For a minute there I thought I had to get off my couch, when all the while the fact is we don't have to do anything much but keep things afloat for just a few decades more! In fact, we'd best shut up about PO, because if our offspring finds out we knew about it all along, they'll turn and wring our necks come 2036!
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:49 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
In view of the following statement made by Hansen, I had to post the following article.
Quote:
Another vital component, Dr. Hansen said, is a nationwide grid for distributing and storing electricity in ways that could accommodate large-scale use of renewable, but intermittent, energy sources like wind turbines and solar-powered generators.
University of Nottingham Developing New Large-Scale Energy Storage Device Combining Properties of Supercapacitors and Batteries
Quote:
Researchers at the University of Nottingham (UK), supported by €1.4m (US$2.2 million) from E.ON, one of Europe’s leading power and gas companies, are developing new energy storage systems for use with renewable energy generation including a device that combines the properties of supercapacitors and batteries (“supercapattery”) and undersea compressed air storage bags.
The effective and efficient storage of energy produced from renewable sources such as wind, solar, wave and tidal power is a challenge facing the energy industry. As these types of renewables only produce energy under certain conditions, storage capacity will help ensure supply can be matched to demand.
In the discussion that occurs at the end of the above article, you will see that others have commented on the need for a "nationwide grid".
Quote:
Fellow GCC contributors let dream big, and go all the way. Instead of batteries and smart grids let’s build the super grid. This grid can store electrical power with zero resistance if the superconductive cables are looped around the continent in a racetrack pattern. Electricity can be fed into this grid in the mid west by wind mills and extracted on the east or west coast without electrical loss. All generation that feeds this grid can stop and the grid will act as a big battery until all the circling electrons are used. The grid can absorb power spikes intermittent power generation and generation failures like a lake can absorb a thunderstorm.
Unlike in the smart grid, no expensive microprocessor controls are needed. Every thing is done by the laws of physics like water in a pipeline and a tank.
Transmitting electricity over thousands of miles with little losses is easy and available now:
http://www.abb.com/hvdc
Why wait for fancy solutions, why not just do it?
And this:
Boulder to be first “Smart Grid City”
Quote:
The next-generation power grid—enhanced by digital technologies throughout the network to give generators, distributors, and customers greater control—promises to improve efficiency and lower operating costs. This year, in the most full-scale effort yet, Xcel Energy begins introducing intelligent grid technologies that it hopes will make Boulder, Colo., the first Smart Grid City.
powermag _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2008 6:36 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Major progress in technology needed for 25 percent renewable energy use to be affordable
Quote:
Dramatic progress in renewable energy technology is needed if the United States desires to produce 25 percent of its electricity and motor vehicle fuel from renewable sources by 2025 without significantly increasing consumer costs, according to a RAND Corporation study issued today.
Produced by the RAND Environment, Energy and Economic Development program, the study provides a "snapshot" of the nation's potential energy expenditures if a requirement was imposed that 25 percent of electricity and motor vehicle fuels used in the United States by 2025 would come from renewable resources (a goal activists have described as "25 x '25").
The study finds that biomass resources and wind power have the greatest potential to contribute toward reaching the 25 x '25 goal.
physorg _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Ghosn: Nissan Can Lead in Mass-Marketing EVs
Quote:
Nissan will focus on battery electric vehicles (EVs) as a core product and will offer a range of high-quality products that are reliable, well-engineered, attractive and fun to drive, said Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in a speech at the company’s annual general shareholders meeting in Japan.
When I say “zero-emission” vehicles, I am referring to electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles, cars that do not burn oil and release zero emissions into the air. Fuel cell vehicles are promising for the future—and Nissan continues to invest in their development—but the production and distribution of hydrogen is yet much more problematic than electricity or batteries. Because the battery technology is more advanced, we will introduce electric vehicles first.
For the next-generation of EV cells, AESC is working on a new cathode material of a nickel-mixed Mn spinel and a graphite carbon anode. The cell will feature an enlarged footprint, but will be thinner to increase heat discharge, and have a capacity of 30 Ah.
Falx Air unveils multi-purpose hybrid aircraft design
Quote:
The latest airborne example to come to our attention is this Hybrid Transport Aircraft design from Falx Air. In addition to being used as a standard light cargo platform, mid-air light re-fueling or surveillance aircraft, the Very Light Hybrid Transport (VLHT) can be adapted to carry six passengers, or four stretchers and two medical staff. Like the company's hybrid-electric tilt-rotor aircraft platform unveiled earlier this year, the design combines automotive hybrid electric technology with a fast charge battery system and solar cells to deliver exceptional fuel economy.
