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The $290m Ashegoda Wind Farm is expected to generate 120MW of electricity, easing Ethiopia's dependence on hydropower.
Africa's biggest wind farm has begun production in Ethiopia, aiding efforts to diversify electricity generation from hydropower plants and help the country become a major regional exporter of energy
Africa's second most populous country - plagued by frequent blackouts - plans to boost generating capacity from 2,000 MW to 10,000 MW within the next three to five years.
Much of the increase would come from the 6,000 MW Grand Renaissance Dam under construction on the Nile.
Lots of renewable energy!
Read more at: Panasonic to release solar LED lantern for people living in areas without electricityPanasonic Corporation today announced that it will start selling a solar LED lantern that doubles as a charger for people living in areas without electricity. With a built-in rechargeable battery to store solar energy during the day, the lantern provides light at night and can also be used as a power source to charge small mobile devices, such as mobile phones. The company plans to bring the lantern to regions without electricity, starting from Asia and Africa in December this year. The functions of the BG-BL03 Solar LED Lantern, such as 360-degree illumination and a charging time of approximately 6 hours, make it practical and convenient for everyday use in these areas.
General Fusion has opened up its website. Previously much of website required passwords to access.
General Fusion has the near-term goal of developing a full-scale prototype fusion power plant for the comparative bargain of $500 million. In September, General Fusion added some serious scientific muscle to its team, appointing two renowned names in energy and technology circles to its board. Frederick W. Buckman, a PhD in nuclear engineering from MIT, is a veteran energy executive and CEO of Powerlink Transmission Co.; Jacques Besnainou is the former president and CEO of Areva Group North America, a global player in nuclear power.
General Fusion’s system uses a sphere, filled with molten lead-lithium that is pumped to form a vortex. Plasma is injected into the vortex, and an array of pistons drives a pressure wave into the centre of the sphere to compress the plasma into fusion conditions. It would use abundant raw materials and produce no emissions or radioactive waste.
There have been delays that have disrupted the company’s ideal timeline, but “that’s science.”
“We’re working hard to have a full prototype system in the next few years,” says Delage. “The goal we’re focused on right now is getting to the point where we can build that full-size complete prototype.”
If General Fusion succeeds they plan to produce fusion system that generate power at about 3-5 cents per kWh. This would be competitive with coal and natural gas.
Elon Musk has given Model S owners living on the US/Canadian west coast an early Christmas present with the announcement that its fast-charging “Supercharger” network will now extend all the way from California right up into British Columbia.
Earlier this year, Gizmag reported Tesla’s development of its “West Coast Supercharger Network.” The corridor that previously only included California and Oregon has now expanded to include San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. Model S’ equipped with the 85 kWh battery receive supercharging access for free, while owners of 60 kWh models can optionally purchase station time for US$2,000 - $2,500 after delivery.
VIA Motors, makers of the VTRUX brand of extended-range plug-in trucks, just launched its first high-volume electric vehicle assembly plant this week, located in a new facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
The facility — which is strategically placed in a free-trade zone, and also near a number of important automakers and suppliers — will now serve as the site where new vehicles sent from the General Motors production facility in Silao are transformed into electric vehicles, a transformation that is accomplished via the integration of VIA’s proprietary extended range electric power train.
One of our Dutch readers, Remco van der Horst of Better Energy, recently passed along an excellent report on various aspects of Germany’s solar power boom. The report actually reads more like a fact-checking of common claims (in media and politics) regarding Germany’s rapid energy transition. It is easy to read, organized by common questions/claims, and full of interesting facts. I actually learned a few things from this one that have been itching at my mind for awhile.
I definitely recommend checking out every question and at least the short answer for it. However, I’m pulling out a few of the key ones and sharing them below. Have a look!
Read more at UK Offshore Wind Capacity Grows 80% In A Year, Expect More To Come | CleanTechnicaThe United Kingdom’s offshore wind sector installed capacity has grown by 79% over the period of July 2012 to June 2013, according to a new report released by trade group RenewableUK.
The installed capacity of the UK’s offshore wind sector grew from 1,858 MW to 3,321 MW over the period, thanks in part to four massive wind farms going operational at Greater Gabbard, Gunfleet Sands III, Sheringham Shoal, and London Array. It helped that the London Array is the world’s largest offshore wind farm, measuring in at 630 MW.
Including onshore wind into the equation, a growth of over 40% was seen over the period in the UK, but the real prize was offshore, with more wind capacity installed offshore than onshore for the first time ever. Onshore did OK, but only managed a growth of 25%, measuring in at 1,258 MW of new capacity coming into operation over the July’12-June’13 period.
Located on the Gulf of Alaska, the 750 kW Yakutat Wave Energy Project is set to make life easier for locales who have so far had to rely on diesel prices as high as $8 per gallon, thanks to the 1,000 mile journey the fuel has to make by road to get there.
And now, Resolute Marine Energy (RME) have announced that Ocean Renewable Power Company’s subsidiary, ORPC Solutions, will be providing project management and regulatory services for the project.
The remote community of 650 inhabitants have had their economic and social viability threatened by the absurdly priced diesel costs, but the self-sufficiency program based around the Yakutat Wave Energy Project is set to make this problem disappear, hopefully.
RME will be installing its SurgeWEC wave energy converters at an ocean site nearby the existing Yakutat Power municipal power grid. RME has already obtained a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission preliminary permit for the site, and is now working on obtaining a formal license application to the commission.
