By Ami Sampat
The Clean Energy Prize Competition was founded with the goal of using clean energy technology from the labs to actual use. DTE Energy, in conjunction with the University of Michigan, want the contestants to create the best business plan for bringing clean energy technologies into stores and the market. The team with the most creative module receives $100,000 plus the grand prize of $65,000.
The competition started with 20 teams and is now down to 14.
This contest prepares the participants with the experience and knowledge of what it takes to start a clean energy business.
The business proposals include: "Aeolian is involved in the design and manufacture of air-powered automotive engines", "CTW International would develop land-based projects that have climate, biodiversity, and community benefits", "Husk would convert agricultural waste into high-grade insulation" and "Potential Energy would create clean, sustainable storage for wind energy".
The competition is judged by leaders from different sectors. In the first round, the judges came from companies such as Google, the Michigan Public Service Comission, and Next Energy.
The next round in the competition is creating a financial overview which must be submitted by January 16, in which six teams will be eliminated. The next judging, the semi-finals, will take place on February 13 and on March 20 the final will be held.
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By Ami Sampat
What Happened?
Continental Airlines and Boeing are preparing for the first flight of a plane run partially on next generation biofuels, which will leave on January 7 from Houston, Texas. Continental and Boeing's joint venture will be the first American plane to use jatropha as a biofuel. This biofuels milestone follows Virgin Atlantic's earlier test run, using coconut oil and babassu oil.
Why is this important?
Biofuels would not only help reduce the airline industry's carbon emissions but it could also be a more stable source of fuel.
The January 7th flight is going to be fueled by a 50/50 blend of traditional jet fuel and biofuels derived from algae and jatropha fuel. Jatropha is a shrub (non-food crop) grown on marginal lands. Its oil-rich seeds can be used to make biofuels. The first commercial scale Jatropha operations are now being tested in India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and West Africa.
What's Next?
Provided the test run goes well next month, this could open doors for the airline business and biofuel producers looking to capture a part of the aviation biofuel market.
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December 09 2008 / by amisampat
Category: Environment Year: 2010 Rating: 1
By Ami Sampat
What Happened?
Scientists at Harvard University and IBM have an idea to create cheap, solar energy: by using the power from countless computers that are left on.
IBM's World Community Grid allows materials science researchers to use volunteers' computers for calculations testing new solar compounds. Researchers expect to get the research done faster- calculations that takes usually twenty years to collect would only take two.
Why is this important?
By gathering information from idle computers, researchers are hoping to find organic materials to manufacture solar cells. This solar energy would be cheaper and more flexible. In turn, it would be used in a wide array of situations-such as to coat windows and rooftops.
A method of clean, cheap solar energy could help to reduce our dependency on coal for electricity generation.
What to Watch
The range of potential materials used in renewable energy systems could be vastly expanded by tapping the computational power of networked personal computers. Earlier we wrote a post on a simliar computer-based discovery around solid state hydrogen storage system.
If you would like to volunteer your computer to the World Community Grid, please visit the Clean Energy Project.
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Is there 'bio-plexiglass' in our future?
What happened?
Acrylic glass, or polymethyl methacrylate, could soon be made out of sugars, alcohol, or even fatty acids. Acrylic glass, which is sold under the name plexiglass, is used as a non shattering alternative to glass, in items such as protective goggles and vehicle lights.
Dr. Thore Rohwerder and Dr. Roland H. Muller were able to come up with an alternative solution to creating acrylic glass. Instead of it being a purely chemical process, based on petrochmical raw materials, they have found a way to use renewable raw bio-materials instead.
Why is the important to the future?
The demand for arcylic glass is expected to rise in the next few years. Having an alternative method to create this glass would benefit as the demand increases. Using renewable materials is an easy, fast solution to appease this problem while also being beneficial to the environment.
What to watch
Using renewable bio-materials is a long way from becoming used in commercial acrylic glass, but to be thinking of such things is a step in the right direction. Companies, such as DuPont, have already started thinking of the next generation applications for bio-materials. In September 2007, DuPont and Plantic Technologies created a joint venture - the development and sale of renewably sourced polymers.
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November 20 2008 / by amisampat
Category: Environment Year: 2010 Rating: 3
By Ami Sampat
What happened?
Ecobee, the makers of the Smart Thermostat announced new sales offices opening in California and New England. The Smart Thermostat allows for the consumer to save time, energy, and money by controlling the thermostat of their home through touch screen programming and a personalized web portal.
