Making Energy News

New PNNL Geothermal Heat Extraction Process Optimizes Low-Temperature Resources

Thursday, July 16 2009

A new method has been found by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists to capture geothermal energy from lower temperature energy sources. In related geothermal news, a new study by NYU Stern Professor Melissa Schilling found that geothermal is producing the greatest efficiency returns per R&D dollar invested, with wind in second. Solar energy is quite a ways behind, and fossil fuel efficiencies are stagnant, if not dropping, despite getting a huge amount of the R&D budget.
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US Departments of Treasury, Energy Announce More Than $3B in Recovery Act Funds for Direct Payments for Renewable Energy Projects

Thursday, July 09 2009

The US Departments of Treasury and Energy announced that they will be providing about $3 billion in direct payments to renewable energy projects in lieu of tax credits in order to stimulate the economy. These payments would get money to the estimated 5000 qualifying projects faster than a tax credit would. The money is coming from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
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Sears Tower to Undergo $350M Green Remodel

Wednesday, June 24 2009

The Sears tower is getting $350 million in updates that will save an estimated 24 million gallons of water a year and cut the tower's energy consumption by 80%. Among the measures are a green roof, solar thermal systems, and wind turbines on various tiered roofs.
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Can Wind Power Get Up to Speed?

Tuesday, June 23 2009

A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) has done a more detailed analysis of all available wind resources and has found that there is more than enough wind out there to replace global fossil fuel usage. It found that, if off-shore wind were taken into account, even areas that are thought to be poor for wind power, such as Japan, has many times their current energy demand in available wind resources.
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Australia wind farm gets go-ahead

Tuesday, June 09 2009

Approval has been granted for the construction of Australia's largest wind farm, consisting of 600 wind turbines.
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Floating wind turbine launched

Friday, June 05 2009

The first floating wind turbine was put off the coast of Norway this week. These turbines are able to be anchored in water up to 600m (about 2000ft) deep, allowing them to be put far enough off shore to limit the disruptions to shipping channels, tourism, bird life and marine ecosystems typical off-shore installations cause.
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Japanese Firms to Construct Smart Grid Project in US

Friday, June 05 2009

A group of Japanese firms are looking to construct a small smart-grid system in an undisclosed New Mexico town that will incorporate solar energy and battery-storage systems. It hopes to provide this smart grid to 1000 residents by the end of 2010.
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Clean Energy Funding Trumps Fossil Fuels

Wednesday, June 03 2009

For the first time ever, clean energy investments trumped investment into fossil fuel power in 2008. According to the United Nations Environment Program, of the $250 billion invested in new energy generation in 2008, $140 billion was in clean energy technologies versus $110 billion in fossil fuel energy.
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Solar Plan Could Revolutionize India's Energy Sector

Friday, May 29 2009

A leaked government plan for solar investments puts India's goal for installed solar capacity at 200GW by 2050, compared to India's current 150GW of total electricity capacity, solar or otherwise.
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Lockheed-Martin To Build Large CSP Plant With Thermal Storage In Arizona

Thursday, May 28 2009

Lockheed-Martin is planning on building an 8.5GW concentrating solar power plant in Arizona by 2014. The plant will rely on parabolic troughs collecting solar heat energy, which is used to create steam and turn generators. The plant will also include about 6 hours of thermal storage in the form of molten salts that can store heat energy at off peak times to increase peak production, even when the sun isn't brightly shining.
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China Puts Its Faith In Solar Power With Huge Renewable Energy Investment

Wednesday, May 27 2009

China is putting additional funding into its solar energy sector to help if catch up to wind, nuclear, and hydroelectric systems. The goal is to have solar supplying 6% of the nation's power by 2020.
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More Than $467M in Recovery Act Funding for Geothermal and Solar Energy Projects

Wednesday, May 27 2009

The US has pledged almost a half a billion dollars to developing and deploying geothermal and solar energy technologies.
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Belfer Center Brief Urges Higher, Stable Energy Prices to Achieve Long-Term Energy Policy Objectives

Tuesday, May 26 2009

Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs released a brief outlining the need for higher, stable energy prices in order to meet clean energy, oil security, and climate change goals.
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DOE Regional Partnership Begins Core Sampling for Large-Volume Carbon Sequestration Test

