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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:40 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Energy Innovators: 4 creative solutions to energy problems
Quote:
But alternative energy has not broken into the mainstream because of myriad roadblocks. Solar energy, for example, is expensive. Wind power is available only when the wind blows.
But hundreds of companies are working to overcome the obstacles. Through June, venture capital investments in alternative energy companies this year totaled $980 million, up 92% from a year earlier, says Dow Jones VentureSource. Here are four technologies that show promise:
Thin-film solar panels:
E-Coal:
Algenol:
Compressed air:
usatoday _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Space-Based Solar Power Breakthrough to Be Announced
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What: Space solar power could be a clean, renewable solution to America's long-term energy needs. John C. Mankins, former manager of NASA's Exploration Systems Research and Technology Program, and one of the foremost experts on space solar power, will announce on Friday a milestone demonstration of the critical technology enabling SSP: long-distance, solar-powered wireless power transmission.
The project demonstrated wireless power transmission between two Hawaiian islands 148 kilometers apart, more than the distance from the surface of Earth to the boundary of space.
It will be featured in an hour-long special that evening on Discovery Channel as part of DISCOVERY PROJECT EARTH, an eight-part series on the most ambitious geo-engineering ideas to tackle global climate change and the need for new and sustainable energy sources.
Space-based solar power, in which large satellites would collect plentiful solar energy in orbit and beam it safely down to Earth, could one day reduce our carbon emissions to virtually zero. It is the only energy technology that is clean, renewable, constant and capable of providing power to virtually any location on Earth.
Mankins will describe the demonstration project and show a realistic plan forward to develop this promising technology.
When: Friday, September 12, 2008 at 9:30am
Where: National Press Club, Lisagor Room
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045
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.
Last edited by Graeme on Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: Mar 04, 2005 Posts: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 10:12 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Nuclear fusion research takes a step forward
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Europe, Japan and the ITER organisation have achieved a landmark success in their quest to create a nuclear-fusion-powered reactor. Fusion for Energy (F4E), with the support of the European Commission, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the ITER Organisation, has successfully tested a prototype superconductor for a major component of the ITER project.
The components of ITER are manufactured by each of the participating countries. One major component is a set of 'poloidal field coils,' which are used to maintain plasma equilibrium. The coils are made of titanium and niobium, and shape the inside of the reactor.
The coil system comprises a central coil and seven ring coils, wound from a large 'cable-in-conduit' conductor and covered by a stainless-steel jacket. Together they should provide magnetic fields that confine the plasma and control its position, as well as contributing to the magnetic 'flux change' that ramps up and maintains the plasma current.
The prototype is 1.5m in diameter and weighs 6 tonnes, and came out of a collaboration between Russia, Europe and Japan. Russian researchers made the superconducting strands that went into the coils, and European researchers put the jacket on and wound the conductor. The coil was tested at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency site in Naka, Japan with expert representation from ITER, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States.
The recent test of the coil-system prototype was successful in that the coils reached a stable operation at 52kA in a 6.3-Tesla magnetic field. This indicates that the design of the prototype is appropriate to the demands that will be placed on it. The success represents a major milestone in fusion research, as the project can move on to procuring the next component: poloidal field conductors.
The ITER project is scheduled to last for 30 years. One of the objectives of the project is to conduct its first plasma operation in 2018, and produce a full-scale power plant by 2050. Fusion for Energy, a 35-year joint undertaking established in April 2007, seeks to reinforce Europe's position as a world leader in the development of fusion energy. The technology provides hope that our growing global energy needs can be met without producing climate-changing greenhouse gases.
cordis _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:10 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
BROAD COALITION ENCOURAGES CHAIRMAN PELOSI TO ADVANCE E85 FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE
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In a first of a kind effort, a broad coalition of ethanol producers, automakers, agricultural advocates, convenience store owners, petroleum marketers, and equipment manufactures, are encouraging the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to include tax credits that support new alternative fuel infrastructure in any pending energy bill or stimulus package.
"Both Presidential candidates and several members of Congress have recently called for mandatory production of flexible fuel vehicles," stated executive director of the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, Phil Lampert.
"We support increased production of flexible fuel vehicles or FFVs, but frankly, that overlooks the primary issue which is the lack of sites to fuel these vehicles," said Lampert. "Chrysler, GM, and Ford have each pledged to manufacture 50 percent of their entire vehicle line as flexible fuel in model year 2012, if infrastructure develops. Currently, we have less than 1,800 fueling sites where consumers can find E85. This compares with the more than 164,000 gasoline stations. More FFVs are certainly needed, however today, the most important objective is to increase the number of stations that offer E85 and other high level blends of ethanol."
