Category: Alternative Energy

Musk Call With Turnbull Sparks Battery Debate in Australia

Elon Musk’s brave bet to fix Australia’s energy crisis — or hand the money back — landed the tech entrepreneur an hour-long phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and quickly threw him into a debate over whether battery technology is the solution for a nation still wedded to coal for much of its power. Sunday’s call followed a Twitter conversation last week between Musk and Australian tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes in which Musk promised to install and get working a Tesla Inc. battery storage system designed to prevent blackouts in South Australia, the Australian mainland state most reliant on renewable energy.

SunEdison to Sell Stakes in TerraForm Yieldcos to Brookfield

SunEdison Inc. took a major step forward in its bankruptcy reorganization, agreeing to relinquish control of its two yieldco units to Canada’s biggest alternative asset manager and clearing up some of the litigation brought by the affiliates. Brookfield Asset Management Inc. agreed to increase its stake in TerraForm Power Inc. to 51 percent, acquiring the additional shares at $11.46 each, according to a statement on Tuesday.

CalTech, Berkeley Lab team uses new high-throughput method to…

Using high-throughput ab initio theory in conjunction with experiments in an integrated workflow, researchers at Caltech and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have identified eight low-band-gap ternary vanadate oxide photoanodes which have potential for generating chemical fuels from sunlight, water and CO2. A report on their methodology and the new materials is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

Big Battery Installations Surge After Gas Leak in California

The biggest natural gas leak in U.S. history led to a boom in large-scale energy-storage systems, the technology that’s long considered the elusive link to integrating solar and wind power into electric grids. U.S. homes and businesses — primarily utilities — installed storage systems with 336 megawatt-hours of capacity in 2016, double the amount from the previous year, according to a study released Tuesday by GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association.

New Materials Could Turn Water into the Fuel of the Future

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology have-in just two years-nearly doubled the number of materials known to have potential for use in solar fuels. They did so by developing a process that promises to speed the discovery of commercially viable generation of solar fuels that could replace coal, oil, and other fossil fuels.

Biomass Boiler Market Driven by Growth and Forecast 2016 – 2024

The rising awareness regarding the use of biomass as a suitable low-carbon and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels such as coal for the generation of power and heat is the key driver of the global biomass boiler market. Developed as well as developing economies across the globe have ramped up their efforts for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, of which finding ways of minimizing reliance on fossil fuels and switching to carbon-neutral fuels such as biomass is an important step.

White House Said to Debate Icahn Plan Revamping Ethanol Rule

White House officials have spent the past two days in deliberations with billionaire refinery owner Carl Icahn about his proposal to modify federal policy on renewable fuels and with ethanol producers who oppose it, according to three people familiar with the talks. The flurry of meetings and phone calls came after Bloomberg News reported Monday that Icahn had helped broker a compromise with a leading biofuel group on reworking the program.

EXCHANGE: STEM students create winning invention

In this Jan. 20, 2017 photo, teacher Matt Erbach explains to his students what he is looking for as the group of Streamwood High School students in Streamwood, Ill., design a micro generator using wind power to light up areas around homeless shelters. Their wind-powered generator idea won the state competition in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest, which encourages teachers and students to solve real-world issues using classroom skills in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

Hedge Funds Grow More Bullish on Corn as Surplus Eases

The glut of corn that’s been plaguing Midwest growers is finally starting to ease, and hedge funds are betting that will help spark a rally for prices. U.S. corn inventories are set to drop before the 2018 harvest as farmers curb plantings and demand stays robust, the Department of Agriculture said Friday.

CORRECTING and REPLACING ThreatMetrix Selects Verne Global to Expand Data Center Footprint

Verne Global to provide disaster recovery and operational scale for world’s largest Digital Identity Network A using 100% sustainable energy Verne Global to provide disaster recovery and operational scale for world’s largest Digital Identity Network A using 100% sustainable energy Verne Global , a global developer at the forefront of data center infrastructure design, today announced that ThreatMetrix A , The Digital Identity CompanyA , will broaden its service delivery network utilizing Verne Global. Verne will provide ThreatMetrix with vital growth capabilities required to manage its rapidly growing global customer base.

LNG Fights a Losing Battle in India as Taxes Weigh on Demand

A province governed by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 13 years is impeding his plans to promote clean energy. Modi’s effort to make liquefied natural gas more affordable, by halving its import tax in the government’s annual budget Feb. 1, is being scuttled by the withdrawal of tax benefits by the western Indian state of Gujarat, through which 90 percent of the LNG used in India passes.

OPEC’s Top Producer Is Turning to Wind and Solar Power

The nation most identified with its massive oil reserves is turning to wind and solar to generate power at home and help extend the life of its crucial crude franchise. Saudi Arabia plans to develop almost 10 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2023, starting with wind and solar plants in its vast northwestern desert.

Illinois lawmakers propose biotech tax credits

The legislation, introduced by Republican state Sen. Chapin Rose of Mahomet and Democratic state Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill, would provide incentives to produce and sell new renewable products made from biomass and other renewable sources, the Herald & Review reported. “We have leading biotechnology companies, large and small, that are leading research and development efforts on these innovative products, and we have critical mass in infrastructure to produce and transport these renewables around the world,” Manar said.

ORNL, Chattanooga Electric Power Board Test the Role of Sensors in Grid Innovation

February 8, 2017 – With a fiber-optic network that provides Chattanooga residents and businesses with exceptional high-speed communications, the city’s Electric Power Board provides the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory with an ideal testbed for smart grid research. With support provided by DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability , an effort was launched in 2014 to advance the state of the power grid in Tennessee.

