Clean Energy Transition

Just as EU ministers are due to rubber stamp the extension of tariffs on Chinese exports of energy-efficient bulbs at their meeting in Luxembourg on Monday (15 October), a major Italian lighting firm is planning to challenge the decision at the European courts.

New Zealand electricity producers, including Contact Energy Ltd., will face a 10-year ban on the construction of new gas- or coal-fired generators to help the nation meet its Kyoto Protocol emission reduction targets. . . .

Without an electric drive with advanced lithium batteries, this is no different than what was originally developed. It could compete on the basis of price with the Aptera, which also is very sleek and thus requires fewer mega Joules to go the same distance. Perhaps, VW dealers can hope that shoppers won’t look for a plug. Now the question is, can it get a Five Star safety rating, like its competition?

A Williams International 40 kW turbine drove an alternator which powered the battery-electric powertrain. The turbine design included a recuperator.

We examined the world production of 57 minerals reported in the database of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Of these, we found 11 cases where production has clearly peaked and is now declining. Several more may be peaking or be close to peaking. Fitting the production curve with a logistic function we see that, in most cases, the ultimate amount extrapolated from the fitting corresponds well to the amount obtained summing the cumulative production so far and the reserves estimated by the USGS. These results are a clear indication that the Hubbert model is valid for the worldwide production of minerals and not just for regional cases. It strongly supports the concept that “Peak oil” is just one of several cases of worldwide peaking and decline of a depletable resource. Many more mineral resources may peak worldwide and start their decline in the near future.

So what is the Loremo? Is it electric? Hybrid? Neither. This puppy is a diesel -- hard to believe considering it gets 118mpg! The people at Loremo have done it simply by reengineering the design of the car from a the perspective of weight management.

ollecting solar power in space, where it is available 24/7 and is not attenuated by atmosphere or clouds, remains one of my favorite long-term energy solutions, on a par with nuclear fusion

Players can build their cities with ecofriendly options, such as wind turbines, hydrogen fuel stations, and green buildings. Their decisions will ultimately drive the climate of their city and even imperil it with disasters should their CO2 levels go too high. Pollution also affects the health of the population, and quality of life. Building these green options are more costly than conventional ones, which lends a realistic approach to the game as well.

The Nanogenerator uses a technique of lining up zinc oxide nanowires inside of a special electrode. Tiny filaments are sent into movement by natural forces like blood flow, walking, mechanical vibration or ultrasonic waves. The devices are so minuscule that thousands of them could fit on a head of a pin.

With the UN Bali conference drawing closer, steelmakers have called on governments to adopt a sector-specific approach to tackling CO2 emissions from the iron and steel industry, saying "regional policies" such as the EU-ETS only shift the problem to Asian countries, where environmental rules are less stringent

A hybrid electric train built by Bombardier just took its inaugural trip in France. Diesel locomotives have always been a kind of hybrid -- their diesel engines charge batteries which power a gigantic electric motor. But this new train can run on electric power from any source available (not just the engine.) The trains will be charged with grid power, and will produce roughly 20% less CO2 than non-hybrid versions.

Under Brussels' plan, if a country does not fulfil its quotas - i.e. produce enough renewable energy - then they would buy it elsewhere. Berlin fears that this market situation this will lead to a rise in prices for bio-energy, above the current fixed price in Germany.

What was remarkable in the press conference was the caution of Günther Verheugen saying openly that he was not sure that hydrogen would be the future of cars and stating in response to one of my own questions that he sees a lot of potential for electric cars.