The broad coalition sending the letter to the Speaker is encouraging that H.R. 6734, the E85 and Biodiesel Access Act introduced by Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-SD) and Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL), be included in any energy legislation that may be approved during this session of Congress.
The E85 and Biodiesel Access Act would enhance the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit. Currently, the existing credit allows gas stations owners to claims a 30 percent tax credit for the cost of installing clean fueling equipment, up to a maximum of $30,000 or 30 percent of the total cost. Additionally, the IRS limits the credit only to the amount a duel fuel dispenser exceeds the cost of a conventional dispenser.
agrimarketing _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:47 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
EIA: PHEV40s Could Come Close to Matching Energy and Emissions Benefits of Fuel Cell Vehicles
Quote:
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has published an analysis of the impacts on US energy import dependence and emission reductions resulting from the commercialization of advanced hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in the transportation and distributed generation markets.
Among its findings, the report concludes that successful deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) is dependent on several concurrent R&D successes and investments within the next 25 years. At the same time, other promising technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) offer opportunities for major reductions in petroleum use and CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles (LDVs).
The key findings from this analysis are:
It is highly unlikely that hydrogen FCVs will have significant impacts on LDV energy use and CO2 emissions by 2030.
Depending on fuel economy improvement and rate of market penetration, hydrogen FCVs could reduce petroleum demand in 2050 by 37.1 to 84.1%.
Depending on the method of hydrogen production, full fuel cycle CO2 emissions in 2050 could be reduced by 2.0 to 63.8%, depending on the market penetration scenario.
Under similar market penetration assumptions, successful development of a PHEV-40 could provide significant reductions in petroleum use; however, the maximum reductions in petroleum use would be less than those projected in the most aggressive FCV scenarios.
I liked this comment:
Hydrogen does not need to be more efficient than PHEV to make it viable. Heavy Duty applications and larger vehicles will need H2, whereas smaller vehicles can do fine with battery electricity.
Once petroleum is running scarce, we will need another fuel to replace it, and H2 will be a good replacement. The question is not whether FCV's or PHEV's, but both PHEV's,(or BEV) and H2-Vehicles will co-exit just fine. No need to choose one vs. the other. And don't discount advanced H2-ICE, either. With ultralean and ultra rapid combustion, H2-ICE (for HEV's) can promise significant efficiency improvement over existing ICE, without the uncertainty of FC's cost.
The cost of H2 infrastructure is incremental and can be amortized over long period of time. It will be a lot less than the $700 billions USD spent on importing petroleum yearly at this time. The environmental benefit will be priceless!!! Reduction in respiratory illness, cancers, Global Warming, petrol-related violence in the world, etc...When are we going to take the plunge to the eventual H2 economy?
A Pasadena-based technology start-up has created a new kind of fuel cell that promises significant cost and performance advantages over similar fuel cell technologies under development.
Superprotonic Inc.'s core technology relies on the "superprotonic" properties of a solid acid, a material studied by founders Dane Boysen and Calum Chisholm during their doctoral work at Caltech.
Sami Mardini, the company's vice president of business development, said the technology will soon result in the first market-viable fuel cells to compete with traditional electric generators.
"Our range is from 50 watts to 20 kilowatts," he said. "That covers a wide range of applications, including portable battery chargers and auxiliary power units for long-haul diesel trucks."
pasadenastarnews _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 12:47 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
What we don't know about biofuels
Quote:
Alternately hailed as an energy source that will save us from global warming, or condemned as a pork-barrel payout to agribusiness, biofuels get mixed marks these days in the public mind. For Chris Sommerville, director of the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), whether and how these futuristic fuels can be "truly positive" for carbon emissions and our energy supply is, as the saying goes, "in the details."
It's been a year and a half since EBI — a $500 million, 10-year research initiative to explore biological approaches to the production of clean, sustainable energy — was publicly announced, in February 2007. In this interview with NewsCenter writer Cathy Cockrell (with accompanying video by Robert Sanders), Sommerville describes the web of scientific, technical, and social questions that EBI researchers — from UC Berkeley, the University of Illinois, the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and the BP energy company — have begun to probe in an attempt to "truly understand" the potential benefits and pitfalls of large-scale biofuel production.