Saturday, May 23 2009

The US Department of Energy has started testing to figure out where to put captured carbon dioxide from carbon capture and sequestration plants. The Fort Nelson natural gas plant is expected to produce 2 million tons of CO2 a year that will need to be stored.
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Sanyo Develops HIT Solar Cells With 23% Conversion Efficiency

Friday, May 22 2009

Sanyo made some great progress in silicon solar cell technology with the development of their latest cell. It broke its own record for practical (100 cm2 or more) sized crystalline silicon solar cells by reaching the 23% mark. It also lowered the production cost and raw silicon usage of the system.
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Largest wind farm to be expanded

Wednesday, May 20 2009

Europe's largest onshore wind farm, located in Scotland, is going to grow from 140 to 176 turbines.
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World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Array To Go Ahead

Sunday, May 17 2009

A 1 GW offshore wind farm will begin providing energy to as many as one quarter of greater London households by 2012.
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House OKs $6.4 billion to make schools greener

Thursday, May 14 2009

The US House of Representatives approved a modernization bill that includes $6.4 billion dollars to improve the energy efficiency of new and existing schools by reducing energy consumption and installing clean energy systems.
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Nestlé Purina introduced a new solar-power plant

Thursday, May 14 2009

Nestlé Purina and REC Solar Inc. are working together to install the largest privately owned solar-panel power system in Colorado. It can produce 100 kilowatts of power, about 1 percent of the plant’s electricity needs and the cost will be recouped within the first year.
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Going bananas for energy in Africa

Tuesday, May 12 2009

Banana peels are being mixed with sawdust to make briquettes that can be burned for heat and cooking in some regions of Africa where bananas are a staple crop.
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'Distributed power' to save Earth

Monday, May 11 2009

An economist at the Research Connections 2009 conference in Prague makes the case for a pan-European strategy of small-scale energy generation and smart energy grids to help address climate and economic problems.
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$26.4B DOE FY 2010 Budget Request Cuts Funding for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Thursday, May 07 2009

The US Department of Energy released its budget, in which there were increases for plug-in hybrid technology, biomass, energy conservation, renewable energy, and smart grid technology. There were cuts for nuclear energy and hydrogen fuel cell technology.
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Skyline Solar mixes old technology with new

Monday, May 04 2009

A California solar company is looking to reduce the cost of silicon solar cells by using tracking aluminum troughs. This saves money by reducing the amount of silicon needed and by using aluminum as opposed to mirrors for a reflecting surface.
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After tornado, town rebuilds by going green

Monday, May 04 2009

Story of Greensburg, Kansas, which was wiped out by a tornado two years ago and is taking advantage of the opportunity to rebuild the town as a model of sustainability.
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Government 'missing own CO2 goal'

Friday, May 01 2009

A report from the Sustainable Development Commission found that UK government departments were missing their own targets for emissions reductions by 2011-2012.
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Electric cars for remote estates

Monday, April 27 2009

A remote community in Scotland is considering getting electric vehicles powered by micro-renewable setups to lower their carbon footprint.
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'Clean' coal plants get go-ahead

Thursday, April 23 2009

The UK will allow 2-4 new coal power plants if they capture and store 25% of the carbon they would normally release.
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Miami's Smart Grid: A Blueprint for the Power Future

Wednesday, April 22 2009

The city of Miami is launching a $200 million smart-grid initiative that would connect nearly every home and business in Miami-Dade County by 2011.
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Solar power captured in space, beamed to Earth

Tuesday, April 14 2009

Utility company PG&E wants to put solar panels in orbit and wirelessly beam energy down to Earth by 2016.
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Dirty energy threat to green Brazil

Monday, April 13 2009

Recent discoveries of oil and difficult permitting processes for hydro electric plants are causing Brazil to turn towards dirty fuels.
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A Solar-Powered Solution to Florida Sprawl

Thursday, April 09 2009

Syd Kitson, a former NFL lineman, has plans to turn a ranch into a sustainable community with energy efficient buildings, solar power, a smart grid, and electric cars. The photovoltaic power plant itself would be twice as large as the current largest photovoltaic plant.
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Biggest Solar Deal Ever Announced - 1.3 Gigawatts in California

Wednesday, February 11 2009

California power company Southern California Edison has signed on to a new concentrating solar thermal plant capable of producing 1300 Megawatts. This makes it larger than any nuclear plant. The system will be in the desert outside Los Angeles, and is scheduled for completion in 2013
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10 Next Generation Green Technologies

Thursday, January 29 2009

TIME review of 10 next generation green technologies that have the potential to make a huge difference in the next few years.
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Utilities Back 'Climate Friendly' Energy Technologies

Thursday, January 15 2009

The industry association of U.S. electric utilities on Wednesday published what its members say are the most promising technologies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It included efficiency and renewables in the short-term, nuclear in the medium- to long-term, CCS, smarter grid technologies, PHEVs, and electric vehicles.
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Does the U.S. Need a New National Electrical Grid?

