Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:42 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
New Biomass Technology Dramatically Increases Ethanol Yield From Grasses And Yard Waste
Quote:
University of Georgia researchers have developed a new technology that promises to dramatically increase the yield of ethanol from readily available non-food crops, such as Bermudagrass, switchgrass, Napiergrass—and even yard waste.
The new technology features a fast, mild, acid-free pretreatment process that increases by at least 10 times the amount of simple sugars released from inexpensive biomass for conversion to ethanol. The technology effectively eliminates the use of expensive and environmentally unsafe chemicals currently used to pretreat biomass.
sciencedaily _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 4:42 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Researchers at MIT Develop New Water-Splitting Catalyst That Works Under Benign Conditions; a “Giant Leap”
Quote:
Researchers at MIT—Prof. Daniel Nocera and Dr. Matthew Kanan—have developed a new water-splitting catalyst that is easily prepared from earth-abundant materials (cobalt and phosphorous) and operates in benign conditions: pH neutral water at room temperature and 1 atm pressure. A report on their discovery was published online 31 July 2008 in the journal Science.
The cobalt-phosphorous catalyst targets the generation of oxygen gas from water—the more complex of the two water-splitting half-cell reactions required (H2O/O2 and H2O/H2). Another catalyst generates the hydrogen. Although the new catalyst requires further work, it opens a very promising pathway for the development of systems that use artificial photosynthesis to store solar energy on a large scale in the form of O2 and H2 for subsequent use in a fuel cell.
greencarcongress _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 4:52 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Interstate Transmission Superhighways: Paving the Way to a Low-carbon Future
Quote:
In its recently released report "20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030," the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified transmission limitations as a chief roadblock to realizing the enormous economic, environmental and energy security benefits of obtaining 20% of our electricity from the wind. Similarly, a poll conducted by NRG Systems Inc. at last month's Windpower 2008 Conference in Houston, Texas, found that participants saw transmission issues as the biggest problem facing continued development of wind energy in the U.S.
The lack of electricity transmission infrastructure is particularly burdensome for wind energy development because wind resources tend to be located at a significant distance from population centers. The bulk of America's best wind resources are located in the plains, stretching south from the Dakotas to Texas, while most of the country's population lives along the coasts. Putting our country's incredible wind energy potential to use requires finding a way to move this electricity from where it would be generated to where it is needed.
renewableenergyworld _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 4:19 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Number of patent applications is growing worldwide, says UN agency
Quote:
Increased patent applications in China and South Korea, as well as in the United States, have pushed the total number of filings to 1.76 million, according to a new report from the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
In its latest report, based on the most recent available figures from 2006, WIPO said today that the number of patents granted worldwide had grown by 18% in one year to 727,000. The UN agency added that the total number of patents in force was some 6.1 million.
Recent pressures on energy resources have boosted patenting activity in the energy sector, in particular in relation to solar energy, fuel cells and wind energy. Applicants from Japan accounted for the largest number of applications in the fields of solar energy and fuel cells, while Germany joined Japan as one of the top two countries of origin for wind energy technologies.
bi-me _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 7:24 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Oil in a Week (Arab Solar Energy)
Quote:
An Arab expert working at an international oil company delivered a valuable lecture during an international forum specialized in energy issues held in Britain every summer. He presented a study on the international solar energy sector.
The expert mentioned that the solar energy sector is no longer an issue confined to research and development or in the embryonic stage, but rather, it has evolved into an industry and a business globally growing at almost 50% annually. Tens of billions of dollars raised in international stock markets are invested by companies specializing in this sector. The five leading companies in the solar energy sector are: Q-Cells of Germany, LDK of China, Suntech of China and BP of Britain. Evidently, the two most prominent international companies that secure the essential solar energy equipment are Chinese whereas the third is the international oil company BP which has established a special division for solar energy. The expert mentioned that BP intends to triple its investment in the solar energy sector over the next three years, an indicator of its interest in this industry which expects massive future growth as well as growing profits in the foreseeable future.
The use of solar energy has become a necessity in many Arab countries, both oil producers and non-oil producers. For oil-producing countries, it is very possible to replace oil fuels used to generate electricity by using solar energy and other renewable alternatives which will help maximize the oil rents generated from additional exports at the current prices.
daralhayat _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:42 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Energy crops key to biofuels growth
Quote:
After a rash of negative publicity, biofuels backers say that advanced technologies will reshape the industry, making ethanol from sustainably grown sources cost-effective within a few years.
General Motors on Friday convened a panel of experts from cutting-edge ethanol companies that described different technologies--acid hydrolysis, specialty microbes, and genetically engineered energy crops--which they say will bring back biofuels' faded luster.