Interest in Ecobee’s newest offices is taking off. “Our Regional Sales Managers on both coasts have been very busy due to the company’s phenomenal start,” says Ecobee CEO Stuart Lombard.
Why is this important to the future?
Ecobee’s products symbolize a new wave of the future of appliances where we actively manage our energy appliances. With the Smart Thermostat, consumers have greater awareness and more control of when systems are used, for how long, and at what cost. This type of awareness, knowledge, and control over energy systems is fundamental in making an environmental and energy-centric change.
What to Watch
Keep a look out for appliances to be ‘smarter’ in the near future as companies integrate sensors, microcontrollers, and web-based software to create new levels of control that helps costumers save energy and money. The booming pre-sales of the Smart Thermostat is a positive indicator that people are thinking in the direction of a change.
November 19 2008 / by amisampat
Category: Energy Year: 2010 Rating: 3
By Ami Sampat
The Middle Eastern city of Dubai is in the process of creating the region’s largest photovoltaic manufacturing plant.
What Happened?
A recent article in Dubai’s Khaleej Times discusses the city’s plans to create a photovoltaic manufacturing plant. The plant, made by Solar Technologies FZE, will be 93,000 square meters, and able to produce solar panels of 5.7 square meters, making it the largest solar panel manufacturing plant in the Middle East.
The plant will generate 130 megawatts of power annually and will go into production in the last quarter of 2010.
Solar Technologies FZE CEO Dilip Rahulan states, “The mission of Solar Technologies is to accelerate the adoption of solar photovoltaic by rapidly expanding the manufacturing capacity and significantly reducing the cost of solar modules through innovations and manufacturing excellence.”
Why is this important to the future?
The building of the solar panel manufacturing plant is just one of the results of Dubai’s newest program, Green Dubai 2008. It also includes the green building initiative to be used in all buildings from now on as well as advances in sustainable development.
Managing director and CEO, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, says “We have explored alternative energies, namely wind power, solar power, and tidal power- we are conducting a feasibility study for other cheaper proven sources of energy.” Dubai’s city-wide initiative to create a green environment is the first in this part of the world.
What to Watch
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November 14 2008 / by amisampat
Category: Energy Year: 2009 Rating: 3
By Ami Sampat
What Happened?
The efforts to reduce carbon emissions and increase the use of reliable power generation of renewable fuels will determine the future of the electric grid, as was reported by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. But solar and wind will have to overcome some fundamental challenges before they are accepted by large utilities.
“As we consider our energy future, it becomes increasingly clear that our success in reducing carbon emissions and realizing energy independence will hinge on our ability to provide reliable, clean, electricity where and when it is needed,” states Rick Sergal, President and CEO of the NERC.
Why is this important to the future?
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November 14 2008 / by amisampat
Category: Energy Year: 2009 Rating: 3
By Ami Sampat
What Happened?
The International Energy Agency has released a report describing a challenging future ahead for the energy industry and planet. The IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook highlights an uncertain future shaped by tightening oil supply, higher energy prices, and rising emissions of greenhouse gases.
Why is this important to the future?
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October 30 2008 / by amisampat
Category: Energy Year: 2009 Rating: 7 Hot
By Ami Sampat
OLED Technology is soon to be the brightest light in the future of energy. OLEDs (Organic Light Emitting Diode) are made up of thin layers of individual ‘light emitting’ molecules that can be ‘printed’ and layered on thin film sheets.
The quality of OLED lighting is much greater than that of a LED. It can display a wide variety of colors, which are also brighter and easier on the eyes. Its light is similar to the sunlight so rooms and offices look much more inviting and comfortable. OLEDs are not only used as lighting, but can also come in use in TVs, and the backlights of cell phones, PDAs, and computers.
Earlier we featured ‘5 Videos on OLEDs’ which highlight this new technology.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the OLED is that it does not waste energy like the LED does. This is great in not only saving energy, but it also makes for longer battery life for cell phones, PDAs, etc. OLEDs are also very easy to use. Because of the thin film which it is made up of, it is very flexible. It can be moved around in any which direction, while also making holes in the product. More of this can be seen at a previous article posted, ‘OLED Screen so Flexible and Thin it Blows in the Wind’. This flexibility paves the way for more creative displays of lighting, rather than the simple displays of the LED. OLED technology is on its way to becoming an important part of our everyday lives’ and here are some ways how.
5 Ways OLED Technology Will Change the Way You Live
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