Sustainable Energy, USA and worldwide

The big problem here in Spain seems to be the standardization of charging stations.

Dutch Windwheel draws energy innovations: "The backers of the Dutch Windwheel leave few superlatives behind. The most innovative 'windmill' in the world. A showcase for clean technology. Accelerator for renewable energy. A future icon for The Netherlands and future landmark in Europe's largest port city, Rotterdam. A presence in the architectural capital of the Netherlands making the skyline even more spectacular. Superlatives may be in order for the Dutch Windwheel, an ambitious idea under the umbrella of the Dutch Windwheel Corporation, a consortium of Rotterdam based companies. The wheel makes use of EWICON (Electrostatic WInd energy CONverter) technology. In this construct, a wind turbine converts wind energy with a framework of steel tubes into electricity without moving mechanical parts. No noise. No moving shadow."

Red light goes green: Metal-free organic sensitizers portend significant advance in artificial photosynthesis: "Photosynthesis – the ubiquitous yet remarkable process by which most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria convert light energy into chemical energy – provides the atmospheric oxygen and organic compounds fundamental to the evolution of life on Earth, and in so doing captures some six times more energy than humans consume while annually converting roughly 100 billion tons of carbon into biomass. In the effort to find alternatives to fossil fuels, the field of artificial photosynthesis – a chemical process that replicates natural photosynthesis – seeks to capture and store energy from visible light, including sunlight, in the chemical bonds of what is known as a solar fuel (for example, hydrogen, methane or methanol)."

New paper-like material could boost electric vehicle batteries: "Researchers at the University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering have developed a novel paper-like material for lithium-ion batteries. It has the potential to boost by several times the specific energy, or amount of energy that can be delivered per unit weight of the battery.

This paper-like material is composed of sponge-like silicon nanofibers more than 100 times thinner than human hair. It could be used in batteries for electric vehicles and personal electronics."

World’s first grid-connected wave power station switched on in Australia: "The world’s first grid-connected wave power station has been activated off the coast of Western Australia (WA).

After more than a decade of testing and demonstrations, Australian company Carnegie Wave Energy has switched on a pilot project that has begun feeding wave-generated electricity into a local WA grid."

Researchers discover new material to produce clean energy: "Researchers at the University of Houston have created a new thermoelectric material, intended to generate electric power from waste heat - from a vehicle tailpipe, for example, or an industrial smokestack - with greater efficiency and higher output power than currently available materials.

The material, germanium-doped magnesium stannide, is described in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Zhifeng Ren, lead author of the article and M.D. Anderson Chair professor of physics at UH, said the new material has a peak power factor of 55, with a figure of merit - a key factor to determine efficiency - of 1.4."

New material captures carbon at half the energy cost: "Capturing carbon from power plants will likely be necessary in the future to avoid the worst effects of climate change, but current technologies are very expensive. Chemists have now developed a new material, a diamine-appended metal-organic framework, that captures carbon dioxide with much reduced energy costs compared to today's technologies, potentially lowering the cost of capturing and sequestering this greenhouse gas."

Uncovering the secrets of super solar power perovskites: "The best hope for cheap, super-efficient solar power is a remarkable family of crystalline materials called hybrid perovskites. In just five years of development, hybrid perovskite solar cells have attained power conversion efficiencies that took decades to achieve with the top-performing conventional materials used to generate electricity from sunlight.

Now researchers at the University of Utah, in collaboration with the University of Texas at Dallas, have uncovered some of the secrets behind the amazing material's performance. The findings, published today in the journal Nature Physics, help fill a deep void in hybrid perovskite solar cell research. Scientists and engineers have lacked a clear understanding of the precise goings on at the molecular level."

Clean energy future: New cheap and efficient electrode for splitting water: "Scientists have developed a highly efficient oxygen-producing electrode for splitting water that has the potential to be scaled up for industrial production of the clean energy fuel, hydrogen. The new technology is based on an inexpensive, specially coated foam material that lets the bubbles of oxygen escape quickly. Unlike other water electrolyzers that use precious metals as catalysts, the electrode is made entirely from two non-precious and abundant metals — nickel and iron."

New electrode creates hydrogen fuel more efficiently than ever before: "A team of researchers from UNSW Science in Australia has created the most efficient water-slitting electrode to date, and it could be scaled up to allow industrial production of clean hydrogen fuel.

