Future Energy

Three universities of the USA have conducted studies related to renewable sources of energy and it has produced some interesting facts. The first and most important one is that renewable energy policies will lead to employment opportunities. Secondly, it will increase the consumer’s income and thirdly, it will have positive effect on the US economy too. The study Clean Energy & Climate Policy for U.S. Growth and Job Creation: An Economic Assessment of the American Clean Energy & Security Act and the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act presents quite an encouraging estimate. According to them as many as 1.9 million new jobs could be created across the United States within the renewable energy sphere. It would also account for an increase in annual household income by US$1,175 per year, and Gross Domestic Product could register a rise of US$111 billion by 2020. View Comments

Researchers and scientists are putting on endless effort to make the sources of energy clean and green. There are many devices in the market that run on solar energy. The alternative energy atmosphere is charged with anticipation and excitement. But till now one of the biggest dampeners in green energy scenario is the prices. Fossil fuels are available cheaply all over the world. But solar, wind, geothermal or biofuels are still expensive and out of reach of commoners. View Comments

What is worse than being away on a trip, at a ballgame or just at the office and realizing that you don’t have anywhere to plug in your mobile device? You see the last bar of power and panic starts to settle in because you are about to be cut off from the outside world. Worry no more because the portable solar charger Novacell is going to give you all the solar power that you can handle to charge up your devices. View Comments

With the big push on alternative energy sources, world leaders everywhere are pushing for new power technology to create power plants that will use different resources to keep the earth greener. Her Royal Highness, The Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has just made a huge step as a leader in this movement as she has announced the opening of the world’s first osmotic power plant, due to begin operations on November 24, 2009. View Comments

When people thought about telephones in underdeveloped countries it was like they would have to invest a huge sum in infrastructure in the form of poles, wires and equipments. No one imagined about cell phones at that time. They transcend most of the infrastructures. In this hour of impending depletion of fossil fuels we have to think differently. The steps may seem small today but they might leave a huge impact in future. Today we can’t be a bystander and watch the energy scene passively. View Comments

According to the Department of Defense News report, the Defense Department's total energy costs for fiscal 2006 and 2007 was above $13 billion. In the year 2008, due to soaring rise in oil prices, their department's energy bill was $20 billion. It is not a surprise when various defense departments are trying to use clean and green energy that will lessen the use of fossil fuel. Even the Pentagon is trying hard to reduce its dependency on fossil fuel. They are trying to develop jet fuels from algae, bacteria and rapeseed. The Pentagon also announced to the American Forces Press Service in June that they are trying to develop newer military vehicles with the use of lighter and stronger titanium. Titanium is better than steel as far as fuel efficiency and safety are concerned. View Comments

On the odd chance that you were traveling through South Israel in late June, you may have had to do a double take thinking that your eyes had deceived you. In the distance, it may have appeared as though a giant flower had sprouted right out of the desert floor. That was no dessert mirage, but it was the future of solar power. The Solar Flower Tower is one of the latest inventions in our never ending search to make alternative energy sources more viable. View Comments

The international image of America is a country that is constantly creating roadblocks in the way of reaching a global agreement on climate change and environmental protection. Americans are seen as totally oblivious to the issues of global warming, and energy and food crisis. Recent research shows a totally different outlook. When asked if it’s important for the U.S. to develop and use solar energy, 92% of Americans responded "yes," according to a recent survey by Kelton Research. View Comments

Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) has announced the near completion of its DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in Arcadia, Florida. This solar power plant will be producing electricity by the end of month. This project is ahead of its schedule. The plant has an impressive number of 90,000 photovoltaic panels. Experts claim that this solar power plant will generate around 110MW of electricity by the end of 2010. This will provide Florida with the distinction of the second largest solar power-producing state in the country. View Comments

In our energy deprived world scientists are trying to find out various elements, alloys and substances that can provide clean and green energy along with meeting our energy demands. This quest has led them to superconductors. Superconductor materials have no electrical resistance. This property paves way for electrons to travel through them freely. Superconductor materials also carry large amounts of electrical current for long periods of time without losing energy as heat. Scientists are of the view that metallic hydrogen can prove to be a high-temperature superconductor. View Comments

