Energy Industry

If we try to get rid of plastics altogether from our lives, we know that it is quite impractical. So what is the next best thing? We can recycle plastic in such a manner that it is economical and produces clean and green energy for our utilization. Industrial designer Chris Allen has come up with an imaginative answer to the problem of plastic litter. He named his project as 'The Plastic Plan.' This project needs millions of plastic bottles along with their caps. We can procure these plastic bottles from landfills and carbon-intensive recycling plants. The next step is to convert these plastic bottles into thousands of cubes that can float on the ocean surface. Now after having thousands of similar these cubes can be joined together to form an offshore structure. This structure’s size is akin to three football fields. These structures are stacked one on top of the other. 9 Comments

Weizmann Institute created a milestone in the field of alternative energy in association with AORA. AORA is a leading Israeli solar energy technology company. It launched the world's first hybrid solar thermal power station at Kibbutz Samar in southern Israel. During the inaugural launch of the powerhouse, guests from other countries such as Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Chile and Australia were also present. Yehoshua Fried, who is the chief executive officer of the AORA, thanked American investor Meir Reiss and Canadian Director of Corporation and Consultant to Management, Zev Rosenzweig, for believing in his dream. 6 Comments

Coulomb Technologies has taken the initiative to install their ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Stations for electric vehicles in Walnut Creek, CA. Walnut Creek has got the distinction of becoming the third Bay Area city to deploy charging station. Coulomb’s charging stations were officially inaugurated on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at the Locust Street Garage. The charging stations were installed in three public parking garages in the heart of downtown Walnut Creek. 7 Comments

We have seen many Olympic Games but didn’t bother to check about the green quotient of the games, till now. What is most talked about is always the performance of the athletes. But slowly the scenario is changing. People are becoming aware of the green factor of the games and United Nations is taking active interest in making the games clean and green. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Russian Olympic organizers. According to this MOU, UNEP will help and advise them on making the Sochi Olympic Games environmentally friendly. Sochi Olympics will be held in 2014. There is more need to pay attention to Sochi and its flora, fauna and environment because Sochi is situated between the gentle shores of the Black Sea and the snow-capped Caucasus Mountains in Russia's Krasnodar Region and is renowned for its pristine setting. 1 Comment

It’s official now. Taiwan will hold the World Games 2009 in July. This international sporting event will include games like korfball, billiards, dragon boat racing and women’s tug-of-war. But why are we discussing World Games 2009 in an alternative energy spectrum? Actually Taiwan can boast of Asia's first fully solar-powered stadium. The stadium gives a dragon-like impression if you happen to view it from the sky. In their culture dragon is associated with good fortune. If you happen to spot the dragon scales, look carefully again. These dragon scales are actually 8,844 solar panels. These solar panels are enough to meet the stadium’s energy needs. The roof covers an area of 14,155m2 . They can produce about 1.14 gigawatt hours of electricity every year. This amount of electricity is enough to power 80% of the stadium’s surrounding neighborhood when it’s not in use. The stadium has 3,300 lights and two giant TV screens. 5 Comments

We keep hearing about harnessing the solar power from space. Some call it tall claims and some dismiss it as too costly an affair or pie in the sky. But it seems that in near future harvesting solar energy from space is becoming a reality. Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) from San Francisco is in the energy sector for decades. They have produced power from atomic energy, natural gas and water. Now PG&E has gone ahead and collaborated with Manhattan Beach start-up called Solaren Corporation. But what put this deal apart from others? Actually Solaren Corporation aims to launch a series of giant solar collectors into orbit 23,000 miles above Fresno. They will beam the energy to earth in the form of radio waves. Now PG&E has finalized a contract with Solaren to buy the power on one condition if they can make the technology work. 6 Comments

When we think about sources of alternative energy, we often feel a rush of positive thoughts engulfing us. We often think that while developing alternative sources of energy we are doing nothing wrong. But building up new sources of alternative energy is a double edged weapon. If we don’t tread cautiously we might hurt ourselves in the process. Caution should be exercised if we are going for biofuels as alternative source of energy. USA can boast of beautiful flora and fauna. We have the wild lands of the Cumberland Plateau in the southeast and formidable Rocky Mountains and Alaska's Tongass National Forest. Wildlife and natural forests of these places are rich and varied. But big businesses are trying to inflict irreversible damage to these pristine places in the guile of electricity and biofuels. We know that once destroyed we will never be able to restore the flora and fauna of these places to its former glory. So we have to be aware of those alternative energy resources that do more harm than good. 7 Comments

