Clean Energy's posts with tag: energy
28 May 2008 Credit: IBM  IBM Research Could Lead to Reduced Costs in Solar Farm Technology New York, United States [ RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Last week, IBM announced a research breakthrough in photovoltaics (PV) technology that could significantly reduce the cost of harnessing the sun's power for electricity. By borrowing innovations from its own R&D in cooling computer chips, the team was able to cool the solar cell from greater than 1,600 degrees Celsius to just 85 degrees Celsius.
In the same way that children in science class use a magnifying glass to burn a leaf, IBM scientists are using a large lens to concentrate the sun's power, capturing a record 230 watts onto a centimeter square solar cell, in a technology known as concentrator photovoltaics, or CPV. That energy is then converted into 70 watts of usable electrical power, about five times the electrical power density generated by typical cells using CPV technology in solar farms. If it can overcome additional challenges to move this project out of the lab, IBM believes it can significantly reduce the cost of a typical CPV-based system. By using a much lower number of photovoltaic cells in a solar farm and concentrating more light onto each cell using larger lenses, IBM's system enables a significant cost advantage in terms of a lesser number of total components. For instance, by moving from a 200 sun system ("one sun" is a measurement equal to the solar power incident at noon on a clear summer day), where about 20 watts per square centimeter of power is concentrated onto the cell, to a 2,300 sun system, where approximately 230 watts per square centimeter are concentrated onto the cell system, the IBM system cuts the number of photovoltaic cells and other components by a factor of 10. "We believe IBM can bring unique skills from our vast experience in semiconductors and nanotechnology to the important field of alternative energy research," said Dr. Supratik Guha, the scientist leading photovoltaics activities at IBM Research. "This is one of many exploratory research projects incubating in our labs where we can drive big change for an entire industry while advancing the basic underlying science of solar cell technology." The trick lies in IBM's ability to cool the tiny solar cell. Concentrating the equivalent of 2,000 suns on such a small area generates enough heat to melt stainless steel, something the researchers experienced first hand in their experiments. But by borrowing innovations from its own R&D in cooling computer chips, the team was able to cool the solar cell from greater than 1,600 degrees Celsius to just 85 degrees Celsius. The initial results of this project were presented at the 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists conference last week, where the IBM researchers explained in detail how their liquid metal cooling interface is able to transfer heat from the solar cell to a copper cooling plate much more efficiently than anything else available today. The IBM research team developed a system that achieved promising results by coupling a commercial solar cell to an advanced IBM liquid metal thermal cooling system using methods developed for the microprocessor industry. Specifically, the IBM team used a very thin layer of a liquid metal made of a gallium and indium compound that they applied between the chip and a cooling block. Such layers, called thermal interface layers, transfer the heat from the chip to the cooling block so that the chip temperature can be kept low. The company says that its liquid metal solution offers the best thermal performance available today, at low costs, and the technology was successfully developed by IBM to cool high power computer chips earlier. 
Credit: IBM
While concentrator-based photovoltaics technologies have been around since the 1970s, they have received renewed interest in recent times. With very high concentrations, they have the potential to offer the lowest-cost solar electricity for large-scale power generation, provided the temperature of the cells can be kept low, and cheap and efficient optics can be developed for concentrating the light to very high levels. IBM is exploring four main areas of photovoltaic research: using current technologies to develop cheaper and more efficient silicon solar cells, developing new solution-processed thin-film photovoltaic devices, concentrator photovoltaics and future generation photovoltaic architectures based upon nanostructures such as semiconductor quantum dots and nanowires. The goal of the projects is to develop efficient photovoltaic structures that would reduce the cost, minimize the complexity and improve the flexibility of producing solar electric power.
Link: http://cleanenergy.multiply.com/journal/item/74Project Better Place reflects a commendable vision "an oil-free future and a healthier, safer planet." The program projects fully electric automobiles ... However, batteries may soon be technologically obsolete. When that occurs, all new cars and vehicles, of every conceivable variety, are likely to feature all-electric propulsion.
... Hans Coler, a German inventor, demonstrated an electronic alternative to batteries in 1926 ... A distinguished scientist found there to be “no fraud, hoax or fault” involved. The device, called the Magnetstromapparat ... includes a video interview with Lee Felsenstein – Electrical Engineering Consultant.
Project Better Place reflects a commendable vision "an oil-free future and a healthier, safer planet". The program projects fully electric automobiles - with a battery swapping program as well as numerous recharge outlets. However, to the surprise of almost everyone, batteries may soon be technologically obsolete. When that occurs, all new cars and vehicles, of every conceivable variety, are likely to feature all-electric propulsion.
