Statoil: renewables must be profitable long-term

According to Reuters, “Statoil said on Monday that renewable energy projects must demonstrate their long-term profitability for the Norwegian company and other oil and gas producers to invest in them. Chief Executive Helge Lund said his company, which has invested in offshore wind and carbon capture storage (CCS) technology in recent years, was committed to [...]

ABB acquires Ventyx to strengthen its network management business

According to the press release, “ABB, the global power and automation technology group, has agreed to acquire Ventyx for more than $1 billion from Vista Equity Partners to become a leading provider of software solutions for managing energy networks. Ventyx is a leading software provider to global energy, utility, communications, and other asset-intensive businesses, offering [...]

Caltech Explores Plastic Solar Cells

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has recently developed solar cells made of 98% plastic, effectively using 1/50th of the normal semiconductor material required. More importantly though these solar cells have demonstrated over 90% efficiency, almost four times greater than traditional silicon-based solar cells. The researchers at Caltech have discovered that by growing silicon wires [...]

Bloom Energy Debuts Advanced Fuel Cell to Provide Clean, Reliable, and Affordable Power 24/7

According to Bloom Energy’s press release, “company committed to changing the way people generate and consume energy, announced today the availability of the Bloom Energy Server™, a patented solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology that provides a cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable alternative to both today’s electric grid as well as traditional renewable energy [...]

Greener Gadgets Conference 2010

On February 25 the Greener Gadget Conference will kick off in NYC where executives and entrepreneurs of the green industry gather to discuss the future of a greener life. The conference will also feature up-and-coming inventors and designers who will showcase their green, sustainable products for a group of panelists. It is simply green innovation [...]

CalCars: PHEVs are the Future

Based out of Palo Alto, CA, CalCars is a nonprofit organization comprised of engineers, environmentalist and entrepreneurs. While a majority of people are looking to invest in the EV market, CalCars believe that plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) are the best of both worlds. To them, PHEVs are not simply a transition from traditional internal-combustion engine [...]

Better Place Secures $350 Million Series B Round led by HSBC Group

According to the press release, “Almost two years to the day after announcing its first car partnership and its first country deployment in Israel, Better Place today announced that it has signed an agreement with an HSBC led investor consortium for new equity financing of $350 million. The deal marks one of the largest clean [...]

Obama Administration Announces Loan Guarantees to Construct New Nuclear Power Reactors in Georgia

According to the White House press release, “Underscoring his Administration’s commitment to jumpstarting the nation’s nuclear power industry, President Obama today announced that the Department of Energy has offered conditional commitments for a total of $8.33 billion in loan guarantees for the construction and operation of two new nuclear reactors at a plant in Burke, [...]

Tennessee Valley Authority selects Smart Synch for Smart Metering

According to the press release, “SmartSynch, Inc., a smart grid infrastructure company utilizing standard IP communications via public wireless networks, has been selected by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as the smart metering solution provider for Generation Partners℠, a distributed renewable generation program offered by participating local power companies that distribute TVA power. TVA is [...]

New Metering Chips From Teridian Feature Innovative Isolated Sensing Technology

According to the press release, “Teridian Semiconductor today announced that it has begun sampling its fourth generation residential smart metering integrated circuits (ICs). The new product family includes the 71M6541x and 71M6xx1 and features digitally isolated current sensors based on the company’s proprietary MicroDAATM isolation technology. The new 71M6541x, as a stand-alone meter system-on-chip (SoC) [...]

Apple Files Patent for Solar-Powered iPods

Apple has filed a patent for Solar-Powered iPods.  Apple is on the cutting edge of hip products.  Now, they will be following the renewable trend. Abstract – POWER MANAGEMENT CIRCUITRY AND SOLAR CELLS This is directed to methods, systems, and apparatuses for implementing circuitry that can be used to control multiple solar cells to generate [...]

NREL Study Shows 20 Percent Wind is Possible by 2024

According to the Press Release, “Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS). This unprecedented two-and-a-half year technical study of future high-penetration wind scenarios was designed to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 percent or more of the [...]

