Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Alternative Energy News Roundup

A few articles of interest this AM.

“One Hurricane Away” From the End of Cheap Oil
In New Orleans yesterday, he told a crowd that the United States is just “one hurricane away from energy scarcity,” according to the Times-Picayune.

OK, nevermind the multi-year reserves we have in case of an emergency. Or the fact that a good portion of our oil comes in from Canada, who has been building more pipelines. The fact that technology is making more oil readily available without necessarily placing a huge debt burden for the companies to do so. For now I will have to label this FUD. We are one big hurricane away from Wall Street Investors sending our oil sky high, no matter what the reality might pan out to be in the long run.

Ohio Proves to be Ideal Location for Advancements in Fuel Cell Industry
Ohio's supportive business environment and significant government initiatives are helping companies research, develop and commercialize cutting-edge technology in the fuel cell industry, according to the Ohio Business Development Coalition (OBDC), the nonprofit organization that markets the state for capital investment. Through the help of programs such as the Third Frontier Program, Ohio is an ideal location for companies dedicated to delivering fuel alternatives to the world.

Yup Ohio saying that Ohio is an ideal place. I would have been more surprised if they had picked another state. ;p

Sony Makes Sugar-Powered Batteries
Sony, one of the world’s largest battery makers, developed a battery that generates electricity from carbohydrates (sugar). The device was developed based on the same power generation principles found in living organisms. Test batteries showed the ability to produce 50 milliwatts - currently the world's highest level of power production for passive-type bio batteries (a system in which reactive substances such as glucose and oxygen are absorbed into electrodes through a process of natural diffusion). By combining 4 battery units, the supplied power is sufficient to operate a typical MP3 player or cell phone.

It is all fine and well until you end up stranded somewhere and then eat your batteries. Then what are you going to listen to?

World's largest solar power plant launched in Spain
The facility, called Planta Solar de Salamanca, consists of 70,000 modules on a site of 36 hectares. It produces 13.8 MW of energy, enough to meet the needs of 5,000 houses. The company plans to gradually increase the output to 25 MW.

It is a fact that solar technology continues to improve. Pretty soon this place will be on the small side of things. Right now any little help the people and the environment can get is a good thing. I would love to see a huge array up in the Artic so that when the "new" islands are occupied, they will have access to renewable energy from the get go.

Ministry of Industry to build 250,000 solar boilers- Iraq
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry announced that the Iraqi Prime Minister has agreed to assign the ministry to manufacture 250,000 solar boilers to use instead of electrical boilers, IDP reported.

You know things are bad when oil rich nations HAVE to embrace things like this. ;p Seriously, they are still having power generation issues and the less that the people have to rely on bad infrastructure, the better.


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