Why free public transport would work

Why free public transport would work

Green Dreams

Green dreams: "Producing fuel from corn and other crops could be good for the planet–if only the process didn't take a significant environmental toll. New breakthroughs could make a difference."

The Greenest Green Fuel

The Greenest Green Fuel: "Looking for a clean fuel that grows anywhere, needs only sunlight and water, and could produce enough oil to free the U.S. from its petroleum addiction? Here’s one start-up’s plan for converting oil from algae—yes, algae."

1 kW Wind Turbine for your backyard

1 kW Wind Turbine for your backyard

Volvo ReCharge plug-in hybrid

Volvo ReCharge plug-in hybrid: "it's a plug-in hybrid with a battery-only range of 100 km before you need to have the car's four-cylinder 1.6-liter Flexfuel engine kick in to power the car and recharge the battery. The ReCharge is built off a specially designed Volvo C30, meaning it's got a platform that doesn't need to be built from scratch -- boosting the possibility we could see something like it really hit the streets."

More on EEStor's capacitors

Texas startup says it has batteries beat

From the article: "An Austin-based startup called EEStor promised "technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries," meaning a motorist could plug in a car for five minutes and drive 500 miles roundtrip between Dallas and Houston without gasoline..."

Plug-in prius

Toyota plug-in hybrid hits the road

From the article:

The Plug-in HV displayed yesterday runs on the same nickel metal hydride battery as the Prius and has a cruising range of 8 miles on electricity. The maximum speed of Plug-in HV as an electric vehicle is 62 miles an hour. The batteries require about 1.5 hours to recharge at 200 volts and three or four hours at 100 volts. The more common hybrids such as Toyota's Prius have a cruising range of 1.9 miles as an electric vehicle, according to Toyota.

General Motors is developing the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, and says it hopes its plug-ins can reach showrooms by 2010. Earlier this month, Ford announced a partnership with Southern California Edison to test rechargeable hybrid vehicles and hasten mass production of plug-in hybrids.

From this article: "A big problem with developing plug-in hybrid cars historically has been in their batteries. A few small firms that have converted showroom Priuses to plug-ins have done so by removing the car's nickel metal battery and replacing it with a lithium ion battery, twice as powerful as the original. But some lithium ion batteries, particularly those used in laptop computers, have overheated and caught fire. Toyota's experimental hybrids will simply add a second nickel metal battery. "

Are these the batteries that will change the world?

According to PopSci, these new batteries from A123 systems are able to recharge rapidly (a minute or two), to last for a decade, and to operate in high-temperature environments. The batteries use a nanotech modification to traditional lithium ion batteries.

Lots more information at the A123 systems web site.

Do you have the next big energy idea?

Governor Bill Richardson is asking if you have the next big alternative energy idea or best energy conservation story. Submit your ideas and stories now -- and he will personally visit the community with the best submission. Go to www.richardsonforpresident.com/youtube for more information.

Oil experts see supply crisis in five years

Oil experts see supply crisis in five years

From the article:

The International Energy Agency has predicted a supply crunch in the world's oil markets that could send prices soaring and place a severe dent in global growth.

In a report that painted a bleak outlook for the global economy, the IEA said spare capacity in oil production would dry up over the next five years, even as demand continues to jump significantly.

"Oil and gas price pressures look set to remain in the coming years," the report said. "Slower-than-expected GDP growth may provide a breathing space, but it is abundantly clear that if the path of demand does not change on its own, it may well be driven to change by higher prices."

The gloomy prognosis puts consumers on warning for higher petrol prices at the pump, soaring utility bills and increased food prices as suppliers bear additional costs for bringing goods to market.

See this article for details.

Offshore Wind Farm Could Blow Away Energy Needs

Offshore Wind Farm Could Blow Away Energy Needs: "Wind power could supply all the energy needs of much of the East Coast and then some, if a phalanx of wind turbines running from Massachusetts to North Carolina were installed offshore, a new study concludes."