This can be achieved by using piezoelectric materials under busy roads. The property is aptly known as piezoelectricity and it's the ability to produce electric power in response to applied mechanical stress, and in this case this stress is the movement of vehicles on the roads. The concept was originally developed by Innowattech and now the company is laying down a sort of test road in Israel. Is it a solution to the global energy and environment crisis? It could very well be. View Comments

Ocean wave energy can be captured directly from surface waves. Blowing wind and pressure fluctuations below the surface are the main reasons for causing waves. But consistency of waves differs from one area of ocean to another. Some regions of oceans receive waves with enough uniformity and force. Ocean waves contain tremendous energy. Currently scientists and companies are considering exploiting the wave power of oceans to harness clean and green energy. View Comments

Gujarat, a state of India, is quite eager to opt for alternative sources of energy. It started out as a small dream. The Gujarat government visualized only 500 MW of solar power generation by 2014. But this humble goal may now be increased to 3,000 MW. The Gujarat Government is undertaking a $10 billion project and it will hold the distinction of the world’s largest solar power facility in India. This project will be backed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton. The 3,000oMW project will get aid with logistics and financial support from the William J Clinton Foundation. This foundation is a charitable organization founded by the former President. The foundation and the Gujarat government signed a preliminary agreement on Sept. 8, 2009. View Comments

A group of bright young Rensselaer students will soon take up the Hudson River, but with a difference. They are using a boat driven by clean and green hydrogen fuel. Their boat is the 22-foot New Clermont looked after by a three member crew. It is fitted with a pair of 2.2-kilowatt fuel cell units. View Comments

It is being estimated that the world demand for energy would be more than twice over by 2050 and we will still be clamoring for more than triple by the end of the 21st century. By that time stock of fossil fuels would be insufficient to meet the ever increasing demand. If we want to march ahead in future we have to seek answers for our energy requirements by using sustainable and carbon-neutral energy technologies. We have to depend on the use of sunlight to generate electricity as well as to split water molecules for the production of fuels. Nanocrystals could be crucial to the success of this vision. We know that electrical conductance in semiconductor nanocrystals is a decisive element for both solar electricity and solar fuel technologies. View Comments

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and IHI Corporation are undertaking an ambitious project of $ 21bn. They are aspiring to design and develop a Space-based solar farm that would generate 1GW of power. This will require an area of four square kilometer consisting of rows of solar panels. This space solar farm will be housed 36,000km above the surface of the earth. View Comments

Solomon Technologies announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Technipower LLC has installed its first Instant Solar(TM) system at its Danbury, CT headquarters. Technipower has successfully completed the development program in less than six months. Their pilot manufacturing is in the process now. View Comments

It seems the canvass of clean and green energy is getting bigger with each passing day. More and more products, vehicles, gadgets, homes and cities are being added to this ever expanding canvass. Germany’s Hamburg Harbor has announced the development of a world class Eco City. This eco city will be designed by Tec Architecture and the global engineering group ARUP. This city will encompass many industries and entrainment facilities. View Comments

Italy has come up with world’s first hydrogen power plant. This power plant is situated in Fusina, near Venice in the Veneto region of Italy. Enel is constructing this power plant producing no undesirable greenhouse gases. It is Italy’s largest power company with a track record of fifty million power and gas customers. Enel is procuring hydrogen from an accompanying production from Polimeri Europa's petrochemical plant. This hydrogen will be brought to the establishment by especially built pipelines. Polimeri produces a wide range of petrochemical products, and its ethylene-cracking process will be responsible for the hydrogen feedstock. This hydrogen power plant will be operational in 2010. It will provide power to 20,000 households. View Comments

In most part of the world safe and clean drinking water is unavailable for daily consumption and industrial use. Currently to desalinate water two kinds of technologies are being used. First is known as reverse osmosis and the second is electro-dialysis. Both of these processes need huge amount of energy. A team of scientists from China and U.S.A are working to eliminate ninety percent of the salts from seawater or brackish water. They are also trying to generate electricity from wastewater. "Water desalination can be accomplished without electrical energy input or high water pressure by using a source of organic matter as the fuel to desalinate water," reported in a recent online issue of Environmental Science and Technology. View Comments