Alternative Energy Diggs

Since commercial delivery trucks run similar routes every day and return to the same spot after all the work is done, they can charge overnight. A plug-in hauler like this one (which could hit 200-mile range soon) might be a model for cutting greenhouse gases worldwide read more | digg story

Mike Jackson, CEO of Village Green Energy, explains what makes some carbon offset and renewable energy certificate (REC) programs beneficial to the environment and what to look for in a provider. read more | digg story

Our relationship to energy is rapidly changing. What had once seemed like endless supplies of fossil fuels are now obviously finite and with an ever-increasing cost. The most innovative approaches to solving environmental or economic problems involve recognizing potential treasure out of what would otherwise be waste. read more | digg story

Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of. read more | digg story

A design for an ultra-environmental aricraft just won the top prize at the prestigious Lucky Strike Junior Designer Award. Roland Cernat, who just graduated from the University of Applied Sciences Schw äbisch Gmünd / Germany created the airplane with the environment in mind. read more | digg story

Ausra, a developer of utility-scale solar thermal power, has opened the first US solar thermal power factory, and the highest capacity plant in the world, in brightly lit Sin City. As if you needed another great reason to visit, right? read more | digg story

If there's one thing most people know about solar cells, it's that they are too expensive. Now, MIT researchers think they may have found a way to increase the double the performance of solar arrays with cheap dyed glass and some tricks borrowed from fiber optics. read more | digg story

MIT engineers say they’ve created a new approach to harnessing the sun’s energy that also provides windows with a clear view and illuminate rooms at the same time without the need for tracking devices. read more | digg story

The "cubic mile of oil"--a metric roughly equivalent to the amount of oil consumed worldwide each year--is frequently used to explain the challenge facing solar, wind, geothermal and biomass power.Just as with oil, gas and hydroelectric, some places are just better than others for generating different types of power. read more | digg story

The prospects for renewable energy in Pennsylvania received a significant boost yesterday, when Democrat Governor Edward Rendell signed into law a Bill establishing a $650 million energy fund to support the sector. read more | digg story

One of the main barriers to the widespread adoption of fuel-cell vehicles has been the lack of a hydrogen-refueling infrastructure. Step forward ITM Power, a UK company that has developed a hydrogen refueling station that could be installed at home, providing a ready-made solution for fuel-cell car owners.read more | digg story

US automaker General Motors said Tuesday it will equip the roof of its factory in Zaragoza in northeastern Spain with solar panels to create the world's largest rooftop source of power from the sun. read more | digg story

Hawaii just made it a law... But, apparently, approximately 90% of Israeli homes already have solar water heaters and have had them for a long time. It began in the early 1950’s when the Israeli government encountered a fuel supply shortage, and restricted the times when water could be heated. read more | digg story

According to NanoMarkets, a leading industry analyst firm based here, the thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) market will produce the equivalent of 26 gigawatts (GW) by 2015 and will generate well over $20 billion in revenues in that same time frame. read more | digg story

Germany's transport minister, Wolfgang Tiefensee, announced this weekend that his country plans to build up to 30 offshore wind farms to meet the country's renewable energy targets. Berlin wants to source 25,000 megawatts of energy from wind farms by 2030. read more | digg story

Plans to cover the countryside with thousands of wind turbines could leave the UK vulnerable to mid-winter black outs, a new study suggests. read more | digg story

Sure, wind is among the cheapest, cleanest fuels generating the power Texans increasingly demand. But as officials brag about the state's status as the No. 1 wind producer in the country, they're also debating how much is too much. read more | digg story

Environmental campaigners have called for a change in policy on biofuels after a report that they have caused a 75 per cent increase in food prices. read more | digg story

Great Balls of Geothermal Fire! Everyone knows that volcanoes have plenty of heat to spare, and normally we prefer that they keep it to themselves. Now, with energy prices rising, some communities are starting to reconsider their rumbling neighbors. read more | digg story

Toyota is planning to add solar-powered air conditioning to high-end models of its Prius hybrid cars, a report says. read more | digg story

You get in it like a normal car, turn the key like a normal car, put it into gear like a normal car and drive it like a normal car. But there is no smoke-spewing tailpipe, no noise, and no need to ever stop at a gas station. This electric vehicle goes about 3 cents to a mile, when compared with a gas vehicle that go between 10 and 12 cents a mile. read more | digg story

The Danish isle of Sams, over the past 10 years, has gone from exclusively using fossil fuel energy sources, to living exclusively off renewable energy. Using a combination of onshore &offshore turbines, private mini-turbines, solar panels, straw-burning furnaces & biofuels, the 4,300-resident island has become a sort of a sandbox for green . . . read more | digg story

At present, China produces just over 6 Gigawatts (GW) of wind energy, making it 5th in the world for total wind energy. However, with China’s massive push for 21st Century renewable technologies, we shouldn’t be surprised if China achieves 100 GW by 2020 say energy experts. read more | digg story

In that magical year for electric car 2010 – Tesla plans to have a 5-passenger electric Sedan out and on the road. The Model S is to have a 225 mile range on a single charge, not too shabby! But as is the case with Tesla vehicles, buyers had better have padded wallets as the price is expected to be around $60,000, and likely to higher near release. read more | digg story

The American Southwest has some of the best solar resources on the globe. Nevada, with abundant land and sunshine is becoming a hot bed for the solar industry. The result is green jobs and billions of investment dollars. read more | digg story

