Alternative Energy News

Basketball's Phoenix Suns are living up to their name — the Suns, Arizona utility APS and the City of Phoenix say they are planning to install a solar power system at the team's home stadium, US Airways Center . Construction is set to begin next spring, with the installation planned for the fifth floor of the parking garage. The system is just 194 kW and 18,000 square feet but the group says it will displace some 440,000 pounds of CO2 per year or “26 Phoenix Suns home games.” (For comparison, Google's solar rooftop is over 1 MW, BT's rooftop system is 500 kW, and the San Francisco's Giants have a 120 kW system). The Suns can thank Bay Area solar startups for the planned design, construction and financing. San Rafael, Calif.-based EI Solutions , which is backed by Bill Gross' Idealab and installed the Google solar system, will design and install the project. San Mateo, Calif.-based Tioga Energy , which has raised at least $14 million from Nth Power, NGEN Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, RockPort Capital, DFJ Frontier and Kirlan Ventures, will finance the deal. The project will use Chinese manufacturer Suntech's panels. Slapping solar panels on sports stadiums ha..

Since we can’t avail the benefits and drawbacks of conventional fuels indefinitely scientists are working constantly to improve on the non conventional resources of the energy. Researchers at South Dakota State University are trying to minimize the drawbacks of solar energy . They are working on new materials which can turn solar energy into an efficient and cheaper source of electricity. This new technology uses carbon based polymers and molecules as semiconductors so it is rightly referred as “molecular electronics” or “organic electronics.” Generally inorganic material silicon is used in semiconductors. (more…)

Honda Motor Corp. will introduce its long expected low-cost hybrid model at the Auto Show from Paris next month. The Japanese auto maker announced that the car will be launched on the market at the beginning of next year. The hatchback hybrid with five doors and five seats will be called Insight. Honda announced that they want to sell 200,000 Insight hybrids annually, half of them in North America. The car, worth $18,500, will be sold in Japan and Europe starting next spring. Currently, Honda sells a single hybrid model on the market, the Civic. In the first seven months of this year, Civic sales have increased by 27% globally, with over 39,000 units sold. The Toyota competitor sold over 280,000 hybrids in the same period, recording an increase of 8%. The Auto Show from Paris will take place between 2 and 19 October.

In the more and more crowded market of hybrid cars, Citroën will unveil their Hypnos, a new diesel-electric hybrid crossover concept, at the Paris Motor Show coming up this October. Hypnos has a 200hp engine, combining low fuel consumption and dynamic performance. The figures Citroën quotes are 50mpg and 120 g/km of CO2. Peugeot is also introducing a new concept hybrid car at the Paris show, the gasoline-electric hybrid RC. The hybrid RC is a four-door GT coupé designed to provide a very high level of efficiency both in terms of performance (with potential maximum power output of 313 bhp) and minimal impact on the environment (CO2 emissions of 109 g/km in the combined cycle or zero in electric mode). It seems like the two European car giants are already competing against each other in the battle for a bigger market slice. The other two, Renault and Fiat, already have present and near-future hybrid models for the public. The difference between them and the mainstream hybrid manufacturers are the prices, which are about to go lower, so everyone can afford one. Of course, economically speaking, what good is a hybrid for the average consumer, if its fuel savings cannot cover its pr..

A Swedish company called Home Energy is working with alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and bio-energy. One of their products is called the Energy Ball. It is practically a small wind turbine. The wind turbine they designed is suitable for home of small office use. So, if you have a passion for going green these days, this could be a way to follow it! The device is useful for whoever wants to reduce its dependence on energy with negative environmental impact, or plainly said, to save money. Energy Ball is really a family windmill, with a unique rotor design, which encloses the generator itself. The unique rotor form makes the Energy Ball supply energy at low wind speed (from 2m/sec). According to Home Energy, their smallest model, the V100, is able to deliver 15% of a normal home consumption, and it should be completely silent, so it should not interfere if it is mounted in an urban agglomeration. Although the making of home wind power devices are considered by some to bring more CO2 into the atmosphere than they save, they are still an economically viable option. Only the idea of cheap to free electricity brings me chills in this money-eating world. Below is a short s..