Turning Black Coal Green

Turning Black Coal Green: "Big lumps of sooty coal hardly seem like the future of energy, but that’s exactly what the U.S. Department of Energy predicts. Consumption of the fossil fuel—the main source of greenhouse gas and a major contributor to acid rain, smog and mercury poisoning—will hit 10.6 billion tons a year by 2030, a near doubling of the 5.4 billion tons burned in 2003, according to the agency.

But coal’s growing dominance need not spell doom for the environment, says Mike Mudd, a former manager of technology development at American Electric Power (AEP), one of the country’s biggest utilities. Mudd is now CEO of FutureGen, a $1-billion project sponsored by the DOE in partnership with 11 leading energy companies to build the first near-zero-emission coal plant by 2012. The 275-megawatt facility will serve as the model for a new generation of high-tech coal facilities."

Green cars

Nice video on hydrogen cars:

Green cars

Alternative energy with Charlie Rose

Segment 1: The pursuit of alternative energy and breakthroughs in green technology with John Doerr of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems, and K.R. Sridhar of Bloom Energy.

Largest electric car plant under construction in N.China

Largest electric car plant under construction in N.China: "A factory capable of producing 20,000 electric powered vehicles a year is now under construction in the northern port city of Tianjin. The plant will produce cars powered by battery, hybrid power and fuel cells. "

New World Record Achieved in Solar Cell Technology

New World Record Achieved in Solar Cell Technology: "U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner today announced that with DOE funding, a concentrator solar cell produced by Boeing-Spectrolab has recently achieved a world-record conversion efficiency of 40.7 percent, establishing a new milestone in sunlight-to-electricity performance. This breakthrough may lead to systems with an installation cost of only $3 per watt, producing electricity at a cost of 8-10 cents per kilowatt/hour, making solar electricity a more cost-competitive and integral part of our nation’s energy mix."

Honda Establishes Solar Cell Subsidiary Company

Honda Establishes Solar Cell Subsidiary Company : "Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced plans to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary, Honda Soltec Co., Ltd., which will produce and sell the next-generation thin film solar cell independently developed by Honda. The new company will lead Honda to make a full-scale entry into the solar cell business.
The next-generation solar cell to be produced and sold by Honda Soltec was developed by Honda Engineering Co., Ltd., the production engineering subsidiary of Honda. By using thin film made from a compound of copper, indium, gallium and selenium (CIGS), Honda's next-generation solar cell achieves a major reduction in the amount of energy consumed during the manufacturing process by approximately 50% compared to what is required to produce conventional crystal silicon solar cells. This makes the new solar cell more environmentally-friendly by reducing the amount of CO2 generated even from the production stage."

Clean, cheap, nuclear power (no, really)

From the video's description: "Goodbye thermonuclear fusion, hello inertial electrostatic confienment fusion (IEC)."

The Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster—a hotshot sports car that runs on batteries.

From the article: "I've always marveled at how long the antique internal-combustion engine has survived. By 2006 standards, my car's power plant is a noisy, heat-blasting, poison-spewing monster with way too many moving parts. One spin in a Tesla made me realize that the gas engine might finally be on its last legs—and not because electric cars will help wean us from Saudi oil and save us from global warming. Rather, the Tesla Roadster is a rolling demo that proves electric cars now outperform their gas-guzzling counterparts in comfort, convenience, and, best of all, speed."

GM set to announce plug-in hybrid vehicle

GM set to announce plug-in hybrid vehicle: "The mystery ride would be the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) from a major auto manufacturer, filling in the middle ground between the infamously-defunct all-electric car and the current enviro-friendly vehicles of choice: hybrids. Unlike a Prius or other hybrid, a PHEV can recharge its batteries from a regular household outlet -- yet unlike the EV1, it can fall back on a diesel or gasoline engine when the batts run dry."

Google plans largest U.S. solar-powered office

Google plans largest U.S. solar-powered office: "Google Inc. plans a solar-powered electricity system at its Silicon Valley headquarters that will rank as the largest U.S. solar-powered corporate office complex, the company said on Monday.

The Web search leader said it is set to begin building a rooftop solar-powered generation system at its Mountain View, California, headquarters capable of generating 1.6 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 1,000 California homes."

