arielh's story links

Solazyme announced today that it has produced the world’s first algae-based jet fuel. The product passed all testing specifications for Aviation Turbine Fuel— which means that the aviation kerosene has passed all the major hurdles to creating a jet fuel that is compatible with the current commercial and military infrastructure.

In a conference call earlier today, Solazyme CEO Jonathan Wolfson said that his company is capable of producing millions of gallons of biodiesel derived from algae within 3 years.

The most efficient form of renewable energy may be right underneath us. A research team at Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts have announced that they have discovered a method to use road surfaces for solar collection.

Poop power has made it to mainstream America with an announcement that the California State Fair will play host to the first known amusement ride powered by cow manure.

Oregon is once again taking the lead with renewable energy by installing the country’s first highway solar energy project. The project will consist of a 104 kW solar photovoltaic system that covers 8,000 square feet and produces 112,000 kWh each year.

Australia’s Commonwealth Science and Research Organization (CSIRO) reports that lignocellulose, a component of plants and wood, could potentially be used as a cheap fuel—as inexpensive as $40-60 a barrel.

Maybe you’ve heard about the proposed high-speed train in California. Well, Sweden is beating the West Coast to the punch with their Green Train. The Green Train, or Grona Taget, will cut energy use on rail lines by 30 percent through lowered operational costs and journey times. Top speeds reached 183 MPH on a test run

Traditional solar cells only use up to 20% of the visible light they collect, and more efficient solar cells are too expensive for mass production. Now researchers at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho Laboratory have figured out a way to capture solar energy on the cheap: plastic sheets filled with billions of nanoantennas.

According to a new study by the University of South Wales, farming kangaroos instead of sheep or cattle could lower national greenhouse gases in Australia by 3 percent a year.

In the race to implement new energy source, farms have an advantage: lots of manure. A large chicken farm north of Beijing is taking advantage of this fact by using its chicken manure to generate power and heat. But this isn’t just a small-time farm—the 3 million chickens on the farm produce 220 tons of manure and 170 tons of wastewater each day.

This past Tuesday, the Oregon Institute of Technology outlined a plan to build a $7.6 million geothermal power plant on campus. The plant will become the sole power source for the school in a few years, making Oregon Tech the only university to be powered completely by geothermal energy.

A new study put out by the UK’s Carbon Trust reports that domestic windmills in urban locations are actually net carbon emitters.

A recent experiment performed by a team at the university used kites to create 10 kW of energy—enough to power 10 homes. This is a not a major breakthrough in and of itself, but the researchers plan to build a larger version of the project called “Laddermill” that would create 50 kW of energy. They eventually want to build a 100 MW version of their project. If successful, the expanded project would create enough power for 100,000 homes.

A new milestone was reached recently in the race to make algae a conventional oil alternative: high-octane gasoline that is compatible with any gas-guzzling vehicle. The feat was performed by Sapphire Energy, a company that manufactures “green crude”.

Another win for LED bulbs: Anchorage, Alaska plans to replace 16,000 streetlight fixtures—a quarter of all the streetlight fixtures in the city—with LEDs.

According to the US Department of Energy, 258 gigawatts of new generating capacity are needed to meet an expected 40% increase in consumption by 2030, and coal companies are stepping up to meet this need.

Anheuser-Busch, the largest brewer in the US, announced today that it plans to have its breweries rely on renewable energies for 15 percent of its needs by 2010.

The Portland Business Journal reports that Oregon has just been given the go-ahead by The Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council to build a 909 MW wind farm in the north-central part of the state. That’s enough energy to power 200,000 homes each year.

4 reasons why we should be paying a whole lot of attention to the Germany renewable energy market.

General Electric and Mubadala Development have just announced a multi-billion dollar partnership that will give a huge financial boost to a plan to develop a clean-energy walled city in the United Arab Emirates.

Coming on the heels of the inauguration of the world’s first commercial scale tidal power turbine, Electricite de France (EDF) has announced that it plans to build a pilot tidal turbine system in the country. The plan calls for 3 to 6 turbines to be built with capacities between 4 and 6 MW by 2011.

Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens has received a glut of media attention recently for his plan to develop the largest wind power project in the world. Now the New York Times suggests that Pickens might have a visionary counterpart in Shai Agassi, an Israeli software entrepreneur obsessed with making Israel the world leader in electric cars.

Sometimes it takes an energy crisis to make us realize the value of old technology. As oil prices soar, tall wind-powered ships are looking like an increasingly viable alternative.

In what is purported to be the largest investment in clean, renewable energy in US History, Texas has been given preliminary approval for a $4.9 billion plan to build transmission lines to carry wind power from West Texas to urban areas such as Dallas.

Scientists have invented a new material that can convert heat waste in cars, power generators, and heat pumps into electricity. The new material is thermoelectric, and can turn heat into energy without any pollution.

we’re participating in an experiment in “community funded reporting” with Spot.us, a new journalism initiative in it’s very early stages. If you like the pitch, and would like to read the story here on the GO Media Network (most likely a two-part series run at Ecolocalizer and Gas 2.0), consider contributing a small amount to fund the story.

Sure, it’s easy enough for one person to attempt energy self-sufficiency: put a solar panel on your roof, run your car on biodiesel, and you’re halfway there. But how easy is it for an entire town to become self-sufficient?

Words of wisdom for towns around the country to follow in order to prepare for peak oil and global warming.

Boulder, Co becomes the first official transition town in the U.S.

This article is about the high-speed rail currently being built that will connect every major city in CA and go from SF to LAX in 2 hrs and 40 min.