Sustainable Energy's feed | Diigo Group

How Can We Cut Our Energy Use for Commuting?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:19:33 -0000

How can we cut our energy use for commuting?

Posted by: bennett

Wind Leading the Pack of Winning Clean Tech Technologies

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:58:17 -0000

Wind comes out the clear winner. Concentrated solar power, geothermal, solar photovoltaics, tidal, wave, are good additions to the mix. Hydroelectric is added for its load balancing ability. Nuclear and coal are less beneficial. Corn and cellulosic ethanol should not be included in policy options. Hopefully, the next administration will be wise enough to follow Pr. Jakobson's recommendation . . . and align its subsidies with the right kind of technologies.

Tags: energy sustainability

Posted by: bennett

New ag-tech innovations show promise | Cleantech Group

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:09:11 -0000

Researchers working with sensors for trees and grape vineyards reveal promise for improving efficiency and reducing resource costs in agriculture.

Tags: efficiency energy sensor

Posted by: bennett

Grand Challenges for Engineering

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:17:17 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

With input from people around the world -- much of it on this website -- an international group of leading technological thinkers were asked to identify the Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century. Now their conclusions are revealed on this website.

Tags: 21st century carbon challenges electricity energy engineering future photovoltaics renewables science solar sustainability technology transport

Posted by: keulenae

Spain expects 3,000 MW in solar plants by 2010: ENN

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 19:23:01 -0000

Spain is one of the world's hottest markets for solar panels and Sebastian said he expected capacity by the end of this year to be five times a target of 371 MW that the government had originally set for 2010 in a renewable energy plan.

Tags: energy government renewable solar spain

Posted by: jeff-milw

Electric device promises better gas efficiency | Cleantech Group

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:25:35 -0000

Researchers say they’ve produced an electric device that can boost fuel efficiency in cars and trucks and by as much as 20 percent

Tags: efficiency energy gas

Posted by: bennett

Home solar: What kind of system should you buy? | csmonitor.com

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:38:39 -0000

The type of solar energy capture system you put on your home depends on your needs. If you want to go full tilt and generate usable electricity from your home’s rooftop – and even possibly contribute power back to the larger grid – tried-and-true photovoltaic arrays might be just the ticket. A typical installation involves the panels, which are constructed of many individual silicon-based photovoltaic cells and their support structures, along with an inverter, electrical conduit piping, and AC/DC disconnect switches.

Tags: csmonitor energy home photovoltaic solar

Posted by: jeff-milw

New bug ferments green fuel on the cheap

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:52:02 -0000

Genetically engineered bacteria could make cellulosic ethanol cheaper to manufacture, researchers report. The finding could unlock more energy from the waste products of farming and forestry. Ethanol from cellulose, the kind of sugar in cornstalks and sawdust, is being promoted as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, with the advantage that it does not use food crops such as corn as raw materials.

Tags: alternative bacteria cellulosic energy engineered environmentally ethanol friendly genetically sustainable

Posted by: jeff-milw

Compulsory contributions from UK energy companies (11 Sep 2008) - Reckon LLP

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:34:42 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

UK Government announcement (8 pages, PDF) of a plan to “propose legislation requiring energy suppliers and electricity generators to contribute an estimated additional £910 million” towards a “Home Energy Saving Programme”. This cost estimate relates to the period to March 2011.

Tags: efficiency energy home.improvement insulation oil taxation uk windfall

Posted by: keulenae

The Oil Drum | UK Energy Flow Chart 2007

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:11:27 -0000

Every few years the UK Department of Trade and Industry, now Department of Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, publish a chart of the nation's energy flows. Here's the most recently published chart based on 2007 data:

Tags: energy uk

Posted by: bennett

UNESCO e-Learning Programme

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:00:48 -0000

Tags: e-learning energy

Posted by: keulenae

An introduction to sustainable energy - LearningSpace - OpenLearn - The Open University

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:00:46 -0000

Tags: e-learning energy

Posted by: keulenae

The balance of power

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 12:02:40 -0000

What will happen when the gas runs out, when the deepest oil well of the Arabian peninsula finally runs dry, when the giant drills of the offshore platforms reach nothing but dry rock? Will we face a future of blackouts and electricity rationing, or will we find a way to avert the doomiest scenarios and continue living lives in which energy consumption is crucial to everything we do.
Think of the electricity you use in a day. You are woken by the clock radio buzzing into life, and you turn the bathroom light on as you climb into your power shower. After dressing you head downstairs, where you turn on another radio, put some bread into the toaster and turn on the kettle, getting the milk from your fridge to put in your tea. After breakfast you head to work, where the lights are burning - and on go the computer and desktop fan.