Hans Coler, a German inventor, demonstrated an electronic alternative to batteries in 1926. His work was examined by two teams of university professors. A distinguished scientist found there to be “no fraud, hoax or fault” involved. The device, called the Magnetstromapparat (magnet current apparatus), was described in a Report by British Intelligence in 1946. In 1978, 34 pages of the Report were declassified. They are readily found on the internet. One of these devices is reported to have run for three months in a locked room in the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin. Coler stated that the magnet strength remained constant. He suggested the device was tapping a new source of energy. He called it "Raumenergie" (space-energy).
Space, since the time of Paul Dirac, is believed by eminent scientists to be chock full of energy. Converting some of this energy, seemingly from nowhere, is now the subject of revolutionary science and technology. This work does not violate thermodynamic laws. It opens a path to powering our planet without the need for fossil or uranium fuels. It can replace the need for batteries of all sizes with a power source, similar in size, which maintains constant output and never needs to be recharged.
The first application to automobiles will involve removing the plug and cord from a plug-in hybrid and substituting a two kW (2,000 watt) generator that converts this abundant, renewable, cost-effective, new energy source. With a bit of luck, this should happen within the next 12 months. It will be a harbinger of the end of the era of fossil and uranium fuels. Every automobile manufacturer will ignore the event only if they are ready to cede market share to competitors.
The next application to cars will involve replacement of the need for an engine or fuel-cell. On a prototype basis, this should be possible in no more than three years. It might even happen sooner. At that point, cars so equipped will never need gas or oil. Automobile manufacturers can expect to sell every such vehicle they make. Production volume will expand. Jobs will be created. The economy will experience new growth.
The ultimate application will turn parked cars into power plants. Equipped with fuel-free generators that produce perhaps an average of 100 kW - parking lots can be equipped so that power can be sold to the local electric power utility. No physical connection will be necessary, as technology already exists that can wirelessly transmit up to 150 kW to the power grid. Car owners can be paid. Cars will become a source of income. Many vehicles are likely to pay for themselves over a reasonable period of time.
Finally, when parked at home, the car can wirelessly transmit 10kW to the home. Imagine the advantages during storms or other emergencies.
People everywhere, who experience these changes, will be living in a far better place.
Attached File Magnetic Power, Inc. - MPI The MPI story begins in 1877, when Wesley Gary, a Pennsylvania inventor, received a patent on a mechanical, magnetic, device - which apparently tapped a previously unsuspected source of energy. According to an article that appeared in Harper’s Weekly during 1879, he showed his invention to Harvard and MIT professors, who were favorably impressed. The article, readily found on the internet, ends with a comment that one day, Gary’s invention might power a locomotive. The four wheeled automobile was invented six years later. We may never have needed oil to power vehicles.
The possibility of tapping this thus far uncommercialized source of energy, by means of electronic devices, became evident in 1937, when German inventor, Hans Coler, demonstrated a working 6 kW, solid-state, magnetic "space energy receiver”. A WWII Allied bomb destroyed his work. While Coler didn’t comprehend the source of energy generated, he understood its significance. In 1946 he cooperated with British Intelligence which published a classified report confirming his work. In 1979, 34 pages of what was likely a larger report were declassified and are now on the internet.
Even earlier, Nikola Tesla had recognized the earth is immersed in an extremely dense sea of energy. He theorized that one day this energy would become a source of ubiquitous power usable by humanity. In 1891 he said – “Our machinery will be driven by a power obtainable at any point in the universe. Throughout space there is energy.” The list of scientists and engineers who agree is growing.
Fast forward to today, with MPI seeking to supply the world with clean, abundant, and inexpensive electricity…no fuel…no pollution...no emissions. This is the future of GENIE™ (Generating Electricity by Nondestructive Interference of Energy), one of MPI’s proprietary, cost-effective, magnetic technologies that may capture this untapped energy source.
With applications throughout the $6 trillion worldwide energy market, as well as the automotive market and likely other, yet undefined applications for compact, powerful energy, revenues are projected to begin in 2008 with early license fees, and grow rapidly.
Products & Applications
MPI’s magnetic generator technology represents an unprecedented means of electrical generation achieved by converting a previously uncommercialized, renewable, abundant (but thus far little known) energy source. Expected electrical performance will be very similar to chemical batteries sourcing an electric current, except that the output voltage does not gradually decline with time, but remains indefinitely constant.
The firm is currently developing devices of advanced design capable of producing a few watts of electricity on a self-sustaining basis.
- When these demonstration devices are completed, MPI will be ready to begin the commercialization process for magnetic generators as a scalable power source, analogous to an inexhaustible electric battery.
- A Proof-of-Concept GENIE prototype was evaluated by Lee Felsenstein, EE. He concluded it to be analogous to the early work on the transistor, which eventually led to a Nobel Prize and the creation of Silicon Valley.
- Expect 10 Watt, 20 Watt and 250 Watt prototypes in 2008. 1 kW pre-production modules are a goal for year end.