Alternative energy stocks closed on the downside as a plummeting Dow sucked the life out of the entire market and people ran for the cover of cash.  Disappointing jobless new coupled with lackluster retail sales triggered the sell off as and the bear rally was unstoppable. The Dow ended down 2.99% at 11,188.23.  The fact that oil dropped another $1.59 to$107.76 was pretty much lost in the fray. Alt-EnergyStocks.com – Your Resource for Alternative Energy Stocks LITHIUM-ION STOCKS – Visit our Lithium-ion Stock Page – Your source for Lithium-ion stocks Lithium-ion stocks had only two gainers today decliners numbered 11. Advanced Battery Technologies (Nasdaq: ABAT) finished in the green by closing up 1.54% to $3.96. They had a much better day going till the Dow started tanking but managed to hold on to the upside. Honda Motor Company (NYSE: HMC) was other stock in the green as its stock finished up .15% at $32.85. Altair Nanotech Inc (Nasdaq: ALTI) finished further down than any other lithium ion stock losing 9.85% to $1.83 following the announcement that a joint development deal with Eli Lilly had been axed. General Motors (NYSE: GM) was second down 5.24% at $10.68. NUCLEAR E..

Echoing the sentiments of the crowd at the Republican National Convention chanting “drill, baby, drill,” Republican presidential candidate John McCain emphasized “We will drill new wells off-shore, and we'll drill them now,” in his acceptance speech on Thursday night. McCain also used the subject of offshore oil drilling and building new nuclear power plants as a way to paint Obama as a candidate that wouldn't use all of the possible resources available to solve the energy crisis. Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without more drilling and without more nuclear power. But Americans know better than that. We must use all resources and develop all technologies necessary to rescue our economy from the damage caused by rising oil prices and restore the health of our planet. The tactic was similar to the one used by vice president nominee Sarah Palin on Wednesday night in her own acceptance speech. But in actuality Obama hasn't ruled out building more nuclear power plants — New Energy Finance pointed out as much in a report issued earlier this week. Obama has just been less enthusiastic than McCain, who has called for 45 new nuclear pl..

09/05/2008 - The Tata Power Company Limited, an integrated private power company from India, recently announced its decision to acquire 29...

09/05/2008 - Arizona State University has entered into a research and commercialization collaboration with Heliae Development, LLC and Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) to develop, produce and sell kerosene-based aviation fuel derived from algae...

09/05/2008 - The Spanish government will temporarily lift a cap on new solar power capacity above an earlier proposed level, in a seeming nod to industry pressure, press reports and insiders say...

Investorideas.com Green Investor Audio Series; Interview with Nancy Floyd, Founder and Managing Director of Nth Power

The world's largest biomass power plant running exclusively on chicken manure has opened in the Netherlands. The power plant will deliver renewable electricity to 90,000 households. It has a capacity of 36.5 megawatts, and will generate more than 270 million kWh of electricity per year. (...) Read the rest of 80,000 Homes To Be Powered By Chicken Manure (94 words) © Justin Thomas for MetaEfficient Reviews , 2008. | Permalink | No comment

Tata Invests $36M In Aussie Geothermal Firm: Mumbai's Tata Power will buy a 10 percent stake in Australian enhanced geothermal systems firm Geodynamics for $36 million. Hot rocks are heating up, as Google and the Australian government have both made investments recently as well - Herald Sun . Greenpeace Proposes Huge Grid for Offshore Wind: The environmental group has proposed plans for a 3,850 mile transnational power grid in the North Sea that would connect more than 100 wind farms, containing 10,000 turbines, to seven countries - Guardian . New York Approve Iberdrola's $4.6B Plan to Double State's Wind Energy: State regulators approved a deal allowing the Spanish energy conglomerate to acquire Energy East and invest $2 billion in new turbines across the state - NYTimes . New Zealand Passes Renewable Fuel Standard: The Kiwi Parliament passed legislation requiring oil companies to supply biofuels as a part of their total sales starting at 0.5 percent in October and going up to 2.5 percent by 2012. Critics echo the same concerns heard in the EU and U.S. where similar mandates have been challenged for raising food prices - The National Business Review . Biocatalyst Maker Codexis Pu..