During a low-key ceremony just over a week ago, the first public high-voltage charging station for electric vehicles was inaugurated at the Gateway Center in East Woodland California. Representatives from Tesla Motors were on hand to help demonstrate with six Tesla Roadsters. The power station is capable of charging an electric car in about one hour and is meant to set an example for future stations being planned in other states. 14 Comments

These days we are incessantly debating over one of the hottest issues, i.e. environmental pollution and rise in temperature throughout the world. An intelligent person always likes to foresee the near future a bit and try to prepare himself /herself for the impending battle raising from the horizons of the past. He or she won’t start digging a well when the thirst strikes. Most of us want to do something about this and contribute positively to make this earth a better place to live. But we are most of the time clueless. We don’t know from where to begin? Where we can find relevant information? If we are able to track down information then how to process it for our own and community’s good? 10 Comments

Biomass fuel is liquid, solid, or gaseous fuel produced by conversion of biomass. They are actually organic materials produced by plants, animals, or microorganisms. Those plants animals or microorganisms can be burned directly as a heat source or they can be converted into a gaseous or liquid fuel. Scientists are looking to biomass for sources of alternative fuels. Biomass can be directly converted to energy (not appealing for an environmentalists or non compatible to modern day living) or converted to liquid or gaseous fuels such as ethanol, methanol, methane, and hydrogen. 6 Comments

It is great news that defense forces are promoting the use of alternative fuels in their own unique way. American army is using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in Afghanistan. The greatest advantage of UAVs is that they are nearly untraceable from the ground. They are used heavily by defense forces in overseas missions when uniformed men are already at a disadvantage by just being at a totally foreign and hostile territory. Here using UAVs, terrain can be scanned and intelligence can be gathered. Now it is possible that these UAVs might be flying on alternative fuels. UAVs are used to minimize loss of life of soldiers and pilots in dangerous zones. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is developing an improved version of these aircrafts that can travel to distant places more efficiently and more quietly and run on the newer fuel cell technology. 14 Comments

This summer, Anoka, Buffalo, North St. Paul and 8 other Minnesota cities are gearing up for the production of wind energy. They will use recycled turbines for this purpose. In Buffalo, the work will start from June. After the completion of this project Buffalo will have the honor of the first city with one of the 115-foot-tall turbines among the 11-member cities of the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA). They are getting the windmills from Palm Springs, California wind farm . Payment will be done by the joint-powers agency which has agreed to pay about $3.6 million for a dozen refurbished windmills. The Hometown WindPower program is aspiring to meet a state law that calls for most electrical utilities to provide 25 percent of their total electricity sales from renewable sources by 2025. These non conventional sources can be wind or water power. Officials confirmed that Shakopee, North St. Paul and Buffalo have picked sites for the 160-kilowatt windmills. Buffalo utilities director Joe Steffel wants to start work on this project by June 1. 8 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

While very small wind energy projects are not normally viable due to the cost and effort involved, a small wind farm in the Clay County could easily start generating power as early as 2010. If this project, called The Romar wind project, starts generating power successfully it will certainly trigger a trend. 5 Comments

By generating 40% of the energy required by wind Spain set a world record last week. When high winds blew through north-west Spain on Thursday, a massive 11,180 MW was generated. Of course the wind energy farms were helped by one of the strongest spells of fierce winds experienced by the region recently. 5 Comments

With its windy coasts, untapped rivers and huge tidal and wave resources, Alaska can quickly become a national leader in producing alternative energy. Although Alaska is the second-largest oil producing state in the country, the citizens have had to pay very high electricity bills recently; oil is no longer easily available for producing and generating power. 2 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. No Comments

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

Alternative Energy & Carbon Footprinting: International Survey Reveals Business Attitudes. Companies’ attitudes towards alternative energy and carbon footprinting are revealed in the results of an international research study. The survey was conducted by the independent market research company Harris Interactive on behalf of Dow Corning Corporation. 1 Comment