Inspirational and good news.
Apparently, the White House has launched the H-prize and it is not for a hydrogen bomb, it’s for a hydrogen car!
“This is an opportunity for a triple play,” said bill sponsor Rep. Bob Inglis, R-S.C., citing benefits to national security from reduced dependence on foreign oil, cleaner air from burning pollution-free hydrogen and new jobs. “If we can reinvent the car, imagine the jobs we can create.”
Technology Review has a groovy article on a new style of wind farm that floats. The idea is that people will not have their views ruined by large wind farms, and as a added bonus the wind is stronger out in the open seas.
A win for power, postcards, GE, and for fighting climate change!
“GE has announced a $27 million partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop 5-7 megawatt turbines by 2009, each of which could power well over 1,000 homes. Supplanting the company’s current 3.6 megawatt turbines, these giant energy factories should make wind power more economical, since the major cost of building and installing offshore wind farms does not depend primarily on a turbine’s size, but on the number of them that need to be erected. By 2015, GE could have even bigger, 10-megawatt turbines, according to Jim Lyons, leader of advanced technology for GE’s wind energy business.”
A story about a 2002 Toyota RAV4 EV and a trip to the emission testing facility. The author tries to shed light on the benefit of hybrid cars
“In these times of high gas prices, you’d think everyone would want one of these, the problem is that many people don’t know about them. Maybe this post can change that.”
A really neat technology has been demonstrated in a creative way in the struggle to use gas more efficiently in cars. The Mazda RX-9 is the most futuristic car I’ve seen in awhile. Specialized, “slick skin,” plastic body panels get an electric charge as air rushes by it, which in turn provides power to the electric motor.
The same car with slick skin also has slick wheels. The tires” feature Electroactive Polymers (E.A.P.) that with varying levels of voltage from the vehicle’s electrical system can actually change the shape and depth of their tread pattern. The rubber donuts can go from flat and smooth to knobby and grippy, or even ride high on their centers for ultra-low rolling resistance. “
The World Bank published a report on Apr. 23 that hints to more money for clean, renewable energies in developing nations. The report is careful to not discuss what countries with no power should do, but looks at what countries that have a growing need for more power should do. And that’s no small task “According to the International Energy Agency, a total of US$8.1 trillion, or US$300 billion per year from 2003 to 2030 is needed if developing and transitional economies are to meet their energy needs.”
It’s quite a shift to see the World Bank support clean energy production given their history of energy funding.