- Further engineering can now apply this novel effect as a permanent, compact source of electricity in a wide variety of designs from toys to laptop computers, home heaters and other powered devices.
- Small scale generators will be an excellent fit for compact technologies such as laptop computers, cell phones and portable electronic devices. Larger ones will be able to run desktop computers, servers, and larger devices.
- GENIE and other MPI magnetic generators operate continuously, without fuel or emissions, converting an abundant, renewable, extremely dense, ever-present energy source.
- Cost of electricity generated using magnetic is projected to compete favorably with all existing power sources.
- The majority of cost is capital investment. Operating expense should be very low.
GENIE and other MPI generators are: - Clean. Both in manufacture and use, they pollute much less than other power generation systems.
- Reliable. While field data remains to be collected, solid state MPI generators are expected to need minimal maintenance and should have a long product lifespan.
- Scalable. Generators can be scaled to a wide range of applications, eliminating the need for batteries of all sizes.
- Modular. MPI generators can be combined or stacked, similar to linking solar cells.
- Straightforward. No exotic materials will mean rapid commercialization and ramp up stages adaptable to a range of existing electronics manufacturing facilities.
- Compact. A 1 kW self-sustaining generator design might fit into an 8” cube. Two such MPI generators could replace the plug otherwise required by a plug-in hybrid car.
- Revenue generating. Parked cars, wirelessly transferring 100-150 kW of power, will make parking lots multi-megawatt decentralized power plants, an extraordinary Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) solution. They can wirelessly provide 10 kW to a home or small business. Imagine the advantages, including power during storms, etc.
Business Strategy - Target applications that maximize customer value, once cost per unit of electricity output related to generator size is better understood.
- Identify and target ‘sweet spots’ with best potential return on investment and price accordingly.
- Solidify patent portfolio.
- Two energy generation patent applications are pending. Several more will follow.
- Build a foundation to support worldwide market adoption of MPI technology.
- License jointly developed products to strategic partners to facilitate large scale manufacturing ramp up and global sales and distribution.
- Revenues – 2008 - $25 mil, 2009 - $100 mil, 2010 - $300 mil, 2011 - $600 mil, 2012 - $1 billion.
- Absorb Room Temperature Superconductors, Inc., (RTS) presently a subsidiary, as a division of MPI.
- Provide an Initial Public Offering when market conditions are right.
Key People
 Mark Goldes - Chairman and CEO - Founded non-profit Aesop Institute in 1973. Chairman and CEO of the Aesop Company, a specialized financial consulting firm. Later, founded SunWind Ltd, a renewable energy company. MPI was the 2nd firm to be born from the Institute. Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of RTS, MPI’s subsidiary. (See website for bio).
Sue Engle - Corporate Secretary & Project Manager - Project Management & Product Development with The Children's Group - major children's toy catalogs. Compliance inspector for worker and environmental practices, and materials sourcing. Sue established her own company, Marble Hill, in 1999, focusing on product development & manufacturing in Asia, including all phases of product development.
Lee Felsenstein – Electrical Engineering Consultant - Earned his BSEE at UC Berkeley, then started career at Ampex. Moderated Homebrew Computer Club in Silicon Valley, for more than a decade. Members started 23 companies. They included Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who co-founded Apple. Senior Associate with Interval Research, from 1992 to 2000, a computer lab funded by Paul Allen, to help create and support future computing technologies. Designed two computers now residing in Smithsonian Institute. Received the Editor’s Choice ACE Award by Electronic Engineering Times magazine in April 2007. Discusses our breakthrough without citing MPI, which has permission to use this short interview. http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=379134&fr=yvmtf
Dr. Kevin Shambrook – Scientific Consultant – Senior Project Manager with Hughes Aircraft and Vice President at Doric Scientific Inc. 30 years experience includes management of diverse engineering and manufacturing projects, corporate planning, and new product introductions. Earned his Ph.D. at UCLA. Served as President, Chief Scientist, and co-founder of MPI’s subsidiary, RTS, for 14 years.
Funding Status
MPI and RTS can each utilize $100 million in new funding. $10 million is sought in the form of equity. $5 million can be new equity investment in MPI and $5 million new equity investment in RTS. Remainder of funds may be largely sought from revenues…including substantial advance license fees.
· Contact: magneticpower@gmail.com magneticpowerinc.com
Phone: 707 829-9391
· © 2008 Magnetic Power Inc. All rights reserved. Updated 3-26-08
Energy Study: Moving Clocks Forward a Waste March 27, '08
(IsraelNN.com) Israel moves it clocks forward at 2 a.m. Friday morning, but Daylight Savings Time ("summer time") wastes more energy than it saves, according to research in the state of Indiana. As recently as two years ago most of Indiana's counties refused to move their clocks forward in the spring. The resulting division of the population enabled researchers to compare energy use by those on summer time with those who did not change their clocks. Residential electricity usage actually increased between 1-4 percent, and social costs from increased emissions were estimated at between $1.6 million and $5.3 million per year, according the research by University of California economics professor Matthew Kotchen. The reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight saving time was more than offset by the higher air conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings.
