Feature Channels: Energy

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UC San Diego’s director of strategic energy initiatives, Byron Washom, was recognized in the June issue of Fast Company magazine as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business 2010,” ranking him number two in its green category. Since joining the university in 2008, Washom has teamed with faculty researchers, campus-operations engineers and students to pursue projects related to solar power, smart-grid technology, alternative-energy projects and novel renewable-energy financing.

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Iowa State students are busy preparing to race the university's tenth solar-powered car. They'll attempt to prove and qualify their car during the June 12-18 Formula Sun Grand Prix in Texas. If that goes well, they'll enter the June 19-26 American Solar Challenge, a race from Tulsa, Okla., to Chicago.

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Three researchers have been awarded a $1.2 million, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a more energy-efficient processor for mobile embedded systems that will perform as well as traditional pipelined processors. Mobile embedded systems involve computer processors that are embedded in cell phones, handheld game consoles, e-book readers and other devices that can be carried and run on batteries.

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A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory has received $122 million and access to the world's most powerful computers to speed the development of the next generation of nuclear reactors. The award from the Department of Energy creates the first energy innovation hub -- the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors -- headquartered at Oak Ridge.

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A new way to make valuable chemicals and green biofuels from solar power, bacteria and CO2 may be “truly transformative” if it works on a larger scale, says Derek Lovley, head of a group developing carbon neutral microbial electrosynthesis. It also solves a major problem of solar energy: Storage.

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Our water needs are interfering with our energy plans and our energy needs are damaging our water supply.

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Michigan Tech students are developing a "smart" electric meter. Meanwhile, they say thoughtful scheduling of high-demand electrical appliance use can cut household power costs.

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A species of clover that doesn’t typically perform well in the dry uplands of the Northern Plains could find its niche by helping producers grow biomass crops for energy in prairie lowlands.

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Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are improving strains of microorganisms used to convert cellulosic biomass into ethanol, including a recent modification that could improve the efficiency of the conversion process.

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Scientists at the Nuclear Science and Technology Division of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are merging decades of nuclear energy and safety expertise with high-performance computing to effectively address a range of nuclear energy- and security-related challenges.

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American University plans to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions and become a carbon-neutral campus by 2020.

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Student researchers at Northeastern University have designed an apparatus to convert plastic waste into clean energy without releasing harmful emissions.

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Biofuel combustion chemistry more complex than petroleum-based fuels, say Sandia and Lawrence Livermore researchers.

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Iowa State University engineers are developing new and improved poles to carry electricity across the countryside. They say the new structures -- which can bend and deflect an extreme load -- would be cheaper, easier to install, more secure and more resistant to cascading failures. That means better electrical service for everybody.

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Sandia National Laboratories is using its expertise and long history in photovoltaic (PV) research and development to accelerate the adoption of reliability tools within the growing industry of PV power generation.

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Creighton University will begin assembling a large array of solar panels and wind turbines at various locations across campus. When completed, the solar array will be the largest in the state. The alternative energy project will be part of a new degree program for students studying technology and applied science in the College of Arts and Sciences.

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University of Virginia students who converted a Honda to run on electricity will now try to power it – at least partly – with solar energy.

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Top honors in the second annual University of Virginia Student Sustainability Project Competition went to a proposal to better educate local homeowners on saving energy.

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Algae--already being eyed for biofuel production--could be put to use right away to remove nitrogen and phosphorus in livestock manure runoff, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist.

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National and regional biofuel, biopower and bioproducts experts will convene in Syracuse for the Northeast Sun Grant 2010 Regional Conference, at Renaissance Syracuse Hotel, on May 24-26, 2010. The conference is hosted by Cornell University.

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Developing a Dual-Purpose Corn that can be bred for both food and cellulosic ethanol.

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The environmental and economic impacts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will likely be devastating, says Dr. Julia Cherry, assistant professor in New College and Biological Sciences.

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A design for a hydrogen-powered community in California by students from Missouri University of Science and Technology captured the grand prize in the national Hydrogen Student Design Contest sponsored by the Hydrogen Education Foundation.

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Help America's high school students learn how they can solve the world's energy crisis! The 2011 JETS TEAMS Competition will focus on energy and experts are needed to develop questions regarding energy diversification, efficiency, security and ecological sustainability.

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Ken Rosenberg, director of conservation science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and a specialist on the conservation of birds throughout the Western Hemisphere, comments on the ecological threat posed by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Sandia National Laboratories has won two national Federal Laboratory Consortium awards for its efforts to transfer technology to supercomputer manufacturer Cray Inc., and solar energy supplier Stirling Energy Systems, Inc.