Tags: alternative energy fossil future opec renewable sustainable

Posted by: jeff-milw

The Oil Drum - Peak Oil Update - August 2008: Production Forecasts and EIA Oil Production Numbers

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:56:51 -0000

An update on the latest production numbers from the EIA along with graphs/charts of different oil production forecasts.

Tags: energy forecast oil prediction

Posted by: jeff-milw

Cogeneration Can Slash Carbon and Costs (ENN)

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 01:05:09 -0000

Cogeneration of electricity and heat is one of the most promising means of using existing technologies for sustainable ends, but it is also one of the most neglected and least understood. Cogeneration can dramatically increase energy efficiency, slash carbon emissions, and save money.
Using cogeneration in combination with heat-pump technology and plug-in vehicles as part of a renewable electric grid, we could say goodbye to gasoline and to coal electricity generation and have a real chance in 10 to 20 years for an 80 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. This transition will not require rocket science but simply the integration of existing technologies.

Tags: carbon co2 cogeneration efficiency electricity energy heat increase sustainable

Posted by: jeff-milw

The Energy Challenge - Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits - Series - NYTimes.com

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:57:12 -0000

When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.

That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands.

Tags: congested electric electricity energy fossil fuels grid nytimes nytimes.com power regional renewable turbines wind

Posted by: jeff-milw

Sustainability Experts: Business Heros of the Future

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:20:39 -0000

In the 21st century, issues surrounding resource consumption, global warming and overpopulation are surfacing more frequently. Progressive corporations, businesses and individuals are working toward being more independent of depletable resources, and improving their ability to self-sustain.

Tags: conservation energy engineering environment sustainability sustainability experts technology

Posted by: yugosakimi

Moon Mined for Earth’s Alternative Fuel?

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:07:26 -0000

Mining for helium-3 on the moon is being considered as another alternate fuel source.

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

"Just 40 tons of this stuff has enough potential energy to meet the total U.S. electricity demand for a year." Does this mean we will be mining the moon for Helium-3 any time soon to fuel the earth? Probably not, since the cost to extract Helium-3 from the moon would be enormous and it would require "hundreds of millions of tons of soil" to "be processed to extract a ton of helium-3".

Seems a long way off. I can't see it working before tipping points if we don't use the money for viables. posted by radoxme

Tags: alternate energy fuel fuels helium-3 moon sustainability

Posted by: yugosakimi

The OwnerIQ Blog » Blog Archive » Solar Curtains to Power Your Home

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:20:24 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

The semi-transparent solar curtains are not as efficient as glass-based solar panels, but their ability to mold to any shape and blend with the surroundings is an attractive feature.

The emerging technology is still too costly for consumers, but shows an evolution in the way designers think about integrating energy into our homes.

Tags: curtains energy photovoltaics solar

Posted by: radoxme

Abengoa's Corporate Blog: What energy will our grandchildren use?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:04:58 -0000

There are two different aspects to bear in mind when speculating on the future of energy. First, which will be the energy source? And, secondly, what will the energy vector of the future be? Let us now consider both issues.

In 1960, physicist Freeman Dyson indicated, more or less directly, in an article in Science magazine on the search for extraterrestrial civilizations titled "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation" the importance of solar energy in the development of any civilization. In that article Dyson pointed out that a technologically more advanced civilization than ours would build so-called Dyson Spheres, spherical structures surrounding a star, with the aim of taking maximum advantage of the radiation emitted. Therefore, his idea was that the future of an advanced civilization would necessarily opt for making the most of solar energy

Tags: energy energy.news solar

Posted by: theenergynet