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FreeEnergyNews.com (http://freeenergynews.com/index.html) : Friday, May 16, 2008 Energy News Wiki Editing on this page is limited to syosops. To prepare news bullets for this page, go to News:Inbox. Community-Built 'Free Energy' News Submit (http://pureenergysystems.com/submit/index5.html) renewable energy technology break-through developments from around the world. News bullets are archived by topic in our extensive energy directory. Advisory input provided by the New Energy Congress, who reviews the best technologies for feature in the Top 100 Energy Technologies listing.

2008

May

May 16, 2008

• Featured:
  Nuclear > Thorium Reactors > Thorium Power Pack Alternative for Nuclear Energy - Bob Dratch of White Whale Productions, LLC proposes using Thorium as a clean, non-polluting, non-nuclear-weapons-creation source and replacement for Uranium in power reactors. (PESWiki) (Thanks Sepp Hasslberger)
  

• Ocean Current > BIOWAVE: Biomimicry Solution for Ocean Power (http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/05/15/biowave-biomimicry-solution-for-ocean-power/) - BioPower Systems (http://www.biopowersystems.com/) is currently testing a bioWAVE™ prototype off the coast of Tasmania. A prototype unit of 250kw will inform the company on how to best deploy a larger scale system which in turn is expected to provide power to Flinders and King islands, and in the future, if successful, the entire state of Victoria, home of the city of Melbourne. Undersea Windfarm video (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080501-wave-video-ap.html) (Inhabitat; May 15, 2008) (Thanks RLP)
  

• Thin Film Solar > Nanostructures Will Raise Thin-Film Solar Cell Efficiency (http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/540827/?sc=dwhp) - Thanks to nanostructures that scatter and channel light, University of California, San Diego electrical engineers are working toward thin-film “single junction” solar cells with the potential for nearly 45 percent sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiencies. (NewsWise; May 15, 2008)
  

• Hydrogen Production > Hydrogen Fuel from Formic Acid (http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20778/?nlid=1075&a=f) - Using formic acid to make hydrogen has some drawbacks. If you use all the hydrogen in a kilogram of methanol, you get 4.19 kilowatt-hours of energy, while the hydrogen in a kilogram of formic acid gives 1.45 kilowatt-hours. Tekion (http://www.tekion.com/), based in Burnaby, Canada, is working with Germany-based chemical giant BASF, the largest producer of formic acid, to commercialize a fuel cell that uses formic acid directly. (MIT Technology Review; May 15, 2008)
  

May 15, 2008

• Featured:
  Solar Videos - Compilation of videos related to Solar technology, including collectors, heaters, photovoltaics, flight, etc. (Thanks RLP)
  

• Biofuels > Biofuel Comparison Chart: The "Good," the Bad and the (Really) Ugly (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/05/biofuel-comparison-chart.php) - The article implies that biofuels can be part of the solution if their production is cost/energy-efficient and doesn't displace food crops or native habitats. (Treehugger; May 10, 2008)
  

• Recycling > The Promise and Pitfalls of E-Waste Takeback (http://www.greenercomputing.com/feature/2008/05/14/the-promise-and-pitfalls-e-waste-takeback) - The challenges of funding, developing and ingraining extended producer responsibility (EPR) into a corporate structure are daunting. And in the U.S. especially, states have addressed a failure to map an e-waste solution on the federal level with a patchwork of varying laws, making the process all the more difficult. (Greener Computing; May 14, 2008)
  

• Biomass > PNNL & WSU Open Biomass Research Lab (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=52446) - At the Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL), WSU and PNNL plan to work together to develop new solutions to commercialize new technology and provide students with a hands-on educational experience. The new US $24.8 million facility is located on the WSU Tri-Cities campus in Richland, WA. (Renewable Energy World; May 12, 2008)
  

May 14, 2008

• Featured / Top 100:
  Thermal Electric > Fellows' Thermoacoustic Cycle (TAC) Generator - Texas inventor's technology uses heat to amplify acoustic waves (sound waves) in a high pressure gas, which drive a linear generator and produce electric power. The system can allegedly be built at a very low cost. (PESWiki)
  

• Brown's Gas > Brown's Gas in Political Blog (http://www.opednews.com/articles/life_a_jibbguy_080415_brown_s_gas__28_22hho_22_29_.htm) - There is no need for HHO to be used only as a mileage booster, or even only as a single-fuel for vehicle. It could be used to power home generators feeding banks of batteries and inverters (perhaps along with Wind and Solar), allowing the homeowner to "move off the grid" and gain energy independence. (OEN; April 18, 2008)
  

• Flight > Solar Aircraft Begins Virtual Flight Today – Check It Out Live (http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/05/in-a-world-depe.html) - Solar Impulse hopes to send its HB-SIA prototype on its first test flight next year, and in preparation is conducting a virtual flight in its new cockpit simulator. The cool part is that they've wired the simulator up (http://www.solarimpulsevirtualflight.com/) with webcams so people can watch the test live. (Thanks Jim Dunn)
  

• Biofuels > Sweet sorghum, clean miracle crop for feed and fuel (http://www.physorg.com/news129876999.html) - The hardy sweet sorghum plant could be the miracle crop that provides cheap animal feed and fuel without straining the world's food supply or harming the environment, said scientists working on a pilot farming project in India. (Physorg; May 13, 2008)
  

May 13, 2008

• Featured:
  Ethanol > Make Ethanol in Your Own Backyard - E-Fuel Corporation's EFuel100 MicroFueler™ is the world's first portable ethanol micro-refinery system. It replaces the traditional ethanol reflux column system with a solid state distillation technology, making it possible for homeowners and small businesses to safely and cost-effectively create their own fuel, on-site. Available 4th Quarter, 2008. (PESWiki; May 12) (Thanks RLP)
  

