Energy

Buoys Make Power

- Adam Clare

In 2008 along the UK shoreline small underwater buoys will be generating electricity using that age old technology: wave power. The advantages to putting the buoys 50 meters under the water surface lies in that storms will not damage them, surface wave-powered generators can be damaged by rough seas.

“A town with 55,000 inhabitants would need half a square kilometre of seabed covered with 100 buoys to power it,” says Grey.

He adds that they could be effective in the North Atlantic, from Scotland down to Portugal, along the Pacific US shoreline, from San Francisco in the US up to Vancouver in Canada, along the coast of Chile, and even in South Africa and New Zealand.

But calmer seas, such as the Mediterranean do not have enough wave height to pump the buoy.

New York to Power Buildings Using Renewable Energy

- Adam Clare

Mayor Bloomberg shows no sign of slowing down his drive to reduce New York City’s carbon emissions, which is of course a good thing. He’s now set to announce that municipal buildings in NYC will switch to solar power and move from dirty regular oil to a less-damaging biodiesel. Other mayors (and North American federal leaders!) should follow NYC’s example of emission cutting.

On Monday, Bloomberg said the city will issue a request for proposals for a pilot program to install solar panels on city-owned buildings in hopes of generating 2 megawatts of solar capacity _ offsetting about 320 tons of emissions per year, equal to taking more than 50 U.S. cars per year off the streets. The city will not pay for the installation but will buy electricity from the provider.

Climate Savers Computing Initiative

- Adam Clare

earth.jpgComputers are not the most efficient when it comes to energy use. It is great to see that a lot of computer manufactures have teamed up to create the Climate Savers Computing Initiative to improve the energy efficiency of electronics. Even if this is greenwashing, its better than having the companies ignore the environment.

Improving the energy efficiency of computers is a cost-effective way to reduce electricity consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

The Climate Savers Computing Initiative brings together industry, consumers and conservation organizations to significantly increase the energy efficiency of computers and servers.

Previously:
Greenpeace Influences Apple
Bamboo Ecobook
Sun is the Greenest
Use Linux and be Sustainable

UK Unveils Zero-Emission Home

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

from the bbcNot to be outdone by the recycled house in Quebec, the Brits have unveiled a zero-emission home. The BBC reports that it’s the first zero-emission home in the UK and aims to be an example of new rules to be applied in 2016.

“The home generates all its own energy – and when you’re away on holiday can send electricity back to the National Grid. The company says its annual energy bill would be £31, as compared to £500 for the standard new home of this size,” he said.

Virgin Trains Introduces First European Biodiesel Train

- Adam Clare

thanks google!Sir Richard Branson owns a lot of companies and he has previously mentioned that he wants to fight climate change and cut back on emissions. It appears that he’s sticking to his word as Virgin Trains is running a biodiesel train in Europe and plans to switch more trains to biodiesel if this test run goes well.

If running biodiesel isn’t enough, the trains also produce energy!

From their press release:

In addition to the environmental benefits of the Voyager trial, Virgin’s Pendolino electric trains return 17 percent of the power they use to the national grid every time they brake, making the Pendolino fleet one of the most efficient in the world. Over the course of a year this is enough to power 11,825 homes. These trains emit 76 percent less CO2 than cars or domestic flights.

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