I have to mention this highly optimal house recently completed in California. Jetson Green has all the details, so I won't repeat them here. Basically, the Margarido House is on its way to being the first home the nation that's both LEED-H certified and GreenPoint rated. I'm impressed by how many green elements are incorporated in this house, while still maintaining a highly appealing design. © Justin Thomas for MetaEfficient Reviews , 2008. | Permalink | No comment

If you have a big-screen TV, you may have some inkling about the amount of energy that goes into powering it. And while LCD TV’s use significantly less energy than plasma screens, these power-suckers are still nothing to scoff at. Fortunately, television manufacturers are beginning to realize that rising energy costs mean they have to address this problem. Sharp is presenting their environmentally-friendly way of watching TV at the IFA electronics show in Berlin. The company is also one of the biggest solar panel manufacturers in the world, and it believes that a single panel can provide enough energy to power an LCD TV for four and a half hours a day with no extra electricity from the grid. Read more of this story »

Sharp is introducing a new range of solar-powered LED streetlights. These self-contained lights charge during the day, and switch on automatically when darkness falls. They can operate for 10 years straight without maintenance. They make use of new, high-intensity LED spotlights, which are ideal for public parks. The LEDs illuminate with a directed light and don't send light into the sky (thus causing light pollution). The streetlights also feature a Seismic Motion Sensor that detects the occurrence of a major earthquake. If an earthquake is detected, the light turns on at full brightness during the night, to assist during possible power interruptions. Via: Sharp Press Release © Justin Thomas for MetaEfficient Reviews , 2008. | Permalink | No comment

Fueled by sugarcane bagasse, the new 33 megawatt facility is scheduled for commissioning in April 2010.

Last week, I profiled a gym that uses human-powered energy. It’s a brilliant idea, but there’s no reason why it should be limited to the gym. If you think about it, dancing expends just as much energy as working out. Shouldn’t that energy go somewhere too? Rotterdam’s WATT club, which just opened today, features a dance floor where the disco lights become more dynamic as people get their groove on. The floor even has a meter to show people how much energy they’re producing at any given moment. Read more of this story »

The University of California, San Diego , in support of its ambitious goal of being the greenest university in the U.S., are installing a 1.2 MW  solar electric system as part of its comprehensive sustainable energy program.  This system will contribute approximately 1.5 million kW hours of clean energy to the university per year and be one of the largest non-utility solar arrays in California.  The project is just part of a university effort to become energy independent, and should be finished and functionally running by the end of the year. Read more of this story »

The Republicans have been pounding the Democrats on energy policy so far this summer, effectively adopting an “all of the above” approach (at least in terms of their messaging) to solving our energy price woes. The Democrats’ responses, on the other hand, have failed to frame the debate on their terms, instead offering scattered solutions and saying “no!” to the Republicans’ plans. The Democrats, however, announced they plan to take back the debate as they return from recess next week and head into the fall. According to Congressman Markey (D-MA), they will deploy a counter-strategy capable of doing “a political reverse takedown on the Republicans.” The Democrats will test the Republicans with an “All of the Above” strategy that will embrace offshore drilling as it calls for a renewable energy mandate, energy-efficiency measures for buildings, and oil industry tax provisions. As the Republicans chew on that, I also have to wonder if the Democrats are really paying attention, once again, to what truly matters when it comes to energy policy in 2008. The Democrats say their bill is a work in progress and offered few specifics besides the information above and thei..

Duke Energy is calling for solar companies to bid on its planned $100 million distributed rooftop solar project in North Carolina. The power company says interested parties can check out this section of its web site and click on “North Carolina Solar Distributed Generation Program” to submit a proposal. Distributed solar projects are a growing trend for utilities and power companies that are trying to meet state renewable portfolio standards quickly. North Carolina has a renewable portfolio standard that goes into effect in 2012 and will require utilities to generate 12.5 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2021. Currently Duke generates some 70 percent of its power from coal, making it one of the top consumers of coal in the United States. Duke's solar rooftop project will start with an initial 850 rooftop and ground installations that will be plugged into the power grid at a total of 16 MW, which is enough to power 2,600 homes. The utility plans to start building it next year, but is still waiting for approval from North Carolina regulators. Duke will own the systems and install and maintain them through contractors. Duke said in May that it would be bu..