Sunday, January 11 2009

Editorial addressing the need for a new national electrical grid. It points out how old the technology and infrastructure of the electrical grid is and that new, more efficient technologies are ready to go today.
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Nuclear's Comeback: Still No Energy Panacea

Saturday, January 03 2009

Nuclear power is gaining popularity, however there are concerns over the capital costs of new plants.
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First Solar Energy Plant Completed in Iran

Friday, January 02 2009

Iran inaugurated its first solar energy power plant this week, adding 250 KW of solar energy to the country’s grid.
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A Citizen-Powered Energy Grid in 2009: A Case Study in Solar

Friday, January 02 2009

Case study on the advantages of community solar installations.
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Nicaragua adds wind power to energy mix

Thursday, January 01 2009

A third of country's energy already comes from geothermal, dams, ethanol, now they are making major investments into wind energy.
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Utilities Offer ‘Green’ Nuclear Plans to Customers

Thursday, January 01 2009

Utilities that support nuclear energy are trying to increase their popularity by talking about them as a green alternative to coal and natural gas.
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Mapping Renewable Energy, Rooftop by Rooftop

Monday, December 22 2008

An engineering company is working with the US Dept. of Energy to provide rooftop by rooftop measurements of solar energy potential using Google Maps for 25 American cities, with San Francisco already completed. This will help to take some of the risk guesswork out of the process of doing a financial and energy analysis on a potential solar energy system.
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The 10 big energy myths

Thursday, November 27 2008

The Guardian addresses 10 very popular myths about renewable energy that exist in popular culture and that make discussions about renewable energy more difficult.
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Hot Home Wind Turbines You Can Actually Buy, Plus One You Wish You Could

Monday, November 24 2008

An overview of a few wind turbines on the market currently.
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IBM Burlington, Vermont, Receives 2007 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award

Thursday, October 30 2008

Reducing waste generation and improving process efficiencies in its semiconductor manufacturing operations has been a continual focus at IBM Burlington. Each year, many thousands of silicon wafers reach the end of their useful life or are rejected for a number of reasons before being shipped to a customer. Historically, the scrap silicon from wafer manufacturing operations was ground and sent to a landfill for disposal. IBM monitor wafers at the end of their life are now being sold to the manufacturers of solar panels as raw material for the production of photovoltaic cells.
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European Scientists: 'Let's Set Up A Global Solar Energy Grid'

Friday, October 24 2008

Article discussing the different new generation solar generation technologies that we could be seeing in the future and their potentials to produce a large percentage of the energy our planet needs.
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Google & GE Joining Forces to Bring You Geothermal Power, Plug-In Vehicles and a Smart Grid

Thursday, September 18 2008

Google and GE are coming together to attempt to work on both the policy and technological side of improving geothermal energy, plug-in vehicles, and the smart electrical grid.
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PG&E Ups In-House Demand Response — Utility Trend?

Friday, September 05 2008

PG&E is joining 3rd party companies like EnerNOC and Comverge in the demand response market, where consumers are given incentives for reducing electrical loads during peak hours
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'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution

Thursday, July 31 2008

MIT has produced a new hydrogen storage system that acts more like photosynthesis than current electrolysis techniques, which require highly artificial environments. This new system works at room temperature in water of a neutral pH, which makes it easier to set up and maintain.
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'Smart' electric grids to ease zap from plug-ins?

