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Posts tagged cleantech
It’s Flying, with Style
Sep 15th
Efforts are underway to harness the wind in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which could contain as much as 870 terawatts of power — that’s 870 trillion watts! Being able to harness this energy has one significant advantage: it would take less raw material per watt of power, translating to a lower cost per watt.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.
Yes, no carbons were emitted upon placing this call
Sep 6th
Looking to get a new phone? Try one of these eco-friendly models, which are not only comparable in price to other models but are made from post-consumer content. Sony Ericsson’s Elm and Naite come with e-manuals instead of a printed one. The Elm has low power consumption to help save energy. The Motorola W233 Renew is the first phone made from recycled water bottles, and comes with a postage-paid recycling envelope for that old phone. The Samsung Blue Earth is the most expensive of the bunch, but comes with its own solar panel, so no more losing that charger or leaving it at the hotel 500 miles away. The Blue Earth is also made from recycled plastic bottles and contains no hazardous materials. Research from 2008 shows that the average person makes 10 call per day. So why not help the earth at the same time?
It’s not just solar power, it’s solar fuel
Aug 18th
Since 2008, a European organization led by Athanasios Konstandopoulos at the Centre for Research and Technology in Hellas, Thessaloníki, Greece, has been operating a 100-kilowatt pilot plant that generates hydrogen from a combination of sunlight and steam. It’s now found that the same technology for this pilot plant can also be used to split carbon dioxide molecules. The resulting carbon monoxide can then be combined with the hydrogen to form a hydrocarbon fuel. The creation of hydrocarbon fuel will mean few changes to cars and other energy infrastructure, a break for those hesitant on moving toward alternative energy sources. This new process would make better use of the carbon dioxide that’s already being produced by this pilot plant and could lead to the development of a hydrogen economy.
Solar Panel Window Panes. What Took Them So Long to Invent It?
Jul 27th
As far as innovation in the solar sector goes, its been super hot. Ideabing has covered solar quite extensively. One thing we were not able to understand is the reason for not having window panes that double up as solar panels. Apparently there is actually one being developed at New Energies Technologies. The real problem
Vibration Powered Batteries Coming To Your TV Remote
Jul 27th
The next time your battery runs out in the TV remote, just shake the damn remote to charge up the battery! Yup, Japanese electronics company Brother has outed a vibration powered cell that can power anything that takes low power, like your TV remote for instance. The battery generates and stores electricity thanks to a coil, a magnet
Lockheed Martin Working On OTEC Technology. Promises Unlimited Clean Energy.
Jun 27th
We talk about a lot of green tech and clean tech here at Ideabing but this one takes the cake. Lockheed Martin is working on something called the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion or OTEC that promises energy production with zero carbon output. Yup, its a power plant on the ocean but with absolutely no carbon footprint. How it works is a little complex though. The technology utilizes the subtle temperature differences between the shallow and deep regions of ocean water to harvest that energy and convert it to electricity. The good news? The energy can be harvested in all the ocean water on this planet! Unlimited energy potential with zero carbon output. Yes, the humans have finally found kryptonite! Lockheed Martin’s going to build the first power plant in Hawaii by 2012, a 10 Mega Watt one. Subsequent ones will have 100 Mega Watt capacity. This changes the game quite drastically in the energy sector. Imagine – no fossil fuels required to generate electricity! Welcome to the OTEC economy. Video demonstrating the technology after the break.
DuPont Opens North American Photovoltaic Research Facility
Jun 9th
DuPont opened a North American photovoltaic applications lab at its Chestnut Run facility in Wilmington to support materials development for the fast-growing photovoltaic solar energy market. Over 55 representatives from the photovoltaic industry joined DuPont Chair and CEO Ellen Kullman, David B. Miller, president – DuPont Electronics & Communications, and Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and other government leaders for
Sony launches “Road to Zero” environmental plan and sets 2015 mid-term target
May 17th
Sony Corporation announced its “Road to Zero” global environmental plan on Aprill 7 2010. The plan, which includes a long-term goal of achieving a zero environmental footprint by 2050, uses backcasting methods to set specific mid-term environmental targets for the next five years in line with that goal. Sony’s definition of zero environmental footprint is
Russia: On The Come Back Trail
May 17th
Russia is seeing a macroeconomic revival of sorts. The largest country in the world was almost ignored completely thanks to the end of the Cold War and also the fact that James Bond wanted nothing more to do with them after ‘Goldeneye’. And this is revival is not thanks to the sudden increase in the
Carnegie Mellon, Nissan Team Up For Electric Vehicles
May 9th
Students at Carnegie Mellon University spent the spring semester exploring the future of electric vehicles through a partnership with Nissan North America (NNA). The class is a cross-campus collaboration among faculty and researchers at the university’s Carnegie Institute of Technology (College of Engineering), School of Design and Tepper School of Business. The classroom challenge for this semester focused on
