Showing posts with label Ecogizmo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ecogizmo. Show all posts

Zerotracer Takes Out Inaugural Round The World Zero Emissions Race

9:52 PM

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It may have taken a little longer than expected, but last week the inaugural Zero Race finally wound up with the three remaining competitors returning to the United Nations Palace in Geneva, Switzerland where the race got underway in August last year. 


After 80 driving days, which saw the 100 percent electric vehicles travel some 28,000 km (17,398 miles) across 16 countries through freezing temperatures, snow, rain and heat, Team Oerikon Solar's Zerotracer was the first to cross the finish line, followed by Team Vectrix in second place and Team Trev in third.

rammu

Cargill Ship Will Be Largest Ever To Utilize Kite Power

9:43 PM

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For the past ten years, Hamburg-based SkySails has been engineering and producing what are essentially giant kites, designed to help ships reduce their fuel use by catching the wind and pulling them across the surface of the ocean. 


The system was put into regular shipping use for the first time in 2008, when one of the kites was attached to the 132-meter (433-foot) multi purpose heavy lift carrier MS Beluga SkySails. Now, Cargill Ocean Transportation has announced that it plans to use the technology on one of its long-term charter ships, a vessel of between 25,000 and 30,000 deadweight tonnes (27,558 to 33,069 US tons). It will be the largest kite-assisted ship in the world.

rammu

UBC Green Energy Project Gets Government Cash Injection

9:27 PM

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A first-of-its-kind biomass-fueled, heat and power generation system has been developed by a partnership between Nexterra Systems and General Electric, and is heading to the campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) next year. 


The Bioenergy Research and Demonstration Project will meet around six percent of the total annual demand for electricity and up to 25 percent of the university's campus requirements for steam. UBC has just announced that the project has secured a substantial federal and provincial cash injection.

rammu

Aquasun System Puts Floating Solar Panels On Bodies Of Water

9:20 PM

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One of the potentially limiting characteristics of solar power is the fact that it takes up a lot of space. Solar panels obviously aren't going to be of much use if they're stacked one on top of the other, so instead must be spread out side-by-side, so each one can soak up the sun's rays.


Although they're generally not in the way when mounted on top of buildings, large arrays of solar panels could start to become a hindrance when located on the ground. Tech companies from Israel and France, however, are developing what could be a way of avoiding that situation – floating solar panels that are installed on the surface of existing bodies of water.

rammu

Twentieth Century Fox Signs its Latest Big Star – The Sun

7:15 PM

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Twentieth Century Fox is cranking up the star power at its Century City studios, where Solar Power, Inc. has completed the installation of a large solar array. The 160 kW photovoltaic (PV) solar system was mounted on Fox Studio's historic Building 99 using Solar Power's SkyMount commercial rooftop system, as well as conventional racking. The new PV system is the movie giant's first on-site renewable energy system.


For many companies, on-site alternative power systems don't only generate electricity, but positive PR as well. Add in the cost savings, government subsidies and tax breaks, and it's easy to see why organizations such as Google, Walmart, Coca-Cola, and even the US Air Force are installing alternative energy systems at their offices and stores.

rammu

Hyper Solar Concentrator Could Boost Solar Cell Output by 400 Percent

10:02 PM

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Solar cells are the most expensive part of a solar panel, so it would follow that if panels could produce the same amount of electricity with less cells, then their prices would come down. In order for panels to be able to do so using existing cell technology, however, they would need to get more light to the fewer cells that they still had. 


Mounting the panels on the end of vertical poles to get them closer to the sun is one possible approach, that might work in the town of Bedrock or on Gilligan’s Island. A better idea, though, is to apply a clear layer of solar concentrators to the surface of a panel – and that’s just what HyperSolar intends to do.

rammu

More Funds for Hawaii's Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Plant

9:35 PM

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An Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) pilot plant off the coast of Hawaii’s Big Island is now a step closer to reality. The U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NFEC) has just awarded Lockheed Martin a US$4.4 million contract modification to develop critical system components and designs for the plant. 


This amount is in addition to the $8.1 million contract the NFEC issued in 2009, as well as two grants totaling $1 million that Lockheed Martin received from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2008 and this March. 


Hopefully, this means the streets of Kona may someday be lit by electricity obtained from the temperature difference between warm and cold sea water. OTEC centers around a closed system, which the sea water heats and cools. Here’s how it works.

rammu