The key technology transition, already under way, is shifting from corn to other feedstocks for making ethanol from plant cellulose. With the right technologies and policies in place, the U.S. could meet one-third of its transportation fuel needs by 2030, said Candace Wheeler, a technical fellow at GM's research and development center.
The near-term projection is that, once ongoing plant construction is completed, ethanol will supply almost 10 percent of the U.S. gasoline demand, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. Nearly all of that will come from corn.
Wheeler said that the "low-hanging fruit" feedstock for cellulosic ethanol is wood chips and other agriculture wastes. But to get to one-third of demand, long-promised ethanol feedstocks such as fast-growing grasses need to enter the ethanol picture.
"To really get a significant impact...you are going to have to use purposely grown energy crops," she said. "It's really a timing issue. With improvements in technology and economics, these things will be real in the very near future."
Pulp and Paper Industry Poised to Take Center Stage in Global Bioenergy Arena
Quote:
The pulp and paper industry is uniquely positioned to immediately produce significant amounts of biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts. With a mature, operating infrastructure capable of delivering double-digit billions of gallons of biofuels annually, generally without adding any new fiber processing capacity, many pulp and paper mills around the world are only a one-step investment away from becoming major renewable energy producers. Especially important, paper industry capacity that can be re-aligned and re-purposed toward bioenergy co-production would be 100% cellulosic feedstock based, with no agricultural attachments at all.
Pulp mills are ideal sites for integrated biorefinery operations for four basic reasons. First, they are already set up to receive and process massive amounts of delivered roundwood and woods chips, served in this capacity by rail, truck and some also by barge operations. In the U.S. alone, pulp mills use more than 120 million dry tons of wood per year, and they have access to at least an equal amount of forest residuals and even a greater amount of agricultural wastes and energy crops if needed.
Second, these mills have basically the same existing infrastructures for warehousing and shipping out finished products around the country. Third, they have a well-established in-place administrative infrastructure and related human resources that can be extended to serve a biorefinery business without incurring significant new costs. Fourth, pulp mills have operating utility support systems for process water, electricity, steam and waste/environmental treatment that can easily be umbrella'd to support biorefinery operations without major new investments.
renewableenergyworld _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:30 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Geothermal Energy Growth Continues, Industry Survey Reports
Quote:
A survey released by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) shows continued growth in the number of new geothermal power projects under development in the United States, a 20% increase since January of this year. The report identified 103 projects underway in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. When developed, these projects could provide nearly 4,000 MW of new electric power, enough electricity to meet the needs of roughly 4 million homes.
Current geothermal capacity on-line is 2,957 MW according to the report, and with the new additions geothermal power could reach nearly 7,000 MW. Given the high reliability and capacity factors for geothermal power, this would meet the household electricity needs of the cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle combined.
Development of these new projects will provide significant economic benefits, according to GEA. "These new projects will result in the infusion of roughly $15 billion in capital investment in the western states, and create 7,000 permanent jobs and more than 25,000 person-years of construction and manufacturing employment," Gawell stated.
marketwatch _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Oct 16, 2005 Posts: 233 Location: Australia
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 4:38 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Graeme wrote:
Researchers at MIT Develop New Water-Splitting Catalyst That Works Under Benign Conditions; a “Giant Leap”
Quote:
Researchers at MIT—Prof. Daniel Nocera and Dr. Matthew Kanan—have developed a new water-splitting catalyst that is easily prepared from earth-abundant materials (cobalt and phosphorous) and operates in benign conditions: pH neutral water at room temperature and 1 atm pressure. A report on their discovery was published online 31 July 2008 in the journal Science.
The cobalt-phosphorous catalyst targets the generation of oxygen gas from water—the more complex of the two water-splitting half-cell reactions required (H2O/O2 and H2O/H2). Another catalyst generates the hydrogen. Although the new catalyst requires further work, it opens a very promising pathway for the development of systems that use artificial photosynthesis to store solar energy on a large scale in the form of O2 and H2 for subsequent use in a fuel cell.
Debunked at The Oil Drum. Pity though I actually felt a bit of hope lift my shoulders and lighten my spirit for a while.
We may as well hold out for hope in the technical wizardry and perpetual motion machines listed on PesWiki _________________ ...
"...and now the weather. Tomorrow will be cloudy with scattered showers spreading from the Middle East ... with an expected high of 4000 degrees Celsius" - Roger Waters
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:22 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
If you read the comments made at the end of the Oil Drum article, you'll see that Professor Nocera's work has not been debunked at all. _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:03 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Flexible nanoantenna arrays capture abundant solar energy
Quote:
Researchers have devised an inexpensive way to produce plastic sheets containing billions of nanoantennas that collect heat energy generated by the sun and other sources. The technology, developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, is the first step toward a solar energy collector that could be mass-produced on flexible materials.
