Juno Beach FL (SPX) Aug 01, 2007 - With growing support for clean and renewable wind energy and the need for new sources of power generation to meet increasing demand, FPL Energy, a subsidiary of FPL Group, and the U.S. leader in wind energy development and operations, announced an aggressive goal to add between 8,000 and 10,000 megawatts of new wind to its portfolio by the end of 2012.
Argonne IL (SPX) Aug 01, 2007 - In recent years, Americans have been intrigued by the promise of hydrogen-powered vehicles. But experts have judged that several technology problems must be resolved before they are more than a novelty. Recently, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have used their insights into nanomaterials to create bendy hydrogen sensors, which are at the heart of hydrogen fuel cells used in hydrogen vehicles.
San Diego (SPX) Aug 01, 2007 - Titan Energy Worldwide has announced that its subsidiary, Titan Energy Development, Inc., delivered a Sentry 5000 mobile utility unit to be utilized in a Department of Defense (DoD) program awarded to NextEnergy, called the Advanced Mobile MicroGrid system. The project, seeded with a Department of Defense grant, will allow government agencies and other entities to easily deploy mobile power control and conditioning assets capable of managing up to 1.5 MW of power to any location in the world within 48 hours. Other participants in this program include the (NAC) National Automotive Center, which is part of (TARDEC) the Tank/Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.
Washington (SPX) Jul 31, 2007 - A bipartisan group of congressional environmental champions joined conservation groups have called for clean energy provisions as part of the Congressional energy package that will be sent to the President. Reps. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), Paul Hodes (D-NH), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Todd Platts (R-PA), Mark Udall (D-CO) and Tom Udall (D-NM) said they will work to ensure that a strong 35 mile per gallon fuel economy standard and renewable electricity standard are included in the final bill.
Menlo Park CA (SPX) Jul 31, 2007 - While only two percent of the public indicates that energy is the most important problem facing the U.S. today, the results of a new MIT study based on data from Knowledge Networks offer a compelling snapshot of the public's declining satisfaction with oil for energy, as well as an openness toward alternative energy sources. Study findings highlight viewpoints on coal, dams, natural gas, nuclear power, oil, solar and wind.
Vancouver, Canada (SPX) Jul 30, 2007 - The University of South Florida, in partnership with Progress Energy Florida, has purchased two 5kW x 4hr VRB Energy Storage Systems from VRB Power Systems tha will be integrated with a solar project on the St. Petersburg campus of the University of South Florida. This project is aimed at evaluating the storage of intermittent solar photovoltaic energy and utilizing that energy at a time of maximum benefit to the customer and utility power systems.
Dakar (AFP) Jul 29, 2007 - Faced with mounting energy crises, many African nations in recent years have zealously launched projects to produce cheaper biofuels, but few have gained steam. One fervent advocate of biofuels, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, said during a trip to Brazil, a leading ethanol supplier, that biofuels would set in motion a new revolution in Africa. Wade boasted that the African continent was set to be a giant producer of biofuels.
Paris (AFP) Jul 29, 2007 - Biofuels, destined to partially offset a coming oil shortage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, will require much more farm land, forcing the European Union to cultivate fields that have lain fallow. The European Union wants biofuels to account for 10 percent of the total of motor fuels in 2020, against an estimated 1.6 percent last year. There are two main kinds of biofuels: ethanols, sometimes called biopetrol and which are reserved for petrol-fueled engines; and biodiesels, used in diesel motors.
Hluthi (AFP) Swaziland, July 29, 2007 - Swaziland, one of Africa's poorest and most drought-hit countries, is a test ground for a biofuel crop which its champions believe can transform the farming sector and generate vital revenue. I do not use the word 'life-changing' lightly but I was amazed when I first saw this plant, said pop star-turned activist Bob Geldof of the giant jatropha plants that are being cultivated on a farm in southern Swaziland.
University Park PA (SPX) Jul 29, 2007 - No currently known bacteria that allow termites and cows to digest cellulose, can power a microbial fuel cell and those bacteria that can produce electrical current cannot eat cellulose. But careful pairing of bacteria can create a fuel cell that consumes cellulose and produces electricity, according to a team of Penn State researchers. We have gotten microbial fuel cells to work with all kinds of biodegradable substances including glucose, wastewater and other organic wastes, says John M. Regan, assistant professor of environmental engineering. But, cellulose is tricky. There is no known microbe that can degrade cellulose and reduce the anode.
Beijing (AFP) Jul 28, 2007 - China has announced plans to double spending on improving energy efficiency and slashing pollution, in an effort to combat its dismal environmental record. The government will spend an extra 10 billion yuan (1.33 billion US dollars) on reducing energy use and cutting pollution, according to a statement from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the state body responsible for economic planning.
Rome (RIA Novosti) Jul 27, 2007 - Italy, Turkey, and Greece have signed an agreement to build a pipeline to bring natural gas from the Caspian and the Middle East to European markets, Italy's Edison gas company said Thursday. The gas pipeline will go into operation in 2012. It will help diversify gas supply sources, while promoting competition, a company spokesman said, adding that it is of strategic importance.
Boston MA (SPX) Jul 27, 2007 - In an advance that could help curb global demand for oil, MIT researchers have demonstrated how ordinary spark-ignition automobile engines can, under certain driving conditions, move into a spark-free operating mode that is more fuel-efficient and just as clean. The mode-switching capability could appear in production models within a few years, improving fuel economy by several miles per gallon in millions of new cars each year. Over time, that change could cut oil demand in the United States alone by a million barrels a day. Currently, the U.S. consumes more than 20 million barrels of oil a day.
Los Angeles (AFP) Jul 27, 2007 - Arnold Schwarzenegger, who once flexed his muscles as Mr. Universe and as an action-film hero, turns 60 Monday as the respected and popular governor of the most-populous US state. The governator of California, who played the robotic killing machine in the Terminator, has become a charismatic leader whose work against global warming has drawn the interest of world dignitaries.
Moscow (UPI) Jul 26, 2007 - In order to legally claim that Russia's economic zone in the Arctic extends far beyond the 200 mile zone, it is necessary to present viable scientific evidence showing that the Arctic Ocean's sea shelf to the north of Russian shores is a continuation of the Siberian continental platform. In 2001 Russia submitted documents to the U.N. commission on the limits of the continental shelf seeking to push Russia's maritime borders beyond the 200 mile zone. It was rejected.
Brussels (AFP) Jul 26, 2007 - The European Union gave initial backing Thursday to a plan to drop anti-dumping duties on energy saving Chinese-made light bulbs despite a German push for their renewal, a European Commission spokesman said. During talks in Brussels, a majority of trade experts from the EU's 27 members approved a Commission proposal to dump the six-year-old duties, which run as high as 60 percent and expire in mid October if not renewed.