A digest of news and commentary from a UK peak oil perspective read more

AlwaysOn has just put out its second annual GoingGreen Top 100 Private Companies Awards and named Craig Venter's Synthetic Genomics as the GoingGreen Overall Winner. The startup aims to make biofuels by design through synthetically created organisms. Venter says his startup will produce octane from carbon dioxide — so-called “ fourth generation biofuels ” — by mid 2009, with the ultimate aim of undoing the oil industry. The GoingGreen awards whittled down more than 500 nominations from venture investors, investment bankers and industry experts to 100 companies from 11 different cleantech sectors ranging from water technology to green automobiles. The solar energy category was the most populated, including 17 startups, reflecting solar's continued prominence in the venture capital world. Check out the complete list of all finalists, with the category winners listed in bold, after the jump. Overall Winner Synthetic Genomics Biofuels Amyris Biotechnologies Biofuel Box Bionavitas Ceres Coskata Greenfuel Technologies LS9 Mascoma Mendel Biotechnology Range Fuels Sapphire Energy Solazyme Clean Energy CoalTek AltaRock Energy Bloom Energy General Compression GreatPo..

‘Tis the political season, and so we’re treated to scenes of one group happily chanting “Drill, baby, drill!” while another group pledges more support for solar and wind power, while clean coal industry lobbyists throw convention parties for delegates and an oil billionaire buys ads to promote wind and natural gas. It’s generally great to see [...]

Morgan Solar , a Toronto-based company launched last summer, believes it has the answer to creating simple and cheap solar concentrators. While other companies are working to make solar cheaper by using mirrors or lenses to magnify sunlight that is directed into solar cells, Morgan Solar takes a different approach. Their system uses a thin sheet of acrylic to concentrate sunlight 750 times . The sunlight is directed to a tiny cell on the edge of the plastic, greatly reducing the amount of material needed. Read more of this story »

One of the world's first coal-fired power plants equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is set to start up in Germany next week . The 30 MW Schwarze Pumpe power station , built and operated by Swedish power company Vattenfall , will produce power along with 10 tons of highly concentrated CO2 an hour. The CO2 will be loaded onto tankers and taken to a nearby gas field for sequestration. The €70 million ($101 million) pilot plant could prove to be a wise investment for the power company if the technology works. Vattenfall could then license the technology to other energy developers looking to cash in on cheap coal without the polluting emissions. The plant uses a special oxyfuel boiler that burns washed lignite, a low-grade coal, in the presence of pure oxygen, resulting in very clean combustion. The flue gas is then cleaned, cooled and compressed to a liquid state, which can be loaded on to tankers or piped underground. This technology is different from the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology being pursued stateside, where dirty coal is actually turned into a cleaner-burning gas before combustion. There are currently four IGCC plants in ope..

by Cristina Foung My favorite green product of the week: the Nova solar camera bag from Eclipse Solar Gear What is it? The Nova solar camera bag first and foremost is a camera bag. It's a large cavity bag that can hold an SLR and 3 lenses. It also comes with adjustable foam dividers so you can tailor the inside to work for your gear. But what makes it really exceptional is that the top of the bag has a solar charging module. It is compatible with any 12V car adapter. Why is it better? I'm sure I'm not the only one who occasionally forgets to charge her camera batteries before heading out the door. It can be a pretty tragic situation if you get your camera out to take some photos and you're out of juice. With the Nova, you've got a way to charge up even if you're away from an outlet. The only draw back is that you can't be time pressured - depending on the amount of sunlight, it could take 4 to 6 hours to charge your cell phone or your digital camera. And of course, harnessing the sun's energy is a great way to cut back on emissions associated with electricity generation. It also let's you off the hook for remembering to unplug your charger from a wall socket (boo vampire power ). ..

