ARPA-E is Long on Promise – Short on Specifics

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) recently held its annual conference, where investors and scientists gather to discuss the future of energy. The agency’s director Ellen Williams said the battery storage technology developed under her organization’s oversight is “on the verge of transforming America’s electrical grid” within the next five to 10 years. ARPA-E researchers … Read more

New Bladeless Turbine

Bladeless turbines are 53% cheaper to manufacture and 51% cheaper to operate than traditional wind turbines according to company Vortex Bladeless. Their product is designed to vibrate like a guitar string. Those vibrations can be used to convert wind energy into electricity. Their current model, the 41-foot Vortex Mini tube, captures around 30% less energy … Read more

3 GW of Wind Power

Australia achieved 3 GW or 3,000 MW of wind power generation for the first time. The largest wind power inputs came from South Australia with 1066 MW, and Victoria with 1021 MW. Australia’s largest wind farm contributed 388 MW. Australia has excellent wind power potential, especially in some of the coastal areas. A study found … Read more

Game Changing Battery

Tesla will finally be passing along details on its long-awaited batteries designed for home use, plus a “utility-scale” battery. They will likely be manufactured in its new Gigafactory in Nevada. A Tesla spokesperson has confirmed the announcement: “We have decided to share a bit about what we will announce on the 30th,” Jeff Evanson, Tesla’s … Read more

Consumer Sovereignty and the Apocalypse-proof Dream

Dreaming tiny dreams has become a favorite pastime in the past five or 10 years.  The “tiny house movement” is gaining greater traction as ever more people choose to downsize for economic or ecological reasons. A small house, usually being defined as one offering less than 400 sq ft of space, offers a stimulating challenge about living … Read more

Solar & Wind Power in Germany

At the end of 2012, Germany had approximately 400 MW of solar power capacity per million people. The United States produces about 25 MW of solar power per million people. Germany set a new world record in July of 2013, producing 5.1 terawatt-hours from direct solar. Germany’s world wind power record of 5 TWh was … Read more

The Wind Belt Blows Turbines Away!

The Windbelt is a small-scale wind turbine that can generate 40 milliwatts in 10-mph winds and only costs a couple of dollars. Working in Haiti, Shawn Frayne, a 28-year-old inventor based in Mountain View, California, saw the need for small-scale wind power to juice LED lamps and radios in the homes of the poor. Conventional … Read more

A Battery That Lasts Forever

If it lives up to its billing, it will help accelerate the big green future. Companies and homeowners could pull the plug on their local utility by banking electricity from solar arrays and wind farms for use when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing. A 250-kilowatt battery system installed in … Read more

HVDC — High Voltage Direct Current

The company that commissioned the world’s first 800 kilovolt UHVDC systems, the longest overhead HVDC link to go into commercial operation, and the world’s longest underwater and underground HVDC links, is now writing the next chapter in the evolution of this technology. ABB has successfully designed and developed a hybrid DC breaker after years of … Read more