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England isn't windy enough for new turbines, claims industry boss
Every country has its stereotypes, but England will always be famous for its terrible weather. You'd think a land labeled for its cold, wet and windy conditions would be ideal for generating energy, but it turns out that isn't the case. The head of the UK's wind industry trade body, Hugh McNeal, has even gone on record to admit that England simply isn't windy enough to justify the creation of any more wind farms.
UK government cuts home solar rewards by 65 percent
As part of its commitment to renewable energy, the UK government offers financial contributions to those who have solar panels installed at their home. This "Feed-in Tariff" pays homeowners to generate their own power, which not only feeds the appliances in their home, but can also then be sold back to the grid by way of an "export tariff". Currently, the Feed-in Tariff sits at 12.47 pence per kilowatt hour, but the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) confirmed today that payments will be reduced to 4.39 pence from next month, a drop of 65 percent.
Google makes big clean energy purchase to power data centers
Powering Google's online empire takes a lot of energy, and the company wants to use all clean sources to run its data centers by 2025. The company announced the next step towards that milestone today with word that it purchased 842 megawatts of renewable energy on three continents. The purchase includes solar and wind power in locales that range from North Carolina to Chile and Sweden, doubling what it had bought so far. Google says today's announcement is the largest purchase of clean energy by a non-utility company ever.
The UK is closing all of its coal power stations
The UK's last fifteen coal power stations are to be closed within the next decade under new government plans. In an announcement, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed that in a push for more "secure, affordable, and clean energy supplies," restrictions will be placed on all coal-powered installations by 2023, ahead of a full closure by 2025.
World's biggest floating wind farm is coming to Scotland
Just days after Danish energy provider Dong announced it had signed off plans to build the world's largest offshore wind farm comes news of another milestone in the UK's push for renewable energy. The Scottish Government has confirmed it has given consent to another Scandinavian company, Norway's Statoil, to build Britain's first floating wind farm. A park consisting of five 6MW turbines will be installed off the coast of Peterhead, eclipsing Japan's single 7MW turbine to become the world's largest offshore wind development.
Apple invests in more clean power for Chinese manufacturing
It's no secret that Apple takes its energy responsibilities seriously. It already powers a large percentage of its buildings via renewable sources, but ensuring that its manufacturing facilities run on clean energy isn't as easy, especially when it has partners located in various different regions. China is now Apple's fastest growing market, but it's also where the majority of its products are assembled, so it's embarking on two new programs to improve its environmental impact in the country.
Scientists are developing an invisibility cloak for solar panels
Current solar panel technology has enough trouble as it is converting sunlight into useable current, what with their paltry 20 percent average efficiencies. And it certainly doesn't help matters that up to a tenth of every solar panel's active collection areas are obscured from the sun by electrical leads called "contact fingers." But researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a novel workaround: they're wrapping the finger contacts in little invisibility cloaks.
The Big Picture: It's always sunny in Brooklyn
Google isn't the only company looking to map out urban skylines ahead of the solar revolution. The folks at MapDwell create surveys similar to Sunroof using technologies developed at MIT, and for more cities to boot. The company has already mapped out New York City, as you can see above, as well as Boulder, Colorado(for growing solar-powered hydroponic kush, obvs), all of the confusingly-named Washington County, Oregon and now San Francisco. "We range irradiation (energy that falls onto the surface) for each city," MapDwell wrote to Engadget. "From zero (dark brown) to maximum or ideal (bright yellow), we call this Solar Access Index or SAI." As such, the southern tip of Manhattan probably isn't the best place for a solar installation. And unfortunately, the service does not also extend to solar-powered food carts.
Germany's green energy boom is leaving a 'trail of blood' on coal companies
Since the beginning, the commercial growth of renewable energy has been a laborious, often painful matter of government pushes, tax incentives and campaigning for greater awareness. In Germany, however, the energy market is on the cusp of evolving to the next step: An era in which the sun and the wind replace fossil fuels through the sheer, unstoppable force of the market.
Google data center in Oklahoma to get 48MW of wind power, boost renewable energy in the Sooner state
Google has made a point of relying on renewable resources for its data centers whenever possible, even down to the cooling. It hasn't had quite as unique an arrangement as what it's planning for its data center in Oklahoma, though. The search firm wants to supply its Mayes County location with 48MW of wind energy from Apex's Canadian Hills Wind Project, but it isn't buying power directly from the source. Instead, it's making a deal with the Grand River Dam Authority, a utility, to purchase the clean power on top of what's already supplied from the GRDA at present. The deal should keep the data center on the environmentally friendly side while giving it room to grow. Wind power will come online at Google's facility once the Canadian Hills effort is up and running later in 2012; hopefully, that gives us enough time to better understand why there's a Canadian River and Canadian Hills to be found in the southern United States.