There will be no more posts on this blog. This blog -- including all its links and archives -- has been moved to www.cleanbreak.ca  and will now run on Wordpress. Attempts will be made in the coming days to have this URL automatically forwarded to www.cleanbreak.ca Thanks for your patience. Tyler

Tata Motors , will be launching the electric version of its Indica hatchback in Norway in a year, according to Reuters . Wait, why is the India company turning to Norway first before its local market? Good question. “Because, you know, lot (sic) of infrastructure is required for electric vehicles and … in Norway, they are making arrangements for electric cars,” Tata Managing Director Ravi Kant told Reuters. While the Indian market will have to wait for its electric Indica, Norway has already begun work to establish some of the necessary infrastructure, like charging stations, that will make electric cars viable for everyday use. Norway already has experience with the everyday use of EVs — Th!nk City and the Buddy are being produced there. The country has infrastructure to support their use. There are already 400 charging stations in Oslo alone . The so-called Indica EV can run for 110 miles to 124 miles (175 km to 200 km) when fully charged according to S. Ravishankar, senior general manager at Tata Motors' engineering research center. That mileage could vary depending on how the car is driven, and also the conditions under which it's being used. A country ..

Twelve states, New York City and the District of Columbia are taking environmental matters into their own hands and suing the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming the Bush administration has failed to control oil refinery emissions. Other states in the suit are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. This suit follows the April 2007 Supreme Court decision that carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels is a pollutant subject to the Clean Air Act. Thus the goal of the suit, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, is to force the EPA to adopt new, strict regulations to reduce oil industry pollution, contributing to global warming. The suit was filed in a federal court for the District of Columbia Circuit, and it is the latest (though certainly not the first) by states critical of the EPA's record. Good for you, twelve states et al, for trying to establish that the administration needs to be accountable for making bad environmental decisions that negatively the effect the health of our country and our globe. via cbsnews Share This

The US generation of wind powered electricity has finally pushed past the 20,000-megawatt mark, reaching a milestone that took only 2 years. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) made the announcement on Wednesday, pointing to the 20,152 MW of electricity generating capacity currently up and running in the US. “However, the looming expiration of the federal renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) less than four months from now threatens this spectacular progress,” said Randall Swisher, AWEA’s executive director. Subsequently, wind energy is well on track to providing the 20% of US electricity by 2030, as envisioned by the US Department of Energy (DOE). Read more of this story »

An editorial from the Wisconsin State Journal : America's effort to develop cleaner, more sustainable energy sources is threatened by the looming expiration of federal tax credits that boost renewable energy production and use. Congress should respond this month by extending and enhancing the credits, which encourage investment in solar, wind, biomass and other renewable power sources. A significant risk exists that at the end of this year Congress will let credits worth $500 million a year lapse, as it did three previous times. In those cases, investment in renewables fell dramatically before Congress revived the credits. Investment in wind power production, for example, fell 93 percent following the expiration of tax credits in 2000. This year the vast majority in Congress supports extending the credits, available to homeowners, businesses and investors for buying equipment to use or produce renewable energy. But legislation extending and improving the credits is stalled by a dispute over what to do about the impact on the federal budget deficit. The credits are part of a larger package of tax breaks scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Extending the breaks would cost the..

The presidential and vice presidential candidates have been laying out their energy policies at their respective party's conventions over the past two weeks, but they've largely left out the details in acceptance speeches. So Calcars.org , the group following all things plug-in-vehicle-related, has compiled the candidates' positions on , what else, plug-ins. Obama's stance is clearly more aggressive than McCain's when it comes to tax incentives, federal purchases and loans for carmakers, though the group says, regardless of which candidate is elected, “plug-in hybrids will have an advocate in the White House.” Here's Calcars.org's lineup: Obama: $7,000 consumer tax credit for purchase of new plug-in cars Some level of tax credits for conversions of cars $4 billion in loans and tax credits to carmakers for factory retooling White House fleet all-plug-in within a year (as security permits) 50 percent of cars purchased for the federal fleet will be plug-in by 2012 1 million plug-in cars on our roads by 2015 Raise fleet fuel economy 4 percent per year McCain: $5,000 consumer tax credit for purchase of new “zero-carbon vehicles”; near-zero PHEVs would get a perc..

Today we all are feeling the need of growing green. We have already put the various resources of planet earth on risk and some of the resources will not last for our great-great grandchildren for future use. So it’s better that we start mending our ways. Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and North Carolina State University (NC State) are in the process of developing new green technology that could lead to production of hydrogen from nitrogen-fixing bacteria. ARS inventors Paul Bishop and Telisa Loveless and NC State inventors Jonathan Olson and José Bruno-Bárcena developed the patent-pending technology. Bishop first demonstrated novel aspects of bacterial nitrogen-fixing more than two decades ago. (more…)

Researchers say growing water demand, along with waterborne contaminants, require closer examination for new desalination and filtration technologies.

