Alternative Energy

COMPTON - Seven years ago, Dale and Jeanette Balder cashed in on a new state grant and bought a row of photovoltaic solar panels to help power their new home.That simple experiment marked the beginning of a pet project - to achieve complete electricity independence in their 1,200-square-foot house.With the installation of a 120-foot wind turbine in March, five more photovoltaic arrays, and a solar hot water system, coupled with judicious power consumption and radiant heating, they have realized their goal.The project is so successful, ...

The potential of wood as an alternative energy source will be addressed at two public meetings scheduled in September.The meetings are sponsored by the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources, Virginia Cooperative Extension and several partners.Rural issues are the focus of the first meeting, set for September 14th at Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon. Urban and suburban issues will be discussed at the second meeting on September 29 at Virginia State University in Petersburg.Forest management Extension speciali ...

Duke Energy Carolinas expects to spend $40 million to install solar panels on homes and businesses to generate power for distribution across the company's grid.The program, one of the steps the Charlotte-based utility is taking to meet the state's renewable energy requirements, has already generated inquiries from more than 200 customers.Duke would pay to install the panels, about a $12,750 to $42,500 investment on a home, and also pay "rent" of about $50 a year to the 80 or so residential customers it hopes to sign up.The homeowner o ...

Jacksonville, FL -- Researchers have devised an inexpensive way to produce plastic sheets containing billions of nanoantennas that collect heat energy generated by the sun and other sources. The technology, developed at the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, is the first step toward a solar energy collector that could be mass-produced on flexible materials.While methods to convert the energy into usable electricity still need to be developed, the sheets could one day be manufactured as lightweight "skins" that powe ...

How can we store the sun's energy and use it later when the sun isn't shining? That has been one of the biggest challenges facing the widespread implementation of solar power.Now it appears that an answer may come from trying to duplicate what plants do.A Masschusetts Institute of Technology professor has announced what he and his staff believe is a key breakthrough.In a report from the MIT news service, Prof. Daniel Nocera said:"This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years. Solar power has always been a limited, far ...

Cheap way to 'split water' could lead to abundant clean fuelScientists have found an inexpensive way to produce hydrogen from water, a discovery that could lead to a plentiful source of environmentally friendly fuel to power homes and cars.The technique, which mimics the way photosynthesis works in plants, also provides a highly efficient way to store energy, potentially paving the way to making solar power more economically viable.Hydrogen is a clean, energy-rich fuel that many experts believe could become important as nations attemp ...

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they've discovered a new way to store solar energy so that the non-polluting power can heat homes even when the sun isn't shining."This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT.Nocera and Matthew Kanan, an MIT postdoctoral fellow, made the discovery, which has set the science and clean energy industries abuzz.Amid the world's broadening energy crisis, scientists have been looking to the sun a ...

DURHAM, N.H.-A research project by a group of University of New Hampshire students has led to a new state law supporting residential wind energy.Gov. John Lynch signed the bill into law this month. It provides guidelines for residential wind energy systems. The law addresses issues such as height, noise, setbacks and aesthetics and outlines a process for input from neighbors.It all started when student Laura Carpenter and her research team needed a project for their International Environmental Politics class in 2006. They found most c ...

Thanks to blow-hard winds, the United States has just become the world's largest generator of wind energy.Germany previously held this distinction, though since the United States has about 26 times more land than Germany, the milestone isn't a huge surprise. Nonetheless, we weren't expected to reach this point until late 2009."Our wind energy capacity is growing faster than anyplace else," said Randall Swisher, the executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, the national trade organization for the wind energy industry. ...

How important is nuclear power going to be in India's future? Nobody knows for sure, since the future is full of uncertainties. But the nuclear option is a must for providing energy security.Manmohan Singh thinks nuclear energy will be absolutely vital for India's energy future, and he might be right. His critics say nuclear power will never account for more than a fraction of India's power needs, and will be the most expensive form of power. They may be right too.Today, the economic viability of nuclear power is far from proven. A de ...

(RTTNews) - About 20% energy requirement of Beijing Olympic venues would be powered through wind energy with the commencement of operations at the wind power plant in suburban Beijing. The Guanting Wind Power Plant, which began operations Saturday, is the first large scale wind power project in the Chinese capital. The plant has an installed capacity of 64,500 kilowatts with 43 indigenously developed wind power units functioning. The first unit went into production on January 20, 2008 and has since supplied 35 million kWh of power to ...