Delaware Ph.D. student hopes to solve energy woes with renewable hydrogen production
Hydrogen fuel is a fickle mistress. On one hand, it teases us with the promise of renewable energy and a cleaner tomorrow. On the other hand, it's most often produced with natural gas as the source -- hardly the clean break from fossil fuels that many had envisioned. Fortunately, there are other methods to harness this abundant element, and a doctoral student at the University of Delaware may have created a worthwhile process. Similar to previous research we've seen -- which relies on ceric oxide and energy from the sun -- Eric Koepf has designed a reactor that combines zinc oxide powder, solar rays and water to derive hydrogen as a storable energy source. Most intriguing, it's thought that the zinc oxide byproduct from the reaction will be reusable -- a potential gateway to sustainable energy. Koepf will spend the next six weeks in Zurich at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, where his reactor prototype will be put through its paces to determine its efficiency and effectiveness. If successful, his advisors envision that one day, we may see giant versions of Koepf's reactors producing hydrogen on an industrial scale. We certainly won't fault them for dreaming big.
Two US startups break solar efficiency records, aim to light up your life
Two US startups are breaking solar efficiency records in their quest to bring clean, cost-effective, eco-friendly energy to a power grid near you. Alta Devices, based in Santa Clara, CA, has achieved a 23.5 percent efficiency rating with its standard solar panel, while Semprius, a Durham, NC company, has achieved a rating of 33.9 percent with its concentrated photovoltaic offering -- besting the previous records of 22.9 percent and 33 percent, respectively. Interestingly enough, both outfits chose to utilize a new material to construct their sun-sopping cells: gallium arsenide. The material, while more expensive, is better suited for absorbing the sun's energy, especially when compared to silicon, the cheaper element typically used. Alta and Semprius are looking to proliferate solar power by further refining the technology, making its price per kilowatt equivalent to that of fossil fuels without the use of government subsides. Here comes the sun...
Piezoelectric system turns your balmy breath into pungent power
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have come up with a way to produce electricity from just about the most renewable source known to man -- his own breath. It's all thanks to a plastic microbelt developed by engineers Xudong Wang, Chengliang Sun and Jian Shi. Made of a material known as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), this belt produces an electric charge whenever low-speed airflow passes over it and causes it to vibrate -- a result of that vaunted piezoelectric effect. Eventually, Wang and his team were able to tinker with their system to the point where it could produce enough current to charge small electronic devices. "The airflow of normal human respiration is typically below about two meters per second," Wang explained. "We calculated that if we could make this material thin enough, small vibrations could produce a microwatt of electrical energy that could be useful for sensors or other devices implanted in the face." The researchers say their technology could be used to power smaller biomedical devices like blood monitors and pacemaker batteries, which typically don't demand vast amounts of energy. No word yet on when this system could make its way to the mainstream, but we'll be waiting with bated breath.
Europe's first solar powered train tunnel goes live on Belgian high-speed line (video)
The train ride from Paris to Amsterdam may not be the most scenic of European railway routes, but it's the only one capable of harnessing the awesome power of the Sun -- for two miles, at least. Yesterday, engineers in Belgium officially switched on Europe's first solar-powered train tunnel, spanning a 2.1-mile stretch of the rail line connecting the City of Lights to Mokum. The installation's 16,000 solar panels will be used to provide 50 percent of the energy needed to power nearby Antwerp Central Station and to provide extra juice for both high-speed and traditional trains. Originally developed to help protect travelers from falling trees in an ancient forest, the project is expected to produce up to 3.3MWh 3,300 megawatts hours per year, while decreasing annual CO2 emissions by about 2,400 tons. Speed past the break for some aerial footage of the artery, along with a brief PR from Enfinity -- the Belgian renewable energy company that helped bring it to life. Update: According to the AFP, the tunnel will produce 3,300 megawatts hours per year.
