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A study in the RAND Journal of Economics examined how households change their electricity use when prices rise and fall. Results show that when electricity prices increase, the average household rapidly reduces its electricity use. When electricity prices then decrease, household energy use returns to previous levels. more
A new milestone for Electric Vehicles was set by German Battery Developer “DBM Energie” and their “Lekker Car”. Based on a standard Audi A2 production car, the vehicle stunned reporters when the CEO of DBM drove nonstop from Munich to Berlin, using only the power of the Lithium-Metall-Polymer-Batteries that his Company developed. Their Energy density [...]
In his weekly address on the Radio and Internet, President Barack Obama announced $1.85 billion in loan guarantees to Abengoa Solar Inc. and Abound Solar Inc. to fund the building of huge sun-powered facilities. They are supposed to create thousands of new jobs and help the U.S. transition to a “clean energy economy”. Abengoa will [...]
Alpha Ventus, Germany’s first offshore wind farm, has been formally commissioned and went online today. From now on, the rotors of twelve wind turbines will send 220 gigawatt hours of energy from the North Sea to the German mainland, enough to power 50,000 households. In the coming years more giant offshore wind farms are expected [...]
Silicon Valley ET-startup Better Place has signed deals with 92 corporate fleet owners in Israel, in which they commit to replacing their conventional cars with electric vehicles as leasing contracts end. From 2011 on, 45.000 cars will be replaced with electric cars, many of them made by Renault in Turkey. In order to ascertain the [...]
The German Newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” has revealed a plan by nine Northern-European Countries to invest billions into a new Energy Grid that should transport Renewable Energy across the Continent. Germany, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and Danmark plan to exchange Renewable Energy in order to compensate for fluctuations in their Renewable Energy [...]
Fumio Otsubo, president of Panasonic, announced that the Company plans to market a storage battery for home use, which can store sufficient electricity for about one week of use in a typical household. It is inteded to be combined with energy technology such as solar cells that can generate power but can’t store electricity, making [...]
Collaboration of scientists from Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University led to a surprising discovery: swimming bacteria can power microscopic gears or gear assemblies that are millions of times more massive than themselves. Rotation of the gears can be controlled by the amount of oxygen available to the bacteria. The discovery demonstrates how microscopic swimming [...]
A new report about the “Chemistry of Personalized Solar Energy” by Daniel G. Nocera of the Department of Chemistry describes an inexpensive method for solar energy storage that could help power homes and plug-in cars in the future while helping keep the environment clean. By capturing and storing solar energy at the individual or home [...]
In Shanghai 17 municipal buses runs entirely on ultracapacitor batteries that are charged up during their route at designated bus stops. Without recharging the buses could only go 3 to 5 miles, but the ultracapacitors allow them to charge rapidly. Even if the batteries are completely empty the bus has to stop only for a [...]
Albert Mihranyan of Uppsala University in Sweden and his colleagues have built a battery that is lightweight and thin like paper. It is based on algal cellulose which fibres are wispier than common cellulose extracted from trees. This provides greater surface area and thus allows it to store more electric charge.
Shai Agassi, CEO of the Electric Car Battery-Provider “Better Place” has presented a first version of their car “operating system” AutoOS. The navigation software helps drivers of Electric Cars to locate the next battery station and provides information on the status of the car battery.
As most of the ways to produce biofuel from natural sources have proven to use more energy for production than they deliver, attention has now turned to alternate sources that may seem surprising: municipal waste. Californian Pioneer Fulcrum BioEnergy is building a $100m plant in Nevada, where they plan to make 10m gallons of ethanol [...]
Exxon Mobil announced an investment of 600 million Dollar in a Research project aimed to produce liquid fuels from algae. The project will be a partnership between ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company (EMRE) and Synthetic Genomics (SGI), a genomic biotech company from La Jolla, California.
“There are not enough idiots who will buy it.” is Audi of America President Johan de Nysschens opinion on GMs take on the energy efficient and climate friendly car of the future, the hybrid Chevrolet Volt. His point is, that no one would buy a car for USD 40.000 that offers the same value as [...]
While many car makers are still discussing if EVs (Electronic Vehicle) can be built with todays technology, Nissan unveiled the “Leaf”, a compact car that is totally emission free and runs solely on lithium-manganese batteries. The car, that was specificly designed for the requirements of an EV, will have a range of about 160 kilometers [...]
A group of 20 German companys is rumored to plan huge solar powerplants in Africa, that should provide clean energy for Germany within the next 10 years. The investment would be about 400 billion Euros.
The Australian Solar Energy Developer “Dyesol” says it’s another step closer to the commercial production of Dye Solar Cells integrated onto strip steel in a coil coating line. These solar cells could be integrated into steel roofing and will be grid competitive in the normal light conditions, while other solar technologies require full sun conditions.
Even if deserts may seem dry, there is water available in the air. German scientists have now found a way to obtain drinking water from the humidity, and furthermore have based the process on the energy that is vastly available in deserts: the sun. The system uses solar panels as energy source and is therefore [...]
Surviving a Rallye seems to be the ultimate test for a car, therefore the Organizing Committee of the 24th International Electric Vehicle Symposium organized a Rallye for electric Cars along the 570 km Oslo Stavanger route. 26 Cars took place, and Tesla went home with the victory.
According to a report by the German Magazine “Der Aktionär”, China has decided to invest 440 Billion Dollars in Renewable Energy Projects during the next 10 years. The use of Wind Power will grow almost 10-fold and Solar power up to 100-fold in the coming years.