The researchers studied the behavior of various materials -- including gold, manganese and copper -- under infrared rays and used the resulting data to build computer models of nanoantennas. They found that with the right materials, shape and size, the simulated nanoantennas could harvest up to 92 percent of the energy at infrared wavelengths.
But more technological advances are needed before the nanoantennas can funnel their energy into usable electricity. The infrared rays create alternating currents in the nanoantennas that oscillate trillions of times per second, requiring a component called a rectifier to convert the alternating current to direct current. Today's rectifiers can't handle such high frequencies. "We need to design nanorectifiers that go with our nanoantennas," says Kotter, noting that a nanoscale rectifier would need to be about 1,000 times smaller than current commercial devices and will require new manufacturing methods.
On Feb. 21, 2008, the Oregon Transportation Commission directed ODOT’s Office of Innovative Partnerships to develop a procurement for up to 2 megawatts of solar energy on ODOT properties, including along the state highway right of way and the interstate system. Leading the way will be the Oregon Solar Highway demonstration project, a public-private partnership with Portland General Electric and US Bank, to build the first-in-the-nation solar array in a freeway interchange. Groundbreaking is set for Aug. 7, 2008.
The 100 kilowatt ground-mounted solar array will be situated at the interchange of Interstate 5 — a federally designated Corridor of the Future — and Interstate 205. The solar panels will be supplied by SolarWorld AG of Hillsboro and the inverter will be supplied by PV Powered Inc. of Bend. The project will be designed, constructed and installed by SolarWay, a “turn-key” solar energy EPC (Engineer/Procure/Construct) consortium consisting of four Oregon firms: Aadland Evans Constructors, Inc. of Portland as the general contractor; Moyano Leadership Group, Inc. of Salem as the project manager and design leader; Advanced Energy Systems of Eugene as the solar power specialty designer and installer; and Good Company of Eugene as the sustainability specialist.
oregon _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Oct 16, 2005 Posts: 233 Location: Australia
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:02 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Graeme wrote:
If you read the comments made at the end of the Oil Drum article, you'll see that Professor Nocera's work has not been debunked at all.
OK .. not debunked.. But it certainly isn't what the hyped media makes it out to be. As mentioned on The Oil Drum, low cost alternative to nickel electrodes and the ability to run at ~25 deg C are the promising aspects.
Having worked in fuel cell development (SOFC) myself I am very sceptical about public announcements from the PR departments of the research organisations. As for the MSM I won't even bother to comment.
Don't get me wrong.. I am hopeful that a hydrogen technology will be realised eventually. But it's already too late and hence too expensive.
I attended a luncheon seminar with Dr Larry Burns (VP of R&D for General Motors) yesterday. One of his comments (paraphrased) was that all the technologies we need to get off fossil fuels are available today and are proven with in field testing .
The next step is getting out into the market. Larry conveniently glossed over the fact that the next step is unimaginably huge.. in the order of 900 million vehicles today and soon to be over 1 billion. This is impossible in practical terms. Especially if we are already at the final bumpy plateau of oil supply and about to go into permanent decline. _________________ ...
"...and now the weather. Tomorrow will be cloudy with scattered showers spreading from the Middle East ... with an expected high of 4000 degrees Celsius" - Roger Waters
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:14 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Google.org Invests More Than $10M in Enhanced Geothermal Systems
Quote:
Google, through its philanthropic arm Google.org, is investing US$10.25 million to advance the development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology. The investment includes funding for research on next-generation geothermal resource mapping, EGS information tools, and a policy agenda for geothermal energy.
A 2007 MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States found that Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) technology could supply a substantial portion of US electricity well into the future, probably at competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact. (Earlier post.) The panel estimated the total EGS resource base to be more than 13 million exajoules (EJ), with an estimated extractable portion to exceed 200,000 EJ—about 2,000 times the annual consumption of primary energy in the United States in 2005.
The study concluded that EGS can likely deliver cumulative capacity of more than 100,000 MWe within 50 years with a modest, multiyear federal investment for RD&D.
Representatives from Google Inc. and General Electric Co. said Tuesday that widespread use of renewable energy in United States would be possible -- if it were cheaper.
Renewable energy options will remain "boutique" industries unless their costs are cut to make them competitive with coal and other widely used power sources, said Dan Reicher, director for climate change and energy initiatives at Google.org, the company's philanthropic arm.