U.S. Plastic-to-Fuel Market Forecasted to Be Worth US$ 98.26 Million by 2020

Future Market Insights announces the release of its latest report titled, ” Plastic-to-fuel Market : U.S. Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015 – 2020″. As per FMI’s projection, the U.S. Plastic-to-fuel market is estimated to generate US$ 42.78 million in revenues in 2015, which is likely to reach US$ 98.26 million in 2020 representing a CAGR of 6.79% through the forecast period of 2016 to 2020.

World Patent Marketing Invention Team Presents Saint’s Light, A…

The renewable energy industry is worth $680 billion,” says Scott Cooper, CEO and Creative Director of World Patent Marketing. “There is a worldwide push to increase the prevalence of green energy among major markets… World Patent Marketing, a vertically integrated manufacturer and engineer of patented products, introduces Saint’s Light, a renewable energy invention that uses solar panels to provide homes everywhere with much-needed electricity.

Earth’s magnetic poles may be poised to flip

Article by Phil Livermore, Associate Professor of geophysics, University of Leeds and Jon Mound, Associate Professor of Geophysics, University of Leeds Schematic illustration of the invisible magnetic field lines generated by the Earth, represented as a dipole magnet field. In actuality, our magnetic shield is squeezed in closer to Earth on the Sun-facing side and extremely elongated on the night-side due to the solar wind.

Burning Wood Beats Coal at J-Power Amid Climate Change Fight

Electric Power Development Co., known as J-Power, is looking to build its first major power plant that burns natural gas near cities such as Tokyo as well as use more woody biomass instead of fossil fuels, Executive Officer Hitoshi Kanno said. That’s because even the most advanced coal technology on offer now isn’t enough for companies like J-Power to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s emissions goal, he said.

In a fiery speech, California Gov. Jerry Brown defends climate action …

In his State of the State address Tuesday morning, California Gov. Jerry Brown delivered an impassioned defense of climate action while decrying what he described as the Trump administration’s attacks on science and basic facts. While Brown has previously made waves with comments about his state’s commitment to the issue of climate change, Tuesday’s speech may be among his most defiant yet.

In a fiery speech, California Gov. Jerry Brown defends climate action …

In his State of the State address Tuesday morning, California Gov. Jerry Brown delivered an impassioned defense of climate action while decrying what he described as the Trump administration’s attacks on science and basic facts. While Brown has previously made waves with comments about his state’s commitment to the issue of climate change, Tuesday’s speech may be among his most defiant yet.

Theresa May Seeks Clean Energy to Buoy Vision of Global Britain

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May plans to try to turn the nation’s early adoption of clean energy into a global business after Brexit, according to a new industrial-strategy paper. A goal of the new government is to “capitalize on strengths to win a substantial share of global markets,” according to the document published Monday, which listed listing clean energy manufacturing and services as a key area of focus.

India headed for a green energy revolution: Harvard scientist

Kolkata, Jan 22 – Harvard chemist and energy innovator Daniel G. Nocera is a man on a renewable mission. The inventor of the artificial leaf and co-creator of its bionic version plans to launch a pilot of the advanced technology in India with the assertion that a renewable energy revolution will take place in the country.

Ignoring Trump’s Skepticism, Davos Elite Bets on Climate Change

Donald Trump has often ridiculed global warming and promised to withdraw the U.S. from the global accord signed in Paris in 2015. Yet despite the change of political weather in Washington, the captains of business and finance gathered in Davos this week will spend a lot of time talking about climate change — and how to make money from it.

Spacewalking astronauts upgrade orbiting lab’s power grid

The International Space Station’s solar power grid got three more top-of-the-line batteries on Friday during the second spacewalk in a week. This photo made by French astronaut Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency shows him in a selfie photograph with the Earth reflected in his visor, during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Friday, Jan. 13, 2017.

This startup’s wind generator flaps its wings like a hummingbird

Small wind power seems like a great idea for a home or business until you learn the facts about how much more efficient, both cost- and energy-wise, large conventional wind turbines are. For certain situations, notably off-grid and rural locations with adequate wind speeds, small wind generators on tall masts can be a good option, but for the rest of us, mounting a tiny wind machine on our roof or in the backyard and expecting it to produce meaningful amounts of electricity just isn’t realistic.

Greenpeace calls out AWS on renewable energy targets

A new report from Greepeace has cast doubt over Amazon Web Services goal to become solely reliant upon renewable power. The cloud giant has set goals of being powered by 50% renewable energy by the end of this year, but Greenpeace says that an increase in data centre construction in Virginia will play a role in making goals like that, and the 100% goal, elusive.

As Sun Sets on Canada Energy, Grafton Eyes Renewables

Grafton Asset Management Inc., a firm that has brought foreign investment into Canada’s oil and gas industry, is looking to add alternative energy to its portfolio for the first time as it positions itself for the decline of fossil fuels. “I’m worried about the future of the industry in general,” Geeta Sankappanavar, president and chief operating officer of the Calgary-based investment firm, said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

2016 to break heat record

Two days before the presidential inauguration, scientists are expected to announce that 2016 was the hottest year on Earth since record-keeping began in 1880 ​- news that will test national, state and economic leadership on climate change. Even as Washington, D.C., and California bundle up against winter chill, records ​will ​show that extreme heat blanketed large areas of every continent this year, pushing up average temperatures for the third year in a row.

January at the Columbia Memorial Space Center

Saturday, Jan. 7, 11 a.m., Young Explorers Program – Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids: Have you ever wondered what physically separates the terrestrial planets and the gas giants? Where do comets come from? The space center has all the answers. Join them to learn the difference between comets and their cousins, meteors and asteroids.