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Posts tagged greentech
It’s not just finding renewable energy sources, it’s actually using them
Sep 25th
Ecotricity is a British electric company dedicated to changing the way electricity is produced. They take the money customers spend on electricity and invest it in clean forms of power like wind energy. Ecotricity is the only green electricity company actually building these new renewable energy sources. In 2007 alone they invested £25 million in wind energy. For every pound a customer spends on electricity, Ecotricity spends another pound on renewable energy.
The company has 33 wind parks either in operation (15), in construction (6), or in the planning process (12). This amounts to 108 wind turbines and 276,000 tonnes of CO2 saved every year. Over 40,000 homes and businesses are powered through Ecotricity, serving folks all over the United Kingdom.
The company has 33 wind parks either in operation (15), in construction (6), or in the planning process (12). This amounts to 108 wind turbines and 276,000 tonnes of CO2 saved every year. Over 40,000 homes and businesses are powered through Ecotricity, serving folks all over the United Kingdom.
Though Ecotricity specializes in wind energy, the company is also moving toward investing in green gas (biofuels essentially) and solar energy. They also have a program called Microtricity, where homes will get paid, you heard correctly, to create electricity out of their own homes. One kilowatt of solar panels for one home creates 850kWh of electricity, paying you £364/$571 a year tax-free. This saves about £64/$100 per year on the electric bill, combining to an annual benefit of £428/$671. With results like that, who wouldn’t want Ecotricity?
It’s Liquid Wood
Sep 3rd
Another plastic replacement that’s 100 percent organic, Arboform is a German invention that has the mobility and durability of plastic with naturalness of wood. It is produced after combining lignin, a discarded element of regular wood with natural resins, flax and fiber and decomposes into water and carbon dioxide. Images after the break
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
Climate Change Brings Synthetic Trees To The Fore
Jul 25th
As long as you have CO2 sucking trees the world is saved, right? Wrong. You need trees that can suck out CO2 much faster than what natural trees can. Luckily, there seems to be a solution, at least as a proposal. A Columbia University professor working with the Dept. Of Energy has proposed synthetic trees that can
Forget Solar Panels. Solar Balloons Are Here!
Jul 24th
Now getting a watt of energy out of a solar panel is one. How about getting 400 watts of output? Yup, a company called Cool Earth Solar is making solar balloons that can harvest 400 times the energy compared to conventional solar cells. These “solar concentrators” focus energy using the curved shape of the balloon on to a solar cell. What this means is that a lot more sunlight gets concentrated on to a solar cell compared to regular solar power plants. The balloon is made out of cheap or even free materials like plastic, aluminium and filled with regular air. Now lets start creating megawatts of energy alright? Image of the balloon after the break.
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.
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
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
GE Achieves Cleaner Coal Energy Milestone
May 5th
Marking a major milestone on the road to America’s clean energy future, GE (NYSE: GE) today announced the shipment of the second of its advanced, highly efficient turbines to Duke Energy’s integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) power plant in Edwardsport, Ind. GE is providing the IGCC technology for Duke’s Edwardsport facility, which is expected to be
Floating Powerplants Will Make Us More Power. Forever.
May 3rd
You thought wind energy was stuck on green pastures? The freaks from Denmark have taken it off the fields and put it on the high seas. Seriously! Dubbed the Poseidon, the massive “floating” power plant harnesses energy from the winds of the high seas that don’t get to the high plateaus. Poseidon is based on