“I’m very pleased to see the progress that’s being made on the Yakutat Wave Energy Project and we’re very excited that ORPC is now a part of the team,” said Scott Newlun, General Manager of the City and Borough of Yakutat Power Company. “I strongly believe that ocean energy will eventually become a large part of the world’s renewable energy mix, and we’re hopeful that Yakutat will be the site of the first commercial wave energy project in the United States.”
Producers of oil, gas and coal received more than $500 billion in government subsidies around the world in 2011, with the richest nations collectively spending more than $70 billion every year to support fossil fuels.
Those are the findings of a recent report by the Overseas Development Institute, a think tank based in the United Kingdom.
“If their aim is to avoid dangerous climate change, governments are shooting themselves in both feet,” the report, headed by ODI research fellow Shelagh Whitley, said. “They are subsidizing the very activities that are pushing the world towards dangerous climate change, and creating barriers to investment in low-carbon development and subsidy incentives that encourage investment in carbon-intensive energy.”
While the report acknowledges there is currently no globally agreed definition of what constitutes a subsidy, it cites the World Trade Organization’s approach: “a subsidy is any financial contribution by a government, or agent of a government, that confers a benefit on its recipient.”
China’s rapid commercial growth has led to almost inconceivable air pollution in its major cities. In the last month alone, high levels of pollution have forced China to all but shut down the northeastern city of Harbin, a major city with a population of nearly 11 million people. In addition to threatening the country’s deadliest polluters with heavy fines and, hilariously, the death penalty, Beijing is taking another step to clean its air: by 2017, a full 40% of new vehicle number plates will be set aside for “new energy” vehicles, effectively acting as a 40% hybrid/electric mandate.
In addition to the “clean car mandate” that I just invented, Beijing will take the somewhat drastic step of cutting the number of new plates it will issue. Beijing will issue only 150,000 new license plates, down from 240,000 each year now. As in the US, all cars must carry plates before they can be driven on public roads.
French engineering company Alstom have announced the completion of their at-sea installation of its new-generation offshore wind turbine, the 6-MW Haliade 150, located off Ostend Harbour at the Belwind site in Belgium.
The turbine, the largest offshore wind turbine ever installed in sea waters, boasts a 78 metre tower, a nacelle that stands 100 metres above the waves, blades over 73 metres in length, and pillars sunk over 60 metres into the seabed to support the mammoth construction.
As a result of its impressive specifications, the Haliade sports a yield 15% better than existing offshore turbines, allowing it to power approximately 5,000 households on its own.
Alstom Completes Worlds Largest Offshore Wind Turbine
French engineering company Alstom have announced the completion of their at-sea installation of its new-generation offshore wind turbine, the 6-MW Haliade 150, located off Ostend Harbour at the Belwind site in Belgium.
The turbine, the largest offshore wind turbine ever installed in sea waters, boasts a 78 metre tower, a nacelle that stands 100 metres above the waves, blades over 73 metres in length, and pillars sunk over 60 metres into the seabed to support the mammoth construction.
As a result of its impressive specifications, the Haliade sports a yield 15% better than existing offshore turbines, allowing it to power approximately 5,000 households on its own.
Read more at Alstom Completes World's Largest Offshore Wind Turbine | CleanTechnica
Battery-powered clothes draw power from the sun | DVICEAs a science fiction fan, I’ve spent my life waiting for the day the government offers matching silver bodysuits to everyone. Instead, said government spends its time barely operating, and all we get is battery-powered clothing.
On second thought, electronic clothing is way cooler than matching bodysuits. That industry is slowly gaining momentum, and it includes a fairly vast array of possibilities. At present, it’s almost totally speculation, because there’s always been the issue of powering electronic clothing. That hurdle may have finally been jumped. A journal piece in ACA Journal Nano Letters announced the creation of solar-powered batteries that can be woven into textiles. The electrode composite and nickel would literally be inside the fiber strands woven into a shirt.
Limitless it is...Only stoppable from idiots on the right.
Battery-powered clothes draw power from the sun
Battery-powered clothes draw power from the sun | DVICEAs a science fiction fan, Ive spent my life waiting for the day the government offers matching silver bodysuits to everyone. Instead, said government spends its time barely operating, and all we get is battery-powered clothing.
On second thought, electronic clothing is way cooler than matching bodysuits. That industry is slowly gaining momentum, and it includes a fairly vast array of possibilities. At present, its almost totally speculation, because theres always been the issue of powering electronic clothing. That hurdle may have finally been jumped. A journal piece in ACA Journal Nano Letters announced the creation of solar-powered batteries that can be woven into textiles. The electrode composite and nickel would literally be inside the fiber strands woven into a shirt.
New electric cars? New power plants??? Wind farms, solar farms, nuclear plants??? New products.
This isn't so much for the newest innovation in energy tech as the other thread is all about that.
Cree Releases Highest Efficacy Color LEDs, & More
June 27, 2013 Zachary Shahan
XPE2_Warm_medCree, a leader in LEDs, recently announced the commercial availability of XLamp® XP-E2 color LEDs. According to the company, XP-E2 color LEDs produce up to 88% higher maximum light output than competing high-power color LEDs.
Read more at Cree Releases Highest Efficacy Color LEDs, & More... | CleanTechnica
Toyota Honda and others are offering hydrogen fuel celled electric cars this
next year
ends the battery problem that most consumers do not like
