Monthly Archives: December 2009
A new type of natural-gas electric power plant, which has been proposed by MIT researchers, could provide electricity with zero carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, at costs comparable to or less than conventional natural-gas plants, and even to coal-burning plants. Postdoctoral Associate Thomas Adams and Paul I. Barton, the Lammot du Pont Professor of Chemical Engineering, have proposed a system that uses solid-oxide fuel cells, which produce power from fuel without burning it. The system does not require any new technology but combines existing components or ones that are already well under development, in a novel configuration. According to … Continue Reading
Sandia National Laboratories scientists have developed tiny "glitter-sized" photovoltaic cells which they say could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used. The solar particles, made of crystalline silicon, are 10 times thinner than conventional 6-inch-by-6-inch cells, yet perform at about the same efficiency. As a result, 100 times less silicon generates same amount of electricity. The micro-cells are expected eventually to be less expensive and have greater efficiencies than current photovoltaic collectors. Sandia lead investigator Greg Nielson said “Eventually units could be mass-produced and wrapped around unusual shapes for building-integrated solar tents and maybe even clothing. This would … Continue Reading
An analysis by atmospheric scientists at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, has shown that, in the Arctic, aircraft vapour trails have caused 15–20% of surface warming. Globally, commercial aircraft vapour trails have been responsible for 4–8% of surface warming since records began in 1850 – equivalent to a temperature increase of 0.03–0.06°C. Previously, it had been assumed that the impact of aircraft emissions was the same everywhere. The new analysis, led by Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, reveals that aircraft emissions increase the fraction of cirrus clouds where vapour trails are most abundant … Continue Reading
The United States and China have agreed on a plan for future co-operation on renewable energy. The main elements of the agreement are: Establishment of a US-China Clean Energy Research Centre to facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from the United States and China, as well as to serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in both countries. Establishment of a US-China Electric Vehicles Initiative including joint standards development, demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, technical roadmapping and public education projects. Development of a new US-China Energy Efficiency Action … Continue Reading
Nine countries have signed up to develop an integrated offshore grid in the North and Irish Seas. England, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland have agreed to co-operate on the development of offshore wind infrstructure which is intended to make supplies of electricity more secure for the participating countries by making it easier to optimise offshore wind electricity production. It will also help the EU as a whole to meet its renewable energy target for 2020. Lord Hunt, the UK Minister for Energy and Climate Change said that "We’re already the world leader in offshore wind … Continue Reading
Videos
Renewables News- New Aussie Technology to Clean Polluted WaterScientists from Deakin University, together with French colleagues, say that they have manufactured a lightweight and reusable material that can absorb up to 33 times its weight in a wide range of spilt oils, chemical solvents and dyes, while repelling … Continue Reading → […]
- Aussie Researchers Make Efficient Solar Cells from Low-grade SiliconResearchers at the University of New South Wales have found a way to make very high efficiency solar cells out of cheap, low-grade silicon. It has been known for several decades that hydrogen atoms can be introduced into the atomic … Continue Reading → […]
- First Aussie “Hot Rocks” Power Plant Begins ProducingThe first power plant in Australia to produce electricity using an enhanced geothermal ("hot rocks") system has begun producing electricity in the far north-east of South Australia. The one-megawatt Habanero pilot plant near outback Innamincka is operated by Geodynamics. Geodynamics … Continue Reading → […]
- New Aussie Technology to Clean Polluted Water
