Trends's feed | Diigo Group

Half of Global Electricity To Come From Renewables IEA Says

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:48:28 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Nearly 50% of global electricity supplies must come from renewable energy sources in order to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its latest study, “Deploying Renewables: Principles for Effective Policies.”

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Posted by: keulenae

Mining the Oceans: Can We Extract Minerals from Seawater?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:57:35 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Our society cannot survive without a cheap supply of minerals; so, it may not be too early to look for new sources.

If mines on land are gradually becoming depleted, could the oceans become our new mines? There have been several proposals for mining the oceans' floor, but that is just an extension of conventional mining and, besides, the task has proved to be complex and expensive. The real change of paradigm, instead, is in extracting ions dissolved in seawater.

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Posted by: keulenae

Energy, Electricity and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period to 2030 « RFF Library Blog

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:03:06 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

The IAEA has revised upwards its nuclear power generation projections to 2030, while at the same time it reported that nuclear´s share of global electricity generation dropped another percentage point in 2007 to 14%. This compares to the nearly steady share of 16% to 17% that nuclear power maintained for almost two decades, from 1986 through 2005.

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Posted by: keulenae

UK Behind Marine Renewables' Rising Tide

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:54:03 -0000

It's been a long, challenging endeavor, but there are signs that the economic ecosystem built up around wave and tidal power generation is at long last gathering enough momentum to make the jump from R&D-driven to full-fledged commercial industry.

Scotland, with its long stretches of west-facing coastlines, North Atlantic latitude and longstanding tradition of maritime engineering and commerce, is now at the leading edge of change when it comes to fostering development of marine renewables.

Wavegen's Limpet 500 system has been pumping electricity from the western Scottish Isle of Islay shoreline since 2000 while the company and project developer npower renewables have continued to move forward with plans to develop the Siadar Wave Energy Project, potentially the first under the Scottish government's Marine Supply Obligation program.

Marine Current Turbines is getting ready to flip the switch and fully commission a grid-connected 1.2-megawatt (MW) Seagen tidal turbine-based system in Northern Ireland's Strangford Narrow, while elsewhere in the EU, project developers and the marine renewables community await the much-anticipated commissioning of Pelamis's novel, serpent-like wave power system off the northern Portuguese coast.

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Posted by: gulfcoast

Range Fuels, Ceres To Collaborate on Cellulosic Feedstocks

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:42:15 -0000

Range Fuels, Inc., a company focused on green energy and the production of cellulosic ethanol, announced today that it is collaborating with Ceres, Inc., a leading company in the research, development and commercialization of purpose-grown herbaceous biomass feedstocks.

Range Fuels will explore the role that non-invasive, high-yield, non-food sources of biomass might play in Range Fuels' plans to produce cellulosic ethanol on a commercial basis. Ceres is primarily focused on the development of annual and perennial grasses, such as high-biomass sorghum, switchgrass and miscanthus.

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Posted by: gulfcoast

Howstuffworks "Will the landline phone become obsolete?"

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:03:36 -0000

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Posted by: ggarcia

The Santiago Times - English Language Newspaper in Santiago, Chile - News in Chile and Latin America

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:45:29 -0000

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Posted by: ggarcia

ENN: Small Hydroelectric Dams Not So Green

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:17:25 -0000

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Posted by: ggarcia

Energias Alternativas e Renováveis: Aprovada proposta que fixa em 10% participação de fontes renováveis na matriz energética até 2018

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:04:11 -0000

The Special Comission of Brazilian Senate aproved the proposal to increase the renewable energies for 10% until 2013.

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Posted by: ggarcia

A Portable Kinetic Motion Charger »» MetaEfficient Reviews

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:18:45 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

A company called M2E Power has announced plans today to release a charger that will powered by kinetic motion. The released date is expected to be next summer. The charger derives power from the motion of walking, jogging, cycling, or driving. Six hours of motion provides 30 to 60 minutes of charging power. It will be priced between $25 and $40.

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Posted by: keulenae

Data393 Launches Green Initiatives With Data Center Improvements That Reduce Power, Cooling Needs

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:10:35 -0000

Upgrades on Eve of Democratic National Convention's 'Greenest Political Convention in History' Held in Denver\n\nDENVER, CO--(Marketwire - August 22, 2008) - Data393, a Managed Data Holdings Company and a leading provider of colocation, managed hosting, disaster recovery and IP network services, announced today the completion of "Green" initiatives to decrease the facility's carbon footprint. The announcement was made in support of the City of Denver's role as host of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, which is touted as the "greenest political convention in history." Data393's Green initiative also follows in the footsteps of the City of Denver's efforts to leave an enduring legacy of sustainability programs in the Denver metro area. \n\nResulting from the expansion of its multi-million-dollar, 30,000-square-foot data center, Data393 has implemented technological advances and infrastructure upgrades at its Englewood data center, just south of Denver, that reduce its environmental impact. \n\n

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Posted by: gulfcoast

Trilliant takes $40M in one of the biggest smart grid investments to date

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:00:37 -0000

Part of the growing trend for nearly every electronic device to be able to communicate with others, smart grid and advanced metering startup Trilliant has taken $40 million in its first official venture funding.\n\nTrilliant, like competitors Ambient, Silver Spring Networks, SmartSynch and others, makes wireless communication devices for utility meters. When enough are present in an area, they can form a mesh network capable of communicating moment-to-moment use information back to utilities, and to the homes and businesses they’re installed within. (Some can also communicate via hardwired connections.)\n\nThe company is one of the oldest to try to tackle the problem. I covered it in more depth in June. The problem with looking at the field is that, at first glance, all the contenders seem to be pretty much identical; broadly speaking, each is approaching the same problem, that of trying to get more information about usage to consumers and utilities, in more or less the same way.

