A new study finds that fish located near coal-fired power plants have lower levels of mercury than fish that live much further away. The surprising finding appears to be linked to high levels of another chemical, selenium, found near such facilities, which unfortunately poses problems of its own.
By installing wireless sensors and replacing faulty traps along the 12 miles of steam lines at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, officials expect to save as much as $675,000 per year.
Ambitious plans to expand acreage of bioenergy crops could have a major impact on birds in the Upper Midwest, according to a study published today (Oct. 4) in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A new lab at NIST is helping to bring these tiny but brilliant devices into your home, to help save both energy costs and the environment.
Virginia Tech is releasing its full version of the Smart Grid Information Clearinghouse (SGIC) web portal today (Sept. 30) -- the platform for direct sharing and dissemination of relevant smart grid information. It contains information about more than 200 smart grid projects in the US and more than 50 projects overseas.
Sandia National Laboratories researchers have developed a new system to monitor how clouds affect large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants.
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are leading a new $2 million NSF-funded study to help overcome a key bottleneck slowing the proliferation of large-scale wind and solar power generation.
A team led by a North Carolina State University researcher has shown that water-gel-based solar devices – “artificial leaves” – can act like solar cells to produce electricity. The findings prove the concept for making solar cells that more closely mimic nature. They also have the potential to be less expensive and more environmentally friendly than the current standard-bearer: silicon-based solar cells.
Engineering researchers from Tufts University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard University have demonstrated the low-temperature efficacy of an atomically dispersed platinum catalyst, which could be suitable for on-board hydrogen production in fuel-cell-powered vehicles of the future.
University of Illinois at Chicago materials engineer Eduard Karpov received National Science Foundation funding to develop and test a tiny battery made of nanomaterials designed to operate much like a solar cell, but powered by the catalytic oxidation of hydrogen instead of sunlight. The technology may prove useful in developing batteries for future nano-devices.
The Clean Energy Trust has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help transfer research from the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, and other Illinois universities and science labs into clean-energy technologies and viable businesses.
The railroad industry’s 40-year conversion from steam to diesel power during the 20th century may offer clues for the auto industry as it attempts to develop alternatives to gas-powered vehicles, says a historian at Missouri University of Science and Technology in a new book.
As a member of the recently announced clean vehicles consortium, part of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are focusing on a suite of technologies to put more electric and hybrid vehicles on the road.
Leaders from every sector of the new energy economy to convene in New York City to address recent events, solutions for the future, November 8-9.
Leading materials science and engineering (MSE) experts from across the nation will begin their work in Pittsburgh on September 16 and 17 as members of the Technical Working Groups (TWGs) established to address the recommendations made in Linking Transformational Materials and Processing for an Energy-Efficient and Low-Carbon Economy: Creating the Vision and Accelerating Realization.
New insight into the structure of switchgrass and poplars is fueling discussions that could result in more efficient methods to turn biomass into biofuel.
A new technology for removing water from ultrafine coal slurry has been successfully tested at the commercial scale at an operating coal cleaning plant. The technology offers the possibility of reducing the coal slurry impoundment problem from the source.
Using a home’s electrical wiring as a giant copper antenna enables extremely low-power wireless sensors that run for decades on a single watch battery. The device could be used for low-cost medical monitoring or home sensing systems.
As industries and consumers increasingly seek improved battery power sources, cutting-edge microscopy performed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is providing an unprecedented perspective on how lithium-ion batteries function.
Investigators in New York are giving factory production of solar energy cells a modern makeover. Their new approach, described in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, includes the use of "continuous electronic sheets," something like a computer flattened into wrapping paper.
The existing and potential benefits of clean energy to the upstate region will be touted in a half-day program hosted by Ithaca College. “The Clean Energy Summit: Re-Imagining Upstate New York’s Energy Future” is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 17, in the Ithaca College Campus Center.
The United States is in the thick of a “green trend.” Increased awareness of and commitment to sustainability and improving the environment through reduced carbon emissions and energy use have led to more consumer demand for “green” products—including green construction. Even with the downturn in the housing market, a 2008 poll showed that 91 percent of registered voters nationwide would still pay more for a house if that meant a reduced impact on the environment.
Walter Trahanovsky, an Iowa State professor of chemistry, was trying to produce sugar derivatives from biomass using high-temperature chemistry. He was surprised when his research also produced significant yields of high-value chemicals.
A new smartphone chip prototype under development at the University of California, San Diego will improve smartphone efficiency by making use of “dark silicon” – the underused transistors in modern microprocessors. On August 23, UC San Diego computer scientists presented GreenDroid, the new smartphone chip prototype at the HotChips symposium in Palo Alto, CA.
To watch a magician transform a vase of flowers into a rabbit, it's best to have a front-row seat. Likewise, for chemical transformations in solution, the best view belongs to the molecular spectators closest to the action.
In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, scientists in India report success in boosting the ability of zinc oxide solar cells to absorb visible light simply by applying a blended mixture of various off-the-shelf dyes commonly used in food and medical industries -- in a soak-then-dry procedure not unlike that used to color a tee-shirt in a home washing machine.
Researchers from three institutions are uniting under a $1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to boost the juice of solar cells. Researchers will design new semiconductor structures that will overcome the current limit on efficiency of most solar cells.
