Energy news

Flax and yellow flowers can produce bioethanol

Technology / Energy

6 hours ago | 1 / 5 (1) | 0

Surplus biomass from the production of flax shives, and generated from Brassica carinata, a yellow-flowered plant related to those which engulf fields in spring, can be used to produce bioethanol. This has be ...

Pulling the plug on hybrid myths

Technology / Energy

Nov 19, 2009 | 3.8 / 5 (12) | 16

(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether you call them myths, urban legends, fables or old wives' tales, there's a lot of misinformation out there about plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. These vehicles, abbreviated PHEVs, ...

Battery Research Aims To Store Renewable Energy

Technology / Energy

Nov 19, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (11) | 5

The biggest chemical battery in the United States is located near Interstate 90 in the small town of Luverne, Minn. The 80 ton device -- the size of two tractor-trailers stacked on top of each other -- stores ...

Advanced nuclear fuel sets global performance record

Technology / Energy

Nov 17, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (18) | 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Idaho National Laboratory scientists have set a new world record with next-generation particle fuel for use in high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).

Alternative fuel 'can power 15% of flights by 2020'

Technology / Energy

Nov 17, 2009 | 1 / 5 (2) | 0

Alternative fuels could power 15 percent of global air traffic by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030, European aircraft-maker Airbus said at the Dubai Airshow on Tuesday.

Researchers customizing electric cars for cost-effective urban commuting

Technology / Energy

Nov 16, 2009 | 3.3 / 5 (7) | 1

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have converted a 2001 Scion xB into an electric commuter vehicle that will serve as a test bed for a new community-based approach to electric vehicle design, ...

Taiwan, China may develop electric cars together

Technology / Energy

Nov 16, 2009 | 5 / 5 (2) | 0

Taiwan and China are looking into developing electric cars together and will hold a conference here next week to seek areas where they can cooperate, a Taipei official said Monday.

New funding will stimulate alternative energy research

Technology / Energy

Nov 16, 2009 | not rated yet | 0

Initiatives to provide geothermal heating or power at the Pueblo of Jemez and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology campus are receiving Los Alamos National Laboratory assistance, thanks to recent American Reinvestment ...

Electric cars need government support: Nissan-Renault CEO

Technology / Energy

Nov 12, 2009 | 2.3 / 5 (3) | 1

Electric cars could help China and other countries reduce their dependency on oil but the government must provide incentive to make the shift, Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said Thursday.

Hydrogen milestone moves energy independence one step forward

Technology / Energy

Nov 10, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (12) | 7

(PhysOrg.com) -- Big things often come in small packages. That's certainly the case with the potential created by recent successes in hydrogen research at Idaho National Laboratory.

Switching Gears to Greener Transportation

Technology / Energy

Nov 10, 2009 | 3.5 / 5 (4) | 3

Automakers around the world continue to slowly infuse their cars and trucks with greener, more efficient technology, but researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute contend that technology alone will not ...

Solar Cells with LEDs Provide Inexpensive Lighting

Technology / Energy

Nov 09, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (17) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Of the 1.5 billion people in developing countries who do not have electricity, many rely on kerosene lamps for light after the sun goes down. But now, researchers from Denmark have designed ...

Tesla Roadster Goes 313 Miles on a Single Charge

Technology / Energy

Nov 09, 2009 | 4.4 / 5 (14) | 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tesla is becoming synonymous with high performance electric cars. Indeed, the Tesla car company has been making efforts to create a brand of sports car that runs on electricity, and does so ...

Commercialization of new solar technology to boost solar efficiency

Technology / Energy

Nov 09, 2009 | 3.9 / 5 (8) | 1

A pioneer in solar power in the 1990s before it became "sexy," University of Houston Professor Alex Freundlich recently entered into a collaborative research agreement with U.K.-based start-up QuantaSol for the development ...

Eco-friendly building techniques don't have to significantly raise construction costs

Technology / Energy

Nov 09, 2009 | 4.5 / 5 (2) | 2

Home builder Lance Schmidt hears it all the time: Green building costs more. But he and his colleagues are out to prove otherwise.

Japan eyes solar station in space as new energy source

Technology / Energy

Nov 08, 2009 | 4.8 / 5 (23) | 32

It may sound like a sci-fi vision, but Japan's space agency is dead serious: by 2030 it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves.

New 'smart' electrical meters raise privacy issues

Technology / Energy

Nov 06, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (11) | 12

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 ...

Pioneering Swiss solar-powered plane rolled out

Technology / Energy

Nov 06, 2009 | 4.3 / 5 (8) | 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.