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Archive for the ‘energy’ category: Page 259

Feb 4, 2018

Tesla is installing Powerwalls and solar power on 50,000 homes to create biggest virtual power plant in the world

Posted by in categories: energy, habitats, sustainability

Tesla has been making big moves on the energy storage market in Australia, but they are now all being dwarfed by this new project that will see them install solar arrays and Powerwalls on 50,000 homes to create the biggest virtual power plant in the world. The company’s main project has been the 100MW/ 129MWh Powerpack project in South Australia, the largest in the world for now. But now instead of being a large centralized battery system using Tesla’s Powerpacks, the new project announced today is using Tesla’s residential battery system, the Powerwall, to create decentralized energy stora…

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Feb 4, 2018

All-electric ferry cuts emission

Posted by in categories: energy, transportation

The operators of the first all-electric ferry in Norway are starting to get some good data on the vehicle and it’s nothing short of impressive. They claim that the all-electric ferry cuts emission by 95% and costs by 80% compared to fuel-powered counterparts and the results are attracting customers. The ferry in question is called “Ampere” and it was put into operation back in May 2015 with the aim to reduce NOx and CO2 emissions, as well as noise pollution on the water. It was the result of an extensive partnership between Norled AS, a shipping company and ferry operator, Fjellstrand Shipy…

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Feb 3, 2018

Renewables Overtake Coal in Supplying European Electricity | UNFCCC

Posted by in categories: energy, environmental, governance

“A new analysis by Sandbag and Agora Energiewende shows that the European Union generated more electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass than coal in 2017, with renewables accounting for over 30% of Europe’s electricity for the first time.”

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Feb 2, 2018

How a hungry, hardy bacteria eats toxic metals and excretes gold nuggets

Posted by in categories: energy, food

If the goose that laid the golden egg had a real-life counterpart, it would be C. metallidurans. This hardy little bacterium consumes toxic metals and excretes tiny gold nuggets, but how and why it does so has never been fully understood. Now, German and Australian researchers have peered inside the microorganism and figured out that mechanism.

C. metallidurans has carved out a nice little niche for itself, usually living in soils full of heavy metals, which are toxic to most other microorganisms. But this bacteria has evolved a defense mechanism to help it not only survive but thrive under those conditions, and its ability to turn toxic compounds into gold is well known enough to once earn it a place in an alchemy art installation.

“Apart from the toxic heavy metals, living conditions in these soils are not bad,” says Dietrich H. Nies, an author on the new study. “There is enough hydrogen to conserve energy and nearly no competition. If an organism chooses to survive here, it has to find a way to protect itself from these toxic substances.”

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Jan 30, 2018

We Could Soon Get Lasers Powerful Enough to Literally Rip Emptiness Apart

Posted by in category: energy

Lasers powerful enough to tear the fabric of matter itself are being developed in a special laboratory in China, potentially giving scientists the chance to create and study experimental environments unlike anything we have on Earth.

The stats behind these lasers are impressive: One has already reached a peak of 5.3 million billion watts or petawatts (PW), which is around 500 times the power of all the world’s electrical grids combined. There are plans to double that figure before 2018 is out, and yet these intense bursts of light last less than one trillionth of a second.

Meanwhile a new 100-PW laser is on the drawing board that could produce a pulse of light capable of ripping electrons and positrons (the antimatter counterparts to electrons) right out of empty space, showing that matter and energy are interchangeable – as Einstein so famously proposed with E=mc^2.

Continue reading “We Could Soon Get Lasers Powerful Enough to Literally Rip Emptiness Apart” »

Jan 29, 2018

All living organisms on Earth owe a debt to these protein-based ‘Legos of life’

Posted by in category: energy

As an added bonus, these tiny building blocks could even be used to split water, creating a clean-burning and near infinite source of energy.

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Jan 29, 2018

NASA tests light, foldable plane wings for supersonic flights

Posted by in categories: energy, transportation

Planes that can fold their wings to different angles while in the air have the potential to fly faster than their peers, and NASA has recently made headway into their development. The space agency has conducted a series of test flights proving that it can control the wings it designed to move into any position and that they have aerodynamic benefits. While the technology has existed for a long time, it typically requires the use of heavy hydraulic systems. NASA’s version doesn’t need that kind of machinery: it relies on the properties of a temperature-activated material called shape memory alloy instead. Upon being heated, the alloy activates a twisting motion in the tubes serving as the wings’ actuator, moving the wings’ outer portion up to 70 degrees upwards or downwards.

The foldable wings will give typical planes like commercial airliners a way to adapt to different flight conditions. They can give pilots more control over their aircraft and could even lead to more fuel efficient flights. Planes designed to fly at supersonic speeds (faster than the speed of sound), however, will get more out of this technology.

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Jan 27, 2018

Tesla Powerwalls will power 50 homes in a community, ‘it’s like putting around $50,000 in your pocket’, says contractor

Posted by in categories: energy, habitats, sustainability

Home builders are starting to see the advantage of incorporating solar and energy storage products directly as part of their offerings. One home builder in Australia decided to make solar arrays and Tesla Powerwalls standard in 50 “knockdown rebuild homes” and claims that ‘it’s like putting around $50,000 in your pocket’. Earlier this week, we reported on how Tesla’s giant Powerpack system in Australia made around $1 million in just a few days through the country’s wholesale electricity market. Homeowners can do the same on a smaller scale if they have a home solar array and a Powerwall, Te…

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Jan 26, 2018

European Electricity Industry Pledges to Deliver on Paris Agreement | UNFCCC

Posted by in categories: business, energy, environmental, governance

EURELETRIC, the association representing the interests of the electricity industry in Europe, has said the region’s power companies intend to be both part of a competitive European economy and reliably powered by clean, carbon-neutral energy.”

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Jan 22, 2018

This Hearst ranch has raised cattle since 1865, now it also powers Apple’s headquarters — By Anita Balakrishnan | CNBC

Posted by in categories: business, energy, environmental, solar power

“The historic Hearst cattle ranch has become a hybrid solar farm for Apple’s Cupertino campus.”

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