Posts for energy

Via WebEcoist, 13-07-2011 In all the furor during the Fukushima Reactor Complex crisis, there has been a lot of discussion about whether or not nuclear power is a good option and, more generally, what kinds of power should be used to meet increasing demand. An…

Having a short term solution to a man made problem, that does not make the problem as such any better or make it go away is like bashing your head continuously against a wall and taking painkillers for the pain.

Via Inhabitat, 24-09-2011 This year’s Solar Decathlon home design competition saw many fresh takes on the solar-powered prefab home, but Team New Zealand stood out from the pack with its elegant, light-filled, wood clad home. Built by students from the Victoria University of Wellington, the…

Via ecogeek.org, 13-07-2011 Wind energy production has so far been dominated by the horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT).  They can be scaled up to reach high in the air where the wind blows faster and produce a lot of energy per turbine (a 10 MW turbine…

Via ecogeek.org, 27-07-2011 MIT scientists have made new discoveries that could significantly increase the energy density of batteries several times beyond the current level of lithium-ion batteries. The advances are in lithium-air storage, which uses a porous carbon electrode in place of a heavy solid…

Via goodcleantech.com, 22-06-2011 The city of Vancouver has announced that it will be installing a number of new electric vehicle charging stations across the city. This, in spite of the fact that city officials estimate that there are only around 20 electric cars on city…

Via goodcleantech.com, 12-05-2011 Retail giant Toys ‘R Us has announced plans to build North America’s largest rooftop solar installation. The installation is currently in the staging process, and will be built on top of a distribution center in Flanders, New Jersey. It’s expected to be…

Via goodcleantech.com, 16-05-2011 Not to be outdone by GE, Philips is set to unveil its own new LED bulb this Friday, according to the New York Times.

In addition to high costs, one of the major issues with the current breed of solar panels is efficiency: they simply don’t collect most of the available light. But in the next five years the efficient of solar panels could take a drastic turn from…

Via stuff.co.nz, 20-05-2011 Green buildings in New Zealand may not be as green as they seem, with difficulties in predicting energy and water efficiencies meaning what looks green on paper might not be so in practice, a researcher says.