The Pros and Cons of Daylight Savings Time in Israel March 27, '08
by Hillel Fendel (IsraelNN.com) The Manufacturers Association says the upcoming changeover to Daylight Saving Time (DST) will save the economy 120 million shekels ($35 million). Others say that most of these savings will be canceled out in other ways, and that the twice-yearly change of clocks is a waste of effort. The clocks will change this Friday morning, March 29, when 2:00 becomes 3:00. The change will be in effect for 191 days, as stipulated by law in an interesting combination of the secular and Jewish calendars: from the Friday before April 2 until the Sunday before Yom Kippur. Moshe Cohen, Chairman of the Energy Committee of the Manufacturers Association, claims that the extra hour of overlapping waking and sunlight time will result in a drop of electricity consumption by a daily average of 0.6%. This drop, which translates into 73 million shekels, is due to decreased use of lighting and air conditioning. In addition, Cohen says, nationwide production and sales will increase, and traffic accidents will decrease. Others Say...
This is only one side of the story, however. As in most of the world, the introduction of Daylight Saving Time in Israel has not been without controversy. Detractors say that though the increased daylight may render driving safer, it also increases the amount of driving, thus largely canceling out the gain in safety. Business interests have traditionally supported DST, as it increases shopping - and trips to the store. In addition, the amount of energy saving in the United States has been estimated at only $3 per household, leaving many to wonder if it is worth the bother. In Israel, however, the largest point of contention has concerned religious observance. Daylight saving time during the late summer and autumn means that the Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur fasts end later, and that the midnight penitential prayers (Selichot) recited before the High Holidays begin earlier. More significantly, extra months of daylight saving time mean that often, worshipers cannot recite post-dawn morning prayers in a timely fashion before they have to go to work. Up to the Interior Minister
The issue came to a head in the late 1990s, when the hareidi-religious Shas party ran the Interior Ministry; one year, then-Minister Eli Suissa made a unilateral decision to end DST a month early for the above reasons, bringing public secular wrath upon him. Then-MK Yossi Sarid, head of the anti-religious Meretz party at the time, said, ''Minister Suissa thinks he is G-d. G-d says: 'Let there be light,' and there is light... It's not enough that [Suissa] represents G-d, he is G-d himself. He says: 'Let there be darkness' in the middle of the summer, and he wants us to live in darkness.'' In 2004, when the anti-religious Shinui party controlled the Interior Ministry, Minister Avraham Poraz got back at the religious public. Just before his firing by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon [together with the other Shinui ministers, for voting against the budget] took effect, Poraz ordered the instatement of DST from March until the end of October, without regard for Jewish holidays. The issue was finally resolved legally in 2005, when a law was passed determining the exact duration of DST, and removing the decision from the hands of the Interior Minister.
Israel Expands Daylight Time, and a Religious Dispute Erupts By DEBORAH SONTAG Published: February 17, 2000 Daring single-handedly to alter a calendar that is as politically sensitive as everything else here, Interior Minister Natan Sharansky decreed today that ''summer time'' will be longer this year by 34 days. In a country where even the issue of daylight saving time is contentious, that was a provocative decision, playing into a long-running battle between secular Israelis and some religious Jews. Daylight time, what Israelis refer to as summer time, will start earlier in the spring and extend almost a month further into the fall, Mr. Sharansky said. That rescinds a tradition of accommodating the prayer schedules of some religious Jews that lead up to the High Holy Days in September, a tradition that secular Israelis have long resented as subordinating the routines of the majority to the special rituals of a minority. But religious politicians did not immediately react. They were too busy confronting Mr. Sharansky, a Russian immigrant leader, on another decision. Earlier this week, Mr. Sharansky said his ministry would begin recognizing and registering civil marriages performed at foreign consulates in Israel. Such marriages, which only some consulates perform, make it possible for immigrants here who are not recognized as Jewish to marry Israelis. Under Israeli law, only religious weddings are permitted, and what the rabbis see as intermarriages are forbidden. Mr. Sharansky took over the Interior Ministry from Shas, an ultra-Orthodox Sephardic party, after years of friction between the Russian immigrants whom he represents and the Shas bureaucrats who had the power to grant and deny them citizenship and marriage licenses. Wresting the ministry from Shas was part of Prime Minister Ehud Barak's election platform, and taking control of it was Mr. Sharansky's main plank. Although Mr. Sharansky's dealings with Shas have been strained, his relations with other religious political groups have been based on mutual respect. Mr. Sharansky is an observant Jew, and many of the religious politicians believed that he respected them. But his recommendation on consular marriages took them by surprise. Orthodox politicians accused Mr. Sharansky of trying to upset the status quo relationship between religion and state. ''I ask you to declare here, in this dignified forum, that you have reconsidered this issue and that you are canceling this guideline,'' Moshe Gafney, a member of Parliament from the United Torah Judaism faction, asked Mr. Sharansky in a meeting today. ''Aren't you willing to invest any effort in finding some sort of solution for people who presently have no solution?'' Mr. Sharansky responded, referring to Russian immigrants who are prohibited from marrying other Israelis because they are not Jewish. Defending his decision on changing the daylight-time calendar, Mr. Sharansky said that the ''preservation of life was the guiding principle'' that pushed him to make the change, even if it upset religious Jews. Last year, daylight time ended on Sept. 3, and Israel moved into ''winter time.'' That meant that in the dog days of early September, the Sun rose before the workday started and set during the afternoon rush hour. A study by the Technion Institute proved to him, Mr. Sharansky said, that an additional hour of late-afternoon light would lower traffic accidents 9 percent and fatal ones 13 percent.