It is nearly impossible to turn on the television without commentators harping about the energy crisis.With skyrocketing crude oil costs causing increases in gasoline and heating oil prices for Granite State families, many are looking to ease their burden by "going green."One neighbor may have purchased a hybrid car, while another has installed solar panels or replaced the light bulbs in their home with tightly-coiled, energy-efficient fluorescents.But there is another, often overlooked "green" power source that sets aside the issue o ...

ENERGY MINISTER Clive Mullings and Opposition back-bencher Phillip Paulwell are seeing eye to eye on the issue of replacing the country's stock of street lights with solar-powered lamps.Mullings' only worry, as his ministry prepares to head in that direction, is the possible nefarious activities of thieves. In 2001, 107 photovoltaic street lamps were installed islandwide. Thirty-three of the lamps were installed on the One Love Trail between Ocho Rios and Dunns River in St Ann. Twenty-two of these lamps were vandalised and/or stolen. ...

Solar company Recurrent Energy on Wednesday announced a $75 million partnership, a deal that highlights the financial models being developing to serve the clean energy industry.Private equity firm Hudson Clean Energy Partners has committed the money to fund expansion of Recurrent Energy's business, where it installs and maintains large solar arrays at corporations and other organizations. The deal was announced at the Intersolar 2008 conference in San Francisco.Rather than sell the panels, companies like Recurrent Energy install the s ...

Benton County Commissioner Claude Oliver hopes to build on the discussions he recently had in Chicago to promote nuclear energy and medical isotopes.Oliver led a Tri-City delegation to the annual convention of RainbowPUSH Coalition at the invitation of the Rev. Jesse Jackson to highlight the benefits of developing nuclear industry, particularly in the face of an impending energy crisis.The Tri-Cities has the necessary infrastructure to help advance that cause, Oliver said. It's about providing cheap, clean energy and generating a sour ...

Program makes it easy to help fund wind farms across America BROOMFIELD, Colo., July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- As more consumers demand cleaner, greener power, many find themselves seeking information about how to support and utilize renewable energy. But since the technologies behind renewable energies like wind power are often complex and confusing, it's hard for most people to know where to begin.Now in its second year, Silk Soymilk's Green Caps for Green Energy program continues to educate the public about the importance of clean, sustai ...

Skyrocketing fuel prices are leading more and more Germans -- including one prominent member of the Green Party -- to challenge the country's cherished plan of mothballing its 17 nuclear power plants.A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable for a Green party member to resign over the party's inflexibility about decommissioning atomic power plants.But that's exactly what happened on Monday, July 13, when Margareta Wolf, a former member of parliament and deputy party spokeswoman, announced she had severed her ties with Germany's ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Central Florida's largest power provider, Progress Energy, won approval Tuesday from a state regulatory agency to build two new nuclear power plants.It was the second time in four months the Public Service Commission has approved nuclear expansion in Florida.The PSC approved Progress Energy's request for new reactors in Levy County near the Gulf of Mexico, about 10 miles north of Crystal River and eight miles inland from the gulf."They're encouraging nuclear as part of Florida's energy future which we think is a g ...

OGE Energy Corp. and a subsidiary of American Electric Power are joining forces to build high voltage power lines to serve the ongoing development of wind-generated energy in western Oklahoma, company officials announced today.TodayThis WeekSportsCommentsOU point guard Jenna Plumley arrestedDog sex tapes lead to arrestsPublisher, sportswriter file suit in fake...Norman in top 10 places to liveFrancis Stipe dead at 77Teen dies after Midwest City shootingNo one seriously hurt after pickup goes into...OKC gear on sale$33 million Ponzi sc ...

July 14 - Power systems firm A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd said it has signed a deal, to build a wind turbine production facility, with the Chinese city government of Bayan Nur.ADVERTISEMENTA-Power said Bayan Nur, situated in Inner Mongolia, is located in one of the three premium wind belts in China, and the Chinese central government has approved 2,100 MW of wind power generation in the Bayan Nur region alone."The 800 MW annual wind turbine production capacity at this new Inner Mongolia facility combined with over 1, ...