Imagine devices that capture electricity from the air ― much like solar cells capture sunlight ― and using them to light a house or recharge an electric car. Imagine using similar panels on the rooftops of buildings to prevent lightning before it forms. Strange as it may sound, scientists already are in the early stages of developing such devices, according to a report presented here today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Scientists reported development of the first fuel cell designed to produce electricity with biochemical technology borrowed from the biological powerhouses that energize humans and other animals. This new type of fuel cell could be used to power a variety of electronics ranging from cell phones to stamp-sized explosives detectors, the scientists said. Their study is scheduled for presentation in August at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Boston.
Cheaper light may encourage more use.
Continuous research and development of alternative energy could soon lead to a new era in human history in which two renewable sources — solar and wind — will become Earth’s dominant contributor of energy, a Nobel laureate said in Boston today at a special symposium at the American Chemical Society’s 240th National Meeting.
Using renewable solar energy and a process of solar conversion that he patented called Solar Thermal Electrochemical Photo (STEP) energy conversion, Dr. Stuart Licht is able to easily extract pure metal iron from the two prevalent iron ores, hematite and magnetite, without emitting carbon dioxide.
Scientists reported progress today in using a common virus to develop improved materials for high-performance, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that could be woven into clothing to power portable electronic devices. They discussed development of the new materials for the battery’s cathode, or negative electrode, at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), being held here this week.
E3 Technologies, LLC, a new firm based in Athens, Ohio, will develop an Ohio University invention called the “GreenBox” designed to clean commercial and agricultural wastewater and produce hydrogen energy -- a technology that’s been described as “pee power.”
The era of personalized energy systems — in which individual homes and small businesses produce their own energy — took another step toward reality today as scientists reported discovery of a powerful new catalyst that is a key element in such a system. Scientists will describe the advance — which could end dependence on the electric company and gas station — in August at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Boston.
Find cleaning those tables and dressers a chore or a bore? Imagine dusting objects spread out over 50 footballs fields. That’s the problem facing companies that deploy large-scale solar power installations, particularly in dust prone areas. One solution — self-dusting solar panels — could improve the efficiency of this emerging technology while making maintenance less costly and less cumbersome. These developments in self-cleaning solar panels were reported by scientists from Massachusetts here today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Energy-based economic development has received little academic attention, but researchers have a rare opportunity to evaluate the potential impacts of EBED for society, says Indiana University faculty member Sanya Carley.
The basis for solar energy is absorbing light and then effectively disassociating electrical charges. University of Cambridge researchers report in the journal Applied Physics Letters that conjugated polymers are excellent materials for such a system, thanks to their light absorption and conduction properties.
In a paper in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, Australian researchers provide new estimates of the wave-energy potential of Australia's near-shore regions. They also calculate how much of Australia's energy needs could be obtained from wave energy alone.
A scientist at the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee, India has developed a method, described in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, to assess the installation and operating costs of small hydroelectric power projects, which represent a potentially large but largely untapped source of energy for developing countries.
When Dr. Mehdi Ferdowsi and Ph.D. student Andrew Meintz offered the inaugural class on electric and hybrid vehicles last January at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), they made an instant connection with students from a variety of engineering disciplines.
What if trains, planes, and automobiles all were powered simply by the air through which they move? Moreover, what if their exhaust and byproducts helped the environment? Well, such an energy-efficient, self-propelling mechanism already exists in nature. The salp, a smallish, barrel-shaped organism that resembles a kind of streamlined jellyfish, gets everything it needs from the ocean waters to feed and propel itself.
Advances being made to explore outer space using solar sails were discussed by the more than 60 scientists from 12 nations who attended the Second International Symposium on Solar Sailing (ISSS 2010) held recently at New York City College of Technology (City Tech) in Downtown Brooklyn.
One of the most promising technologies for making inexpensive but reasonably efficient photovoltaic cells just got much cheaper. Scientists in Canada have shown that inexpensive nickel can work just as well as gold for one of the critical electrical contacts that gather the electrical current produced by colloidal quantum dot solar cells.
Researchers in Hawaii say that the Leeward side of Hawaiian Islands may be ideal for future ocean-based renewable energy plants based on a technology referred to as Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), which is described in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.
By embedding the element selenium in zinc oxide, a team at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California has made a relatively inexpensive material that could be promising for solar power conversion by making more efficient use of the sun's energy. They describe their work in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
In the quest for efficient, cost-effective and commercially viable fuel cells, scientists at Cornell University’s Energy Materials Center have discovered a catalyst and catalyst-support combination that could make fuel cells more stable, conk-out free, inexpensive and more resistant to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Sandia National Laboratories and SunPower Corp. recently formalized an agreement to conduct research on integrating large-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems into the grid. By signing a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), the organizations will leverage approximately $1 million of combined U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and SunPower funding. Additionally, a consortium led by SunPower, which includes Sandia as a partner, was recently awarded a $1 million grant from the California Solar Initiative (CSI) to improve modeling of high-penetration PV systems.
Texas Tech University and the National Institute for Renewable Energy (NIRE), a non-profit, public/private collaboration, will receive $8.4 million from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TETF) allowing them to help resolve key scientific and technology issues facing the wind power industry.
A prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award will help a South Dakota State University researcher build new high-performance organic solar cells with increased efficiency.
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