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Switched-reluctance motors are candidates for high-performance variable-speed drive applications. They are getting attention for uses that demand energy efficiency because of their relatively flat efficiency curve that can hit 90% over a broad range of operating conditions.

program that provides financial rewards to utilities based on the performance of their energy efficiency programs.

Results from a year-long study on high-tech electricity meters found smart grid technology performed as intended, saving consumers about 10 percent on their bills while easing strain on the power grid.

THE dream of climate-friendly, petroleum-free motoring is creeping closer - thanks to a clutch of breakthroughs in nanotechnology. Several recently reported lab findings promise to vastly improve the safety and performance of the high-capacity batteries that electric cars will need, at last making them a viable alternative to today's petroleum-powered vehicles.

Here are a couple of pieces that appeared recently in Technology Review: one relates to EEStor's recent announcement with Lockheed Martin and what it means for the company, while the other is a look at a new type of hybrid lead-acid battery with an integrated supercapacitor that claims to last four times longer than conventional lead-acid systems and to perform just as well as nickel-metal hydride systems -- but at a fraction of the cost.

A new magnetic alloy from DOE Ames may meet one car company criterion for a more cost-effective and energy-efficient electric drive. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory appear to have developed a permanent magnet alloy that meets car manufacturer high-temperature performance requirements.

After safety, the longevity of the batteries in a plug-in hybrid is the greatest unknown. Can a plug-in hybrid’s battery pack retain the bulk of its energy capacity over 10 years of daily use and more than 4000 full-discharge cycles? (For a deeper look at the challenges facing plug-in hybrid batteries, see “Lithium Batteries Take to the Road”.)[ LINK: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/sep07/5490 ] As Don Hillebrand of Argonne National Laboratory, in Illinois, said tartly, “Batteries are the showstopper.” Periodic demands from the grid, even for only a small fraction of the battery’s stored energy, would clearly affect the cells’ life span—but no one has data on how much. Another open issue is the development of creative financing models for replacement battery packs costing several thousand U.S. dollars even after mass production is achieved. Third-party battery leasing could be one answer, if combined with a secondary market for batteries whose performance has fallen below automotive levels. Carmakers, electric utilities, and large consumer-financing groups are quietly batting around these notions to see if they can build a financial model that makes sense for all three parties.

replicating a modified off-the-shelf motor, adding a Bedini-like circuit for improved efficiency, smoother running, and possible over-unity performance.

For this special report, PM crunched the numbers on the actual costs and performance of each major alternative fuel. Before we can debate national energy policy--or even decide which petroleum substitutes might make sense for our personal vehicles--we need to know how these things stack up in the real world.

But even if we put this to one side, 51 mpg is hardly cause for celebration. In 1983, the standard Peugeot 205 managed 72 mpg on highways[6].

What that means in practical terms, is that the thermodynamics of the building design (insulation levels, window performance, tightness, solar gain, etc.) must be good enough to allow the reasonable application renewable resources like solar or wind power to render the building a net zero energy consumer.