Falx puts the fuel consumption of the two engines at at 6.6 gallons (20 liters) per hour based on bench testing under load.
gizmag _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:35 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Brazil Signs Deal to Export Sustainable Ethanol
Quote:
A group of Brazilian ethanol companies signed a deal to export certified sustainable ethanol to Sweden, in the world's first agreement of such a kind, they said Wednesday.
Brazilian groups Cosan, Guarani, NovAmerica and Alcoeste agreed sell to Sweden's Sekab 115 million liters of anhydrous ethanol that will adhere to certain social and environmental standards.
He said flex-fuel cars, which are normally filled with E85 in Sweden, account for 25 percent of all new cars sold. Ethanol consumption in the country will surpass that of gasoline in eight years if this trend continues.
planetark _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:49 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
In an Age of Fossil Fuel, Returning to the Water for Electricity
Quote:
Hydropower supplies 19 percent of all the world’s electricity, and between 7 and 9 percent of electricity in the United States. But most of it comes from large hydroelectric projects — with dams at least 200 to 300 feet high — that environmental advocates say can be harmful, flooding large areas upstream and damaging animal habitats. The promise of micro, or low-head, hydropower, using dams under 100 feet high, is that it is carbon neutral, renewable and has little or no impact on the environment. The United States Department of Energy estimates that low-head hydropower could eventually meet a third of the nation’s electricity needs, while reducing carbon emissions from fossil-fuel-burning power plants by 35 percent.
In New Jersey, HydroCoil Power, a two-year-old Wynnewood, Pa., company with offices in Hackettstown, has set its sights on 700 to 800 dams less than 100 feet high that could potentially be used to generate electricity with the company’s patented turbines.
Microhydropower is not a well-known concept, and even in environmental circles it is not as highly promoted as an alternative power source as solar energy or windmills are. But HydroCoil’s president, Dr. Jonathan Rosefsky, said the 6-by-36-inch turbine he invented costs about half as much as solar panels or a wind turbine and can pay for itself in as little as two years — as opposed to 5 to 10 years for wind and 20 to 30 years for solar.
nytimes _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Apr 12, 2007 Posts: 1162 Location: Central NC
Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 6:59 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Graeme wrote:
Brazil Signs Deal to Export Sustainable Ethanol
Quote:
A group of Brazilian ethanol companies signed a deal to export certified sustainable ethanol to Sweden, in the world's first agreement of such a kind, they said Wednesday.
Brazilian groups Cosan, Guarani, NovAmerica and Alcoeste agreed sell to Sweden's Sekab 115 million liters of anhydrous ethanol that will adhere to certain social and environmental standards.
He said flex-fuel cars, which are normally filled with E85 in Sweden, account for 25 percent of all new cars sold. Ethanol consumption in the country will surpass that of gasoline in eight years if this trend continues.
"Among the standards is zero tolerance for child or slave labor. Mills must use at least 30 percent mechanized harvesting today and increase this to 100 percent by 2014. An independent international company will audit all the groups production units twice a year."
The title of the article is a lie. They are relying on the adage "if your current lies aren't working tell a bigger lie". _________________ "The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences…"
Sir Winston Churchill
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 9:10 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
GreenField Ethanol and Enerkem Partner on Commercial MSW-to-Ethanol Facility in Alberta
Quote:
The city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, has signed a 25-year agreement with GreenField Ethanol, Canada’s largest ethanol producer and Enerkem, the developer of a thermochemical (gasification and catalytic synthesis) process to produce synthetic fuels, for a facility to produce biofuels from municipal solid waste (MSW).
The C$70 million facility will initially produce 36 million liters (9.5 million gallons US) of ethanol per year, according to the partners. As part of the agreement, the City of Edmonton will supply a minimum of 100,000 tonnes of sorted municipal solid waste per year.
greencarcongress _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
The KSTAR reactor generated a sustained super-hot plasma field during a demonstration in the central city of Daejeon, the ministry of education, science and technology said.
The ministry said KSTAR is one of the world's first research reactors to create plasma, which has been studied by scientists for the commercial use of fusion energy.
The reactor is a pilot device for the planned International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France, which is intended to be the world's first reactor emulating the sun's nuclear fusion principle to gain unlimited energy.
"Today's demonstration was highly successful," Kwon Eun-Hee, spokeswoman for the National Fusion Research Institute which operates the KSTAR reactor, told AFP.
physorg _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:38 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Commercialization of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen stations to commence in 2015
Quote:
��Leading automakers in and outside Japan and Japanese energy companies have agreed on a scenario which sees commercialization of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and hydrogen stations beginning in 2015.
��They have also identified the challenges facing future energy diversification and post-Kyoto Protocol talks.