A Rhode Island couple is taking an unusual approach to help cut costs.Cam Ventura and her family put up two wind turbines last month after being worn down by the strain of outrageous energy bills on their farm.Although they did have to ante up $40,000 dollars up front, the payback should be practically priceless."Our plan over the course of a year is to at least have these 2 turbinesProduce 80% of our electrical needs for residence and the Ventura farm."With national grid requesting an energy rate hike, Ventura estimates they'll break ...

A new, compact way to collect sunlight from windows and focus it to generate more electricity could make those multiple expensive rooftop solar panels a thing of the past.The solar panels that cover the tops of some buildings today contain photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight into electricity. Unlike burning coal, collecting and converting solar energy releases no greenhouse gases, which warm the atmosphere. Limited efficiency and high construction costs have kept solar from producing more than about 0.07 percent of U.S. energy ne ...

Cost effective devices expected on market soonCAMBRDGE, Mass. -- Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the sun's energy that could allow just that.The work, to be reported in the July 11 issue of Science, involves the creation of a novel "solar concentrator." "Light is collected over a large area [like a window] and gathered, or concentrated, at the edges," explains Marc A. ...

The "cubic mile of oil"--a metric roughly equivalent to the amount of oil consumed worldwide each year--is frequently used to explain the challenge facing solar, wind, geothermal and biomass power.So, what would it take to replace the amount of energy in a cubic mile of oil Roughly 4.2 billion wind turbines, 91.2 solar panels, 2,500 nuclear power plants or 200 Three Gorges Dams, according to Menlo Park, Calif., nonprofit research institute SRI International.In other words, no single category of renewable energy is growing anywhere nea ...

Yahoo!My Yahoo!Mail Make Y! your home pageYahoo! SearchSearch:Sign InNew User? Sign UpFinance Home -HelpHome InvestingMarket OverviewMarket StatsStocksMutual FundsETFsBondsOptionsIndustriesCurrencyEducationNews & OpinionMarketsInvesting IdeasExpert AdviceSpecial EditionsCompany FinancesProvidersPersonal FinanceBanking & BudgetingCareer & WorkCollege & EducationFamily & HomeInsuranceLoansReal EstateRetirementTaxesHow-to GuidesTech Ticker Get QuotesFinance Search 2022508428By MATTHEW L. WALDA Michigan company, Energy Conversion Devices, ...

TOYAKO, Japan - Differences over nuclear power surfaced on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit Monday, with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, which is phasing out its nuclear plants, arguing that its use is not the only way to combat climate change.Merkel's comments came after a senior U.S. official argued that nuclear power should be used to stem emissions."A country that has the capability to responsibly use nuclear energy in my view has a responsibility to do so, if we want to get serious about not just cutting greenhouse ...

UNITED NATIONS - Global investors plowed $148 billion into new stakes in wind, solar and other alternative energy assets last year in what the United Nations describes as a "green energy gold rush."The huge run-up - 60 percent above the $92.6 billion new investment in 2006 - reflects rising concerns over climate change and energy prices, UN officials said in a report released Tuesday. In 2005, there was $58.5 billion in new stakes.An additional $56 billion changed hands last year on mergers and acquisitions - another sign, said UN Und ...

DALLAS, June 25 /PRNewswire/ -- BeaconEquity.com announces the availability of TraderNotes on stocks that are making news today.Investors can view all of the daily trading notes for free by visiting: http://www.BeaconEquity.com/mToday's TraderNotes include: Heartland Oil & Gas Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: HTOG - News), Sterling Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: STSA - News), Lam Research Corp. (Nasdaq: LRCX - News), Royal Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: ROYL - News), Citizens Republic Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: CRBC - News), Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO - News), Ad ...

The 100 wind turbines that make up the MinnDakota Wind Power Project generate a lot more than renewable energy.The 15,000-acre project generates an income for landowners, agriculture producers and rural communities in Brookings County, S.D., and Lincoln County, Minn."The project will directly generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in economic benefits through payments to landowners, increased receipts for local governments and jobs to maintain and operate the wind facility," said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D. "Renewable energy productio ...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's story about Applied Research Associates' research/development efforts and the current state of renewable/alternative energy in Northwest Florida is the third of four stories that will examine the industry's potential impacts on the region's economy. Previous installments can be read at newsherald.com.Before he started working for Applied Research Associates as a principal engineer, Lixiong Li had been researching hydrothermal processing technology for a decade.Li started his research in 1998 at the University of ...