Hydrogen fuel is created by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrical current. And although it has huge potential as a renewable energy source, right now it takes so much electricity to make it that it’s not a feasible option. But this new electrode is made from a cheap, coated foam material that lets oxygen bubbles escape extremely quickly, making the whole process more efficient."

So I'm looking into starting an EV conversion, any of you guys know a good forum to ask around at? Been starting some research and could use some contacts.

New processing technology converts used packing peanuts to battery components: "Researchers have shown how to convert waste packing peanuts into high-performance carbon electrodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that outperform conventional graphite electrodes, representing an environmentally friendly approach to reuse the waste."

Can perovskites and silicon team up to boost industrial solar cell efficiencies?: "Silicon solar cells dominate 90 percent of the global photovoltaic market today, yet the record power conversion efficiency of silicon photovoltaics has progressed merely from 25 percent to 25.6 percent during the past 15 years—meaning the industry is keen to explore alternatives.

A collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford University may be poised to shake things up in the solar energy world. By exploring ways to create solar cells using low-cost manufacturing methods, the team has developed a novel prototype device that combines perovskite with traditional silicon solar cells into a two-terminal 'tandem' device.

As the team reports in the journal Applied Physics Letters, their new tandem cells have the potential to achieve significantly higher energy conversion efficiencies than standard single-junction silicon solar cells."

Sweden is building the world's first carbon-negative data centre: "A team of Swedish entrepreneurs have partnered with a local energy company to build a revolutionary data centre that runs entirely on a mix of solar, wind, and hydro power, plus wood chip and sawdust waste. And not only does it take no power from the grid or fossil fuels, it also gives back - converting the heat generated by all those hard-working servers into energy to warm nearby homes."

Solar Energy Squad Goes After “Un-American Electric Power”

Ultra-fast charging aluminum battery offers safe alternative to conventional batteries: "Stanford University scientists have invented the first high-performance aluminum battery that's fast-charging, long-lasting and inexpensive. Researchers say the new technology offers a safe alternative to many commercial batteries in wide use today."

edited 7th Apr '15 12:52:43 AM by rmctagg09

New discovery may be breakthrough for hydrogen cars: "A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to create hydrogen fuel using a biological method that greatly reduces the time and money it takes to produce the zero-emissions fuel. This method uses abundantly available corn stover - the stalks, cobs, and husks - to produce the hydrogen.

The team's new findings, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help speed the widespread arrival of the hydrogen-powered vehicles in a way that is inexpensive and has extremely low carbon emissions."

Revealed: the hidden study that says all France’s electricity can come from renewables by 2050

Investigative journalism FTW.

They including Nuclear in renewables?

Nuclear isn't normally included in renewables.

We'd be a lot more farther along, energy-wise, if people weren't scared of nuclear energy. Yes it's not technically renewable, but it's far more sustainable than nearly anything else. Definitely better than fossil fuels.

I've seen it included on occasion. Just wanted clarification

Yeah nuclear isn't technically renewable, as you're stilling using up a thing that you dig out of the ground that only exists in finite amounts.

Now despite that it's still one of the most effective, safe, easy to build and environmentally friendly sources of energy out there. But it's not renewable.

The environment-friendliness and efficiency of nuclear energy is frequently overstated through Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics. The governments subsidizing them do so for ulterior, strategic motivations.

Plus, the huge problem with nuclear plants is that you can't turn them down; their output is constant. This seriously fucks with the introduction of wind and solar power, and their currently necessary combined-cycle counterparts.

In the short term, nuke plants aren't as useful as we think. In the long term, they get in the way of progress towards renewables.

You got some evidence on the effectiveness of nuclear energy being over rated?

As for it holding back renewable energy, why? Because so far you seem to be saying that they're just so effective that renewable energy can't get in, well then I suggest that renewable energy up its game.

It can't up its game if you don't let it in. When you do let it in, it can and does up its game, at exponential speeds, and becomes very competitive very quickly. And, as I said, nuclear energy really isn't that effective at all, it's just subsidized to Hell and Back and forcibly occupies what would be Renewables' niche.

I'll dig up the precise data tomorrow, but basically the alleged efficiency of nuke plants is calculated, among other things, without accounting for the entire process of bringing the fuel and preparing it for usage in nuclear reactors, which is in fact very energy-intensive.