ZAP, Jonway Partner to Target China Electric SUV Market

According to the press release, “US electric vehicle pioneer ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) and China auto manufacturer Zhejiang Jonway Automobile Co. Ltd. announced a commercial agreement to produce electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs), cars and other electric vehicles in China for domestic and global distribution. ZAP and Jonway partnered on the production of the 5-door Jonway [...]

GE, Petrobras Using Sugarcane-Based Ethanol to Produce Electricity

According to Press Release, “As further evidence of their commitment to renewable energies, GE (NYSE: GE) and Brazil’s federal energy company, Petrobras, today celebrated the world’s first use of sugarcane-based ethanol in a gas turbine system to produce electricity on a full commercial scale. The operation, at the Juiz de Fora Power Plant, is a [...]

Hitachi Develops Lithium-ion Batteries for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

According to the Press Release, “Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT / TSE:6501,hereinafter Hitachi) today announced that Hitachi and Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd. ,which develops and manufactures lithium-ion batteries for automotive applications, such as hybrid electric vehicles, have developed ithium-ion batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, a first for the Hitachi Group. These new batteries were developed in [...]

Bringing nature home: Nanawall

Green technology is in its ascendancy due to a desire to clean up the planet. Consuming less natural resources and converting from brown to green energies are some of the most important topics in the political world today. Though many of us do not exist in the political world, we go to work and we [...]

Toyota Develops Solar Charging Stations for EVs

Toyota Industries Corp. (TIC), the parent company of Toyota Motors, has laid plans to develop a solar charging station network throughout Toyota City in the Aichi Prefecture. Twenty-one stations in eleven locations are set to be built by April 2010 after which they will be thoroughly tested with Toyota’s very own Prius fleet. The stations [...]

A Clash of Hybrids: Insight vs. Prius

For the consumer inclined to buy a hybrid automobile, there are several different options. Many of the main automotive manufactures have at least one hybrid in their lineup these days, in the hope to stay competitive with one another. These hybrids come in all different forms, but the most popular have been those that are [...]

United Technologies Corp. to Invest in Clipper Windpower

According to the Press Release, “United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) today announced it has agreed to acquire a 49.5 percent stake in Clipper Windpower Plc (CWP.L), a California-based wind turbine manufacturer that trades on the AIM London Stock Exchange. UTC’s total investment will be £166 million (approximately $270 million) to purchase a combination of 84.3 million [...]

Aquamarine Power Award for Innovation

Wave power generator developed by Aquamarine Power took the energy award for Innovation in Engineering at the Engineer Technology and Innovation Awards 2009 in England today. Officially launched in November off the coast of Scotland, the “Oyster” is the only wave generator currently in operation. It rests on the sea floor just off shore, reaching [...]

California Approves Space-based Solar Satellite

The ever-expanding solar industry has tackled land-based projects and is now looking to the skies for their latest innovations. Although space-based solar technology has been around for decades, it has never really been a viable option in terms of cost-efficiency. Nevertheless, last Thursday California regulators approved a project to beam solar energy from a satellite [...]

Governor Deval Patrick announced National Grid and Cape Wind agree to negotiate

According to the Press Release, “Governor Deval Patrick today announced that National Grid and Cape Wind have agreed to enter into negotiations for a long-term contract under which the utility would purchase the electricity generated by Cape Wind. Such a Power Purchase Agreement will be a critical requirement for financing the proposed wind farm in [...]

Solar Power Players

In Europe, the market for renewable energy is large and growing at an amazing rate. Contributing to this growth along are two companies, E.ON and Abengoa Solar, and their forward thinking solar energy ideas. In the south of Spain, in Seville, two new solar power plants are underway to help ease the environmental impact of [...]

Eco-Friendly Flat Screens

Though Black Friday (next day after Thanksgiving) in the United States has concluded, that doesn’t mean that the holiday shopping season is nearly finished. Though the mark-downs may not be as impressive, there is still a cornucopia of goods to buy as presents for both others and one’s self. Due to poor economic conditions, it [...]

World’s first Osmotic Power Plant opened in Norway

According to the press release, “‘This is something Statkraft can be proud of and something I, as the Minister of Petroleum and energy, am proud of too,’ said Terje Riis-Johansen after the opening of the osmotic power plant at Tofte, before he continued: ‘This is not just something I’m saying, we are at the forefront [...]

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