Tuesday, July 22 2008

A project funded by the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory will test bidirectional battery chargers and "smart" grids that could prevent U.S. electric grid overload from plug-in vehicles.
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University of Nottingham Developing New Large-Scale Energy Storage Device Combining Properties of Supercapacitors and Batteries

Saturday, June 21 2008

Researchers at the University of Nottingham (UK), supported by €1.4m (US$2.2 million) from E.ON, one of Europe’s leading power and gas companies, are developing new energy storage systems for use with renewable energy generation including a device that combines the properties of supercapacitors and batteries (“supercapattery”) and undersea compressed air storage bags.
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Solar Power Group: First commercial Solar-thermal power plant in Spain

Thursday, June 19 2008

In May 2008, the German Solar Power Group GmbH and the Spanish Laer S.L. agreed upon the joint execution of a solar thermal power plant in central Spain. This will be the first commercial solar thermal power plant in Spain based on the Fresnel collector technology of the Solar Power Group.
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Nanowires May Boost Solar Cell Efficiency, UC San Diego Engineers Say

Wednesday, May 14 2008

Experimental Solar Cells Spiked with Nanowires Show Promise as Efficient Thin-Film Solar Cells of Future
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Sweden's carbon-tax solution to climate change puts it top of the green list

Tuesday, April 29 2008

Sweden's attempts to reduce carbon emissions have put it at the top of the list of countries doing the most to reduce carbon emissions for the second year in row. They have reduced emissions by 9% from 1990 to 2006. This article goes through some of the unique ideas that have allowed Sweden to be such a leader in this field.
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Frito-Lay solar system puts the sun in SunChips, takes advantage of renewable energy

Friday, April 04 2008

A five-acre field near the Frito-Lay plant will have 54,000 square feet of mirrors to capture the sun's rays. Half are installed now. This heat will be converted into steam to heat the oil used to cook SunChips.
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BrightSource Energy signs whopper solar contract with PG&E

Monday, March 31 2008

BrightSource Energy will build 500 megawatts' worth of solar thermal power plants for Pacific Gas & Electric in California, and the contract contains an option for PG&E to order another 400 megawatts on top of that. The deal is the largest yet in the solar thermal world when the option is added.
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Boulder, Colorado to Be Fully Integrated Smart Electricity City

Wednesday, March 12 2008

Xcel Energy announced that it will put in motion its vision to make Boulder, Colo. the nation’s first fully integrated Smart Grid City.
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Samurai-Sword Maker's Reactor Monopoly May Cool Nuclear Revival

Wednesday, March 12 2008

The replacement of old nuclear reactors and production of additional capacity may hit a bottleneck due to the fact that there is only one plant in the world capable of producing nuclear containment vessels. Even though the plant is doubling capacity, it still will not be able to meet the growing potential demand.
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Austin Energy's Smart Grid Technologies

Saturday, March 01 2008

Austin Energy is readying itself for smart grid technologies by taking advantage of demand response measures and by changing over to wireless automated meters, increasing efficiency and lowering costs.
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A Green Carpet for Home Controls

Friday, February 15 2008

If the utilities do, in fact, finance the replacement of existing meters with those that can provide consumers information about their energy consumption and allow them some control over it, then energy management will become a major conduit in the broader deployment of control systems in U.S. homes.
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Energy island is innovative concept for large-scale electricity storage

Saturday, September 01 2007

The Netherlands is considering a plan for pumped energy storage between the North Sea and a lake downhill from the Sea. This would complement the large amount of wind energy used in the country.
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Utility-Scale Solar Plant Goes Online in Nevada

Tuesday, June 05 2007

Nevada Solar One, the first concentrating solar power plant in Nevada went on line on Saturday, this 64 megawatt concentrating solar plant is the first modern utility-scale solar electric power plant in the United States. It is the largest solar electric power plant to be built globally in the past 14 years and the third largest solar power plant in the world.
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"Night Wind" Project to Test Electricity Storage in Refrigerated Warehouses

Monday, February 12 2007

The Night Wind project looks to store energy in refrigerated warehouses by cooling them an additional degree at night when the wind is blowing and allowing them to raise the degree to free up that energy for other consumers during the daytime.
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Going Nuclear

Sunday, April 16 2006

Article by an environmental activist calling for a look at nuclear energy again. Among other points, he mentions that the Three Mile Island incident was actually a success.
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Nuclear Now!

Tuesday, February 01 2005

Editorial in favor of nuclear energy as something better than coal that can be implemented quicker than any renewables.
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Grid 2030

Tuesday, July 01 2003

The Grid 2030 vision is a roadmap to creating a national smart electrical grid.
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