Aora Solar Energy Company, formerly known as EDIG Solar, an Israeli solar power startup has launched a small 100kw hybrid solar/gas turbine system that will provide power to kibbutz Samar located in the southern desert of Israel. Besides concentrated solar energy, this hybrid power station can also run on other alternative fuels, including bio-gas, bio-diesel and natural gas. By adding the flexibility to run the micro-turbine using an alternative energy source besides the sun this hybrid flexibility the power plant can continue to produce electricity when sunlight is insufficient, such as at night or when it is cloudy.
Marie Hattar, vice president of marketing in Cisco’s Network Systems Solutions group in an interview with LaMonica of CNet stated “Our expectation is that this network will be 100 or 1,000 times larger than the Internet. If you think about it, some homes have Internet access, but some don’t. Everyone has electricity access–all of those homes could potentially be connected.”
This is quite a large helping of hyperbole, possibly the product of an unguarded moment of enthusiasm, but it makes a good headline. Kidding aside the Smart Grid is going to be big business for technology companies. In the same interview Hattar said that Cisco believes that just the communications portion of the Smart Grid represents a $100 billion opportunity — “$20 billion a year over the next five years.”
Speaking in Fort Wayne, Indiana where he was touring a manufacturer of geothermal heating pumps (GHPs) U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced nearly $50 million from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to advance the commercial deployment of this proven energy efficiency technology.
The Obama administration announced $350 million in stimulus funds to help expand geothermal resources and break down technological barriers. This is a huge jump in funding, dwarfing all previous government commitments and is more than all the funding for geothermal energy put together over the last 20 years. It also represents a dramatic reversal of previous trends of diminishing funding for this often overlooked renewable energy sector.
Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), also known as ground-source heat pumps, are similar to ordinary heat pumps, but use the thermally stable mass of the earth below the ground instead of outside air to provide heating, air conditioning and, in most cases hot water as well. Because these systems use the earth’s natural reservoir of stable temperatures, they are among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies around. GHPs can save substantial amounts of energy and significantly reduce peak demand in buildings that incorporate them.
The ABO is seeking individuals from companies, public and private institutions, academic research laboratories working in this area who would contribute novel and up-to-date information on all topics of algal biofuels and biomass production, including liquid transportation fuels, biofuels for electrical generation, higher value products, harvesting and processing, algal biotechnology and genetic research; engineering cost studies and life-cycle analyses, venture finance and outlook for structuring both pilot and industrial-scale algal production and processing projects.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced plans to buid a 1GW solar power plant in Australia, which would make it the largest solar-electricity plant in the world surpassing the current record holder in California. Details about the project will be released soon and successful bidders will be named in the first half of 2010. The project is expected to cost A$1.4 billion (US$1.05 billion) and will represent a major investment in solar power, which the Prime Minister hopes will help propel the country into a leadership role in solar energy. This is a big step, but only one of many towards Australia’s stated goal of obtaining 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Recently there has been a lot of news about offshore wind power. The US government has released its long awaited federal regulations governing offshore wind farms, boosting the pace of activity in this sector and propelling it into the nations awareness and media spotlight (at least for a fortnight). As part of covering developments in this wind energy sector we are profiling some of the promising startups in the offshore wind energy sector.
Scientists are examining biomass – plant matter that’s grown and used to generate energy – as a potential power source. Two biomass technologies involve ethanol and electricity. Biomass converted into ethanol, a corn-based fuel, can power internal combustion vehicles. Biomass converted into electricity can fuel a vehicle powered by an electric battery. A study by University of California, Merced, Assistant Professor Elliott Campbell and two other researchers in the online edition of this week’s Science journal suggests that biomass used to generate electricity could be the more efficient solution.