Genovation G2 aims to be the greenest thing you can drive, will be made from renewable and recycled parts
One big sticking point for those still unwilling to embrace the eco-friendly credentials of electric vehicles is the undeniable fact that building an EV costs plenty in terms of resource and energy use. Hoping to counter this concern, Genovation is working on developing a new G2 electric car (the G1 was a Ford Focus modified with off-the-shelf parts to run on batteries), which will try to maximize the use of renewable and recycled materials in its construction. It's just completed the first phase of its development, where quarter-size models have been built by Tata Technologies and a bunch of simulations, analyses, and performance tests have been run. Phases two and three will involve the building of functional prototypes and pre-production road vehicles, with phase four presumably being the onset of our sustainable living utopia.
Philadelphia Eagles going self-sufficient on stadium energy from 2011, 30 percent of it renewable
Let's skip right past the cringe-worthy "Declaration of Energy Independence" slogan and look at what the Eagles are actually doing with their pro sports venue. The franchise that dresses in midnight green is aiming to smarten up its eco-green credentials with a new partnership with SolarBlue that will provide all of the Eagles' stadium energy needs for the next 20 years, after which point the team will be free to resell any surplus electricity back to the grid. 15 percent of the total output with be generated with spiral wind turbines erected around the top rim of Lincoln Financial Field, another 15 will come from 2,500 solar panels to be installed near the stadium, and the rest will be obtained from a biodiesel / natural gas plant. So it's not all renewable, but a nice step in the right direction, nonetheless.
World's largest offshore wind farm spins into action off the coast of Britain
They stretch up to two and a half times the height of Nelson's Column at Trafalgar Square, their number is close to a hundred, and their mission is to bring clean, renewable energy into British homes. Yes, we're talking about turbines. The latest wind farm to be erected near the Queen's most sovereign isles is said to be the largest in the world (for now) and promises to produce enough energy to keep 240,000 homes going -- the equivalent of half the county of Kent. It's part of the UK's grand plan to generate at least 20 percent of all its power needs through the taming of the winds and cost the Kingdom a cool £780 million ($1.2b) to build. That's admittedly a big bill to swallow, but there are worse things to blow your billions on... such as, say, the Millennium Dome.
Google and GE in unlikely enviro-matrimony
Google is the search engine monolith that everyone loves to love. GE is the energy and appliance maker whose public image ranges from ambivalence to dislike (and we don't just mean Nikola Tesla fans). While the two have worked together in the past to put a button on a phone, they don't exactly seem like ideal partners. But, hard times make strange bedfellows, and these two are snuggling up and cooing about the "smarter" energy grid they'll produce together. This includes more intelligent systems driving everything from electric cars to wind generators, which Google will tackle, along with a better infrastructure to deliver that power efficiently where it's needed. That is where GE and its industry-bending spin offs come in, though both expectant parents are hoping for a little help from our new administration to make the magic happen -- whichever new administration we get.
Greener Gadgets Design Competition winners on display
You may have heard a little something about the Greener Gadgets Conference, a gathering in New York focused on cleaner, renewable, recyclable, or generally forward-thinking technology and design. At the end of the one-day event, Core77 editor-in-chief Allan Chochinov MC'd a showcase of entrants to a design competition held by the Greener Gadgets team, which were then vetted and discussed by co-organizer (and Inhabitat editor-in-chief) Jill Fehrenbacher, Valerie Casey of IDEO and The Designers Accord, and our own special-somebody, Ryan Block. When the dust settled, first prize went to crowd favorite Ener-Jar -- a DIY project which allows you to easily view how much energy an appliance is using. Second place was snapped up by the Gravia, a gravity-based lamp which generates its own power by slowly dropping a weight in its center. The third place spot was nabbed by the Green Cell Universal Battery, a standardized battery which could be swapped out in vending machines. Sure, they probably won't inspire you to trade in your gas-guzzling Hummer for a bike any time soon, but this stuff might at least get you thinking in the right direction. Check the video after the break to see how it all went down.
Researchers develop "paint-on" solar cells
The quest to builder a better, cheaper solar cell continues on, as researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology have developed a new type of solar cell that can be printed or painted onto flexible plastic sheets. Unlike traditional silicon cells, the print-on cells are composed of carbon nanotubes and buckyballs, which results in substantially cheaper manufacturing costs and greater efficiency, since apparently carbon nanotubes are terrific conductors. The scientists seem pretty pumped about the potential for their tech, with lead researcher Somenath Mitra quite confidently proclaiming that we'll all soon be printing "sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers." Yeah, we're sure there won't be any shenanigans going on in that ink cartridge market.[Via Inhabitat]