Q. Which crops are you concentrating on?
A. We're not doing any work on corn ethanol, or soybean, biodiesel. We're entirely next-generation crops, dedicated energy crops, such as miscanthus, which will harvest about 1.4 percent of the photons on an annualized basis. To get reasonable utilization of solar energy, you have to have very highly productive plants. Miscanthus is very highly productive.
Q. What, in your view, is the likely future of alternative energy, in the near and long term?
A. There are some exciting technologies under development. The one that interests me the most is what's called "photoelectric chemistry." I would distinguish that from photovoltaics. Photovoltaics involves using photons to make electricity, while photoelectric chemistry is using photons to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. There are some materials now, that can be produced as coatings, that will do the latter for a short period of time. My hope is that in the next 20 or 25 years, those photoelectric materials can be developed — making it possible to produce large amounts of hydrogen in a cost-effective manner on a very large scale.
In the long run I actually feel fairly optimistic that photoelectric chemistry may offer a long-term solution. But we're quite far away from it. We're not going to be able to do that, probably, in my lifetime. I should say that today, wind is mature. There's a lot of opportunity to produce energy from wind, and there's also a lot of opportunity to produce energy from geothermal right now. Those are ready to go, and we should be expanding those very strongly. I see biofuels as a stop gap — something that can help us deal with the challenge for the next 50 years, while we get some better technologies.
berkeley _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:07 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Breakthrough In Energy Storage: New Carbon Material Shows Promise Of Storing Large Quantities Of Renewable Electrical Energy
Quote:
Engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have achieved a breakthrough in the use of a one-atom thick structure called "graphene" as a new carbon-based material for storing electrical charge in ultracapacitor devices, perhaps paving the way for the massive installation of renewable energies such as wind and solar power.
The researchers believe their breakthrough shows promise that graphene (a form of carbon) could eventually double the capacity of existing ultracapacitors, which are manufactured using an entirely different form of carbon.
"Through such a device, electrical charge can be rapidly stored on the graphene sheets, and released from them as well for the delivery of electrical current and, thus, electrical power," says Rod Ruoff, a mechanical engineering professor and a physical chemist. "There are reasons to think that the ability to store electrical charge can be about double that of current commercially used materials. We are working to see if that prediction will be borne out in the laboratory."
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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 10:58 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
New Route to Hydrocarbon Biofuels
Quote:
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a simple, two-step chemical process to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon fuels. The compounds created during the process could also be used to make other industrial chemicals and plastics.
The Wisconsin researchers, led by chemical- and biological-engineering professor James Dumesic, employ chemical reactions instead of microbial fermentation. They use catalysts at high temperatures to convert glucose into hydrocarbon biofuels. The process works thousands of times faster than microbes do because of the higher temperatures, so it requires smaller, cheaper reactors, Dumesic says. The catalysts and reformer systems that they use are similar to those used in oil refineries, which would also make the process simpler.
The researchers' final goal is to use sugars derived from cellulosic biomass such as agricultural waste and switchgrass instead of using food sources such as corn and sugarcane. That would be the key to making environmentally beneficial hydrocarbon fuels from plants that are economically competitive with petroleum fuels. However, enzymes used to extract glucose and other sugars from cellulose are currently too expensive to make the process competitive for creating cellulosic biofuels.
technologyreview _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:38 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Report: Biodiesel, Ethanol & Renewables to Create 4.2 Million US Jobs
Quote:
A new report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors says 4.2 million Americans will have green industry jobs by 2038… a dramatic increase from the current 750,000 green jobs in the country now.
“This report proves that being green is not optional, it is necessary for a healthy and robust economy,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. “Creating green jobs is an investment we must continue to make.”
Under assumed scenarios and with government commitment and investments, the report projects Green Jobs could contribute 10% of new jobs through 2038, representing the fastest growing job segment in the U.S. economy. By 2038, the report forecasts that renewable electricity production will create 1.23 million jobs; alternative transportation fuels 1.5 million jobs; engineering, legal, research and consulting positions will be more than 1.4 million; and commercial and residential retrofits at 81,000 jobs, for a total of 4.2 million.
