Archive for January, 2009
Is a flying car in your future?
Saturday, January 31st, 2009I’ll believe it when I see it, but there’s a company named Terrafugia, of Woburn, Mass., that’s building what they call “roadable aircraft”. Their vehicle, named that Transition, converts from a small airplane into a 2 seater car – after you land, you fold up the wings and drive to wherever you want to [...]
Konarka’s plastic solar cells
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 Konarka’s Power Plastic
Fortune magazine has a nice writeup on Konarka, a small compnay that’s created something they call Power Plastic, which is a new lightweight, flexible and cheap material that can be used as solar panels, both inside and outside. Right now, Konarka is selling small amounts of their Power Plastic to a company that [...]
The latest on the Cape Wind Nantucket Sound project
Sunday, January 25th, 2009It’s been in the works for seven plus years, but in one of the Bush Administration’s last official acts, the Cape Wind offshore wind turbine project was given the go-ahead. The project, consisting of 130 wind turbines, could generate up to 75% of the region’s electricity needs. But there’s been furious behind [...]
Solar Power that gives you both electricity and hot water
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009Greentechmedia recently published a couple of articles about companies that are developing solar units that contain both photovoltaic cells to convert light to electricty and heat pipes to collect heat from the sun for use as hot water. Entech Solar is one such company -they’re developing units that can be set up in arrays [...]
Honda’s new Prius fighter – the 2010 Insight
Sunday, January 18th, 2009There’s a couple of agreeable reviews out there that you might want to read if you’re interested in a fairly low cost hybrid. While prices haven’t been set, it looks like Honda is positioning their new 2010 Insight to those who don’t want to spend the extra coin to buy a Prius. USA [...]
2010 hybrid sedan faceoff!
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009Car and Driver compares the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, the Nissan Altima Hybrid, and the Chevy Malibu Hybrid in a head to head competition. If you’re interested in a hybrid that you can fit your family into, you need to read this. Lots of picture too!
Tidal Energy Ltd’s new DeltaStream turbine uses ship propeller concept to power tidal energy
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009A Welsh company, Tidal Energy Limited, is about to begin testing a new 1MW tidal turbine off the coast of Wales. While studies have shown that tidal energy could provide up to 25% of the UK’s electricity needs, the sea environment has proven to be a tough one for long bladed underwater turbines. [...]