Renewable Energy consumption tops nuclear for first time

nukerenewtop

According to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the consumption of engery from renewable sources recently topped both the current and the historical consumption levels for nuclear energy. The shift was immediately caused by nuclear outages that coincided with the high-water season for hydropower generation.

But there’s a long-term upward trend in renewables which can be seen here, too, thanks to the increased consumption of biofuels and wind capacity additions…

Continue reading… “Renewable Energy consumption tops nuclear for first time”

Iowa: Now 20% wind-powered

windfarmnearalta2

Taking advantage of the wind in Iowa.

Iowa now gets a higher percentage of its power from wind than any other state in the nation. The Des Moines Register is reporting that Iowa’s wind generation hit the 20% mark last quarter, supplying the state with a full one fifth of its energy needs. That’s really good — like, Denmark good. Stats like this make it harder and harder for cleantech foes to deny that renewable power is fast becoming an integral part of the American energy mix…

Continue reading… “Iowa: Now 20% wind-powered”

$2 erasable e-paper aims to replace paper

i2r_paper-580x195

e-Paper goes a long ways at replacing current paper sheets.

The paperless office is a myth. We all still need to print stuff out occasionally, but a new form of e-paper may go a long way towards replacing the paper sheets we put in our printers and use once before recycling.

The new flexible e-paper is called i2R e-Paper and can be printed on using a thermal printer. It can also be wiped in the same way, or just by supplying electricity to the sheet. That reuse could save on a lot of paper, especially as one sheet is good for 260 re-prints and they only cost $2 each at A4 size…

Continue reading… “$2 erasable e-paper aims to replace paper”

Local Colorado brewery transports kegs via tricycle

equinox-beer-trike-bootlegger-2

Kegs are a rollin’.

When Shannon and Colin Westcott decided to start Equinox Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado, they wanted it to be a local, green operation. And that meant no keg deliveries by car or truck. So to save themselves a lot of back-breaking keg-carrying, the Westcotts teamed up with custom bike designers Yendra Built Cycles. The partnership yielded the Bootlegger: a tricycle built for transporting kegs…

Continue reading… “Local Colorado brewery transports kegs via tricycle”

Philips LED light wins U.S. Department of Energy’s $10m ‘Lighting Prize’

Philips-AmbientLED-12-watt-LED-Lightbulb-lprize-photo-0001

It looks like the Philips AmbientLED has won the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lighting Prize (modeled on the original X-Prize). The goal was to help “transform lighting technology” by making it more efficient. To win, the Philips LED had to go through some pretty sophisticated tests (see the video below) to make sure the light quality was good and that it was durable…  (video after jump)

Continue reading… “Philips LED light wins U.S. Department of Energy’s $10m ‘Lighting Prize’”

First 24/7 solar plant

gemasolar-solar-power-plant-537x332-500x309

Solar energy produced from all angles.

One of the difficulties with using solar energy is its inability to produce electricity around the clock. Torresol Energy in southern Spain has solved this problem by storing thermal energy in two tanks of molten salt. This enables the plant to generate electricity long after sundown in order to satisfy the energy needs of the local populace. The molten salt — known as MSES — stores enough thermal energy during the day to create steam power during the night…

Continue reading… “First 24/7 solar plant”

Pour a shot of Tequila-in your gas tank

Magueybarril-500x375

Agave can be a fuel?

It fuels your party, your buzz and your hangover the next day, but believe it or not tequila may soon be fueling your car. That’s because the agave plant extract used to make liquor can also be used to make an ethanol like alcohol which can serve as vehicle fuel, won’t interfere with food crops, and can even be grown in the desert…

Someday, our cars may hit the bottle more often than we do, but at least it won’t be hitting our wallets very hard.

Link

Image via Wikimedia Commons

Portable composting toilets for festivals, homes and more

composting-toilets-festivals

Festivals will be so much better with composting toilets.

As festival season rolls on, many party goers will have been putting up with the ordeal of smelly, chemical-laden and often disgustingly soiled portable toilets. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Roskilde’s p-trees have already tackled public urination, and I’ve written before about how the green-minded and ultra-friendly UK Shambala Festival has embraced some delightfully airy and well-maintained composting loos. But it’s worth giving a shout out to the folks behind those loos—and noting that they are available for purchase for private homes, camp sites, and just about anywhere where pooping takes place…

Continue reading… “Portable composting toilets for festivals, homes and more”

The ultimate in Car-Sharing: tiny, electric ‘box’ mobiles

box-to-go 897089

A new mobility option.

Car-sharing is getting plenty of green-minded folks excited these days. The rise of ZipCar, carpooling apps, and so forth have been heralded as signs that people are beginning to see the merits of spending less time driving solo and more time sharing, cutting costs and pollution in the process. Well, the folks at the “progressive industrial design studio” Brooks & Bone have taken the concept of urban car-sharing to its logical conclusion: Tiny, boxy vehicles built specifically to be shared a la personal rapid transit…

Continue reading… “The ultimate in Car-Sharing: tiny, electric ‘box’ mobiles”

France launches €10 Billion offshore wind project (1,200 turbines & 10,000 jobs!)

offshore-wind-farm-france-photo-00001

Harvesting the wind in water.

The French government of Nicolas Sarkozy has launched a €10 billion ($14.26 billion) tender to build about 1,200 wind turbines in 5 different offshore wind farms. The goal is to diversify France’s energy generation (they are very reliant on nuclear, which accounts for about 80% of their electricity generation) with renewable sources and to have 23% of France’s energy come from renewable sources by 2020. The wind farms will be located off France’s coast on the North and West and should produce about 3.5% of the country’s electricity according to government authorities. The farms should come online between 2015-2020…

Continue reading… “France launches €10 Billion offshore wind project (1,200 turbines & 10,000 jobs!)”

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.