Alternative Energy Blog

Archived Blog Entries: December 1- 31

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Although Hydrogen fuel cells hold much promise, there are many environmental, economic and logistical hurdles to overcome before Fuel Cell Vehicles ever make it to our neighborhood dealerships.

NewScientist.com has an article on flexible solar cells. There seems to be a good deal of research going into the field of small, lightweight solar cells. (See December 14 blog entry below for more)

Friday, December 17, 2004

Newsweek has an article on the direction Hybrids are taking: more power. While MPG is improved, most of the power from the electric motor will go toward improved performance and not to maximizing fuel efficiency.

BusinessWeek reports on the boom renewable energy has been seeing over the past few years. In San Antonio, a 23 year old has built a wind turbine with parts that can be found in a junk yard.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed solar cells using cheaper, organic materials. Because they are flexible and lightweight, they promise to open up new markets for solar energy.

Monday, December 13, 2004

World production of solar cells jumped 32% in 2003, however US production actually fell 14%.

In California, Governor Schwarzenegger is still pushing to make solar power commonplace. A San Diego citrus grower is using solar cells to run a well that waters his grapefruit, tangerines, oranges and lemons.

Thursday, December 9, 2004

Ever hear of the "Air Car?" This is a car made by the French company MDI that runs entirely on compressed air. MDI Air Cars may be available in North America in just a few years.

Wednesday, December 8, 2004

There is a significant report out today by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) asserting that the United States "can replace much of our oil with biofuels..." The report says that with new methods of converting cellulose-containing biomass to ethanol (see my blog entry of November 10 for more on this), provide an opportunity for the US to significantly cut our use of foreign oil.

Bill Clinton spoke at NYU on Tuesday and called for the US to move beyond fossil fuels.

Tuesday, December 7, 2004

A company in Guilford, England has developed a new way of using sunlight to break water into hydrogen and oxygen.

BBC News has a story on the proliferation of wind farms in Wales.

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

North Dakota corn growers are pushing for legislation that would require all gasoline sold there (except premium) to contain 10% ethanol. In Nebraska, a new ethanol plant just opened up. Also in today's news is a story of how high oil prices are affecting the transportation industry.