Group items tagged

Applies to both hydro reservoirs (i.e. water pooled behind a dam) and hydro pools filled with pumped-hydro. Note that the latter, pumped-hydro, already carries the emissions profile of the energy used to power the turbine pumping the water against gravity, scaled up for conversion efficiency losses.

New facility to use methane gas from a landfill to generate power.

"Rwanda harnesses volcanic gases from depths of Lake Kivu Project could power Rwanda for decades, while reducing risk of disaster for 2 million people living alongside 'exploding lake'"

Good catch Phil. We like to see things in this group which are the first deployment of a new concept, pushing the boundary for sustainable energy.

The whole idea stinks. But generating heat and power from livestock manure is appealing. The compost is placed into an oxygen-free machine that separates the methane gas and then uses it to create electricity to power farms or transport over the grid.

I have a story today on Enbridge Gas Distribution and its early investigation of biogas-injection into its natural gas pipelines. It's already being done in several European countries and some U.S. states, and is even mandated in countries such as Germany. Enbridge, and Terasen Gas in British Columbia, are among a number of gas utilities in North America that are trying to prepare themselves for the day when "bio-methane" will become a common component of natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Will the biogas quality affect the pipeline? Can it be used in all natural gas appliances without problem? How much does it cost to scrub out impurities? What's the best source: landfills, sewage treatment plants, biodigesters? All questions that are being asked and answered. Indeed, the Gas Technology Institute is in the middle of a $1.6 million (U.S.) study aimed as answering these questions.

Not green at all, reports a study suggesting that the methane released by fracking and drilling makes it worse than coal.

Hydrogen is a better source of energy than you think, according to Fujitsu. The Japanese electronics giant inaugurated a 200-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cell from UTC on Friday that will provide electricity as well as heat to the buildings on its campus here. The fuel cell--which sits in the parking lot and looks like a pair of giant green dumpsters--provides two types of energy to the facility. First, a unit heats methane with steam to create hydrogen. The hydrogen is passed through a proton exchange membrane (PEM). The electricity produced by the reaction with the PEM runs lights, computers and other equipment