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A new supercomputer that more quickly models the most efficient ways to harness energy from the sun, wind and other renewable resources is now operating at Sandia National Laboratories.

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In a discovery that could solve one of the biggest hurdles blocking affordable fuel cell development, a team of UMass Amherst scientists has found a way to improve proton conductivity under very low humidity conditions where few materials perform well at present, they report in Nature Chemistry.

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Industries such as nuclear detection, oil and gas, and medical diagnostics could face crippling shortages of Helium 3, a nuclear weapons production byproduct that has become increasing scarce.

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Pokeberries – the weeds that children smash to stain their cheeks purple-red and that Civil War soldiers used to write letters home – could be the key to spreading solar power across the globe, according to researchers at Wake Forest University’s Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials.

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Heating and squishing microalgae in a pressure-cooker can fast-forward the crude-oil-making process from millennia to minutes.

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Zensi, a research startup from the UW and Georgia Tech that uses simple technology to monitor electricity and water use in the home, has been acquired by international electronics company Belkin.

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Students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are creating novel solar power systems to improve the situation of an impoverished Haitian school and jumpstart a new dairy industry in rural Peru.

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A new “gasification” method of converting biomass feedstock into sustainable fuel developed by researchers in Massachusetts and Minnesota greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and doubles the amount of fuel made from an acre of biomass feedstock, says UMass Amherst scientist Paul J. Dauenhauer.

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ORNL received "best in class" and "noteworthy practice" awards for its Net-Zero Energy Building and Sustainable Campus Initiative programs.

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A University of Maryland team will build a solar home that creates a mini-eco-system, capturing and fully using the energy of sun, wind, rain and household wastes, and includes an edible wall. The WaterShed House will be Maryland’s entry in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2011. The 20 international teams will erect homes on the National Mall.

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A University of Maryland team will build a unique solar home that creates a mini-eco-system, capturing and fully using the energy of sun, wind, rain and household wastes. The WaterShed House will be Maryland’s entry in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2011. The 20 international finalists will erect homes on the National Mall.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have long-term studies under way to examine growing camelina as a bioenergy crop for producing jet fuel for the military and the aviation industry.

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As global leaders discuss ridding the world of nuclear weapons, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory (NRC) Commission has acknowledged that a new laser technology— which could lead to even more global proliferation – deserves a closer examination.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are figuring out how to turn wheat straw into ethanol “gold,” and learning more about the bacteria that can “infect” ethanol plants and interfere with fuel production.

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Offshore wind power resources are abundant but unreliable. A 5-year study of weather patterns demonstrates strategically placed offshore turbines connected by a single power line could provide consistent power.

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Linking power generators along U.S. East Coast could compensate for natural wind fluctuation, provide more consistent electricity production.

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A new review of scientific literature finds that removal of crop residue for biofuels can adversely impact soil and environmental quality. Conversely, dedicated energy crops can increase soil organic carbon concentration while providing biofuel feedstock.

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A new polymer-based method for creating photovoltaic devices, which convert sunlight into electricity, has been identified by UMass Amherst chemists. Inspired by plant anatomy and photosynthesis, it should one day lead to more efficient power production than achievable with today’s semiconductors.

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In a speech today, President Obama made a series of energy policy announcements, including expanded offshore oil drilling and new fuel economy standards for automobiles. The president also reiterated his call for Congress to deliver a comprehensive climate and energy bill this year.

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The UC San Diego Energy Dashboard allows users to see up-to-the-second information on a structure-by-structure basis for 60 of the largest buildings on the La Jolla campus. The data is provided by UC San Diego Physical Plant Services from over 200 energy meters providing energy usage at the building level. The portal also features information coming from roughly 40 individual power meters that measure energy consumption in the office, e.g., a computer and monitor drawing power from a single socket.

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Professor Nikhil Koratkar is leading a $1 million study to develop new coatings for nanosensors that could lead to more accurate and efficient oil exploration. Koratkar and colleagues are investigating how the flow of water, steam, or certain gasses over surfaces coated with carbon nanotubes or graphene can generate small amounts of electricity.

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Can native or introduced grasses offer sustainable harvest for biofuels?

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A new study by James K. Boyce and Matthew E. Riddle of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, assesses the impacts of the CLEAR Act on families.

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Plant study in Nature shows value of using genome-wide method to locate genes behind physical traits. Authors see applications for agriculture and biofuels.