Unfill The Land Fill

The news from Iceland has been all about its economic meltdown, but there’s other seismic activity going on there, too. Will Iceland roll with hydrogen vehicles or, as it looks increasingly likely, plug-in battery ones?

Despite the delivery, during the Copenhagen climate talks, of 10 new Ford Focus FCV fuel-cell vehicles into the tiny country of just 300,000 people (adding to a small fleet of 10 hydrogen-burning Priuses), it’s still likely that Iceland will have an EV infrastructure before there’s extensive fuel cell operations. (Photo: Ford.)

Iceland is still on the ropes financially, and that complicates the purchase of any high-tech cars in what is otherwise the greenest country on earth (according to the Yale/Columbia Environmental Performance Index). After all, more than 80 percent of Iceland’s energy use is from ultra-clean domestic sources, including geothermal and hydro.

Iceland already produces far more electricity than its small use (which explains the presence of those current-heavy aluminum smelters). It could easily produce hydrogen in bulk, too. So which way will it go?

It’s official: I’ve become my grandmother. I realized it the other morning when I opened the door to our freezer.

That icy vault was packed to the brim. But — in the finest tradition of my Grandma Yeager — it wasn’t filled so much with leftovers, like you’d find in most household freezers. You see, my Grams had a few deep frozen secrets. She knew about weird stuff; weird stuff you can deep-six in the freezer and maybe save some money in the process.

* Candles: Keep your wax candles in the freezer and they’ll burn longer. It’s especially good for slim table tapers that normally burn very fast.

* Batteries: A number of studies have shown that storing batteries in the freezer helps them retain their charge longer. This is less true for alkaline batteries (freezing extends their shelf life by only about 5%) than it is for NiMH and Nicad batteries often used in electronics. Keeping NiMH batteries in the freezer can boost battery life by 90%.

* Plant Seeds: Many (but not all) types of plant seeds will keep longer and germinate more successfully when stored in the freezer. Consult a copy of Seed Storage of Horticultural Crops, by S.D. Doijode, for more than you’d ever want to know about this fascinating topic. Many of the planet’s most important seeds are being stored in the chilly “doomsday” seed vault in Norway.

* Cheap Booze: In the interest of full disclosure, my Grams was a teetotaler. Me, I need an attitude adjustment from time to time, and I’ve found that storing cheap booze — not just vodka, but all types of distilled spirits — in the freezer makes it taste smoother (and more expensive).

* Wine Cubes: Speaking of keeping alcohol in the freezer, when you have a little leftover wine from dinner, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. “Wine cubes” are perfect to use in making stock and other cooking.

* Plastic Soda Bottles Filled with Water: Grandma knew that keeping her freezer chockfull helped to insulate it and perform better, and kept things cold longer if the electricity failed. I like to fill empty plastic soda bottles nearly full with water, and put them in the freezer to take up any vacant space. Plus they make convenient “drip-less ice cubes” to use instead of real ice cubes in my ice chest.

Eco Factor: Process to produce energy using artificial photosynthesis.

After receiving $400 million in funding, ARPA-E’s first conference witnessed MIT chemist Dan Nocera proving that artificial photosynthesis could power an entire household using just sunlight and a bottle of water. Nocera has developed a special catalyst that splits water into its constituents that is hydrogen and oxygen, which can provide enough energy to run a house.

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Artificial photosynthetic process could run your house on a bottle of water

While the focus continues to be on expanding means and methods for generating electricity from renewable sources, the limits of the existing grid to handle that generated power and distribute it to where it is needed are beginning to show.

Last weekend in Texas, wind power reached a record high point of 6,242 MW represented 22% of demand. That’s fantastic news, and we love to see that kind of records being broken. However, utility officials were forced to curtail wind power generation “because the supply of electricity outstripped the capacity of lines to move the power to urban areas such as Dallas-Fort Worth.”

Production needs to continue to increase. But this points out what may become a more frequent problem, and dealing with the grid cannot be forgotten either.

image: CC 2.0/ roxannejomitchell

Energy savings of 99% over previous methods probably sound like snake oil. But some math geeks have been able to find a way so that computers can use only 1% of the energy (and the time) necessary for some tasks.