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Posted by: gulfcoast

Ocean Power: Europe's Next Green Thing

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:57:38 -0000

Ireland's OpenHydro and Germany's RWE are spending millions to try to turn the power of waves into electricity

With oil prices hitting almost daily record highs and global warming climbing up the public agenda, the need for alternative energy sources has never been more urgent. But while wind and solar have dominated the recent rush to invest in renewables, market watchers reckon it could now be marine energy's turn to shine.

Ocean power—using the energy from waves or tidal flows to produce electricity—is quickly coming of age as a viable green resource that could help meet ambitious global targets to reduce greenhouse gases and dependency on fossil fuels.

European and North American power companies such as Canada's Emera (EMA.TO) and Germany's RWE (RWEG.DE) are spending millions to fund wind and tidal projects. This investment has led to a new generation of more efficient technologies, with dozens of prototypes expected to be ready for commercial deployment within the next five years. "There's huge interest in both wave and tidal technology," says Thomas Boeckmann, clean tech analyst at market research firm StrategyEye in London. "It's gaining a lot of attention from energy companies, which will be able to offer financial backing and technical expertise to these startups."

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Posted by: gulfcoast

Tribunal approves Duferco’s acquisition of Highveld vanadium assets

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:42:08 -0000

The Competition Tribunal on Friday announced that it had approved the sale of vertically integrated assets by South African steel producer Highveld Steel & Vanadium to Swiss firm Duferco Investment Partners.

The deal formed part of the European competition regulatory body's conditions of the 2007 Highveld Steel acquisition by Evraz.

Duferco's subsidiary, Vanchem Vanadium Products, would acquire Highveld Steel's Vanchem operations, as well as its 50% stake in South Africa Japan Vanadium and 350 ordinary shares in the Mapochs mine, which produced titaniferous magnetitic ore for Highveld Steel, and ore fines for Vanchem.

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Posted by: gulfcoast

PV Solar Hits The Big Time - (Hyperlink to video)

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:49:43 -0000

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid203719194/bclid86272812/bctid1716456468

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Posted by: gulfcoast

Emcore Signs US $40M in Solar Cell Deals

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:21:55 -0000

Emcore Corporation announced that it has entered into two new supply agreements for solar cells and receivers with a combined total value of more than US $40 million. The larger of the two purchase contracts is a multi-year supply agreement for solar cells, to be delivered over four years.

The product to be delivered will be incorporated into concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) systems developed for commercial rooftop installations as well as utility-scale solar farms.

The customers placing these orders with Emcore are targeting CPV deployments in the United States with a particular focus on the California market, Emcore said. Production for these orders has already started and approximately US $1 million of product is expected to be shipped in the present quarter.

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Posted by: gulfcoast

Emerging Energy News: PetroVietnam sets up biofuel arm

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:52:47 -0000

HO CHI MINH: PetroVietnam is setting up a new company to manage its biofuel production and distribution, according to local media reports.

The new company, PetroVietnam Biofuel Joint Stock Co. will have an initial capital of about US$2.7 million.

PetroVietnam General Services Joint Stock Corp. (Petrosetco) will hold 51 per cent of the company. PetroVietnam Oil Corp. will hold 29 per cent, Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co. Ltd., 15 per cent, and PetroVietnam Finance Joint Stock Corp. (PVFC), five per cent.

The new company will produce ethanol from cassava. The output will be blended with gasoline sold at the local petrol pumps to help reduce the country's fossil fuel dependence.

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Posted by: gulfcoast

Mexico - Sustainable Rural Development Project, Vol. 1 of 1

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:22:13 -0000

Mexico -
Sustainable Rural Development Project

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Posted by: ggarcia

ANEEL - Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:12:42 -0000

Aneel’s College Board of Directors has authorized Copel (Paraná
Electric Energy Company) to implement the pilot-project which determines the
selling of exceeding energy, derived from animal waste, produced in small rural
proprieties in Paraná. The project, named Distributed Generation with
Environmental Sanitation Project, will allow the elimination of organic matter
resulting from the hog creation, which will stop being released over rivers and
deposits such as Itaipu’s. Such residue will be transformed, via biodigesters,
in biogas, a fuel used in the generation of electric energy.

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Posted by: ggarcia

Coal Carbon-Capture Projects

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:30:14 -0000

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will provide $36 million for 15 projects aimed at furthering the development of new and cost-effective technologies for the capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants. \n\n"Currently, the existing U.S. coal fleet accounts for over half of all electricity generated in this country," U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said. "The projects announced today will combat climate change and help meet current and future energy needs by curbing CO2 emissions from existing coal-fired plants." \n\n

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Posted by: gulfcoast