Clean Technology

Concentrated Solar Power Isn't Just for Deserts, It Could be for Walls Too

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 13 March 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

This might help more people adopt solar into their homes.

Written by Megan Treacy on 11/03/10

Usually when you read about concentrated solar power, it's referring to some large project destined for the Mojave Desert, but Syracuse's Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) has set out to prove that this technology can be used in smaller, colder settings.

SyracuseCoE in Syracuse, NY is itself a LEED-platinum-certified, 55,000 square-foot building that serves as a testing ground for renewable energy and efficiency technologies. The south wall of the building is home to a concentrated solar facade that, at first glance, resembles the frosted cube walls found in doctors' office waiting rooms.

This 8-foot by 8-foot facade houses several clear pyramid lenses that track the sun and concentrate the rays onto high-efficiency PV cells. Extra energy not converted to electricity is used for heating water and radiant heat in the building. And because it's made up of clear panels, it also adds natural lighting indoors. You can watch a video of the system at work here.

Using a concentrated solar power system in an architectural application is a new concept, so the center will be monitoring and reporting on its performance.

The facade was designed by the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology and the company HeliOptix is licensed to market it.

via Jetson Green

Add a comment

Storm Clouds on the Clean Tech Horizon?

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 05 March 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

We need a bigger public push to make a clean energy future.

via [thebreakthrough.org]

By Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus

The double digit growth of clean tech industries like solar and wind can't last, and climate legislation in Congress won't continue the momentum, according to a new Breakthrough Institute analysis made for a keynote speech at the Cleantech Group's February 2010 conference in San Francisco.

The rapid growth of renewable energy over the last few years will be difficult to maintain politically as solar and wind achieve a larger share of the energy market. If the U.S. were to maintain its production tax credit (PTC) subsidy for wind power to become 20 percent of America's energy generation, the cost would be $20 billion per year. Moreover, existing transmission is rapidly meeting capacity, which will push wind and solar into sites with higher load management, storage, and transmission costs.

Climate legislation currently being considered in Congress would do little to help the clean tech industry. Cap and trade legislation that passed the House would provide a .8 - 1.5 cent/kwh subsidy to renewables in contrast to the current 2.1 cent/kwh subsidy from the PTC, the 2 - 4 cents/kwh subsidy the Chinese government provides to wind, the 36 - 51 cents/kwh the Germans provide to solar, and the 11 - 17 cents/kwh the Chinese provide to solar.

To the extent clean tech thrives, it will do so in China, Japan and South Korea, which will collectively invest $509 billion to America's $172 billion over the next five years.
While clean tech entrepreneurs may profit in the short-term, long-term growth of clean tech require breakthroughs that make clean energy as cheap as coal. Experts agree that breakthroughs are needed for solar panels so that they more efficiently convert sunlight into electricity, for biofuels to be cheaply grown without intensive fossil fuel inputs, and for batteries to store more energy in smaller amounts of space. For nuclear plants to become much cheaper they will likely need to be smaller, mass manufactured, proliferation-proof, and need to store their own waste.

Not All Carrots Are Created Equal: Waxman-Markey's carbon price does less to close the clean tech price gap between clean energy and fossil fuels than more targeted policies in other nations.

Add a comment

Homemade electric car turns heads, saves money

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 09 February 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

Even the "Average Joe" could pull this one off.

via [wtva.com] Reported by: C.J. LeMaster

Both the "Danger: High Voltage" sign and "electric" moniker give away this sports car's biggest secret. (C.J. LeMaster)

It's been a labor of love for Louis Rosa and his brother Nick.

"This was the biggest undertaking that we've ever done," Louis Rosa said.

For more than a year, they've spent any extra time and effort left over from college on a remarkable "green" project.

The car looks pretty impressive by itself: sporty, exotic and fast, but one might be surprised with what lies beneath this fiberglass exterior.

"The main question i get is: 'Is it a Ferrari?' No, it's not, unfortunately. It would be nice," Louis said.

It goes 90 miles an hour, it has great acceleration and it's a sleek sports car. That's where the similarities end, however: this baby's not gas, it's electric.