IBM has announced a new data-processing algorithm that enables large sets of data to be processed in a fraction of the time, and with only a fraction of the electricity, as was previously needed. Supercomputer testing of the algorithm showed that the process speeded the calculations and reduced the power consumption by two orders of magnitude.

“The new method was tested on the fourth largest supercomputer in the world and what would normally have taken a day, was crunched in 20 minutes. In terms of energy savings, the analysis required 700 kilowatt-hours total, compared with 52800 kilowatt-hours total.”

Not only does this mean that far less electricity is needed for data-intensive operations, but also more work will be able to be scheduled onto the same number of machines. And while the demonstration was carried out on a powerful supercomputer, the intent of the research was to make intensive data-processing activities more readily available and accessible to scientists who do not have supercomputers.

via: Slashdot

image: IBM press release

Researchers at the University of Michigan have unveiled their latest breakthrough:  a tiny solar power system that contains a processor, battery and solar cells all in 9 cubic millimeters!

The miniature system measures 2.5 by 3.5 by 1 millimeters — 1,000 times smaller than any comparable commercial system.  It’s extremely energy efficient and the scientists say that it could almost operate perpetually if the battery didn’t have to be replaced after many years.

The system uses an ARM processor, a popular, widely-used processor which will make commercial adoption of this technology much easier.

The system could be remodeled to generate power from movement or heat instead of light, making it fit for a variety of uses.  Like the small, flexible kinetic-energy harvester we profiled a last month, the scientists also see this device serving as a power source for medical implants like pacemakers.  Other possibilities include powering environmental sensors that track air and water quality and motion sensors for buildings, homes and bridges.

The good news is that the researchers are already working on commercially developing the system.  With a host of possible applications, who knows where this itty bitty power generator might end up.

via University of Michigan

Sweden’s energy minister, Maud Olofsson, announced yesterday that the country would install 2,000 wind turbines over the next decade that would add to 10 terawatt hours of clean energy per year.

The country is also aiming to have 50 percent of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2020.  To reach that goal, Sweden will be adding another 15 TWh of renewable energy from sources like solar power and biofuels in addition to the wind power.

Sweden already gets 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources, mainly hydroelectricity plants, so the 50 percent mark will not be impossible for them to reach.

via AP

As the demand for clean energy is on a rise, inventors all over the globe are working on systems that generate energy using natural resources. While solar and wind energy seem to dominate the field, there is no dearth of green minds that are figuring out systems which make use of living entities to do the needful. From human energy to tree power, research has begun to convert nature into a living battery to power the future. Check out the slideshow after the jump that will take you to a journey of how energy is being generated from different forms of life.

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The future ahead: Energy from life forms [Slideshow]

Bourne Energy has created a portable hydroelectric generator that weighs less than 30 pounds and can be worn like a backpack.

The appropriately-called Backpack Power Plant is capable of generating 500 watts and can quietly produce electricity from a stream four feet or deeper.  To install the generator, the user digs a trench on either side of the stream or river for two lightweight anchors.  A rope connects the anchors to the generator, keeping it afloat through tension.

It performs best at flow speeds of 2.3 meters per second, but can work at a variety of speeds.  It produces no heat or exhaust emissions.

Bourne has designed a more-powerful and lighter version for military use in remote locations.  The civilian version will sell for $3,000 and could be used in developing countries or by any hydroelectricity enthusiast.

via Wired Science

Google announced last year that they were working on new technology that would make solar thermal energy cheaper than coal.  Just a few months later, they have a prototype and expect a product to be ready in as little as a year.

Google’s energy czar, Bill Weihl, said the company is focusing on redesigning the mirrors, using alternative materials on the reflective surface and the substrate on which the mirror is mounted.  The new technology could halve the cost of building a solar thermal plant and bring the cost of the electricity down to 5 cents/kWh or less.

The prototype is being internally tested before more rigorous external testing, but two solar companies, BrightSource and eSolar, are already interested in the technology.  Google is a major investor in both companies and has said if the prototype works, the companies would use the technology.

via Reuters