Energy Economy

While there are solar powered laptops that will allow a computer to be powered without an energy source, not everyone may be able to afford them. There was always the hope that there would be an affordable way for people in poorer and very remote areas to be able to benefit from the uses of a computer and there finally is because of the pedal powered laptop in Afghanistan. Pedal power laptop is a pedal powered machine that uses nothing but pedal power to operate the laptop. The system is set up so that just about anyone with two legs would be able to power the laptop and they claim that even a third grader can step up to the pedal power laptop computer and get to work with no problems. 3 Comments

We are familiar with the importance of intellectual property. It is an essential indicator of the economic growth. Number of patents issued in any country in a year indicates the growth of research and innovative development. 4 Comments

We are experiencing the effects of economic recession remotely or directly. Our political leaders are trying to assuage the situation on several levels. United States House and Senate members reached an agreement last week on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. President Obama is about to sign economic stimulus package. President Obama has already anticipated the future of solar energy and other renewable energy sources. He has clearly emphasized this by stating, "the country that figures out how to make cheaper energy that's also clean, is going to win the economic competition of the future." 4 Comments

As much as possible people are trying to choose clean and green technology for their energy need. They understand the gravity of pollution and its implications in the near future. People of Carson City, Nevada have presented a great example of environmental awareness to follow. They have started a private-public initiative called Team Nevada. It will look into renewable energy matters by drawing attention of businesses and supporting renewable energy technology. Team Nevada will register its presence at the Renewable Energy World Conference & Expo North America on Mar. 10 to 12 in Las Vegas. 5 Comments

Last year many alternative energy investors suffered huge losses when several prominent stocks fell by 70% or more. But they have not lost hope in alternative energy stocks and their future. According to a new survey investors are pinning their hopes on alternative energy industry this year. Waggener Edstrom Worldwide report states that investors and analysts participating in the survey anticipate alternative energy stocks to surpass the broader markets. "Despite a deeply challenging business climate, the financial community continues to view alternative energy stocks with measured optimism," Lev Janashvili, vice president of Waggener Edstrom’s global corporate communications practice, said. 1 Comment

Tim McCabe, who is the director of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department, says that Oregon is focusing resources on "all things renewable." The state always showed a keen interest in solar and renewable energy in the past few years. And their efforts are bearing fruits in the form of clinching several coveted projects such as Solar World in Hillsboro, which became operational in October and have the largest solar cell manufacturing facility in North America; Solaicx, a silicon manufacturer for solar energy applications, in Portland; and Sanyo Solar in Salem. 2 Comments

India is facing an acute energy scarcity which is hampering its industrial growth and economic progress. Setting up of new power plants is inevitably dependent on import of highly volatile fossil fuels. Thus, it is essential to tackle the energy crisis through judicious utilization of abundant the renewable energy resources, such as biomass energy, solar energy, wind energy and geothermal energy. Apart from augmenting the energy supply, renewable resources will help India in mitigating climate change. India is heavily dependent on fossil fuels for its energy needs. Most of the power generation is carried out by coal and mineral oil-based power plants which contribute heavily to greenhouse gases emission. 22 Comments

Barack Obama has been elected as the 44th President of the USA and with his election, Solar Integrated Technologies rose by 30% yesterday after increases of 22% by Renewable Energy Corporation and 16% by the wind turbine maker Vestas. Barack Obama promised to spend $150 billion over the next 10 years developing alternative energy. Promises like these leave a legacy for future generations to imitate. Clean technology and green energy stocks have registered a new high as City analysts anticipate a major boost from the incoming president. The US election result has provided a much-needed encouragement at a critical time and that too for an industry which is still in its nascent phase. And this sector is threatened by the banking crisis and emerging economic recession. Some companies had seen their share prices halve in the turmoil that began in September. Reduction of carbon level, a cushion against fluctuating oil prices and creation of more jobs in economic slowdown would be the natural offshoots of this policy. 9 Comments

When we keep talking about alternative fuels hydrogen often gets the center stage. It may well be the future fuel for vehicles. But it often faces the chicken or egg dilemma. Suppose you have hydrogen driven vehicle but where are you suppose to pull up and refuel your vehicle? Will hydrogen gasoline stations be enough in number and strategically located to inspire confidence among the consumers to buy such vehicles? 16 Comments

Many American states are offering incentives to business houses and residents if they are willing to install solar panels for their use. But sadly these incentives are set to expire on 31 December 2008. The solar tax credit offers 30 percent of a system's cost, but it will go down to 10 percent from January 1 if Congress doesn't take steps after it returns Monday. Now manufacturers and installers are experiencing a rush for panels before federal incentives can expire. Many solar manufacturers and installers say they can't take on more orders for 2008 because they're either out of panels or out of time. 1 Comment

