Harvesting energy from flowing water for oil exploration
July 29, 2011
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute use the flow of water over surfaces coated in nanomaterials to power microsensors.
Full story [energyharvestingjournal.com]
UK Solar Prices Tumble, Boosting Rush of Installations
July 29, 2011
Falling prices for solar components leads to an increase in installations in the UK.
Signing off on CCS
July 29, 2011
Capturing the carbon dioxide produced from Alberta’s oil and gas industry has long been a priority for the Alberta government, to the tune of $2 billion in funding for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Most recently, $285 million of that funding has been allocated to the Swan Hills Synfuels project, which is using in-situ technologies to convert previously unreachable coal into syngas.
The project represents the deepest underground coal gasification ever attempted and is expected to produce 300 megawatts of power generation capacity.
And the estimated 1.3 tonnes of recovered CO2 won’t be wasted. Instead, it will be injected into wells in the Swan Hills area to reduce the viscosity of the oil and make it easier to extract. Such enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects represent one of the most practical industry uses for CCS technologies.
Via the Government of Alberta
Electric car maker Think revived from bankruptcy
July 29, 2011
Struggling electric car maker Think has been acquired by one of its largest investors.
Mitsubishi Unveils Solar-Powered Vehicle Charging Station
July 28, 2011
Mitsubishi has opened a solar charging station at their headquarters in Cypress, California.
Full story [cleantechnica.com]
| Mitsubishi has opened a solar charging station at their headquarters in Cypress, California. |
Think Big! Arizona Solar Tower 2X Taller Than the Empire State Building Will Produce 200 Megawatts
July 28, 2011
Austalian company EnviroMission develops a 200 MW solar tower that is over 2,600 feet high.
A rare opportunity: electric vehicles with no rare earth materials
July 28, 2011
We all want to be able to drive without belching greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. And we want our cars to run cleanly too.
One of the largest drawbacks of many forms of modern emission-free power, though, is our need to mine rare earth elements to make components like batteries and magnets. These 17 metals aren’t “rare” in the sense that they’re uncommon (they’re actually very common in the Earth’s crust), but rather because they’re distributed unevenly around the world, and each site doesn’t necessarily contain much of the material. So in addition to the environmental impacts of mining these materials, there is a concern: China currently dominates the global marketplace for rare earth metals (producing a whopping 95 per cent) and has already demonstrated its willingness to cut rare earth exports.
So it’s no surprise that Japanese researchers, living in a country that already relies heavily on imported metals, have developed an EV (electric vehicle) motor that can operate without any rare earth metals. Developed at the Tokyo University of Science by Associate Professor Nobukazu Hoshi and his team, the EV uses a “Switched Reluctance Motor,” which uses the difference in magnetic resistance to create an electric charge. And with the economic and environmental drawbacks of rare earth metal use, it’s likely that more such vehicles will be produced in the coming years.
Making cars without the use of rare earth metals isn’t just an area of concern for vehicles, though. Last year, IBM also innovated a solar cell, 40 per cent more efficient than similar cells, that did not use rare earth materials.
Via PhysOrg.com
Video: Electric Car Driven by Rare Earth Metal-Free Motor
Boston to get 150 EV charging stations
July 28, 2011
Coulomb Technologies announces 150 ChargePoint stations to be installed in the Boston metropolitan area.
Study: Regulatory hurdles hinder biofuels market
July 27, 2011
Two researchers argue that regulatory innovations are essential for the biofuels industry.
Full story [news.illinois.edu]
Could Canada warm to geothermal energy?
July 27, 2011
Geothermal energy is literally everywhere around the world, trapped beneath the Earth’s crust at varying depths. Caused by two sources — primordial heat (the heat still trapped from the Earth’s original formation) and ongoing radioactive decay — this heat energy could (and already does) provide an emission-free source of energy for to the production of electricity and other uses. But in Canada, most of Canada’s geothermal energy gets absorbed by the patrons at the country’s hot springs resorts. And while that’s great for keeping warm in a cold country, it’s not necessarily the best use of one of the most abundant forms of renewable power.
But according to the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (CanGEA), all that could change. Citing a report prepared by the Geological Survey of Canada, a part of Natural Resources Canada, CanGEA notes that there is viable geothermal potential on 40 per cent of Canada’s landmass (101 KB PDF) and suggests that even 100 geothermal installations could provide a significant source of Canada’s electricity production.
At the moment, though, Canada’s geothermal resources are mostly unused, except for the occasional toasty dip in a pool. As shown by CanGEA’s year-old list of current geothermal projects shows (some of the listed projects have since been shuttered), Canada’s geothermal potential is still just that: potential. But, even though geothermal energy hasn’t yet been used to produce electricity, geothermal energy does exist in Canada as heating systems, sometimes referred to as “geo exchange.” Canada currently has more that 35,000 such systems in use already. Though if you’re really keen to warm up with geothermal, you just can’t beat the Banff Springs.
Via CanGEA