��Under METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), activities for overcoming the challenges are being accelerated through the Japan Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, through promotion of technology development programs led by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), through investigations into a large scale pilot project, and through other unique initiatives by individual energy and automobile companies.
FCCJ _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:17 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
German expert predicts US solar energy boom
Quote:
But that's was happening this week in San Francisco, where organizers of the world's largest solar exhibition, Germany's Intersolar, launched an American version of their confab amid predictions of a massive solar boom in the ailing US economy.
Conference chairman Professor Eicke Weber, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, insists that it makes perfect sense for Germans to bring their solar accumen to the Golden State.
As soaring fuel costs combine with rapidly changing public perceptions about the dangers of climate change, the US embrace of solar power is at a tipping point, he predicts. Soon, the US will follow the massive investments already made in Europe in renewable energy, where thanks to strong government support the solar industry is years ahead of its American counterpart.
'Before, our only argument was the environment, but now with oil at 140 dollars a barrel, I think the much stronger argument will be the pocketbook,' he says. 'That's why I think solar energy will have a great future in the United States.'
monstersandcritics _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 10:41 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Hydrogen Power To Have "Dominant Effect" On Transportation Industry, Study Shows
Quote:
Hydrogen powered vehicles could potentially, in the best case scenario, result in the elimination of all oil from U.S. transportation over the next 50 years, a National Research Council study released Thursday revealed.
In a press call with reporters, the chair of the National Research Council committee Mike Ramage analyzed the findings of the study, which focused on the best case outcomes for the use of hydrogen energy by the year 2023. Best case means that "technical hurdles are solved - vehicles are cost- effective, and that consumers will buy them," Ramage said.
In the short term, over the next 15-20 years, Ramage urged the continued use of biofuels, noting that they "would have most likely impact on oil reduction and carbon dioxide reduction." However, as technology allows hydrogen to maximize its potential, hydrogen will overtake biofuels and have a "dominant effect" on the industry, Ramage said.
The NRC study found that hydrogen could power a few million vehicles by 2020, 60 million vehicles by 2035, and would power 80 percent of new transportation fleet by 2050," Ramage said. Government support for hydrogen would include spending $50 billion over the next 15 years to bring down vehicle costs in order to allow hydrogen vehicles to become a self-sustaining market.
The ethanol subsidy, by contrast, will cost the U.S. government $160 billion over the next 15 years, Ramage said.
seekingalpha _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Last edited by Graeme on Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:49 pm; edited 2 times in total
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:29 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Texas approves plan for 18,500 MW of wind power
Quote:
Texas regulators on Thursday approved a plan to lure $5 billion in new investment to build power lines to move electricity from the state's windiest areas to power-hungry cities.
Texas utility regulators advanced a plan to build transmission lines to accommodate about 18,500 megawatts of wind generation by 2012.
The cost for the plan approved by the Texas Public Utility Commission in a 2-1 vote exceeds $5 billion. While the plan could add $4 a month to Texans' power bills, regulators hope that additional wind power will reduce the state's reliance on costly natural gas-fired power plants.
reuters _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:29 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Conference panelists see car battery breakthrough
Quote:
The lithium-ion battery, already a fixture in personal electronic devices, soon will become the answer to high oil prices and environmental concerns as it bulks up to power rechargeable electric vehicles, government, university and industry panelists predicted Monday.
But although the technology shows great promise, battery makers worldwide still are grappling with high costs, the impact of charging and depletion on battery life, keeping the batteries cool and other issues, according to panelists at the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose.
Tien Duong, who works in emerging battery technology with the U.S. Department of Energy, told the group he believes lithium-ion batteries are ready to start displacing the nickel-metal-hydride batteries now used in many hybrid gas-electric vehicles.
AP _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2567 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:47 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Andy Grove Calls for Concerted US Effort to Convert Pickups, SUVs and Vans to 40+ Mile PHEVs
Quote:
In a lunchtime address at the Plug-in 2008 conference and exposition in San Jose, California, Andy Grove, former Chairman & CEO, Intel Corporation, called for an urgent inter-industry effort in the US to convert pickups, SUVs and Vans (PSVs) to plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) with at least a 40-mile electric range.
Characterizing the current energy situation as a “clear and present danger” to the United States, Grove said that an inter-industry task force comprising electric utilities, automakers, high technology companies and academia should develop a plan to have 10 million plug-in hybrid—which he calls dual-fuel vehicles—PSVs on US roads in 4 years, and then present the plan to the new President on 21 January 2009.
greencarcongress _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Jun 21, 2006 Posts: 1204 Location: Burgundy, France
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:09 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says EU
Quote:
Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission's Institute for Energy, said it would require the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts to meet all of Europe's energy needs.
_________________ All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become. - Buddha
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