 March 13, 2008 Five Trends to Watch in the Renewable Energy Industry New Hampshire, United States [ RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Growth in the renewable energy industry is set to reach more than US $250 billion by the year 2017 with the electric car, sustainable cities, non-U.S.-based energy firms, geothermal energy and the greening of the shipping industry helping to lead the way. That's the prediction made by Clean Edge in its Clean Energy Trends 2008 report released on Wednesday. The report's co-authors Joel Makower, Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder spotlighted the biofuels, wind power, solar photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cell markets as the benchmark segments for the renewable energy industry as a whole. Worldwide in 2007 the biofuels market reached US $25.4 billion, 40 percent of which came from the U.S., the wind market rose to US $30.1 billion. The market for solar PV grew to US $20.3 billion and the emerging fuel cell market, still dominated by R&D, totaled US $1.5 billion in revenue in 2007. Watch for more on the report from Ron Pernick on RenewableEnergyWorld.com in two weeks. The report put the spotlight on five trends to watch as renewable energy industry surges ahead. The first was the new structure taking shape in the electric vehicle market where startups are taking center stage. In a presentation about the trends, Joel Makeower said that there are currently 200 U.S. companies working, in some way, shape or form, on bringing the electric car to market. According to the report, "the new generation of green vehicles may not be driven by Detroit or its Euro or Asian counterparts. A growing line of start-ups is rendering moot the question of 'Who killed the electric car?' While the global car companies go through years-long retooling to create plug-in hybrids, electric cars, and other alt-fuel vehicles, these start-ups are beating the big guys to market, delivering greener cars to a waiting public." These startups include Scandanavian company Think, Tesla, Project Better Place/Renault-Nissan in Israel, Eliica from Japan, Miles and ZAP in the U.S., REVA in India, ZENN in Canda, Spark in China and Venturi in France. The second trend to watch according to Clean Edge is the movement toward sustainable cities, including the new Masdar City in Abu Dhabi a city that plans, by 2016, to serve a population 50,000 individuals and 1,500 businesses all powered by solar energy. Another emerging eco-city is Dongtan, on Chongming Island near Shanghai, which plans to serve 20,000 people by 2010 and be powered completely by renewables, mostly wind and biomass. The report also points to major efforts being made around the world to "green" established cities. Third in the series of trends is the growing presence of overseas companies in the U.S. wind energy market, a trend that will continue to grow according to the Clean Edge report as the dollar remains relatively weak and the demand for wind in the U.S. continues to grow. Geothermal energy's return to the main stage is the fourth trend to watch. According to the report, "geothermal is the only clean-energy resource besides hydroelectric that provides baseload power 24 hours a day, and with average plant uptime of 98 percent, it does so even more reliably than nuclear or coal-fired power plants, both of which require more downtime for maintenance." The co-authors noted that three of California's largest investor-owned utilities, PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, within the past year have announced new geothermal plans. This comes as no surprise as average geothermal electric costs are between 4-7 cents per kilowatt-hour. And finally, the fifth trend is a building movement to make shipping by sea more environmentally friendly. Driven more by the major shippers worldwide (the presenters mentioned IKEA, Home Depot, and Toyota), than the shipping companies themselves, the idea is to lessen the negative impact that cargo ships currently put on the environment. In the report, the co-authors point out that cargo ships account for more than 4 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions, double the emissions of aviation, according to a study commissioned by the UN's International Maritime Organization. Companies that are developing technologies to propel ships without greenhouse gas emissions are gaining ground. Kite for Sail, KiteShip and Sky Sails, all of whom are working on designing kites that, when combined with better navigation tools and software will allow large ships to use the wind for propulsion. Sky Sails kite technology is one of Clean Edge's
five renewable energy trends to watch
The report said that "given that shipping emissions, left unchecked, are forecast to grow 30 percent from current levels by 2020, such technologies could be a breath of fresh air."