After the ridiculous announcement that the BLM (the agency that regulates all of America's sunniest lands) wouldn't be able to approve applications for solar development for a full 22 months, there was significant public outcry. Today, in response to that outcry, the BLM is lifting the moratorium. read more | digg story

Leaders in the U.S. solar energy industry blasted the Bureau of Land Management's decision to put a freeze on applications for new solar projects on public land in six Western states, in order to conduct an 'extensive' study looking at the environmental, social & economic impacts of solar energy in the United States. read more | digg story

A solar and wind-powered electronic billboard will debut in New York’s Times Square in December, becoming the flashy intersection’s first eco-friendly ad. Forty-five solar panels and four wind turbines will power the nearly 6,000 square foot billboard, resulting in a reduction of carbon dioxide usage by 18 tons a year. read more | digg story

Most railroads have shown a reluctance to use a biodiesel blend in their locomotives, but the Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad has decided to test the concept this summer.The first biodiesel powered train pulled out of Creston last week, hauling 52 cars of wheat and 500 gallons of biodiesel in the locomotive's saddlebag tanks. read more | digg story

The Prime Minister of India released a National Action Plan on Climate Change today that focuses attention on eight priorities, the first among which is “Solar Energy”, whose success-- according to the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh--has the potential to change the face of the country, and perhaps the world. read more | digg story

According to reports from the U.S. Department of Energy, 20 percent of the nation's power could be produced by wind by 2030. In 2006, wind power accounted for 3 percent of the nation's power consumption. Renewable energy experts say wind power will play a vital part in meeting future energy demand. read more | digg story

Hot on the heels of news that Mercedes will produce electric cars, fellow German manufacturer Volkswagen announces plans to produce a test fleet of plug-in hybrid electric cars by 2010. read more | digg story

The idea of personal planes may conjure up dark visions of “Blade Runner,” but the first batch of two-seater aircraft to fly on electricity rather than fossil fuels could reach more than a dozen buyers by year's end. read more | digg story

The US government is putting a hold on new solar energy projects on public land for two years so it can study the environmental impact of sun-driven plants.The Bureau of Land Management says the moratorium on solar proposals is needed to determine how a new generation of large-scale projects could affect plants and wildlife. read more | digg story

As fuel prices soar, Alaskan officials announced the exploration of the state's volcanoes, saying they could be exploited to provide energy for thousands of homes. read more | digg story

Oil prices are through the roof and with no relief in sight, a lot of environmental advocates are jumping on the biodiesel bandwagon. However, recent studies suggest that biodiesel might not be the “green” solution many are hoping for. read more | digg story

Vertical turbines have a few one-ups on the traditional three-blade turbines for urban areas like where I live. They’re quieter, blend in with a rooftop more seamlessly, take up less space, can produce 50% more electricity per year, can produce energy at lower wind speeds, and are safer for wildlife such as birds and bats. read more | digg story

A year ago, Ben Nelson got an old, non-running motorcycle and converted it to electric drive. He’d never had a motorcycle before and wasn’t an expert with electric vehicles, but in true DIY nature, he learned as he went along. Check out his story and the videos he made about this bike... read more | digg story

Basically you use a little fossil fuels to get started, then the first however many turbines/panels off the line power the factory, from then on in it’s all carbon neutral. read more | digg story

Denmark has had them for what seems like ages, now Delaware gets its chance to shine (or twirl around as the case may be). read more | digg story

The king of vacuum cleaners, James Dyson, is betting that a souped-up version of his vacuum cleaner and hair dryer motors will power cars over hundreds of miles. read more | digg story

Solar panel financing company, SunRun, said on Tuesday that it has raised $12 million from Foundation Capital. The San Francisco-based start-up is one of a handful of new companies looking to make solar panels an easier purchase for consumers through financing. Rather than buy the panels, SunRun customers buy the electricity the panels generate. read more | digg story

The tradition of nicknaming US states has made Florida the Sunshine State and Alaska the Last Frontier. But only one has given itself a second moniker, a move that matches its bold environmental vision. Welcome to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment – now also known as the Clean Energy State. read more | digg story

A team led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students last week successfully tested a prototype of what it says may be the "most cost-efficient solar-power system in the world," revolutionizing global energy production. read more | digg story

Leviathan Energy's Daniel Farb claims to have invented the world's most efficient wind turbine. "The cut-in speed [on the Wind Lotus wind turbine] was two meters per second. The equivalent turbines on the market start at three meters per second. read more | digg story

"It can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds, travel between 125 and 155 miles on a single charge, and its lithium-ion batteries can be charged to 80% capacity in less than an hour." read more | digg story

Walking the floor of WINDPOWER 2008, the annual conference and trade show for the wind energy industry, one couldn’t help but be transfixed by all of the different types of turbines - at least I couldn’t. The wind turbine has become the iconic symbol of clean, renewable energy. read more | digg story

Mazda’s newest hydrogen rotary engine will take to public roads in Japan for testing this year. The company says the vehicle is the world’s first hydrogen hybrid car with a dual-fuel system, enabling the use of either hydrogen or gasoline. read more | digg story

Inside the company's custom furnaces, a set of special parallel strings are pulled through a molten pool of silicon. A thin "ribbon" forms between strings as the silicon cools. The ribbon is then cut into wafers, which are fashioned into solar cells. read more | digg story

Imagine being able to collect the energy of every person walking up and down the stairs from the Spinnaker Tower viewing platform in Portsmouth, UK. That is the proposal being put forward by David Webb, from the British consultancy of Scott Wilson. read more | digg story