Exelon, the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the United States has filed a license application with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US-NRC) to build two new nuclear power plants near Victoria, Texas. When operating, the plants will produce zero units of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, sulfur oxides, and fly ash. Exelon has chosen the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR) marketed by GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy. Each of the reactors will produce approximately 1,500 MW of electric power. One of the key design features of the ESBWR is a large degree of passive safety provided by large water reservoirs, natural coolant circulation and safety systems that operate without any electrical power. ( Link to animation of ESBWR safety system operation ) Read more of this story »

The $37 million deal gives India's Tata Power a 10 percent stake in the enhanced geothermal systems company.

While the Republicans threw punches at Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama this evening at their convention in Saint Paul, the cleantech community of the Bay Area gathered to praise Obama as the best hope to help solve our energy crisis with clean power. The Cleantech For Obama group (CT4O) kicked off what founding co-chair Jeff Anderson said will be a nationwide campaign to both get Barack Obama elected and “create a political brand and voice for the clean tech and green business community.” To achieve the former CT4O plans to raise at least $1 million from the cleantech community for Obama. To help bring in this sizable sum before the election, CT4O promises big fund raising events. Anderson said venture capitalist and Nobel laureate Al Gore plans to come to the Bay Area for a CT4O gig in September or October, which alone could pull in $500,000 to $1 million. Former California State Comptroller and Managing Partner of the Westly Group Steve Westly was even more optimistic, saying he hopes Michelle Obama, Joe Biden and perhaps even Obama himself will attend CT4O events. Beyond fund raising, CT4O is working with the Obama campaign on outreach and messaging. Th..

The deal comes less than two months after LDK Solar signed a deal with a competitor, causing GT Solar shares to take a tumble.

Suzlon bulks up with REpower, RWE takes an interest in Quietrevolution, and we spot 22 other deals over the past seven days.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's speech accepting the Republican vice presidential nomination on Wednesday night conveyed her support for the type of energy policy you'd expect from someone who has expressed doubts over mankind's role in climate change . During the speech she largely focused on increasing domestic oil drilling and natural gas production, and gave very brief mentions to nuclear, clean coal and a laundry list of alternative sources. She didn't touch on climate change or go into any details about getting the U.S. off of fossil fuels. “Energy independence,” was the key term, and Palin stressed finding domestic resources so that the U.S. isn't dependent on foreign nations for its fuel supply. Palin highlighted her work in Alaska to help build a $40 billion natural gas pipeline that could increase American domestic power supplies. On the subject of increasing both domestic natural gas and oil drilling, Palin was clear: We Americans need to produce more of our own oil and gas. And take it from a gal who knows the North Slope of Alaska: we've got lots of both. Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as i..

09/04/2008 - Miasole, the California based thin-film solar company, has secured finance from at least seven major institutions this summer, in its latest venture capital round...

09/04/2008 - AltaRock Energy Inc. announced recently it had finalized agreements with Weyerhaeuser Company and the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation allowing it to explore the potential for developing geothermal projects in California, Oregon, and Washington...

Batteries are becoming increasingly important to our lives. Not only to sustain our rapidly expanding wireless technology requirements, but also to support our need to travel about.

National Wind, LLC, announces today the completion of its acquisition of Delphi Financial Corp.

When you think about fuel cell-powered transportation, you probably also think about automobiles. But Proton Power Systems might just change your perspective. PPS claims to have launched the world’s first fuel cell-powered passenger ferry. The ferry marks the first use of fuel cells in marine passenger transport. The Zemship runs on a hybrid unit consisting of two 48 kW fuel cell systems and a lead gel battery— a combination that has twice the fuel efficiency of a diesel engine. Read more of this story »