A new study makes the case that solar power is emerging as a cost-effective hedge against fossil fuels and is likely to reach parity with retail-electricity rates in most regions of the U.S. in less than a decade.The Utility Solar Assessment Study, produced by clean-tech research and publishing firm Clean Edge Inc. and green-economy nonprofit Co-op America, says that for the first time, solar power is beginning to reach cost parity with conventional energy sources. As solar prices decline and the capital and fuel costs for coal, natur ...

Solar energy will cost the same as power produced by coal, natural gas and nuclear plants in about a decade, a report released today suggests, and that price parity could propel solar adoption so that it accounts for 10 percent of U.S. electricity generation by 2025."Solar prices are falling as the solar industry scales," said Alisa Gravitz, executive director of Co-op America, a non-profit advocating green economic solutions.The Utility Solar Assessment Study, produced by Co-op America and the Clean Edge research firm, projects that ...

TRENTON, N.J. - For centuries, farming has involved plowing the fields and tending to livestock.Soon, farmers in New Jersey may also be tending to solar panels and windmills.New Jersey lawmakers are contemplating a bill that defines solar and wind energy generation as agricultural activity. The measure aims to promote alternative energy sources, but has been criticized as a possible danger to farmland preservation efforts.The bill would allow the owners of preserved farmland to construct, operate and install solar or wind energy facil ...

New company, SpectraWatt, will focus on improving manufacturing processes to reduce cost of photovoltaic energy generation.June 17, 2008 -- To spur new development and demand for renewable energy sources, Intel Corp. announced on June 16 it is spinning off key assets of a start-up business effort inside Intel's New Business Initiatives group to form an independent company called SpectraWatt Inc. Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, is leading a $50 million investment round in SpectraWatt and is joined by Cogentrix En ...

ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 7 - Alternative energy sources such as solar, wind power and biofuels will not provide the answer to global energy shortages for at least the next 10 years, major oil company executives said on Saturday. Such forms of energy are expensive to develop, despite record oil prices, and would require further research before providing a viable alternative to oil and gas, Western oil major officials said during the St Petersburg Economic Forum. "Alternatives are not going to solve the challenges the world f ...

Madison Is One Of 25 Other Cities With GrantsMADISON, Wis. -- Madison home and business owners are now eligible for grants to install solar energy systems.The U.S. Department of Energy is giving the city a $200,000 grant that it hopes will encourage more use of solar power.The grant is part of the federal Solar America Initiative. It's making $5 million available nationwide to encourage the use of solar power. Madison joins 25 other cities in winning one of the grants.Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said that he hopes the grant will hel ...

PALO ALTO, Calif. - HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Xtreme Energetics (XE), a solar energy system developer based in Livermore, Calif., today announced they have entered into an agreement for the development of a solar energy system designed to generate electricity at twice the efficiency and half the cost of traditional solar panels.Under the technology collaboration and licensing agreement, HP will license its transparent transistor technology to XE in return for royalty payments.The transparent transistor technology that will be used in XE's sol ...

Washington, June 4 : A scientist has determined that bioenergy can be the best realistic alternative to meet our current and future energy needs while cutting back on the use of fossil fuels.The scientist in question is Biodesign Institute researcher Bruce Rittmann.For Rittmann, the threat of global warming presents a significant opportunity for innovation and fresh solutions to today's energy challenges."Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, the unprecedented expansions of human population and economic activity have been based on ...

New AeroCam Turbine Turns Almost Any Location Into an Affordable Source of Wind Power GenerationHOUSTON - Renewable energy from the wind, which previously could only be generated in restricted geographic locations - typically off-shore or in remote rural areas - can now be made available almost anywhere, including urban environments, with the introduction of the AeroCam wind turbine.The AeroCam, developed by BroadStar Wind Systems, was designed and patented for commercial applications. With its parallel rotor blades, not only does it ...

Washington, June 2 : Scientists have determined that wastewater sludge has the potential of becoming a new resource for alternative energy.According to a report in ENN (Environmental News Network), wastewater treatment is coming under increasing scrutiny, with the financial cost of energy and the environment cost of energy generation driving new interest in the conversion of sewage sludge to energy.That's also because the view of municipal sewage has shifted, from a waste to be treated and disposed of, to a resource that can be proces ...