Lofty Plans For Energy Conservation 
14th February 2008 Following the release last week of the "Heat Call for Evidence" document issued by the Office of Climate Change (OCC), The Renewable Energy Centre.co.uk issued a statement calling for the government to take a proactive stance to reduce heating demands throughout the UK. Issued by the Right Honourable John Hutton MP, Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the report said that currently 49% of the UK�s total energy demands are for heating. Domestic heating in particular was cited as one of the main areas where demand was high with 69% of heat produced in homes being for space and the remainder for cooking and hot water. As a result household demand for heat is now approaching 500 Terawatts per year. The Renewable Energy Centre stated that these figures could easily be reduced by introducing simple energy saving measures in the home. Loft and cavity wall insulation were referenced as solutions which could not only save the house owner over �100 per year in bills but serve to reduce the energy consumption needed. The Energy Saving Trust has estimated that from 26 million homes in the UK 9 million do not have adequate cavity wall insulation and a staggering 11 million homes do not have sufficient loft insulation. The Renewable Energy Centre commented that these solutions are two of the easiest and most cost effective to install in domestic homes and that the government should either legislate or create a task force to ensure every home in the UK is catered for. This could result in a reduction of �380million to the national energy bill every year, reduce the carbon footprint and help meet the fuel poverty targets of 2016. There are currently grants available and local government schemes to encourage people to take steps to install loft or cavity wall insulation however The Renewable Energy Centre stated this does not go far enough. Richard Simmons Managing Director at The Renewable Energy Centre said "It is clear that changing people's hearts and minds is not going to work as the issue of loft insulation has been going on for over 20 years despite changes in building regulations. The government needs to take decisive action either through legislation or tax incentives to make a difference. Cavity wall and loft insulation can be fitted and installed quickly and easily and make a tangible difference in reducing the heating requirements of a house. There is no reason why every home in the UK could have adequate loft or cavity wall insulation within 2 or 3 years. Our website has a section for both of these solutions with suppliers across the country, ready to do this work today and Local Authorities should be made responsible for delivering these solutions within a fixed timescale." The Renewable Energy Centre reiterated its position that although the large scale and costly measures being undertaken to produce renewable energy are commendable, action also must be taken in the domestic arena if the UK are to meet its targets and have a successful impact on climate change.
January 17, 2008 Sebastopol, CA A revolutionary breakthrough by Magnetic Power Inc., called GENIE™ (Generating Electricity by Nondestructive Interference of Energy) promises to make possible the elimination of the need for batteries of every variety. GENIE generators are expected to replace the need to plug-in a plug-in hybrid. Two kW is all the power that can be taken from a typical wall socket. A pair of 1 kW GENIE generators are expected to demonstrate a compact, inexpensive, capability to end the need to plug-in, prior to the end this year. If the development of GENIE generators is put on a 24/7 footing, it may be possible to provide 100 kW systems that will fit in the space of a typical gas tank, on a prototype basis in perhaps two years. If that occurs, since no fuel or battery recharge is required, automobile manufacturers may conclude that engines are likely to become obsolete. Consumer purchasing patterns could begin to reflect a new reality, with the market deciding most future cars must be totally electric, since they will never need any variety of fuel. Better yet, many cars might become cash cows! cash cow: Slang. A steady dependable source of income The economics are likely to prove compelling. Until now, car ownership has been an expense. Vehicle to Grid power (V2G), has been explored in a modest way for hybrids. Plug-in hybrids, equipped with a two way plug, can feed power to the local utility while parked. This is at least 90% of the time for the average vehicle. Professor Willet Kempton, at the University of Delaware, has stated the car’s owner could earn up to $4,000 every year. GENIE powered cars are expected to be capable of generating at least 75 kW and perhaps 100 kW in the volume of a typical fuel tank. In the case of luxury cars, trucks and buses, it seems 150 kW will prove practical. Technology already exists that, using inductive electronics, can wirelessly couple up to 150 kW to the grid from parked vehicles. No plug connection will be required. A large plug installed in a hybrid would provide, at most, perhaps 12 kW to the utility. If that 12 kW can annually pay the vehicle owner $4,000, imagine what the income might be with an inductively coupled 75 kW or larger GENIE generator. If the price per kW is the same as that used in the University of Delaware analysis, we could be considering payments totaling $25,000, or more, per year. With utility cooperation, the GENIE powered car can become a cash cow! Pacific Gas & Electric Co. stated that two million customers lost power during the recent California storms. GENIE powered cars will be able to wirelessly power the average home. Imagine the economic and human advantages! When a substantial number of vehicles powered by GENIE generators fill a parking garage, it will have become a multi-megawatt power plant. Doubtless, when millions of cars and trucks are selling power to the grid, the price per kilowatt paid will decline. However, it still seems likely that the cost of many vehicles might be paid for by utilities, as they purchase power whenever needed. The parked cars, trucks and buses, each become decentralized power plants - a rapid, cost-effective alternative to the many tough and costly challenges of constructing new coal burning and nuclear power generation facilities. Utilities and vehicle manufacturers have a unique opportunity to lead the nation and the world into a dramatic reduction in the need for oil. Future wars over energy supply might be avoided. James Hansen, NASA Goddard, stated (January 2, 2008): “The earth is close to passing climate change ‘tipping points.’ Greenhouse gases released in burning fossil fuels are nearing a level that will set in motion dangerous effects, many irreversible, including extermination of countless species, ice sheet disintegration and sea-level rise, and intensified regional climate extremes. As a society we face a stark choice. Move on to the next phase of the industrial revolution, preserving and restoring wonders of the natural world, while maintaining and expanding benefits of advanced technology. Or ignore the problem, sentencing humanity and other creatures to struggle on an increasingly desolate planet.” What better way to address the problem than by turning cars into decentralized power plants?