Better Than Ethanol? BTL in plug-in hybrid diesel vehicles

Better Than Ethanol? BTL in plug-in hybrid diesel vehicles

"Google Tech Talks September 20, 2006 - ABSTRACT Speaker proposes that plug-in hybrid diesel vehicles (versus gasoline variants) combined with biomass-to-liquid gasification and fischer-tropsch diesel fuels (versus ethanol, cellulosic or otherwise) is the best holistic and medium- to long-term solution for our foreign source petroleum dependence and transportation accelerated global warming and other environmental damages. Provides a whirlwind historical and prospective tour of transportation, vehicles, fuels, infrastructure, business models, motivations and options."

The Complete Biogas Handbook

The Complete Biogas Handbook: "This book provides a comprehensive survey of the theory and practice of biogas production. The author discusses the scientific terms used, the substances (such as manure and plant matter) which can produce biogas, and various types of biogas generators."

Supercapacitors Start a Revolution in Energy Storage Devices

Supercapacitors Start a Revolution in Energy Storage Devices - "When shopping for power sources to make Palm Pilots, iPods, and other ubiquitous personal electronic devices work, a capacitor is probably the last thing on most consumers’, even educated consumers’, minds. Supercapacitors, having the ability to store upwards of 1,000,000 times more energy per unit mass than traditional power sources and having a power density 10-100x higher than batteries, may begin popping up on the public’s radar as a viable option in the near future. Work published by J. Chmiola, et al. in the September 22nd issue of Science magazine [1] provides the roadmap to give supercapacitors an even greater energy boost."

The Axis of Diesel

The Axis of Diesel: "Thanks to technological breakthroughs, at least six automakers - starting with Mercedes on Oct. 16, Jeep in early 2007, and eventually even hybrid pioneer Honda - will be launching a fleet of New Age diesels. They promise to boost fuel economy by 25% to 40%, with huge torque and turbochargers to deliver the power American drivers crave."

My Big Biofuels Bet

My Big Biofuels Bet: "A company called E3 Biofuels is about to fire up the most energy-efficient corn ethanol facility in the country: a $75 million state-of the-art biorefinery and feedlot capable of producing 25 million gallons of ethanol a year. What’s more, it will run on methane gas produced from cow manure. The super-efficient operation capitalizes on a closed loop of resources available here on the prairie – cattle (fed on corn), manure (from the cows), and corn (fed into the ethanol distiller). The output: a potential gusher of renewable, energy-efficient transportation fuel."

Backyard wind turbines turn energy consumers into suppliers

Backyard wind turbines turn energy consumers into suppliers - "In August, Southwest Wind Power, a start-up located in Flagstaff, Ariz., began selling a 1.8-kilowatt residential wind turbine dubbed SkyStream 3.7. The tiny power plant sells for US $5100; total cost including installation runs between $8500 and $11,000. By comparison, the installed cost of comparable small wind devices can eclipse $30,000.

While the SkyStream turbine is not meant to wean you from the grid completely, it can trim home electricity bills by 20 to 90 percent, depending on wind velocities, electricity prices, and government incentives in your area."

The current problem is the payback time. Assume 24 kWH per day are produced on average, with a value of 10 cents/kWH. That's $2.40 per day, or $875/year. That's a 10-year payback time best case.

Biofuels: Think Outside The Barrel

Biofuels: Think Outside The Barrel

Wal-Mart Aims To Sell 100 Million Compact Fluorescents In One Year

Wal-Mart Aims To Sell 100 Million Compact Fluorescents In One Year: "Fast Company reports that, in the next 12 months, starting with a major push this month, Wal-Mart wants to sell every one of its regular customers--100 million in all--one compact fluorescent bulb. In the process, it may change energy consumption in the United States, and energy consciousness, too. Teaming up with General Electric, which owns about 60% of the residential lightbulb market in the United States, Wal-Mart wants to single-handedly double U.S. sales for CFLs in a year, and it wants demand to surge forward after that."

Chispito Wind Generator

Chispito Wind Generator: "The Chispito Wind Generator was designed to be simple and efficient with fast and easy construction. There are no limits to what you can do with wind power. There is nothing more rewarding and empowering than making a wind powered generator from scrap materials. Most of the tools and materials in this manual can be found in your local hardware shop or junk pile."