The report assumes that 40 percent of the country’s electricity will come from alternative sources, such as wind, solar and biomass, 30 percent of gas and diesel for the nations vehicles will come from renewables, and homes and businesses will reduce their energy use by 35 percent by 2038.
domesticfuel _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:35 am Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
BP: Biofuels Could Potentially Account for up to 30% of Global Transportation Fuel by 2030
Quote:
Based on announced targets and pending regulations, BP’s assessment is that biofuels could account for between 11 and 19% of the transport fuel market by 2030. The company also thinks there is a possibility, if the industry can address some of the land, feedstock and technology issues that exist today, for up to 30% biofuels penetration into transportation by 2030, according to Susan Ellerbusch, VP Global Biofuels for BP.
Delivering that aggressive quantity of more than 600 billion liters (158.5 billion gallons US) of biofuels by 2030 would require progress particularly in the area of cellulosic biofuels, Ellerbusch said in a talk at Platts 3rd Annual Cellulosic Ethanol and Biofuels conference in Chicago (9-10 October).
Other key factors would be an “unlock” that has to happen in terms of vehicles to allow for greater biofuels use in the market, as well as the development of the necessary infrastructure, she said.
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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 7:11 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Japan to build space elevator made in Russia
Quote:
Japanese engineers intend to build an elevator to deliver cargo into space. Japanese authorities are prepared to allocate $10 billion for the project.
The space elevator is expected to cut the cost of delivering cargo into space and is considered one of the most ambitious projects of the 21st century. The Japanese plan to unveil a schedule for the elevator's assembly and commissioning this November.
mnweekly _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
EU speeds up development of hydrogen technologies
Quote:
Hydrogen is a clean energy carrier. European research shows that hydrogen energy could reduce oil consumption in road transport by 40 percent by 2050. Fuel cells can be applied in a variety of products, such as mobile phones and laptops, cars, buses, ships and planes, as well as stationary heat and power generators in the domestic and industrial sector.
The founding members of the Joint Technology Initiative on Fuel Cells and Hydrogen are the European Commission and a nonprofit association of European industry interests including more than 60 companies. The European Commission is expected to fund 470 million from the Seventh Framework Program over a period of six years, which will be matched by industry contributions.
EFOY Pro fuel cell kit makes electric vehicles independent of the grid
Quote:
Electric vehicles are the mobility option of the future. If only they weren’t so dependent on the grid! Now there is an alternative: All those who want to drive an electric vehicle without being forced to regularly seek electric sockets for a battery recharge can now buy the EFOY Pro fuel cell kit for their vehicle. Easily retrofitted into any electric vehicle type, the fuel cell will automatically recharge the batteries directly on board, no matter if the vehicle is driven or parked. From Oct. 15 to 17 at ecomove Berlin, SFC, world leading supplier of fuel cell products for mobile and off-grid power applications, will present the commercially available EFOY Pro fuel cell kit for electric vehicles in a StartLab Open electric vehicle by Solar StromBau – Hans Stalleicher in hall 4.2.
fuelcellsworks _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:14 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
Winds of change: A beacon of optimism
Quote:
Wind is the new oil and the North Sea will be the new Gulf of Arabia. As the banking sector grinds to a halt and the real economy stutters gloomily towards recession, wind power is a rare beacon of optimism.
The UK has overtaken Denmark to become the world leader for offshore wind energy, the Prime Minister told the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) conference in London yesterday. And the latest batch of turbines installed at the Whitelee onshore farm, being built by ScottishPower, has taken the UK's total installed capacity past three gigawatts (GW), enough to power 1.5 million homes.
Wind power will become a major industry, worth tens of billions of pounds and employing tens of thousands of people, if the UK is to meet the Government's energy targets.
The Prime Minister predicted yesterday that the market for renewable energy sources would hit £100bn within a decade, creating up to 160,000 jobs. Bain & Company, an independent research group, estimates investment of £39bn in wind alone, with the creation of 60,000 jobs.
However, there is currently barely an industry at all. The wind sector employs only 5,000 people, and has only one turbine factory, on the Isle of Wight, run by Vestas, a Danish company. Not only do Germany, Denmark and Spain have a much higher installed capacity – accounting for 70 per cent of EU's 57GW total – but they have also created major industries, including industrial clusters for turbine manufacture, employing more than 133,000.
Researchers developing alternatives to fossil fuels are working with everything from algae to babassu oil to corn, but a California company says it can recycle carbon dioxide into fuel.
Carbon Sciences claims it has developed a way of using the CO2 emitted during the combustion of coal, oil and other hydrocarbons to create transportation fuels like gasoline and jet fuel. Should Carbon Sciences — or any of the other firms working on similar projects — accomplish this on a large scale, it could bring a reduction in CO2 emissions as well as an abundant supply of renewable fuel.
