achieved by increasing the efficiency of electrical appliances and vehicles; rapidly increasing the use of wind, solar and geothermal power; and transitioning to plug-in vehicles.

The main immediate steps that Google recommends are:

• subsidising home owners to "weatherize" their houses which would cut their energy bills by an average of 30%,
• funding an intelligent electricity grid to monitor and manage power usage,
• mandating that all government agencies purchase energy from renewable sources, use energy-efficient buildings and use hybrid vehicles, and
• change renewable energy subsidies so that they do not rely on tax credits (because corporate profits and taxes are declining).

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Scientists from Montana State University have discovered that a fungus found in a Patagonian rainforest could provide an alternative source of biofuel.

The fungus, Gliocladium roseum, grows in the ulmo tree (Eucryphia cordifolia), a species native to the Patagonia region of Argentina and Chile. The researchers have found that it possesses the metabolic machinery to produce a wide variety of hydrocarbons virtually identical to the compounds in diesel obtained from crude oil.

According to the lead researcher, Professor Gary Strobel, "Many fungi make ethanol, but none to date produce this kind of mixture of diesel hydrocarbons."

The fungus produces the diesel directly from cellulose-rich products. "Cellulose is the most abundant organic substance on the planet and it mostly exists as waste material — straw, chaff, leaves, cuttings, etc.," says Professor Strobel who added that "The main value of this discovery may not be the organism itself, but the genes responsible for the production of these gases."

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The Australian electricity grid includes three major sections which are not connected:

• the so-called National Electricity Maket, linking all of the east coast and South Australia
• the Western Australian grid in the south west of Western Australia, centered on Perth and
• the Pilbara local grid serving the mining area in the north west.

Associate Professor Neil Howes has suggested linking  these three grids in order to make better use of Australia’s rich renewable energy porential.

In particular, a 1500 kilometre high voltage DC connection between Norseman in Western Aystralia and Port Augusta in South Australia would link the solar potential of the western deserts, the wind potential of the southern coast and the geothermal resources of South Australia into the eastern National Electricity Market. In addition, the time difference between the east and west coasts would extend the length of time during which daylight solar energy was available by three hours a day.

Professor Howes also suggests that a 1000 kilometre high voltage AC line be built connecting the southern Western Australian grid at Norseman with the northern Pilbara region, which has Australia’s best solar stes, as well as major mining and natural gas developments.

Dr David Mills, who was a leading solar researcher in Australia before founding Ausra which is now one of the world’s leading solar energy producers, has put forward a different proposal for the Pilbara region - that a powerline be built, not to the south, but to the north, to supply electricity to Indonesia and South-East Asia. Dr Mills points out that it makes much more sense to export electricity to Asia than to export gas which is then burned to generate electricity,

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Korean researchers have found a way to make lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly used in notebook computers, mobile phones and the latest hybrid vehicles, hold eight times more charge than they do now.

Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most energy-efficient storage devices for their size. Electricity flows through the batteries as positive lithium ions move toward a negative electrode, while negative electrical particles move to positive zones. But graphite, which is used in the negative electrode, can store only a limited amount of lithium ion - giving a usage time of around 2 hours.

A group led by Professor Cho Jaephil of South Korea’s Hanyung University have found that, when the graphite is replaced as the main material of the negative electrode with porous 3D silicon particles, the batteries last between 16 and 32 hours.

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Swedish firm Vattenfall, which already operates the 90 megawatt Kentish Flats offshore wind farm, has announced that it has paid £35 million ($au 80 million) for the rights to develop the Thanet Offshore Wind Project, off Margate, Kent. Total costs for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2010, will be about £780 million ($au 1.8 billion).

The announcement follows last months agreement by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar investment fund to buy a 20% stake in the £1.5 billion ($au 3.5 billion) London Array. The London Array remains on track to come online in 2012 or 2013. When completed its 271 turbines, located in the outer Thames Estuary, will provide enough electricity for 750,000 homes.

Offshore wind power has been growing steadily in the UK. Last month, the UK overtook Denmark as the world’s number one offshore wind power producer.

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Italian manufacturer Piaggio (the maker of Vespa motor scooters) has unveiled a plug-in hybrid three-wheeler scooter that it says will be on the road next year.

Ppiaggio’s MP3 Hybrid combines a 125-cc petrol engine with an electric motor in an easy-to-ride three-wheeler that reportedly can do zero to 100 kilometres per hour in around 5 seconds.

The scooter can run in a fully electric mode or in one of three hybrid modes designed to maximize performance, maximize fuel economy or recharge the batteries quickly. The MP3 Hybrid will charge in as little as three hours when plugged into a standard wall socket.

The MP3 Hybrid has a 125cc petrol motor which will do 60 kilometers on a litre of fuel. When operated in conjunction with the electric motor, the scooter’s performance is equivalent to a 250cc model.

Piaggio says that the three wheel configuration provides safety, road grip and stability, incomparable with a two wheeler. The two front wheels tilt independently, maneuvering with much comfort on wet roads and tough riding conditions. It takes on cobble stone streets and tram tracks with the greatest of ease, remaining safe and stable all the while. The braking distance is 20% less any traditional scooter.

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 At the São Paulo Auto Show, Fiat has unveiled a new electric, off-road concept car deigned to "make saving the world outrageous fun".

In what may a bad omen for the car’s future, Fiat’s corporate masters have changed the car’s original fun name, "Bugster", to the distinctly boring "FCC 11".

The FCC 11 has a purpose-built electric engine and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The two-seater car has a range of about 100 kilometres on its fully charged batteries.

The concept car’s bodywork was produced with natural fibers from renewable sources worked by nanotechnology. Thirty percent of the seat foam is made from recycled soy oil — a technique used in all Brazilian Fiats.

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