Monthly Archives: October 2010
A Montana company, Zinc Air, has announced plans to begin commercial producion of zinc-air fuel cells which the company believes could play a significant part in future transportation. Various types of zinc-air cells are possible but mechanical recharged cells offer great potentail for transport. In these, zinc granules are fed into the cells and act as a fuel. As electricity is produced, the zinc combines with oxygen from the air forming zinc oxide. To refuel the cell, the zinc oxide is removed and new zinc pellets are added. The spent material can be completely recycled. Recharged zinc-air cells are a … Continue Reading
Project Deepwater, a study by the UK’s Energy Technologies Institute, has found that floating wind turbines are more economically efficient than turbines built on offshore foundations. Even though the technology is a little more complex and the inital cost is higher, floating turbines have greater ability to access stronger and more consistent winds in deeper water further out at sea The Energy Technologies Institute’s chief executive, Dr David Clarke, said that "the wind speeds in much of the UK’s deep water are significantly stronger and more consistent, which results in a more reliable and higher energy output. Over time, this … Continue Reading
The following graph, produced by MIT Professor Emanuel Sachs, shows how the cost of solar photovoltaic cells has fallen since their invention in 1978. (Professor Sachs is a co-founder of 1366 Technologies – see Company Claims It Will Make Solar Power Cheaper than Coal.) (Click for a larger view.)
The solar cell manufacturing company, 1366 Technologies, claims that its innovative approaches to solar manufacturing have the potential to halve the cost of solar energy. The company produces crystalline silicon wafers using a "Direct Wafer" process that it says can reduce the cost of manufacturing silicon wafers by 80 percent. Traditional silicon wafer manufacturing involves a lengthy, multi-step process of ingot casting, blocking, squaring and sawing that wastes up to 50 percent of the silicon. 1366′s Direct Wafer technology forms a 156mm multi-crystalline wafer directly from molten silicon in a semi-continuous, efficient process. The process uses standard silicon feedstocks and … Continue Reading
According to Oxfam America, rice farmers could produce 50% more rice using less water than with current techniques. Rice farmers normally rely on flooding their fields to keep seeds covered in water throughout the growing season. But farmers in parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and India have been able to produce as much as 50 percent more rice with less water, and often with less labor, by planting seedlings farther apart, keeping fields moist instead of flooding them, transplanting seedlings to fields earlier and weeding manually. According to Oxfam, water-intensive rice farming accounts for as much as a third of … Continue Reading
A Dutch company, Tuk Tuk Factory, is introducing what it claims is the first fully-electric version of the tuk tuk, the three wheeled taxi which is popular throughout Asia, at the eCarTek Show in Munich. Tuk Tuk Factory says that it has obtained European approval for three model of the electric Tuk Tuk – a 3-seater, a 6-seater and a cargo version – to be available in all Europen countries. The price range is expected to be between €11,000 ($15,500) and €14,000 ($20,000). A 3-seater "Thai" model
A New York design firm, Atelier DNA, has proposed an alternative wind farm concept that uses stalks instead of rotating blades. The ‘Windstalks’ generate electricity when the wind sets them waving. The designers have proposed the idea for the planned city Masdar being built outside of Abu Dhabi. Atelier DNA’s “Windstalk” project is an entrant in the Land Art Generator competition a contest sponsored by Madsar to identify the best work of art that generates renewable energy. 1,203 stalks, each 55 metres high with concrete bases that are between about 10 and 20 metres wide, would be installed. Each stalk … Continue Reading
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has designed a new energy-efficient container ship which it claims promises a 35 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. One key features of the new design is a dual propulsion system that the company says would reduce CO2 emissions by 24% compared with conventional container ships. A proprietary air lubrication system for the hull that reduces friction as the vessel moves through the water would reduce emissions by another 10%. Air lubrication of hulls has been said to offer potential for greater fuel savings and further emission reductions but Mitsubishi says that the conservative 10% figure … Continue Reading
According to a new report from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the United States should develop at least 54 gigawatts of offshore wind power. Doing so would provide clean power to high-demand urban centers, generate $200 billion in new economic activity and create more than 43,000 permanent, high-paying jobs. Although the US currently has no offsore wind power generation, the NREL proposal is very modest in the light of a statement which it released a month ago saying that the United States has the potential to produce more than 4,000 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind – four … Continue Reading
The South African Government and the US-based Clinton Climate Initiative have completed a pre-feasibilty study on the creation of a "solar park" in Northern Cape Province. The solar park would ultimately generate 5.000 megawatts of electricity and cost $20 billion. Currently, the largest solar park in the world, in California’s Mojave Desert, generates 354 megawatts. A detailed conceptual master plan is to be unveiled at the upcoming South African Solar Park Investors Conference on October 28 and 29 The solar park would host proven and emerging solar technologies including photovoltaic, concentrated photovoltaic and concentrating solar thermal power technologies such as … 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