Obama's Science Test: Obama has responded to the group's 14 question science exam. Clean energy research and development feature prominently in his take on where federal funds will help advance science - ScienceDebate08 via NYTimes . Toyota Releases Sustainability Report 2008: The Japanese automaker released its annual sustainability report today, disclosing its emission and energy reduction goals. To save some trees, download the 91 page report - Toyota . HP Strips Down Laptop Packaging for Wal-Mart: The retail giant named HP the winner of its Home Entertainment Design Challenge for slashing the packaging of the Pavilion laptop by 97 percent. Wal-Mart's pressuring all of its vendors to reduce packaging to save space and fuel - Press Release . eBay Goes Green with WorldofGood.com: Online auctioneer eBay launched a socially and environmentally responsible retail portal today called WorldofGood.com which will sell products that have a positive impact on the world - WorldofGood . Stolen Solar Panels Selling on eBay: If your uncle comes home with some “new” solar panels that he says fell off the back of a truck, watch out. Solar panels are being stripped off schools, churc..

The developer of biocatalysts for the pharmaceutical and biofuel industries had originally filed to raise up to $100 million.

Desperation often yields innovation. In Japan, fear of rising food prices and low fish stocks has led scientists to create the “eco-rig” . The eco-rig, which is actually a giant floating generator, uses solar and wind power to produce approximately 300 MWh. Though some energy is lost moving the electricity onshore, the effect is the same as with a nuclear power station. And the eco-rig does more than just produce power. Read more of this story »

Green chemistry startup Segetis takes a Lego-like approach to developing its chemicals and materials: Take the right pieces from biomass waste like wood and crop residue, and you can build some really cool stuff. This morning the two-year-old Golden Valley, Minn.-based startup said it had added years of green chemical cred with the appointment of Jim Stoppert as its new CEO. Stoppert was a former exec of bioproduct development at Dow, Cargill and NatureWorks , two chemical giants and a green chemistry joint venture startup, respectively. With a new CEO and $15 million raised last year from Khosla Ventures , the company is now looking to push its technology into commercialization. Segetis has been focused on research and development for the past year, but plans to move into a demonstration facility in 2009 or early 2010, Business VP Snehal Desai, also a NatureWorks vet, told us. How does green chemistry work? “The liberation of that carbon from the biomass is ultimately what we're all trying to get to,” Desai said. Once you get those precious carbons separated you can recombine them to build chemicals, materials and fuels, some with similar qualities to petrochemicals. ..

A company called Quiet Revolution has come out with a better mousetrap in regard to residential wind turbines . What makes the Quiet Revolution wind turbines unique is the vertical axis that the blades rotate upon. A horizontal axis is more efficient when it is pelted with consistent winds. A vertical axis, however, is efficient in all kinds of wind conditions including gusts and turbulence from surrounding buildings or other obstructions. The winds don’t have to come from consistent directions or at consistent speeds for a Quiet Revolution turbine to work its magic. I’ve talked before about the Helix wind turbines , based in California, which is based upon a similar concept. The Quiet Revolution, however, is not so quietly catching on in the UK and other European nations for backyards, city parks and rooftops of homes and businesses. Still a bit on the pricey side, the Quiet Revolution QR5 is retailing for about $44,000, which means that a significant price drop is needed to make this economically feasible for the average household. Still the UK-based company has been able to procure wind generator installations at the Kings College School in Wimbledon, high-rise buildings an..

The wind-turbine manufacturing leader Vestas gave the the Democratic National Convention a gusty green-power presence . What do the Republicans have at their event? Wind energy bragging rights. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced this morning in Minneapolis at the RNC that the U.S. has installed over 20,000 MW of wind capacity, and is now the world leader in wind electricity generation, with enough to power 5.3 million American homes. According to the AWEA the U.S. has surpassed Germany in wind-powered electricity generation, even though Germany has more installed wind capacity. While the U.S. has 20,152 MW, Germany has about 23,000 MW, but U.S. wind farms produce more electricity because of stronger winds. In the U.S. 20,000 MW is about 56 billion kilowatt hours every year. A fact like this must warm the heart (and wallets?) of investors like T. Boone Pickens, who is spending more than $10 billion building out one of the world's largest wind plants in a Texas wind corridor. High fives, for our natural green power resources. U.S. wind capacity has seen record growth in recent years. AWEA says the 10,000 MW wind power mark was hit in 2006 — that means it too..