by Jane Burgermeister, European Correspondent
renewableenergyaccess.com
December 21, 2007 The streets of Europe could soon be lit by solar energy due to the fact that a solar tree prototype recently passed a key test phase. The solar trees went on display for four weeks in October on a busy street — the Ringstrasse — in Vienna, Austria. They were able to provide enough light during the night-time even when the sun did not show for as much as four days in a row. "The solar cells on the tree were able to store enough electricity in spite of receiving no direct solar light for days at a time because of the clouds. They showed that solar trees really are a practical form of street lighting," Christina Werner from Cultural Project Management (Kulturelles Projektmanagement, Vienna) told RenewableEnergyAccess.com. She said that the City of Vienna was now in the process of deciding whether to install more solar trees. "We hope that not only the city of Vienna but other cities will see the merits of using renewable energy for street lighting to cut emissions," Christina Werner said. "Someday soon solar trees could well be the main form of street lighting in Europe." Putting solar powered LED light systems on trees would cut down on the carbon emissions and also slash the bills of local authorities, she said. Street lighting consumed 10 percent of all the electricity used in Europe in 2006 or 2,000 billion KWh, and resulted in carbon emissions of 2,900 million ton. The use of more energy-efficient lighting in the Austrian city of Graz, with a population of almost 300,000 saved the city 524,000 KWh of electricity and 67,200 euros [US $96,800] in 2005. Close up of branches on a solar tree in Vienna. (Credit: Gerhard Koller/MAK) "Not just trees but other objects could be decorated with solar cells and so keep streets well lit at night time," she said. The branches of the solar tree were decorated with 10 solar lamps, each one comprising 36 solar cells; they also had rechargeable batteries and electronic systems. A sensor was used to measure the amount of light in the atmosphere and trigger the solar lamps to go on automatically at sunset and off at sunrise. The tree's lights went on for the first time in Vienna on October 8, 2007 at 11:00 pm. They are now on display outside the La Scala opera house in Milan. The tree was designed by Ross Lovegrove, a British designer, who said that they are not only efficient but also attractive and bring "nature into a gray city environment". An Italian company specializing in designer lighting systems, Artemide, as well as the world's largest producer of photovoltaic (PV) cells, the German company Sharp Solar, joined forces to turn the design into reality. The idea came from Peter Noever, the Director of the Austrian Museum for Applied Arts in Vienna (Österreichisches Museum fuer angewandte Kunst). Solar Tree, prototype, November 2007, designed by Ross Lovegrove and produced and developed by Artemide polycrystalline solar cells by Sharp. On display at the Piazza della Scala, Milan, Italy. (Photo by David Zanardi) Ross Lovegrove and Sharp are now working on the design study for a car that is powered by solar energy. Sharp solar had a production volume of 434 megawatts in 2006 and a world market share of 17 percent. It produces PV cells in a factory in Katsuragi, Japan. Most of Sharp's modules are used for solar energy systems on roofs, but the company believes that solar cells could soon be used in all areas of everyday life from clothes to satellites - including Christmas trees. Jane Burgermeister is a RenewableEnergyAccess.com European Correspondent based in Vienna, Austria.
