Archive for February, 2010
Lots of questions, and only some answers, about the Bloom Box
Sunday, February 28th, 2010 Bloom boxes at ebay
I’m sure you’ve seen all the articles about the Bloom Box, the new fuel cell technology that Bloom Energy revealed this week. To recap, the Bloom Box is a car sized stand alone fuel cell that turns natural gas or other fuels into electricity. Each box, which currently costs about $800,000.00, generates [...]
The latest federal tax breaks for hybrid buyers
Sunday, February 28th, 2010If you’re interested in buying a hybrid, the rules for federal tax breaks on your hybrid purchase can be somewhat confusing. Some breaks for models such as the Prius have been phased out entirely, while others, such as one for a Ford Fusion Hybrid, are being phased out this year (March 31 for the Fusion, [...]
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders – on why “It’s time for a solar revolution”
Sunday, February 21st, 2010The Independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, speaks his mind in today’s Burlington Free Press on why he feels the US needs a “Solar Revolution”, and why he’s sponsored the “Ten Million Solar Roofs Act” .
“Thomas Edison, one of history’s greatest inventors, said, “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What [...]
New solar cell design from CalTech uses much less silicon
Saturday, February 20th, 2010CalTech designed silicon wire array embedded within a transparent and flexible polymer film
California Institute of Technology physics professor Harry Atwater has come up with a new way of making efficient solar cells that use only 1 to 2% of the silicon needed to make conventional silicon based photovoltaic solar cells.
“Our technology uses 50-100 times less [...]
Cheaper enzymes lead to biofuel breakthrough
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Some pretty big news on the biofuel front today, as two Danish companies that make enzymes for the production of biofuel announced that they have developed new enzymes that can cheaply convert agricultural waste into cellulosic ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is recognized as a better solution for biofuel production than corn ethanol, since cellulosic ethanol [...]
Distributed solar power projects becoming more popular
Monday, February 15th, 2010While announcements about new big solar power plants grab the headlines (and the concerns of environmentalists (see this NY Times artlcle – BrightSource Alters Solar Plant Plan to Address Concerns Over Desert Tortoise)), many utilities are now beginning to focus on small distributed solar rooftop arrays and small solar farms that can be built close [...]
IBM developing inexpensive solar cells made from available materials
Friday, February 12th, 2010IBM researchers have been developing new efficient thin film type solar cells that use abundant materials instead of the scarce materials used in current thin film solar cells. The materials that IBM is seeking to replace are cadmium, iridium, gallium, and selenide, which make up CIGS type cells. The new CZTSS cells [...]
BNET roundup of ten serious nuclear fusion projects
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010Nuclear fusion has been in the news lately – researchers at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California were able to bring all 192 lasers online at the same time and were able to heat a BB sized pellet of fuel to millions of degrees Fahrenheit. They still have a ways to go before [...]
New bill proposes 10 million solar roofs across US
Saturday, February 6th, 2010A new bill was introduced in the US Senate by Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would provide for incentives and tax breaks designed to get 10 million solar roofs and 200,000 solar water heaters deployed over the next 10 years. The rebates would pay for up to half the cost of new solar systems, and [...]
Generate electricity from breathing? New energy harvesting rubber could make that happen
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 Rubber imprinted with piezoelectric material that generates electricity when flexed. (Credit: Frank Wojciechowski/Princeton University)
OK, maybe putting this stuff next to your lungs and letting your breathing motion generate electricity is a little bit out there, but there are lots of other uses for this new power generating rubber material that’s been developed by researchers from [...]