Source renewableenergyworld.com

Although the current slide in overall wind market demand means 2009 figures are unlikely to match recent booms, the dip has not come at the expense of wind technology innovation.
by Eize de Vries, Wind Technology Correspondent

London, UK [Renewable Energy World Magazine]
More than 31,000 MW of new wind capacity was added worldwide in 2008, a record that can be described as an absolute milestone in the modern history of wind power development. Fortunately that build up -- and the dip in overall wind market demand that has followed the financial constraints -- did not take place at the expense of wind industry development nor technology innovation.

Source renewableenergyworld.com (Image: wikimedia commons)

Q: What do you think of solar stocks now in light of the recent news regarding market leader, First Solar (FSLR)? Also I would like to know what you think of the market in general. -- Claude M. London, UK

Source by Pete Meltzer, Jr. Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL
Ohio, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Scientists at the Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (AFRL/RX), in a concerted effort with Plextronics Inc., and the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center, both located in Pittsburgh, Pa., have developed a ready-to-use, cost-reducing technology that can capture sunlight and store it as energy to power Global Positioning System components, portable communications and other devices for U.S. soldiers.

Source RenewableEnergyWorld.com

Washington, DC, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

"The current energy crisis is fueling a worldwide search for power. Energy explorers are discovering that the largest reserve of potential energy covers more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface—the oceans." Replace "energy crisis" with "climate crisis," and these words could be pulled from the websites of any of several companies that are now looking to generate clean electricity from the heat stored in the oceans.

But to get much juice out of a system like this requires veritable rivers of both warm and cold water. A 100-megawatt OTEC plant (about one-tenth the size of a typical coal-fired power plant) would need several thousand liters of water flowing through it per second.

Source renewableenergyworld.com (Image: wikipedia commons)

FedEx Plans 2.4-MW Rooftop Solar Power System
Pittsburgh, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

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Graham Jesmer caught up with a number players in solar PV at Intersolar North America to talk about the state of the market and how its leading to innovation and cost cutting measures as well as a new maturity within the solar PV supply chain.

By Ben Purvis, Gizmag.com

Entrepreneur behind the Segway developing eco hybrid that will run on anything that burns

Dean Kamen – the multimillionaire inventor behind the Segway personal transporter – is well down the road in the development of a new bike that combines electric power and a radical generator which will allow it to burn almost any fuel.

The algae! Yes - the same slimy brown-green 'plant' that makes a pond or a lake look yucky - is the creating a great buzz as the most promising source of alternative energy. And now nanotechnology is being leveraged to add some more zing to the promise!

Algae are some of the simplest of the living organisms and can't even be classified as plants as they lack any differentiation into various structures such as leaves, roots or other organs that characterize a plant. Yet this simple structure is the very reason for the alarming growth rate of the algae: Under optimal conditions, it can double its mass overnight.

Barry Cohen takes the concept of going green to a whole new level.

As director of the National Algae Association, he is a leading advocate of curbing U.S. dependence on oil by harnessing the power of tiny, green waterborne plants known to most as pond scum.

Though it may sound far-fetched, the idea has gained momentum in recent years.

After decades of research, algae now is viewed as one of the most promising inputs for alternative fuels like biodiesel, as well as a potential way to capture carbon emissions from polluting factories.

The technology website CNET.com mentioned Algae Biodiesel in a short segment. Considering that Algae grows quickly, is carbon neutral and the fuel (biodiesel) being produced will run in the most efficient internal combusion engines we currently use, this could well be the best alternative to petroleum.

John Kanzius had an idea. He thought that radio waves focused on nano-particles attaching to cancer cells might be used to kill them. He began to experiment, and his results are promising, and beign continued at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Texas. But along the way, he stumbled upon a stunning, revolutionary idea.

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The algae derived fuel will be an energy efficient replacement for fossil fuels and can be used in any diesel powered vehicle or machinery.

The record oil price increases since 2003, competing demands between foods and other biofuel sources and the world food crisis have ignited interest in algaculture (farming algae) for making vegetable oil, biodiesel, bioethanol, biogasoline, biomethanol, biobutanol and other biofuels. Among algal fuels' attractive characteristics: they do not affect fresh water resources, can be produced using ocean and wastewater, and are biodegradable and relatively harmless to the environment if spilled. Algae cost more per pound yet can yield over 30 times more energy per acre than other, second-generation biofuel crops. One biofuels company has claimed that algae can produce more oil in an area the size of a two-car garage than an football field of soybeans, because almost the entire algal organism can use sunlight to produce lipids, or oil.

The Japanese company Genepax has unveiled a car that runs exclusively on water. They even have a working prototype that was showed off in front of the press. They claim that using only one liter of water it can run with 80km/h. Their website, genepax.co.jp, is not ready yet with all the details of their technology (in fact, it’s only in a construction phase).

Informations have discovered this far that their system runs on an electric motor powered by a water-splitting MEA membrane. Further details are not disclosed.

The video presented below is the first proof that their car works:

Source: ScienceDaily

Tomorrow's fuel-cell vehicles may be powered by enzymes that consume cellulose from woodchips or grass and exhale hydrogen.

Researchers at Virginia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the University of Georgia have produced hydrogen gas pure enough to power a fuel cell by mixing 14 enzymes, one coenzyme, cellulosic materials from nonfood sources, and water heated to about 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius).

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Brush and other materials found in Washington forests could serve to provide new means of energy, as well as control fires. KING 5's Glenn Farley reports.

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat—which are renewable (naturally replenished).

Afcon E.B. Wind Energy Ltd., a subsidiary of Afcon Industries, is in talks to partner with Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) on a $70 million project for installing wind turbines in the Lower Galilee.

As part of the collaboration, IEC has already started the process of obtaining statutory permits for the wind turbine farm, according to a report in Globes.

The wind turbine farm will be set up in Ramat Sirin and the Gilboa mountain ridge, with an output estimated at 40-50 megawatts. The National Planning and Building Board approved the construction of wind turbines in this region in 2003. IEC had previously planned to construct the turbine farm on its own, but after its board refused to finance the project, because of its high cost, the plan was dropped.

A Great Tutorial which describes the way which Solar energy Works.

Solar energy technologies can provide electrical generation by heat engine or photovoltaic means; space heating and cooling in active and passive solar buildings; potable water via distillation and disinfection, daylighting, hot water, thermal energy for cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.

By Matthew L. Wald, NYTimes.com

The same principle that lets airplanes fly could also be used to make windmills work better, according to a researcher at Cleveland State University. A test early next year should determine whether the technique could make small-scale wind power cost-effective on urban roofs.

Majid Rashidi, a professor of mechanical engineering, noted that airplanes can fly because when air passes over a curved surface, like the top of a wing, it speeds up and exerts less pressure than the slower air under the wing, generating lift.

Rice Restaurants in New York uses a delivery van fueled by the waste vegetable oil generated by its locations.

Vegetable oil economy is the potential of vegetable oil to replace fossil fuels in the economy and how it compares to other potential replacements. Vegetable oils are the basis of biodiesel, which can be used like conventional diesel. Some vegetable oil blends are used in unmodified vehicles, but straight vegetable oil needs specially prepared vehicles which have a method of heating the oil to reduce its viscosity and surface tension. Another alternative is vegetable oil refining. The list of vegetable oils is long, and the vegetable oil market is growing. The availability of biodiesel around the world is increasing. There is significant research in algaculture methods with the intent to make biofuel from algae.

Medical Technology India 2009 (Official Site)