• How to Make Super-Strong, Super-Flexible Metals (http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/multimedia/2008/05/gallery_glass_metal) - Researchers at Caltech (http://mr.caltech.edu/media/Press_Releases/PR13110.html) are pioneering new ways to make superstrong metals that are twice as tough as titanium, and twice as elastic. These "metallic glass" composites are so strong a 3mm rod can support a 2-ton truck and they bend instead of snapping like most other metals of their kind, which are called "glass metals." (Wired; May 12, 2008) (Thanks RLP)
  • Comment: There is a company, Liquid Metal (http://www.liquidmetal.com/), which already has these types of alloys in the market. They have been around for years. (Daniel Bowers)
    

• Communities > Building the Zero-Emissions City (http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20740/?nlid=1058&a=f) - Recently, in the harsh desert climate of Abu Dhabi, construction started on a city that will house 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses but use extremely little energy, and what it does use will come from renewable sources. (MIT Technology Review; May 08, 2008)
  

• BioElectricity > Small bioelectricity plants dirtier than large ones, says study (http://www.physorg.com/news129907028.html) - Small-scale community based bio-power plants produce higher levels of emissions per unit of electrical output than large facilities, according to new research presented at a major sustainable energy conference today (Physorg; May 13, 2008)
  

May 12, 2008

• Featured:
  Suppression > Premature Greed Syndrome as Detrimental as Men in Black (http://pesn.com/2008/05/12/9500479_Premature_Greed/) - The problem with some inventors is not only are they years ahead in their visioning of the technology, but they are also years ahead in expectation of rewards for their efforts. (PESN; May 12, 2008)
  

• Solar PV > Lumeta Makes Peel-and-Stick Solar Panel Installations a Breeze (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/05/lumeta-stick-peel.php) - DRI (http://www.dricompanies.com/LumetaS.aspx) Solar rooftop installations just got a lot easier: Lumeta, a subsidiary of construction heavyweight DRI, has developed a solar panel sticker -- the Power-Ply 380. The company says its convenient peel-and-stick solar technology allows it to be installed almost twice as fast as regular rack-mounted pane. (YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJrD0VHaMp0)) (Treehugger; May 11, 2008)
  

• Biofuels > Grease Bandits Strike As Biofuel Demand Rises (http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0506/p01s03-usgn.html) - Grease is a traded commodity like gold or pork bellies, and its price has tripled in the past two years – leading to increased theft. The reason: Grease can be used to make bio-diesel and has seen the same price spike as corn and other biofuel inputs. (Christian Science Monitor; May 6, 2008)
  

• Communities > South Korean Solar System Community on Jeju Island a Brilliant Idea (http://ecoworldly.com/2008/05/09/south-korean-solar-system-community-on-jeju-island-a-brilliant-idea/) - On the roof of each of the 40 houses in Donggwang lies a large beds of solar panels. Even the small, local elementary school runs on free electric energy from the sun. The photovoltaic panels produce enough energy to power the entire area. Amidst cattle and fields, Donggwang is a state-of-the-art renewable energy village. (EcoWorld; May 9, 2008)
  

May 11, 2008

• Featured: Biomass / Alternative Fuels / Non-Fossil Oil / Plastic >
  Bacteria Make Oil from Biomass - A Georgia company has announced that they have devised a simple, natural way to convert anything that grows out of the Earth into oil. The inventor's formula is simple. Basically, biomass (such as grass clippings or wood chips) plus the right bacteria equals hydrocarbons, which make not just fuel but plastics and other petroleum products. (PESWiki; May 10, 2008)
  

• Batteries / EV > Plug-in Hybrids >
  'Plugless' Plug-In Hybrid Car (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/mira-plug-in-hybrid-car-plugless.php) - A British automotive design, development and certification consultancy, has come up with removable battery packs that can be swapped for full batteries that have been charged from the grid. The prototype achieve 53 mpg (4.4 L/100km), with a charge time of 30 minutes, and range of 15 miles (25 kilometers) in electric-only mode. (TreeHugger; Apr. 24, 2008)

• Batteries / EV > Plug-in Hybrids >
  Renault seen investing up to $1 bln in electric car (http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48297/story.htm) - The head of an Israeli-backed electric car project estimated on Sunday that its partner, the Renault-Nissan alliance, would likely invest $500 million to $1 billion in the swappable-battery electric cars. (Reuters; May 12, 2008)

May 10, 2008

• Featured:
  UFOs / Plasma > Magnetohydrodynamics:Plasma-Powered Flying Saucers - With a span of less than 15 centimetres, Subrata Roy's aircraft qualifies as a micro air vehicle (MAV), but it has an unconventional design to say the least. It is a saucer shape covered with electrodes that ionise air to create a plasma. (PESWiki; May 10, 2008)
  

• Fuel Efficiency > Model of Efficiency (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/effi-flash.html) - PBS/Nova has a "Car of the Future (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/car/)" feature addressing the question, Why haven't cars improved more in fuel efficiency over the decades? View the brief 5-part Nova video with Amory Lovins and Rocky Mountains Institutes' new hyper car presentation. (Thanks Wesleybruce)
  

• Trends / Investment > Only Greentech Can Save U.S. Economy, Says Über-Investor (http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/05/only-greentech.html) - Ultra-rich American, Michael Novogratz, president of the Fortress Investment Group, said we need another wealth-generating economic bubble. And that, must come -- can only come -- from new energy sources and green technology. (Wired; May 09, 2008)(Thanks Tedd St. Rain)
  

Continuation of News from May, 2008 >>

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