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| December 21, '07 Investments in ‘Green’ Industry has Tripled (IsraelNN.com) Finance Ministry officials have announced that investments in Israel’s environmentally friendly, or “green” industries have tripled in the past three years. According to ministry official Yarom Ariav, approximately NIS 100 million was invested in green industry in 2007. Given Israel’s success in hi-tech, Ariav said, the country could become an international leader in the green technology field as well. He called on the government to do more to support environmentally-friendly technology by creating a long-term plan for encouraging green industry and by giving priority to green businesses for government affairs. * * *
Israel is Worth '15 Exxons' in Human Resources by Gil Ronen  In a "Globes" sponsored talk at a Tel Aviv Hotel, financier and philanthropist Michael Milken heaped praise on Israel for its human capital. Milken is in Israel trying to foster connections between the Milken Institute, an independent economic think tank, and Israeli life sciences and cleantech industries. He stated that in terms of assets, Israel is worth a third of the Exxon-Mobil corporation, but that Israel is worth 15 Exxons in terms of human resources. According to the Milken Institute, Israel's human capital is worth $7.15 trillion. 'Israel could be the "research laboratory for the world'
Milken also spoke highly of Israelis' level of education, noting that 32% of Israelis are graduate students, and 56.5% of students are women. He also pointed out that Israel has the world's highest per capita number of life sciences patents, and said Israel could be the "research laboratory for the world." He mentioned the training medical doctors receive in Israel and the enriching effect that the wave of immigration from Russia had on the sciences as additional advantages. "Every single one of your research institutes is an oil well, of the kind that is never depleted," Milken told the audience. A drawback of the Israeli economy, he said, is the fact that too much of the wealth is in too few hands, too many of which are institutional. "All global trends are operating in favor of the Israeli economy," Milken told the audience. "Let the human assets break through," he advised, "nurture them, and Israel will turn into an economic power within the next few years." Elvis impersonators
Milken explained that in the human assets race, Israel is competing with fast-growing countries like China and India, and small but ambitious countries like Singapore. He said that if the present growth rates continue, China, India, Russia and Brazil will be among the 10 leading economies in the world, edging out countries like France and Canada. Still, Milken advised caution against predictions based on present growth alone. He noted that the number of Elvis Presley impersonators has gone from 50 to 3,500 since his death, and that extrapolating from this could lead one to the unlikely conclusion that in 50 years, one out of three people will be an Elvis impersonator. The conclusion, he explained, is that the present growth rate is only true of the present. |
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Energy-saving applications Behold, the most popular energy-saving applications for the week ending October 12. 1. CO2 Saver - Reduce your carbon footprint by optimizing your PC's energy usage. 2. SpeedFan - Save energy by optimizing your system's fan speed, temperature, and voltage. 3. Sleepy - Conserve energy by automating your computer to shut down at a specific time every day. 4. WattchIT - Compare your monthly utility bills to your actual usage and learn how you can save. 5. WorldCoolers - Get desktop alerts and recent news articles about global warming and other climate issues. ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 6:38 AM Subject: CNET Download Dispatch: Don't be a carbon bigfoot
|  | Global Warming Solutions Makes the Sun Brighter |
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| The company introduces LETG solar technology that makes solar power possible year round, even in low sunlight regions. Houston, Texas Global Warming Solutions Incorporated, a developer of technologies aimed at mitigating the effects of global warming, yesterday introduced a technology targeting the development of clean, environmentally friendly solar power for commercial and residential use. LETG—an acronym for Light Electric and Thermal Generator—is a new technology with an important mission: To maximize the electrical and thermal energy derived from sunlight. LETG utilizes a hybrid system to produce electricity year round even in low sunlight regions. CEO of Global Warming Solutions, Dr. Vladimir Vasilenko explains that the LETG process increases the efficiency of photovoltaic conversion, adding “LETG employs a unique molecular solar spectrum converter—a ‘photonic quantum pump’— to shift an inefficient part of solar radiation to the effective red absorption spectrum of the silicon photocell.” In plain English, the result of this technology will be an increase in electrical output of 250%—a stunning advance in what had been considered a mature field. Whereas solar power has to date been employed for targeted applications – heating a home or office building, for example – LETG technology holds out the prospect of solar energy being used for larger, more general purposes, such as “a new generation of power plants,” says Vasilenko. Global Warming Solutions is currently conducting advanced stage testing of LETG solar technology, the development of which is being led by Dr. Alexander Kornaraki. The company plans to announce the test results in the near future. |
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Electrical cars project to be built in Sha'ar Hayarden Shai Agasi, Stef Wertheimer plan to launch pilot project in Israel. Asian car manufacturers Nissan, Toyota to join venture Golan Hazani Published: 08.16.07, Israel Money Shai Agasi, former co-president of SAP, has started work on his and Stef Wertheimer's electrical cars pilot project, Yedioth Ahronot published Thursday. Agasi plans to build a factory in the Sha'ar Hayarden industrial area and presented his plans to prominent figures in the financial community, as well as to the Finance Ministry's Accountant-General, Yaron Zalicha. Joining the electrical car venture will be Asian car manufacturers Nissan and Toyota. Agasi plans to market the cars – which presumably would be able to go from 0-62 miles in four seconds – as leasing companies do: the customer would pay a reduced monthly fee for the car, but would not actually own it. Charging stations – similar to gas stations – would be built across the country, where drivers would be able to charge their cars.
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