Reicher spoke to a group of politicians and energy experts at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas. The meeting's attendees said they hope to develop a national energy agenda to take to the Democratic and Republican parties at their upcoming conventions.
yahoo _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:48 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
American Ingenuity Leads to Biodiesel Breakthrough
Quote:
A small group of unassuming mid-westerners has discovered what could be a complete game-changer for the global biodiesel industry. Their new system makes biodiesel in mere seconds, creates a product that costs half the price, produces no waste, and can use any animal fat or vegetable oil as a feedstock.
The Mcgyan® process (so named for the inventors McNeff, Gyberg and Yan) started as a required undergraduate chemistry project for student Brian Krohn at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN. Krohn and his major professor, Arlin Gyberg, were looking at ways to catalyze the raw materials into biodiesel using a process called esterification.
The basic idea was to run the raw fats and oils over a sulfated zirconia catalyst to change them into biodiesel. This idea isn’t new, but the duo thought they could improve on it. In the end, the pair enlisted the help of another scientist Ben Yan and an Augsburg alum Clayton McNeff.
An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used chemicals found in plants to replicate a key process in photosynthesis paving the way to a new approach that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
"A manganese cluster is central to a plant's ability to use water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to make carbohydrates and oxygen. Man-made mimics of this cluster were developed by Professor Charles Dismukes some time ago, and we've taken it a step further, harnessing the ability of these molecules to convert water into its component elements, oxygen and hydrogen," Professor Spiccia said.
"The breakthrough came when we coated a proton conductor, called Nafion, onto an anode to form a polymer membrane just a few micrometres thick, which acts as a host for the manganese clusters."
"Normally insoluble in water, when we bound the catalyst within the pores of the Nafion membrane, it was stabilised against decomposition and, importantly, water could reach the catalyst where it was oxidised on exposure to light."
physorg _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2008 8:49 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
International Biofuel Standards
Quote:
Biofuels offer the promise of a low-carbon fuel that could power vehicles and stimulate the world's rural economies.
Yet biofuels are also among the most vilified of environmental technologies. Ethanol refineries are not always clean. The labor on biofuel farms is not always fair. The diversion of feedstocks from food to fuel may be driving up global commodity prices. And the forests, fields, and peat bogs cleared to make room for biofuel crops may release more carbon into the atmosphere than they would save from vehicles not burning fossil fuels.
To address these issues, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) has gathered environmentalists, industry leaders, and university researchers to develop the first international standard for biofuel production.
curren _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2765 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:41 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Solar Energy For 4 Billion People
Quote:
Solar electricity can contribute largely to the energy needs of two-thirds of the world’s population - including those in remote areas - by 2030. This is the main conclusion of the Solar Generation report, published by Greenpeace and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA).
Today, the majority of installed PV systems benefit from well-designed grant support, in particular the feed-in tariff mechanism. This provides fair remuneration to the investor, and rewards the effort made in investing in a clean energy source. Solar energy is becoming more economically viable and should become cost-competitive with conventional energy by 2015 in southern European countries and by 2020 across most of Europe.
Solar energy stocks are hot once again, with shares of industry players jumping as much as 58% in the past month. Much of that bounce is due to nearly uniformly positive quarterly earnings reports from some solar outfits. Company executives were able to allay investors' fears about declining demand and lower prices for solar panels and related materials, concerns that were fueled by a sharp reduction of government subsidies in countries such as Spain.
Generation costs from photovoltaic solar panels are falling at a rate of about 5% to 10% a year, depending on location and economy of scale, says Burger. They've begun to reach parity with peak power costs of conventional power sources in areas with higher utility rates like California and the Northeast, he says. At the same time, general electric utility costs based on conventional fuel sources are rising by 10% to 15% a year due to higher oil, natural gas, and coal prices, as well as the costs of environmental compliance. The renewable tax credits are necessary to help solar and wind power compete on a level playing field with other forms of electric generation, says Burger.
Solar energy can meet all the world's energy demands: expert
Quote:
The world must speed up the deployment of solar power as it has the potential to meet all the world's energy needs, the chairman of an industry gathering which wrapped up Friday in Spain said.
"The solar energy resource is enormous, and distributed all over the world, in all countries and also oceans," said Daniel Lincot, the chairman of the five-day European Photovoltaic Solar Energy conference held in Valencia.
"There is thus an enormous resource available from photovoltaics, which can be used everywhere, and can in principle cover all the world energy demand from a renewable, safe and clean source," he added.
physorg _________________ Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. H. G. Wells.
Fatih Birol's motto: leave oil before it leaves us.
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