The United States has taken over from previous champion Germany in wind power production. For this USA has to be thankful to nature and human resource that produce technology. Nature has gifted USA with stronger wind than Germany. Randall Swisher, the executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, said that the US wind energy capacity is growing faster than anyplace else. But if we try to view those stats differently, Germany harnesses seven percent of their power from wind and Denmark generates twenty percent of power from wind. Wind energy only constitutes 1.2% of total power consumption in America. 6 Comments

Middle Eastern oil sheiks move over. There’s a new kid on the energy block! Bio-fuel is the new green, completely clean fuel source. It’s also known as “agro-fuel” and can be broadly defined as any solid, liquid or gas fuel consisting of or derived from biomass. Biomass is nothing more than materials that were recently living organisms—in this case, plants and their by-products. Even better, it is a renewable energy source, unlike petroleum and coal, which once used are gone forever. Thanks to a new miraculous feat of engineering and science, this energy source has suddenly become competitive with oil, catapulting it from a backyard business into a global economic phenomenon. 10 Comments

The new Electricity Feed-in (Renewable Energy Premium) Bill 2008, empowers the Canberrans to generate their own electricity, and the beauty of this bill is they can sell back the excess electricity to the power grid and get paid for it! They will be paid a tariff 3.88 times the retail cost of electricity for 20 years from the date they agreed upon to join the scheme. The government wants to create awareness regarding clean energy and they are using “feed-in tariff” as an incentive. This scheme can prove quite attractive to those who have settled in one place and own houses. 2 Comments

We all are familiar with the current scenario of the conventional sources of energy. Oil prices are rising and sources of conventional energy are depleting fast. They are not going to last forever. Conventional energy sources come with heinous side effects. We are paying dearly for playing with the eco-balance and situation will not improve with a magic wand. These circumstances are forcing the humankind to look for alternative sources of energy. Common people and companies are looking for alternative sources of energy for fulfilling their needs that don’t leave a heavy carbon footprint for the present and future generations. We can derive non conventional energy from wind, water, sun or earth (geothermal). Currently wind energy is emerging as the most popular non conventional source of energy. No Comments

Green collar jobs are related to products and services that are environment friendly. The organizations that incorporate environment friendly practices are termed as "green" and the jobs arising out of this green policy is "green collared job." Like other sectors, green sector too has designing, manufacturing, installing, operating and maintenance units. The current scenario of price rise of gasoline, depleting stock of conventional energy sources, ozone effect, global warming are forcing humankind to look for alternative energy sources. Various research organizations are on the verge of breakthroughs as far as green technology is concerned. No Comments

All three presidential nominees for the upcoming 2008 US elections are promising that they can end America's addition to oil through the research and development of green energy technologies. They claim that developing alternative energies will create jobs and turn the economy around, while helping to stop global warming and the national security issues caused by dependence on foreign oil imports. While their platforms sound appealing, politicians often say what we want to hear in order to get votes... so who do you trust is most likely to follow through on these promises? Are their claims even realistic? We gathered a few YouTube clips of each candidate speaking on the topic. Scroll down to cast your vote and leave your comments. 3 Comments

With oil prices crossing the $135-dollar barrier the alternative energy company executives are really rubbing their hands in anticipation. In just May the oil prices have risen 20% and consequently the stock markets are panicking big time. Rising raw material costs, if not tackled in time, is definitely going to trigger an economic slowdown. On the contrary the stocks of alternative and renewable energy companies are hitting new highs with: ABN AMRO index of renewable energy stocks has climbed 9.5%. 5 Comments

Business is often viewed as an enemy of the environment, but still we feel positive when the stocks of the alternative energy companies begin to do well. Business, by its very logic, is always about money. We know this is a flawed logic because in the end not everything boils down to money. There are many tangible and intangible returns of doing business that are far more important than the "bottom line". No Comments

The X-Prize Foundation, most commonly known for it's space exploration challenges, has launched a new generation of contests that they hope will have a global impact aned encourage a positive influence on global warming and progress toward clean, green, renewable energy. $100 million will be awarded to prize concepts that promote a world where energy is no longer a source of conflict and pollution, such that energy will someday be affordable and abundant, clean and renewable, and used efficiently and equitably. The project will start with a nine-month process to select the best prize targets. 3 Comments

This fall, Wisconsin's Mid-State Technical College will be offering three new renewable energy degree programs. These will include biorefinery technology, renewable electricity technician and renewable thermal energy technician training. Ronald Zillmer, associate dean of MSTC's technical and industrial division hopes the courses are the beginning of new trend in green energy education. "The college is investing in programs for jobs that will be here 100 years from now. This is not a short-term endeavor; folks feeling the effects of globalization and being displaced from their jobs are looking for stability." 6 Comments