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Solar power is competitive now
Attackers of solar power tent to cite high prices for it not being competitive with coal and oil. But what does it really cost? The high prices often cited go up to 40 cents per kWh. A kWh (or kilo Watt hour) is enough power to light 10 x 100W lightbulbs for one hour. The... »
The solar-powered light-bulb
A sizable portion of the world still has no access to electricity. Many of those use kerosene lamps to provide light after dusk but this can be expensive and causes indoor air pollution. The Nokero is Hong-Kong’s answer. The N100 is about the size of a normal lightbulb, but with 5 solar panels it can... »
The price of green energy
We like to think that in the near-future we are all using renewable energy sources instead of coal, oil and nuclear. But how does the price of electricity generated by renewable energy sources compare? Earth 2017 reports that in 2000, the price for a kWh of non-green energy would cost homes around 8 cents while... »
New batteries use oxygen from the air to generate power
Traditional batteries contain multiple chemicals that are made to react when necessary and generate power in the process. To recharge them the chemicals are then divided again. But STAIR (St Andrews Air) batteries are different. Containing only lithium as an active chemical, it draws oxygen from the air when discharged and uses that reaction to... »
Texas 15 years ahead of its time in renewable energy
The state of Texas, US, has already exceeded 10′000 MW of energy being created by renewable resources, a mandate that it was expected to meet by 2025. Nearly all of it comes from wind power as the western parts of the state are very well suited to that, making wind power in Texas abundant as... »
Turning chicken poop into energy
John Logan is a chicken farmer who learned that his soil was becoming contaminated because of chicken poop. Afraid that it would pollute the river near to where he grows them, he decided to do something with the poop. After working with scientists from Mississippi State University he has now patented the world’s first Chicken... »
Sahara: A source a power
There are huge projects underfoot to use the Saharan desert to generate Concentrating Solar Power. (CSP) The Guardian writes about the Desertec Industrial Initiative, a 240 billion pound venture (c.a. 365b dollars), brings together Siemens, E On and some of the other big names in the industry. It’s purpose is to use CSP to supply... »
Offshore wind power in the UK now exceeds 1GW
Projects by E.ON AG and Dong Energy A/S finally pushed the UK over the 1GW limit. According to Bloomberg, 1GW is enough to power 653′000 British homes. Investment in wind power has been rapidly increasing in the UK as of late as was promised by both the ruling Labour party and the two opposition group before... »
Harnessing the sun to create Ethanol and Diesel
The advancement in renewable fuels is just amazing. Joule Biotechnologies have developed a way to create liquid fuel using only waste CO2, genetically engineered organisms and the sun. The genetically engineered organisms are highly photosynthetic, meaning that they use solar power to turn chemicals into other chemicals. Joule leverage this to get them to turn the CO2... »
Oil demand peaked?
Colin Campell has, until recently, been one of the experts warning the world about the effects of diminishing oil supplies. In fact he is accredited with the term “peak oil”. But the man has changed his tune lately. While he still believes we have seen a peak in the available oil supply he believes it... »
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