The company says its "C02-to-Fuel" technology uses CO2 to create ethane, propane and methane, three run-of-the mill hydrocarbons used to make high-grade gasoline and other fuels. The key to the process is biocatalysis, a process where natural catalysts are used to perform chemical reactions. Biocatalysis is a more energy efficient and cost-effective way to break down CO2, making the possibility of a large-scale ramp up economically feasible.
The approach uses a low energy biocatalytic hydrolysis process that splits water molecules into hydrogen atoms and hydroxide ions, says Dr. Naveed Aslam, the company's chief technology officer and inventor of the process. The hydrogen is used to create hydrocarbons, while the free electrons in the hydroxide are used to fuel the biocatalytic process, he says. The process "is based on natural organic chemistry processes that occur in all living organisms where carbon atoms, extracted from CO2, and hydrogen atoms extracted from H2O, are combined to create hydrocarbon molecules using biocatalysts and small amounts of energy."
wired _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:39 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
UK announces world's largest algal biofuel project
Quote:
The world's biggest publicly funded project to make transport fuels from algae will be launched today by a government agency which develops low-carbon technologies.
The Carbon Trust will today announce a project to make algal biofuels a commercial reality by 2020. The plan could see up to £26m spent on developing the technology and infrastructure to ensure that algal biofuels replace a signficant proportion of the fossil fuels used by UK drivers.
Algae Biofuels Offer Enormous Promise, Face Tough Production and Cost Challenges to Scale
Quote:
The 2008 Algae Biomass Summit (23-24 October), organized by the Algal Biomass Organization, drew more than 600 algae producers, scientists, engineers, investors and policy-makers from more than a dozen countries to Seattle to pitch, listen and network on emerging algae-based solutions to global energy, environmental, and economic issues.
Amid the tremendous enthusiasm was a recognition that the field, while extremely promising, also faces difficult technical and economic challenges if it is to scale to be a significant component of a global energy solution. Algae have the potential to help keep humanity from going over the cliff, said Dr. Mario Tredici, Professor of Microbiology, University of Florence, Italy, in his opening talk at the conference, “but there is a necessity to identify the limitations of the technology and establish its true potential.”
A new type of solar energy collector concentrates the sun into a beam that could melt steel. Researchers say the device could revolutionize global energy production.
The prototype is a 12-foot-wide mirrored dish was made from a lightweight frame of thin, inexpensive aluminum tubing and strips of mirror. It concentrates sunlight by a factor of 1,000 to produce steam.
"This is actually the most efficient solar collector in existence," said Doug Wood, an inventor based in Washington state who patented key parts of the dish's design — the rights to which he has signed over to a team of students at MIT.
msnbc _________________ 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: 2761 Location: New Zealand
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 10:20 pm Post subject: Re: Future Energy Technology News
European Scientists: 'Let's Set Up A Global Solar Energy Grid'
Quote:
The Europeans are serious about nanotechnology to wean countries off using fossil fuels in the next century. There´s considerable interest in setting up a solar grid that is global because the sun consistently shines on some part of the planet.
The technologies European scientists say are going to dominate the sustainable energy sector include Dye Sensitized solar Cells (DSCs) and biomimetics. These two technologies are popular because they show great promise for capturing or storing solar energy. At the same time, nanocatalysis already has begun to churn out efficient methods for energy-saving industrial processes convincingly.
The ground tone at the recent European Science Foundation conference about Nanotechnology for Sustainable Energy was overly clear about it; Europe is ready to accelerate development of nano technologies. The conference focused on solar rather than other sustainable energy sources such as wind, because that is where nanotechnology is most applicable and also because solar energy conversion holds the greatest promise as a long-term replacement of fossil fuels.
A drawback of solar energy is that it -like wind energy- varies greatly across time and geography. That's because it is confined to the daytime and less suitable for regions in higher latitudes, such as Scandinavia and Siberia. For this reason there is growing interest in the idea of a global electricity grid according to Kasemo.
"If solar energy is harvested where it is most abundant, and distributed on a global net (easy to say - and a hard but not impossible task to do) it will be enough to replace a large fraction of today's fossil-based electricity generation," said Kasemo. "It also would solve the day/night problem and therefore reduce storage needs because the sun always shines somewhere."
ENN _________________ 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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