Floating Wind Farms Closer to Reality
With the data that NASA has collected with its QuikSCAT satellite, scientists are better able to plan the location of offshore wind farms. With no hills or structures to block the wind, the ocean has the potential to support many windpower installations, but the trick is in siting them.

Even though windpower is slightly less efficient than solar power, being able to take advantage of vast tracts of ocean surface with floating wind turbines could make up the difference. More …

Worldwatch Reports Growth in Renewable Energy Jobs
2.3 million people are employed in the renewable energy field worldwide, according to the Worldwatch Institute’s latest report. This number includes direct and indirect employment and is rising.

Countries with governments that give “consistent, clear support”, such as Germany and Spain, have the most jobs. This report also notes that as jobs in renewable energy fields have risen, jobs in fossil fuel industries have fallen. More …
Duckweed… Superhero?
It’s very small and grows very fast, but few would even give this pond weed a second look, if it wasn’t for a team of Rutgers University scientists who say it might just save the world. Not only can it be used for biomass; it also is good for bioremediation and carbon capture.

How can a simple flowering plant do all of the above and reduce coliform bacteria and mosquito populations too? More …
The Truth About Tar Sands Oil
There’s a debate going on in Canada about whether or not to extract more oil from the vast Alberta tar sands. With oil prices rising and demands for escaping foreign oil dependence growing, many in government and the public sphere are saying that it’s only a matter of time before the tar sands will be exploited.

Others, however, are calling the idea of getting oil from the sands one of the worst ecological blunders the world could make, because of the devastation and greenhouse gas emissions it would produce.
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New World Trade Center Will Be Powered by Fuel Cells
The NYPA announced that the new building will be the site of one of the world’s biggest fuel cell installation. The fuel cells, using equipment from UTC Power will cost $10.6 million.

In addition to on-site fuel cells, the building will receive clean power from offsite via transmission lines in an effort to showcase the greater energy security achieved by not depending on foreign oil. More …

Investments in Green Technologies Climb
While Europe and the Middle East outpace the rest of the world, investment in environmentally sustainable technology has now become commonplace for the movers and shakers of the financial world.

Total investments in clean technology rose 41% from 2005 levels and are poised to rise even higher. More …
Weather Puts a Damper on Biofuels Market
The recent stormy weather that brought flooding to America’s midwestern farms had a huge impact on corn, soy and other biofuel components. With the forecast indicating that this type of weather, possibly a result of global warming, is here to stay into the future, biofuels are looking less and less like a good idea.

Prominent experts on the environment and alternative energy are suggesting that we would be wise not to pin our hopes on alternative energy sources that are easily affected by the weather.
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Trash to Energy Comes to Ontario
Plasco Energy Group is set to build the first trash to energy plant in North America in Ontario. Impossible until now, Plasco’s low heat method of gasifying trash is the secret to its success in generating power.

While there have been other trash incinerators, none has used this method to generate more power than they consume. More …
New Wave Generator Idea Based on a Snake
The Anaconda, a project from the University of Southampton, may someday provide the solution to the problem of generating wave energy profitably and practically. It’s a long, thin enclosed tube with a turbine at one end.

How it produces energy is the fascinating subject of a video and an explanation that has to be seen to be believed. More …
BLM Reverses Moratorium on Solar Installations
Just days after it had announced that there would be no more permits for solar plants on public land, the Bureau of Land Management had a change of heart. This may have been because of the huge public outcry that arose around its decision.

With 125 major projects in the works, solar power companies weren’t about to just roll over and neither was the public. More …

Solar Tower Concept Heats Up Solar Power
Up to 200,000 homes could be powered by a huge solar tower that looks like a chimney, but doesn’t emit gases. The concept has been used already in Spain in a demonstration project that worked well on a much smaller scale, but blew over in a storm.

The new tower would be much taller, made of concrete and designed to last at least 50 years. While the idea isn’t new, the scale and design have been improved and updated to be more cost-effective and powerful. More …

Ford’s Fumes-To-Fuel Program Creates Power From Paint
Solving two problems with one solution, Ford Motor Company has announced that it will use the VOC’s that its autobody painting generates to run a fuel cell that will power its plant. The VOC’s, which are considered toxic, will be captured forever in beads that will burn in the fuel cell and create the power to run the plant.

This will result not only in a reduction of toxic substances, but also cut down on costs and greenhouse gas emissions from heating and lighting the factory. More …

New Mexico Solar Power Ramps Up In Big Way
The four biggest utility companies in NM are proposing to build the state’s largest solar power installation, now that the US government has done an about-face on their solar power moratorium.
The project would power up to 52,000 homes and use thermal energy to store the solar power for cloudy days. More …

Biofuels Fuel Food Shortages and Prices
According to the World Bank’s recent report, biofuels made from food crops are responsible for up to 75% of the food shortages worldwide. The report also claims that food prices have risen because of speculation over food crops as biofuel sources and because farmers are being encouraged to set aside land just for biofuel production.

The only bright spot in the biofuel sector may be algae as a biofuel source, along with using it for sequestering greenhouse gas emissions. More …

Flush For the Planet
Using gray water for flushing toilets, watering gardens and lawns may be an idea whose time has come. Saniflo makes a greywater pumping system that can use water from bathtubs, dishwashers and clothes washers to flush, irrigate and water.

While many localities have laws against gray water use, others are introducing legislation to allow it. More …

Test Run For Solar Car
Marcelo De Luz from Toronto is taking a car for a test drive. This is not your usual 15 minute drive down to the next highway exit though. Mr De Luz is driving a solar-powered car from Buffalo, New York to Inuvik, which is in Canada’s Northwest Territory.

“No fair,” you say, “The sun is out for 24 hours in Inuvik at this time of year, so of course the solar car will have no problem.” Well, the sun DOES shine all day and night, but the angle of it is so low on the horizon that the car’s solar cells will have a hard time using them to repower, so it’s a true test. More …

New Zealand Leads the Way in Curbing Global Warming
New Zealand may soon be the first country in the world with an emission trading plan that covers all greenhouse gases and all sections of greenhouse gas generators.
It’s goals are ambitious: carbon neutral in the electricity sector by 2025 and in transportation by 2045. The plan also calls for much more reforestation in an industrialized country that is unique, in that almost half of its emissions come from the agricultural sector. More …

Green Motor Oil is Not an Oxymoron
Hard as it is to believe, there is now a motor oil that is completely biodegradable - with the help of a small dose of additive, that is. Certified by The American Petroleum Institute, the G-Oil is made from tallow, animal fat, and exceeds the API’s standards for use in vehicles.

When you’re ready to change your oil, you simply add the G-Disposoil additive to it and it turns into soil. More …

How Do You Recycle a  Wind Turbine?
Aeronautica, a Massachusetts company, has a plan for recycling them, starting with some that are being retired from California wind farms. While these turbines are still perfectly usable, they’re being replaced by bigger and more technically refined turbines, so they’re no longer suitable for large wind farms.

But that doesn’t mean that they can’t still provide power for smaller installations, which is where Aeronautica comes in. More …

Mega Solar Project for Japanese City
Sakai, Japan is embarking on a very ambitious project: a 28,000KW capacity solar power generation station that will reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 10,000 tons annually.

The first facility will be installed on top of a landfill and the second will be on top of the Sharp Company’s building, so that it can run Sharp’s manufacturing installation. Sharp and Kansai Electric Power will be working with the city on the project. More …