Algae fuel is getting another boost with the announcement of a $3 million grant to create kerosene-based aviation fuel derived from the substance. Arizona State University researchers have already moved past the laboratory stage on the project and are working on a pilot scale production system. The research team says that cost reduction benefits are greater than with kerosene produced from petroleum. Read more of this story »

Scientists working at Arizona State University's Laboratory for Algae Research & Biotechnology hope that tiny algae will be able to fuel jumbo jets. Now, their research is being spun-off as a $3 million research and commercialization collaboration between Heliae Development and Science Foundation Arizona to develop, produce and sell kerosene-based aviation fuel derived from algae. The researchers say they've already moved their work from the lab bench to a pilot-scale demonstration and production project. Led by Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld, the research centers on specific algal strains that produce lots of fatty acids that, when de-oxygenated, are very similar to kerosene. The team says its process can produce kerosene cheaper from algae than from petroleum. With a few fuel additives, kerosene can be made into aviation fuel, and with this seed funding, the project will continue development of algal strains specifically for jet fuel at ASU's new SkySong innovation center. Heliae is contributing $1.5 million for further research and development and Science Foundation Arizona will match that; ASU will receive a total of $3 million for the project. Arizona Technology Enterprises, ..

PLUG POWER INC – Selects Maxwell Technologies Ultracapacitors Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG), a leading developer of hydrogen fuel cell-based power systems for electric lift trucks is trading up 1.12% following a September 3, 2008 joint announcement with Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL ) that Plug has selected Maxwell's BOOSTCAP® ultracapacitors to enhance performance and energy management in its line of GenDrive(TM) power units. David Schramm, Maxwell's president and chief executive officer, said that Plug Power has placed a purchase order for Maxwell's BOOSTCAP MC2600 2,600-farad ultracapacitor cells to be delivered during the third and fourth quarters. “Plug Power is a leading integrator of fuel cell-based power solutions for zero-emission material handling vehicles, such as electric lift trucks, as well as other continuous and backup power applications,” Schramm said. “This innovative combination of technologies is another example of the synergy between hydrogen fuel cells' extended energy output and ultracapacitors' short duration burst power capabilities.”  To read the entire story, click here : Visit Alt-EnergyStocks.com - Your resource ..

In an agreement with New York's attorney general, Xcel Energy - one of the nation's largest electric utilities and my own - will now give investors details about how global warming could effect business. (Full disclosure: I'm an Xcel shareholder) This all started last year, when Attorney General Cuomo subpoenaed Xcel and four other companies to determine whether their plans to build new coal plants poised risks to investors that the companies didn't disclose. For example, more coal plants could put the utility at higher financial risk if Congress were to enact carbon legislation that penalized companies with dirty energy sources. Under this first-of-its-kind agreement, Xcel will analyze the most likely consequences of current and potential future legislation on its business. It will also include any financial risks due to lawsuits and global warming effects like drought or rising sea levels. It will publish this information in its investor filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Justin McCann, an energy analyst at Standard & Poor’s, told the New York Times that other companies may follow suit: Utility lobbies are very strong, but they have read the writing on the wa..

In response to Hurricane Gustav and the oil production that was taken offline as a result, the federal government announced that 250,000 barrels of oil would be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Oil prices drop as US opens reserve taps LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday as the US government decided to release crude stocks from its strategic reserve after Hurricane Gustav halted energy production in the Gulf of Mexico. "The release of the oil will prevent any shortage and that will, of course, help calm the market," said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz. The United States announced late on Tuesday that it was releasing 250,000 barrels of oil from its strategic reserve to help cover lost production. There was no oil production on Tuesday in the Gulf of Mexico region, where a quarter of US oil is normally produced, the US Department of the Interior said. Ninety-five percent of natural gas production was also offline. The threat from Gustav had raised grim memories of the 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita which damaged or destroyed about 165 of around 4,000 oil platforms in the Gulf. Damage this time appeared to be much less severe. ..

The latest generation of hybrid cars will be blessed with revolutionary fuel cells developed by Monash University scientists that can make hybrid cars more reliable and cheaper to produce. This breakthrough was published on August 1, 2008 in the Science Journal . The key component in the latest design of these fuel cells is Goretex(R), which a specially-coated form of popular hi tech outdoor and sporting clothing material. (more…)

New positive analyst outlooks and a pending IPO spell a bullish outlook for China's low emissions lighting market.