Add a comment

Obama Awards $2.3B for Cleantech Manufacturing

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 12 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

I love this guy! Bring on the green funding! :)

via [matternetwork.com]

President Barack Obama on Friday announced the award of $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy manufacturing projects across the United States.

The White House said in a release that one hundred eighty three projects in 43 states will create tens of thousands of high quality clean energy jobs and the domestic manufacturing of advanced clean energy technologies including solar, wind and efficiency and energy management technologies.

“Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future,” said President Obama. “The Recovery Act awards I am announcing today will help close the clean energy gap that has grown between America and other nations while creating good jobs, reducing our carbon emissions and increasing our energy security.”

Add a comment

New Energy “Bomb” Disinfects Water without Chemicals

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 12 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

Finally, some new technology that gets us away from the use of chemicals.

via [cleantechnica.com]

Chemical treatment is becoming a less desirable way to provide safe drinking water, and water professionals have been searching for a less expensive, more reliable and more sustainable method of killing pathogens. Cavitation Technologies, Inc. has come up with one solution. The company’s new process uses mechanical and electrical systems to blow the little bugs to smithereens.

The company’s CaviGulation reactor sounds like a piece of equipment that would be at home in Frankenstein’s lab. It delivers up a complex set of reactions based on kinetic energy, chemical, electro-chemical, and hydrodynamic principles. The result: a water disinfection process that’s 1,000 times more effective than conventional systems.

Add a comment

Hydrogen Cars Tangled in Red Tape

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 08 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

Even though the science is here to help us, adoption is the last hurtle to the problem. We and our politicians must work to make it so.

via [hydrogencarsnow.com]

Getting hydrogen cars on the road in mass quantities has been no easy task. There have been many bumps in the road, so to speak, along the way and this trend will continue.

Even though hydrogen cars have been around for a couple hundred years now, preceding the gasoline engine, people and governments seem to be largely uneducated about how the gas should be handled. And when a government doesn’t know how to handle something “unusual.” like hydrogen they tend to throw out a safety need of “red tape” to surround it.

Mike Strizki got a taste of this when he was trying to build his hydrogen-solar home in New Jersey. The different state agencies had no building or safety codes for handling hydrogen, so they bogged him down in red tape until they could catch up. At one point, Mr. Strizki said about one of the agencies in frustration, “They’re worried about the deer running into the tanks” referring to the 200 psi hydrogen tanks in his backyard.

Add a comment

Solar Compressed Air System Solves the Energy Storage Conundrum

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 08 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

sustainable design, green design, renewable enery, compressed air energy storage, alternative energy, solar power, wind power

Energy storage is one of the greatest milestones facing the renewable energy industry. You can’t control the winds or the sun’s rays, so intermittency is a problem and you can’t flood the grid when you most need an electric boost. This also means that a lot of the power that is ready for the grid isn’t used, and is lost. Southwest Solar Technology is developing a totally clean Compressed Air Energy Storage System (CAES) that looks quite promising. The system uses clean technology during the day to pump heated and compressed air into an airtight chamber, which is released through a turbine to create power when it is needed the most.

Add a comment

Department of Energy Announces Inaugural ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 08 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

More movement in the Energy Sector. Clean Technology is the future.

via [prnewswire.com]

Secretary Chu to Give Keynote Address

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced today the inaugural "ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit" to take place March 1-3, 2010 at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center in Washington, DC. The event, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) and organized by the Clean Technology and Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI), with key support from the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and the Kauffman Foundation, will serve as a forum for the nation's energy leaders to share ideas, collaborate, and identify key technology opportunities and challenges.

Summit participants will include members of the scientific and research communities, investors, technology entrepreneurs, corporations with an interest in clean energy technologies, policymakers and government officials.

"I am especially excited about the first ever ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit," said Secretary Chu. "This conference will bring together the nation's top energy leaders and members of the scientific community to begin building the next Industrial Revolution in clean energy technologies, which will create new jobs and help reduce our carbon footprint," said Secretary Chu.

