Energy news

Pioneering Swiss solar-powered plane rolled out

Technology / Energy

21 hours ago | 4.1 / 5 (7) | 0

Solar Impulse, the Swiss bid to make the first solar-powered flight around the world, rolled out its prototype on Friday at an airbase near Zurich and powered up the engines.

New 'smart' electrical meters raise privacy issues

Technology / Energy

Nov 06, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (10) | 11

The new "smart meters" utilities are installing in homes around the world to reduce energy use raise fresh privacy issues because of the wealth of information about consumer habits they reveal, experts said ...

Solar power generation around the clock

Technology / Energy

Nov 05, 2009 | 4.6 / 5 (21) | 14

(PhysOrg.com) -- A Californian company, SolarReserve, is developing a solar power system that can store seven hours' worth of solar energy by focusing mirrors onto millions of gallons of molten salt, allowing ...

New rechargeable zinc-air batteries coming soon

Technology / Energy

Oct 29, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (40) | 15

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new breed of rechargeable zinc-air batteries is soon to be available, and may replace lithium-ion batteries in cell phones, laptops and other consumer items. Lithium-ion batteries store ...

Zero-emission scooter to debut in Japan

Technology / Energy

Oct 29, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (7) | 3

A Japanese zero-emission "hybrid" scooter to be released next year runs 10 times as economically as a petrol engine bike and can be assisted by human pedal power, its maker said Thursday.

Funding A Greener Grid: How Obama plans to spend billions on modernizing the U.S. electrical network

Technology / Energy

Oct 29, 2009 | not rated yet | 1

President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday that his administration plans to spend $3.4 billion on producing a safer, more efficient electrical grid. Obama underscored the need to find clean forms of energ ...

Japanese car wins World Solar Challenge in Australia (w/ Video)

Technology / Energy

Oct 28, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (6) | 2

A Japanese sun-powered car won the World Solar Challenge on Wednesday after averaging speeds of more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) per hour in a four-day race through Australia's desert Outback.

Obama team: US needs bill to lead in clean energy

Technology / Energy

Oct 28, 2009 | 2.3 / 5 (3) | 0

(AP) -- The Obama administration warned on Tuesday that the U.S. could slip further behind China and other countries in clean energy development if Congress fails to pass climate legislation, as early signs ...

Toyota to release solar charger for electric vehicles

Technology / Energy

Oct 27, 2009 | 4.2 / 5 (25) | 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- Toyota is developing a solar charging station for electric cars and plug-in hybrids, making a green technology even greener. It has also designed a battery charger for mounting inside an electric ...

Obama unveils historic power grid reform

Technology / Energy

Oct 27, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (14) | 1

President Barack Obama Tuesday announced the largest modernization of the US electricity grid in history, in a 3.4-billion-dollar bid to launch a new era of renewable energy consumption.

Hybrid automaker Fisker to buy shuttered GM plant

Technology / Energy

Oct 27, 2009 | 4 / 5 (4) | 3

Budding US hybrid car maker Fisker Automotive will reopen a shuttered General Motors plant in Delaware to build fuel-efficient, plug-in cars, the White House announced Tuesday.

Plugging into an electric vehicle revolution

Technology / Energy

Oct 27, 2009 | 5 / 5 (1) | 0

A road trial of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which could one day end up in every Australian driveway, is underway. Over the next three months, staff from Victorian energy distributor SP AusNet ...

Charge your cell phone using light, courtesy SunCore

Technology / Energy

Oct 26, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (11) | 2

SunCore is a little known Irvine, Calif.-based company that's on the cusp of shipping some potentially revolutionary technology.

Japanese solar car leads race Down Under

Technology / Energy

Oct 26, 2009 | 3 / 5 (3) | 0

Japan's Tokai Challenger was on Monday leading a solar car race across the harsh Australian Outback, having covered about half of the 3,000 kilometre (1,860 mile) desert course, officials said.

Japanese automakers rev up efforts in hydrogen cars

Technology / Energy

Oct 25, 2009 | 4 / 5 (8) | 12

Imagine a car that can be refuelled in minutes but emits only water. Sounds like science fiction? In fact it already exists -- Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis has one. So does Honda president Takanobu Ito.

World solar car race begins in Australia

Technology / Energy

Oct 25, 2009 | 2.5 / 5 (2) | 0

A 3,000-kilometre (1,860-mile) solar car race across Australia's desert heartland began in the northern city of Darwin Sunday, organisers said.

Largest solar panel plant in US rises in Fla.

Technology / Energy

Oct 24, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (23) | 11

(AP) -- Greg Bove steps into his pickup truck and drives down a sandy path to where the future of Florida's renewable energy plans begin: Acres of open land filled with solar panels that will soon power thousands ...

Solar lantern lights up rural India's dark nights

Technology / Energy

Oct 23, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (9) | 1

For more than 100 Indian villages cut off from grid electricity, life no longer comes to an end after dark thanks to an innovative solar-powered lantern that offers hope to the nation's rural poor.