Green Energy News - 8/3/08
Ecotricity Builds Wind Turbines for Lotus Auto Maker
Construction will soon start on three wind turbines at the Lotus car company’s factory in Hethel, England. Ecotricity received approval for the project which will power the entire auto plant.
Better yet, there will be excess electricity available - enough to power about 1,000 nearby homes. And even better, the turbines will be pollution-free. More …
A New Alternative to Corn Ethanol Shows Promise
Miscanthus, a giant perennial grass, might be one answer to the food vs fuel question. While ethanol is a good idea for cutting greenhouse gases, its production often reduces food crops and takes valuable cropland away from other uses.
Now, scientists are conducting a field trial to prove their theory that Miscanthus could change that by offsetting 20% of the gas we use to fuel cars while using only 9.3% of precious agricultural land. More …
Entrepeneur Bypasses Big Automakers With Affordable Electric Car
Philadelphia steel magnate Barry D. Bernsten is tired of waiting for GM, Ford or one of the other major automakers to come up with an electric car that most people could afford. So, he’s come up with a way to retrofit 4,000 cars with batteries and electric motors and sell them for around $15,000.
While the cars will be low-speed, low-range EVs, Bernsten says that he’ll be introducing a highway model with a longer range sometime next year. More …
Solar Powered Tour Spreads the Word on Solar Power
Louis Palmer, a Swiss schoolteacher, fervently believes that alternative energy, especially solar power, can be power the world and stop global warming. To prove it, he’s bringing his message around the world on a 55,000 km tour with his “solar taxi”.
His two seater tows a large trailer filled with solar panels and he boasts that he hasn’t paid a cent for gasoline even after driving two-thirds of the way around the world! More …
Billionaire Investor Backs Wind Energy In a Big Way
Philip Anschutz, the Colorado billionaire, is adding to his conventional investments in oil and gas with wind energy. He’s planning to construct a 100,000 acre wind farm in Wyoming to bring 2,000 MW of energy 900 miles to California, Nevada and Arizona.
The ambitious project will be the first foray into alternative energy for Anschutz, who feels that “it’s just a natural thing for a broad-based energy company…to be invested in alternative sources of clean energy”.