Add a comment

Think cars to be built in Indiana

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 06 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

I love these little guys. The could really be a game changer. Go Hoosiers!

via [detnews.com]

Think Electric Car Michigan remains in the running for a planned technology center for electric car maker Think, but lost out on Tuesday to Indiana as the site of the company's first U.S. manufacturing facility.

The technology center would employ about 70 people, said Think spokesman Brendan Prebo. A decision on that facility could be made in the next three to six months.

Think CEO Richard Canny was in Elkhart, Ind., Tuesday to announce the Norwegian company plans to invest $43.5 million in a former glass factory to start building the Think City electric car there in 2011.

The carmaker received about $17 million in local and state incentives for the plant that will employ 100 initially and increase to 415 by 2013.

"Indiana is quickly becoming an international leader in advanced, clean technology manufacturing," Canny said.

Michigan hoped to land the plant as it works to establish itself as a hub for battery and electric vehiclemanufacturing. Last year, Michigan received $1.35 billion in federal grants for advanced powertrain projects in the state.

Add a comment

Top 10 cleantech universities in the U.S. for 2010

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 06 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

Here are some schools that are making a difference. If we can get the edge in clean technology, then our economy and prosperity will be amazing!

via [cleantech.com] by Shawn Lesser

Shawn Lesser of Sustainable World Capital goes inside the labs to find the best examples of collaboration between academics, businesses and investors.

Where will the cutting edge companies that transform the industries of cleantech going to come from? Odds are that it will be from one of the top cleantech universities.

While many dotcom companies were started by students out of their dorm rooms or basements, don’t look for a similar trend in the cleantech world. You need a lot more than a desktop and a good Internet-based idea. You need specialized resources that you usually can find at a university.

Add a comment

Horizon Hydrofill Home Hydrogen Fueling Station to Be Unveiled

Written by Ryan Hollitz | 05 January 2010
Posted in Blog - Clean Technology

This could really help our new clean hydrogen economy get going for sure!

via [hydrogencarsnow.com]

Hydrogen Fuel Cells In the movie “What About Bob?” Bill Murray talked about taking “baby steps.” An ancient Chinese proverb says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” At the upcoming Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, NV, Horizon will unveil its HydroFill home hydrogen fueling device which may mean we are a step away from hydrogen car commercialization.

The HydroFill, when it becomes commercial is expected to be able to refuel hydrogen cars in the privacy of one’s own home. Now, I’ve talked about home hydrogen fueling stations many times in the past and this product may be just what the industry needs to jumpstart the chicken-or-the-egg syndrome when it comes to which will be built first, the cars or the fueling stations.

The Horizon Hydrofill can run off AC at night when the electricity rates are the lowest, electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen and refill their metal hydride canisters. The next day the hydrogen fuel cell car or smaller device can be refueled from the canister.

The Hydrofill may not be introduced commercially in 2010, however as development is ongoing. Horizon is already selling, however, a 20-liter hydrogen storage tank made of aluminum alloy outside and metal hydride inside.

Now, while the HydroFill is a big idea that Horizon is still working on, this same company has decided to start a bit smaller and offer a commercial line of micro-fuel cell power packs for recharging small electronic devices such a lighting products, USB devices and cell phones.

In summer 2009, I had talked about how Horizon had created the fuel cell for the economical Riversimple fuel cell city car. An affordable Riversimple plus Hydrofill home fueling station may be the ticket to sooner rather than later introduction of hydrogen cars and infrastructure into the marketplace.

Add a comment

Menu

Featured Client

Latest Tweets

Latest Comments

Clean Technology

Concentrated Solar Power Isn't Just for Deserts, It Could be for Walls Too

Storm Clouds on the Clean Tech Horizon?

Homemade electric car turns heads, saves money

Obama Awards $2.3B for Cleantech Manufacturing

New Energy “Bomb” Disinfects Water without Chemicals

Hydrogen Cars Tangled in Red Tape

Solar Compressed Air System Solves the Energy Storage Conundrum

Department of Energy Announces Inaugural ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit

Secretary Chu to Give Keynote Address

Think cars to be built in Indiana

Top 10 cleantech universities in the U.S. for 2010

Horizon Hydrofill Home Hydrogen Fueling Station to Be Unveiled

More Articles...