Powering your home with your car

May 17th, 2012 by Richard Lord

Mark Little, Chief Technology Officer for GE is interviewed at the SAE 2012 World Congress in Detroit, Michigan, USA.

He said “electric vehicles supporting grid infrastructure is here now. It is just going to get a lot better.”

“Thinking that you could power your home for a couple of days through your car is a really amazing connectivity that we have not had before” said Deb Frodl, Global Alternative Leader, GE.

Mark Little continues “today you can buy GE appliances that have the ability to connect to a home device that we and others make – the GE device is called the Nucleus. It allows you to look at energy flows around your home. It allows you to turn your appliances on and off at times that are good for energy use. It will apply to electric vehicles as well.”

For more information visit GE’s ecomagination website.

Cooler Smarter book provides practical steps for low carbon living

May 17th, 2012 by Island Press

(Please click on book cover to go to publisher's website)

While the routine decisions that shape our days—what to have for dinner, where to shop, how to get to work—may seem small, collectively they have a big effect on global warming. But which purchasing choices and changes in our lifestyles might make the biggest difference to the climate?

The new book, Cooler Smarter: Practical Steps for Low-Carbon Living, is based on a comprehensive two-year study by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

While other green guides suggest an array of tips, Cooler Smarter explains how to make the biggest impact and when not to sweat the small stuff.

The advice in Cooler Smarter can help you save money and live healthier. But its central purpose is to empower you, through low-carbon living, to confront one of society’s greatest threats. Continue reading

Science academies ask G8 to tackle global environmental challenges

May 11th, 2012 by US National Academy of Sciences

National science academies from 15 countries issued joint statements on 10 May 2012 calling on world leaders who are about to meet at the upcoming G8 Summit and other international gatherings this year to give greater consideration to the vital role science and technology could play in addressing some of the planet’s most pressing challenges.

The “G-Science” statements recommend that governments engage the international research community in developing systematic, innovative solutions to three global dilemmas:

• how to simultaneously meet water and energy needs;
• how to build resilience to natural and technological disasters;
• and how to more accurately gauge countries’ greenhouse gas emissions to verify progress toward national goals or international commitments. Continue reading

Rechargeable electricity storage made from cheap, safe materials

May 9th, 2012 by The City College of New York

Professor Sanjoy Banerjee, Director of the City University of New York Energy Institute, with the Zinc anode batteries (click image to expand - image courtesy of The City University of New York)

The CUNY Energy Institute, which has been developing innovative low-cost batteries that are safe, non-toxic, and reliable with fast discharge rates and high energy densities, has built an operating prototype zinc anode battery system.

The Institute said large-scale commercialization of the battery would start this year.

Zinc anode batteries offer an environmentally friendlier and less costly alternative to nickel cadmium batteries.

In the longer term, they also could replace lead-acid batteries at the lower cost end of the market. Continue reading

Small island nations commit to increase renewable energy supply

May 9th, 2012 by United Nations Development Programme

The Achieving Sustainable Energy for All in Small Island Developing States Conference concluded on 8 May 2012 with the adoption of the “Barbados Declaration” calling for universal access to modern and affordable renewable energy services, while protecting environment, ending poverty and creating new opportunities for economic growth.

The declaration, adopted just weeks before the UN Conference on Sustainable Development ‘Rio+20’, includes an annex with voluntary commitments of 20 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to take actions toward providing universal access to energy, switching to renewable energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

The host country announced their plan to increase the share of renewable energy in Barbados to 29% of all electricity consumption by 2029. Continue reading

Fire resistant straw bale buildings and zero waste restaurants

May 2nd, 2012 by Richard Lord

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO),  Australia’s National Science Agency, tested the fire resistance of a building with magnesium oxide board cladding and straw bale insulation.

The building, which withstood temperatures of 1000° Celsius, was designed by Joost Bakker who said that straw is the biggest waste product on Earth. Continue reading

IEA report urges energy efficiency and faster adoption of clean energy

May 1st, 2012 by International Energy Agency

(click on report cover to go to IEA report page)

While progress is being made on renewable energy, most clean energy technologies are not being deployed quickly enough, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in an annual progress report presented to ministers and representatives of nations that together account for four-fifths of global energy demand.

The report, Tracking Clean Energy Progress, highlights the rapid progress made in some renewable technologies, notably the solar panels easily installed by households and businesses (solar PV) and in onshore wind technologies.

In fact, onshore wind has seen 27% average annual growth over the past decade, and solar PV has grown at 42%, albeit from a small base. Even more impressive is the 75% reduction in system costs for solar PV in as little as three years in some countries. This serves as evidence that rapid technology change is possible. Continue reading

University of Exeter helps Guernsey develop renewable energy strategy

May 1st, 2012 by States of Guernsey Commerce and Employment Department

Academics and students from the University of Exeter are coming to Guernsey on a field visit to make a high level strategic assessment of the renewable energy potential for Guernsey.

This initiative is part of Commerce and Employment’s Renewable Energy Team’s (RET) long term strategic alliance with leading UK Universities to progress local macro marine renewable energy.

Twenty-six undergraduate students studying for a BSc in Renewable Energy and four academics will visit the island at the end of May 2012 and form different groups to act as renewable energy consultants to study various aspects of Guernsey’s renewable potential. Continue reading

WorldWatch Institute’s State of the World 2012 outlines what is needed for global sustainable prosperity

April 30th, 2012 by Worldwatch Institute

(click on book cover to go to publisher's website)

Over the last 50 years, the world’s middle and upper classes have more than doubled their consumption levels, and an additional one to two billion people globally aspire to join the consumer class.

The planet cannot maintain such increases in resource demand without serious consequences for both people and ecosystems, concludes the Worldwatch Institute in State of the World 2012: Moving Toward Sustainable Prosperity.

The book, the 29th in a series that Worldwatch began in 1984, stresses that we must act quickly to redefine our understanding of the “good life” and redouble our efforts to make that life sustainable. Continue reading

UK Energy Minister Charles Hendry visits Alderney Renewable Energy

April 30th, 2012 by Alderney Renewable Energy Ltd

Charles Hendry, Minister of State at the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) (click image to expand - image courtesy of DECC)

Charles Hendry, Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) visited Alderney to meet members of the management team of Alderney Renewable Energy (ARE).

ARE has ambitious plans for developing tidal power in the coastal waters around Alderney. Continue reading