Category Archives: Alternative Energy
Shrinking the size to the bare minimum and be tagged as the world’s smallest can ring in lots of recognition. And this fact holds true for the world’s smallest working fuel cell. Sized at 3 millimeters (across) by US chemical engineers, such an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny fuel cell will generate more power than consuming it. Comprising of four components, a thin membrane separates a water reservoir above from a chamber containing metal hydride below. And underneath lays an assembly of electrodes that do the needful. Measuring just 9 mm3, it is the surface tension and not gravity that controls the flow of water through the system. Such an arrangement is ideal for powering on-the-move gadgets.
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We have penned down about many realistic solar power towns and communities that boast of solar-panels fitted on almost all the residential and official structures. But this solar and wind powered house concept reminds you of a Stone Age structure but with a green roof. Designed by Andreas Angelidakis, this New Menir house stands out for its floral shaped umbrella on its roof. This green add-on plays a dual role of energizing the rock-shaped house with solar power as well as wind power. During the day the umbrella shelters the house from the harsh rays of the sun and at the same time absorbs the solar rays to power up the setup. When the sun shies down, this umbrella collapses in to a wind turbine that energies the house through the night. A smart green set up for a clean green future!
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If bitten by green bug, along with the travel bug, then solar powered Grand Canyon Visitor Center is the place to hitch the next flight to. A powerful and inspiring landscape, the Grand Canyon overwhelms our senses through its immense size. And now we have a green reason to marvel about this majestic location. The Grand Canyon Visitor Center near the South Rim is getting a solar-power system which will enlighten at least 1 million visitors per year about the benefits of sun’s energy. An $185,000 grant by the Arizona Public Service Co. will help to raise three ground-based solar-panel platforms and a digital readout to show how much electricity is being generated, it will also explain about the working of the system. More solar panels will find their way on to the roof. The 18-kilowatt system is large enough to generate about 30 percent of the center’s annual electricity and save $2,500 annually.
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Very few are aware that the United States Colors of the American flag should be properly illuminated, when left up overnight. And here is a green way to light up the red and blue flag! Franklin, a small town in U.S., flaunts of a flag that is lit by solar powered light. Army Airborne veteran and DPW Director Brutus Cantoreggi is the person behind this progress. The townies take pride in following the protocol and honoring the country as well as the veterans who served under the flag. The solar-powered spotlight will save the town at least a few hundred dollars a year. Energy is stored in a battery, which the spotlight draws upon at night to illuminate the flag. The green light source for the American flag wouldn’t have been possible without the $6,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
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Witnessing many highs and lows though the 2008, our globe can look forward to a greener 2009. Sky-rocketing gasoline prices and alarming CO2 levels in our atmosphere has pushed many airliners to experiment with alternative fuel options. One such successful airline has recently completed a two-hour flight in New Zealand. One engine of a Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel. Air New Zealand intends to wear the crown of world’s most environmentally sustainable airline by pursuing such eco-friendly flights options.
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Red is the new green for the New Year……at Times Square at least. Coca-Cola Company’s green move has aided a green tinge to the red bill board at this iconic location. The company agreed to pay a 10 percent premium on its bill to select clean, renewable wind power to light up the billboard located at 47th and Broadway. Following the cola giant, the sponsors of all 29 neighboring billboards on three buildings around Times Square agreed to do the same. This green leap will lead to a reduction of about 2,056 tons of carbon dioxide per year. With the bike-powered lights and the wind powered billboards, Times Square is slated to ring in 2009 in clean green style.
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Though it isn’t that time of the year when talking about air-conditioning will make my readers comfortable, I couldn’t give this news a miss. Renowned piano maker, Steinway & Sons cools or heats up their plant at Queens with solar panels. At the cost of $870,000, this alternative energy system will help to keep the factory cool. This move is to cool air will be helpful to dehumidify the hammers and other small moving parts that can be affected by changes in the moisture in the air. The fitted mirrored solar panels are automated and can twist to follow the path of the sun.
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‘One man’s junk is other man’s treasure’ Excuse me for repeating this adage again, but I couldn’t describe this news any better. However re-read it as one man’s fat is other man’s fuel and it will make more sense. Most of us know that liposuction is the easiest way to flaunt a svelte toned figure and right from celebs to layperson, every body has been through it. And Dr. Craig Allen Bittner, a plastic surgeon, who earns his bread and butter by sucking out fats from under the skin is using that same fatty trash to run his car. Inspired by his patients to do so, the doc fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend’s Lincoln Navigator with the biodiesel derived from the blubber. It’s the triglycerides in the fat that can be extracted and turned into diesel.
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Inline with the changing trends, designers Hyun-Joong Kim and Kwang-Seok Jeong have conceptualized dual purpose sunglasses. Along with its primary function to keep out the harmful sunrays from entering your eyes, these shades are designed to charge up your gadgets on the go. Christened as Infinite Energy: SIG, these modish glasses look no different as they sport solar dyed lenses. Except for the wire jutting out to plug in to your music players, cell phones, gaming consoles and more. Tweaked to block as well as harness the harmful-to-eyes solar rays into much essential electrical energy, the lenses are caked with “cheap organic dye [used with] nano technology [providing] cheap but high energy efficiency.”
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Roll up the solar powered blinds to expose the photovoltaic glass window! Watch out for such solar windows at Hollywood and Las Vegas as Rainbow Solar, the company behind these green windows is already working on integrating them in signature projects. RSi PV-Glass Window uses the sun’s light and heat, to generate electricity, reduce heat, and provide a semi-transparent display. These energy efficient transparent windows are capable of generating 80 to 250 watts and at the same time cut down on bills by 50%.
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