Group items tagged

by placing piezoelectric crystals under the asphalt that convert vibration into electricity, Israeli engineers hope to harvest energy from passing vehicles.

Great idea to use existing investment in roads. I hope this one is big.

The road to grid parity for PV power generation will be difficult, needing five or more years to compete with utility power, unsubsidized, on a large scale, noted Mark Thirsk, managing partner at Linx Consulting, at a recent SEMI PV forecast luncheon (Sept. 18) in Santa Clara, CA.

On electric vehicles, we need to be very careful to distill the announcements which represent real products, backed up by organisations with manufacturing facilities.

Scientists in Israel say they have invented a way of turning traffic into electricity. Where does the 'energy' really come from?

Does it make sense to solar power everything? It leads to many small, and relatively expensive installations. Wouldn't it be more effective to go for a battery & plug-in concept where possible. One would loose the inflight recharging of the solar airplane, but for everything else, the plug-in concept probably provides benefits.

In addition, the lifetime of cars, for example, is much lower than the one for solar panels. Why integrate both?

Yes, I agree that there is too much emphasis on the novel in attempt to solve climate change. Creating technology for the designer label market to sell goods to the rich who want to tell their friends they are green. The same investment in a solid developed renewable method could yield a hundred times the reduction of carbon or more...

Environ Sci Technol. 2003 Dec 1;37(23):5414-6. Global sustainability and key needs in future automotive design. McAuley JW. Basell USA Inc., 912 Appleton Road, Elkton, Maryland 21921, USA. john.mcauley@basell.com Abstract The number of light vehicle registrations is forecast to increase worldwide by a factor of 3-5 over the next 50 years. This will dramatically increase environmental impacts worldwide of automobiles and light trucks. If light vehicles are to be environmentally sustainable globally, the automotive industry must implement fundamental changes in future automotive design. Important factors in assessing automobile design needs include fuel economy and reduced emissions. Many design parameters can impact vehicle air emissions and energy consumption including alternative fuel or engine technologies, rolling resistance, aerodynamics, drive train design, friction, and vehicle weight. Of these, vehicle weight is key and will translate into reduced energy demand across all energy distribution elements. A new class of vehicles is needed that combines ultra-light design with a likely hybrid or fuel cell engine technology. This could increase efficiency by a factor of 3-5 and reduce air emissions as well. Advanced lightweight materials, such as plastics or composites, will need to overtake the present metal-based infrastructure. Incorporating design features to facilitate end-of-life recycling and recovery is also important. The trend will be towards fewer materials and parts in vehicle design, combined with ease of disassembly. Mono-material construction can create vehicle design with improved recyclability as well as reduced numbers of parts and weight.

If Self-Reliant Cities is a snapshot of a certain historical moment, why then have we decided to reissue it more than a quarter of century after its original publication? Because we deeply believe the energy and climate crises must ultimately be solved at the local level. It is there that the proverbial rubber meets the road, where theory becomes practice, where policy must be implemented. Cities are where more than two thirds of Americans and half the world's population live. Cities are the locus of authority closest to the people. Cities have significant authority over land use and building standards.

Is this a good idea?

This study concludes that introducing hydrogen into the energy system would, theoretically, reduce the total EU oil consumption by vehicles on the road by 40%, and by 2050. Also, on releasing the study results, the EU approved funding for a joint technology initiative to develop fuel cell and hydrogen technology. This recognition of hydrogen by the EU raises the possibility that hydrogen could realistically be used in future green solutions.