Tag Archives: GreenEnergy

America’s most sustainable city: A green dream deferred

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America's most sustainable city

It sounds like the future. Whirring electric skateboards, the joyous chatter of children in a distant playground and an unusual absence of petrol-powered machinery. It looks like the future, too. Glistening lakes dotting the background, lawns so lush they're mistaken for artwork and an unmistakable reflection from a vast solar farm that doubles as a beacon of unending hope.

The reality, however, is starkly different. The depictions here are mere conceptualizations, and the chore of concocting the most Jetsonized habitat this side of Orbit City is daunting in every sense of the word.

Gallery: Babcock Ranch in Florida, USA

America's most sustainable city A green dream deferred

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Apple to build a 20-megawatt solar farm for its Reno, Nevada data center

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DNP Apple Nevada solar array

Apple's Reno, Nevada data center might be a lot greener in the next few years -- according to GigaOm, the company plans to build a 137 acre solar farm right next to it. The Nevada complex will reportedly generate between 18 and 20 megawatts of power similar to Apple's two arrays in North Carolina, but GigaOm says it will use a different kind of technology. Instead of a standard farm of solar panels, it will include mirrors that concentrate the sun's rays on each one up to seven times, increasing the amount of energy produced. In a statement sent to the publication, Cupertino revealed that the facility will not only provide electricity for the data center, but also supply energy to the local grid. Solar company SunPower will work on the array's engineering and construction, but until it's operational (which could be a while), Apple will depend on geothermal energy generated by local plants.

[Image credit: Apple]

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Source: GigaOm

IBM announces Smarter Energy Research Institute, aims to improve energy grids (video)

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IBM announces Smarter Energy Research Institute, aims to improve energy grids (video)

IBM is no stranger to energy concerns, and now its founded the Smarter Energy Research Institute in partnership with Canada's Hydro-Québec, the Netherlands' Alliander, and the US' DTE Energy to help build a better grid. The partnership will leverage Big Blue's computing and analytic oomph to help the utility companies predict and detect anomalies within infrastructure, identify areas of the grid that need to be developed, integrate new energy sources and increase efficiency among other improvements. What's this mean for you? For one, power outages should be less frequent and shorter lived when they do occur. Thanks to the distributed nature of the project, research will be spread throughout IBM's worldwide network of research labs. If you'd like to hear more details straight from the folks involved, hit the jump for a video and the full press release.

Continue reading IBM announces Smarter Energy Research Institute, aims to improve energy grids (video)

IBM announces Smarter Energy Research Institute, aims to improve energy grids (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar panel printer, gold producing bacteria and a life-size of horse made of computer keys

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

DNP Inhabitat's Week in Green tktktk

Inhabitat is always interested in finding innovative uses for old technology, and this week we saw artists and designers from around the world produce new things from old, unused or outmoded gadgets. In Osaka, a local goldfish club has been transforming old phone booths into gigantic public fish tanks. In another large-scale art installation, Babis Panagiotidis used 18,000 recycled computer keys to make a life-size rocking horse. London artist Leonardo Ulian also makes beautiful, ornate mandalas from bits and pieces of old circuitry. And Benjamin Yates makes his unique coffee tables from recycled circuit boards, old VCRs and computer components.

Continue reading Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar panel printer, gold producing bacteria and a life-size of horse made of computer keys

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar panel printer, gold producing bacteria and a life-size of horse made of computer keys originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fraunhofer black silicon could catch more energy from infrared light, go green with sulfur

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Fraunhofer black silicon could catch more energy from infrared light, go green with sulfur

Generating solar power from the infrared spectrum, or even nearby frequencies, has proven difficult in spite of a quarter of the Sun's energy passing through those wavelengths. The Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications may have jumped that hurdle to efficiency through sulfur -- one of the very materials that solar energy often helps eliminate. By irradiating ordinary silicon through femtosecond-level laser pulses within a sulfuric atmosphere, the technique melds sulfur with silicon and makes it easier for infrared light electrons to build into the frenzy needed for conducting electricity. The black-tinted silicon that results from the process is still in the early stages and needs improvements to automation and refinement to become a real product, but there's every intention of making that happen: Fraunhofer plans a spinoff to market finished laser systems for solar cell builders who want their own black silicon. If all goes well, the darker shade of solar panels could lead to a brighter future for clean energy.

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Fraunhofer black silicon could catch more energy from infrared light, go green with sulfur originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 05:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google data center in Oklahoma to get 48MW of wind power, boost renewable energy in the Sooner state

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Google data center in Oklahoma to get 48MW of wind power, boost renewable energy in the Sooner stateGoogle has made a point of relying on renewable resources for its data centers whenever possible, even down to the cooling. It hasn't had quite as unique an arrangement as what it's planning for its data center in Oklahoma, though. The search firm wants to supply its Mayes County location with 48MW of wind energy from Apex's Canadian Hills Wind Project, but it isn't buying power directly from the source. Instead, it's making a deal with the Grand River Dam Authority, a utility, to purchase the clean power on top of what's already supplied from the GRDA at present. The deal should keep the data center on the environmentally friendly side while giving it room to grow. Wind power will come online at Google's facility once the Canadian Hills effort is up and running later in 2012; hopefully, that gives us enough time to better understand why there's a Canadian River and Canadian Hills to be found in the southern United States.

