Energy

Solar Sponge Made Of Smart Material Soaks Up CO2 Emissions

Scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have created a 'solar sponge' which captures and then releases carbon dioxide using the power of sunlight. The 'sponge' which is made from a new sma ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 19 2013 - 3:30pm

Boosting Efficiency Could Double Energy Productivity

Researchers with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), one of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) labs, say that the United States can double its energy productivity by 2030 — and do so in ways that bolster the nation's economy. Unveili ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 24 2013 - 6:30pm

Rethinking Wind Power As The Latest, Greatest Thing

Activists love wind power the way they once loved ethanol and natural gas- it is good until scientists show them it is not.  Claims that there is no upper bound for wind power, that it is scalable because gusts and breezes don't seem likely to " ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 26 2013 - 11:36pm

Activists Cheer American Nuclear Power Exit- While They Ignore Climate Change

Though staunchly opposed to nuclear power in some respects, like the controversial decision to scuttle the Yucca Mountain project, the Obama administration said in 2012 that it was "jumpstarting" the nuclear industry. ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 4 2013 - 6:25pm

Calculating Grid-Scale Battery Carbon Footprints

If you've shaken your head at MTBE or ethanol, you know we do a poor job of projecting the real effect of energy sector alternatives accurately.  Advocates are happy to make up numbers but that doesn't work as well after four years of government ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 8 2013 - 11:54am

Cleaner Energy Without Natural Gas Touted For New York

New Yorkers are not happy about the boom in Pennsylvania due to increased natural gas in that state- but politicians have been against it. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will soon decide whether to approve gas drilling but engineers writing in Energy ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 13 2013 - 10:37am

Better Clean Coal And Carbon CaptureTechnology Gets A Boost

An innovative new process releases the energy in coal without burning, while capturing carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas that is the target of emissions reduction goals. How close is it to commercial use?  It has passed an important milestone- a su ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 22 2013 - 11:35am

The Ethanol Daisy Chain: Nitrogen And The Continuous Corn Yield Penalty

Mandates and subsidies have created an artificial green energy industry. In the case of ethanol, that has led to escalating corn prices. Higher prices have encouraged some farmers to switch to growing corn continuously and they are seeing unusually high y ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 21 2013 - 11:53am

Cosmic Embryo #6: Swaying Trees To Produce Wind Energy

The earth has abundant energy sources, if only we would bother to tap them. Wind power has had its financial and ethical ups and downs, with wind farms using gargantuan, expensive wind towers decorating or despoiling the scenery,depending on your esthetics ...

Article - Richard (Dick) Go... - Jun 4 2013 - 11:05am

How To Optimize Wind Power

Fluctuating wind speed and direction means turbines generate power inconsistently. Coupled with customers' varying power demand, the results is that many wind-farm managers end up wasting power-generation capacity and limiting the service life of tur ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 25 2013 - 10:18am