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Captain Piccard's Solar Impulse starts runway testing
Good news, kids -- the solar-powered jet with globetrotting ambitions has started sneaking out of the hangar and onto the runway for some mild exercise in the form of landing gear and taxi testing. Captained by Bertrand Piccard -- a real person -- the Solar Impulse project is still on track for a 2012 globe circumnavigation attempt powered only by the sun's rays from above and the well-wishes from below. The humongous bird is described as having "the wingspan of an Airbus and the weight of a car," and its recent outdoorsy jaunts have done nothing to dampen spirits, making that roadmap for its first flight early next year seem entirely viable. We've got no less than three videos for you after the break, but we won't mind if you only watch one.
Survey finds Americans want to go hybrid, can't afford it
48 percent of respondents to a recent Pike Research survey have classified themselves as very or extremely intrested in buying a plug-in hybrid vee-hee-cle, and 65 percent of them were willing to pay a premium price relative to a regular old petrol puffer. This enthusiasm stretched to an average premium of 12 percent which, while encouraging, still won't quite cover the current price gap between hybrids and, erm, monobryds? It would seem, then, that the environmental, fuel efficiency and plug-in ability benefits aren't lost on buyers, but neither are basic principles of economics. Our view on things? What we need is a netbook equivalent in the car world -- a dirt-cheap hybrid that students and hippies can get behind and stimulate the move of all prices downwards. [Via Autoblog Green]
Video: Solar-powered night garden fills Jerusalem with tranquility, world peace soon to follow
Juxtaposing the manmade and the natural in artistic expression oftentimes leads to creepy results. It is no mean feat, then, that the Jerusalem night garden -- built out of steel wires, laser-cut panels and 1W to 3W Power LEDs -- feels like a warm and welcoming place to visit. Whether it is the clean energy source, producing 720W of electricity per hour, or the ethereal light and movement of the flowers, something about the exhibition awakens the wistful child we've got locked away in the Engadget dungeons. He cries out for more of this aesthetically pleasing eco-friendly design, which in this case even comes with a specially composed soundtrack. To see if you agree with such juvenile enthusiasm, check out the video after the break.[Via inhabitat]
Captain Piccard unveils Solar Impulse HB-SIA solar-powered plane
You might have seen solar-powered planes before, but few of them come with as much world-changing ambition as the Solar Impulse. Launched in 2003, the project aims to demonstrate the viability of renewable energy sources by being the first to perform a manned flight around the globe using only solar power. The technology is nothing to scoff at, as the 200-foot wingspan features 12,000 photovoltaic solar cells bringing power to four electric motors. Captain Bertrand Piccard, one of the key men behind this project, is best known as one half of the first team to circumnavigate the world in a balloon in 1999. He hopes, together with partner André Borschberg, to repeat that achievement in Solar Impulse's next iteration, the HB-SIB, in 2012. Make it so, guys.[Via Gizmag]
Solaren Corp to supply California with space-based solar power
After JAXA's announcement of space-based solar power for Japan, we've been keeping our eyes peeled for some news of similar projects Stateside. Lo and behold, California's largest energy utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, has agreed to do just that, inking a deal with solar power startup Solaren Corp. The agreement calls for the utility to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity once the company starts beaming power down from Earth orbit beginning in 2016. A solar-power satellite would consist of mirror arrays -- perhaps measuring up to several miles wide -- which would focus sunlight onto photoelectric cells. From there, the electrical power is converted into a microwave beam that is directed downward toward Earth, where it's converted back into electricity and then fed into the grid. According to the company, the system could generate roughly 1.2 to 4.8 gigawatts of power, at a price comparable to that of other renewable energy sources. When asked for a comment, legendary sci-fi jazz composer Sun Ra was more than enthusiastic. "Space is the place," he said.[Via Fresno Bee]
Mini Hydro Turbine concept could bring renewable energy production to your bathroom
Environmentalists would have you believe that leaving the faucet running while you brush your teeth puts an unnecessary drain on the environment. We always disagreed, and if Jin Woo Han's concept Mini Hydro Turbine ever goes into production we might finally have something to back up our argument. The device would capture the "free" energy of your tap to spin a little generator, in theory producing enough juice to charge up an electric toothbrush or shaver. That actually sounds somewhat reasonable, but Han's suggestion of powering your boiler with this thing is probably a bit optimistic. It would also take quite an optimist to think this could some day appear in a bathroom made of tiles and not pixels, but we'll keep on hoping; pairing this with a turbine toilet might enable us to take our homes completely off the grid -- or our bathrooms at least.[Via Gadget Lab]
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.
Green Freedom turns the air's CO2 into auto-powering fuel
Tired of the air not doing enough for you? Well, a new project called Green Freedom -- headed up by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory -- seeks to improve air's contribution to our planet. The new technology would provide a method of extracting CO2 from the air and then converting the gas into fuel for cars or airplanes -- thus creating a renewable energy source. The process uses a form of electrochemical separation to siphon juice out of the typically non-partying carbon dioxide, yet has a low environmental impact with a small waste-stream output. The plan calls for the use of existing plants, which will stem the need to build new facilities, enabling the environmental footprint to remain relatively small. Clearly, it's not being put into general practice yet, but it's a hopeful taste of things to come.[Via Inhabitat]
Sprint aims to boost network reliability with green sources
Sprint is looking to beef up its own network in hopes that failures like the one that just recently happened in Minnesota will be a thing of the past, and moreover, it's hoping to conserve energy all the while. Reportedly, the carrier is "actively testing and deploying sustainable and renewable energy sources at wireless sites across the country," which could act as both primary and backup energy sources. Hydrogen fuel cells, photovoltaic power and wind power are among the alternatives that Sprint is currently working with, and while no hard dates were listed for when these improvements would be implemented, it did suggest that some $7 billion were going to be spent to "further enhance its networks and meet the demand for more extensive mobile broadband coverage across the nation."
Homeowner of solar-hydrogen house has $0.00 utility bill
Mike Strizki, a civil engineer living in New Jersey has converted his home into a completely energy self-sufficient abode that runs exclusively on a combination of solar and hydrogen power. Using solar panels, a hydrogen fuel cell, storage tanks, an electrolyzer to split water into Hydrogen and Oxygen, plus a custom made fuel-cell car, Mike benefits from a utility bill of zero dollars, and the comforting feeling that his activities don't produce any pollution. Currently the solution isn't in any way practical for mass adoption -- the initial cost was $500,000, with half paid by New Jersey state grants -- but Mike thinks that he could reduce this cost tenfold with more research and mass market production lines. There is also some concern amongst experts like Joseph Romm, a former Department of Energy official who thinks that the current relatively inefficient technology and the high cost means that this isn't a viable system for mass adoption just yet. Despite this criticism, Mike says "we have to start somewhere," even if early adopters (in this case rich Hollywood types with a conscience) are required to pay out up to $250,000 dollars to get in on the clean energy action. [Via digg]