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Google data center in Oklahoma to get 48MW of wind power, boost renewable energy in the Sooner state originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: GPS shoes, shape-shifting bicycle and a wheelchair helicopter

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Inhabitat's Week in Green

Apple dominated the news cycle this week with the debut of the iPhone 5, as the internet was buzzing with details about the lighter, thinner and faster new iPhone. But not everyone was thrilled with the news. A journalist in China spent 10 days undercover working at a Foxconn factory, detailing the grueling conditions workers undergo to produce the new gadget. Apple wasn't the only tech company in the news this week, though; Google got some time in the spotlight this week too, as the company's new augmented-reality glasses were trotted down the runway at New York Fashion Week. Continuing the trend of high-tech fashion, British designer Dominic Wilcox unveiled a GPS shoe that guides you home from anywhere in the world.

This week, a team of Finnish researchers did what we would have thought was impossible, building an electricity-free computer that's powered by water droplets. Israeli designer Nitsan Debbi cooked up a batch of working electronic products made of bread. A Boise-based tech company used 3D printing technology to produce a new working beak for an injured bald eagle. Artist Luzinterruptus fitted 10,000 books that had been discarded by public libraries with LED lights and covered the streets of Melbourne with them, and in an exciting development the much-anticipated Low Line underground park in NYC debuted a full-scale model of their incredible fiber-optic solar-concentrating technology in New York City's lower east side. And in a surprising development, a researcher in Switzerland discovered a special strain of fungus that can make an ordinary violin sing like a Stradivarius.

Continue reading Inhabitat's Week in Green: GPS shoes, shape-shifting bicycle and a wheelchair helicopter

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: GPS shoes, shape-shifting bicycle and a wheelchair helicopter originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Researchers create super-efficient microbial fuel cell, dream of selling excess electricity

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EDIT Researchers create superefficient microbial fuel cell, dream of selling excess electricity

Recycling wastewater to generate energy has turned up noses before, but researchers at Oregon State University have developed a microbial fuel cell that can create 10 to 50, or even 100 times more electricity per volume than similar technologies. After refining the tech for several years using new materials, techniques and selecting better microbes, the team can now extract two kilowatts per cubic meter of refuse. As bacteria oxidizes organic matter, electrons -- rather than the hydrogen or methane that other methods rely upon -- are produced and run from an anode to a cathode within the device to create an electric current. Once implementation costs are cut down, the technology could power waste treatment plants and enable them to sell excess electricity. The contraption isn't just for processing what comes out of the porcelain throne -- it can also utilize materials ranging from grass straw to beer brewing byproducts. For now, however, the cell will tackle a pilot study before it inches closer to your local brewery or water treatment facility.

Continue reading Researchers create super-efficient microbial fuel cell, dream of selling excess electricity

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Researchers create super-efficient microbial fuel cell, dream of selling excess electricity originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 04:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook releases its 2011 energy usage report, details your carbon footprint

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Facebook releases its 2011 energy usage report, details your carbon footprint

More Facebook news, but this time we're back to the numbers instead of reporting on a new feature, improvement or integration. As part of its mission to swap the familiar blue for something of a greener tinge, Facebook released today its carbon footprint and overall energy usage figures for 2011. Turning bio-babble into easy visualizations, the company points out that for the whole year, an active user occupied roughly the same carbon footprint as one medium latte. Or, if you're a fan of the tipple, a couple of glasses of wine. Impressively, 23 percent of the social giant's energy usage came from clean and renewable sources, which puts it well on the way to its 2015 target of 25 percent or more. If you'd like more info and a complete breakdown of the stats, the full report is available at the source link below.

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Facebook releases its 2011 energy usage report, details your carbon footprint originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: 3D printed boat, algae-based biofuel and a bus that does push-ups

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Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Inhabitat's Week in Green: 3D printed boat, algae-based biofuel and a bus that does push-ups

The Olympic flame completed its tour through the UK this week as the 2012 Summer Games officially kicked off on Friday, and all eyes have been on London ever since. All week long we've been focusing on the Olympics, beginning with an overview of London's new Olympic Park, which is headlined by the Zaha Hadid-designed Aquatics Centre, and Anish Kapoor's controversial ArcelorMittal Orbit observation tower. For a deeper look at the venues that will be on display at the Olympics over the next two weeks, check out our roundup of the top six green buildings at the Olympics. In addition to the sports stadiums, Olympics visitors will also be treated to the sights and sounds of Coca-Cola's multi-sensory Beatbox Pavilion, an interactive sound and light display that responds to touch. But the art installation that we're most excited about is the one by artist David Cerny, who retrofitted a 6-ton London double-decker bus with a gigantic pair of human arms. Best of all, the arms are motorized, enabling the bus to do push-ups.

Continue reading Inhabitat's Week in Green: 3D printed boat, algae-based biofuel and a bus that does push-ups

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: 3D printed boat, algae-based biofuel and a bus that does push-ups originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jul 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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