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alternative energy

World's First Tidal Turbine Farms to Power 40,000 Scottish Homes (or Pubs)

Following the apparent success of SeaGen, a small deployment of tidal turbines of the coast of Northern Ireland, Scottish Power is seeking approval for plans to build two farms of 20 100-foot, err, watermills promising a steady power supply for up to 40,000 homes. As with the previous example of tidal power generation, the most obvious problems have been pretty much addressed: fish, seals, and cryptozoological specimens (probably) won't be harmed by the slow-spinning blades, and shipping routes won't be affected on account of the depth of the deployment. Scottish Power claims that the project should be completed in about three years. Click the above image for a explanatory video. [BBC via CleanTechnica]

6:30 AM on Tue Sep 30 2008
By John Herrman
14,659 views, 33 comments

Latest by OtakuboyT: @fastm3driver: .....and who cares about the radioactive waste? more »

energy

Google and GE Team Up to Revitalize Our Ancient Power Grid

We might still have to wait a while for the Google washing machine—but GE as we know is also a huge player in energy infrastructures, which makes notable their announcement of a partnership with those incessant innovators at Google to modernize our stone-age grid. If (if) we somehow do find ourselves with an administration in January that truly moves forward with forward-thinking energy plans, we don't want to losing a huge percentage of our fresh new juice to our inefficient grid, most parts of which date back to the disco era. More »

9:15 AM on Thu Sep 18 2008
By John Mahoney
4,194 views, 36 comments

Latest by Rabid Penguin: @GadgetPlay: Wasn't his name Jimmy James on News Radio? What a great show :c) more »

Dream Car?

Update: Dream Car 123 Trades Dignity for Energy Efficiency

Last we left the Dream Car 123, the pyramid-shaped electric car that always gets picked last in kickball games, it was (in the words of Addy) "pootling" along the snowy streets of Illinois at about 45 mph, with a 80-mile range. Today we can report that, while the thing still looks like all sorts of ridiculousness, it's upped the range considerably, has bulletproof glass protecting the driver's compartment—and cut costs to boot! More »

5:00 PM on Sun Sep 14 2008
By Jack Loftus
9,853 views, 66 comments

Latest by The Monarch: nightmarecar123 more »

wind energy

NASA Wind Map Shows You Where The Greatest Gusts Blow

In an effort to figure out the best areas to harvest wind energy, scientists from NASA's Earth Science Division have used several years of QuikSCAT satellite data to produce some pretty awesome looking wind power density maps. According to them, if the areas with high wind power—an average wind of greater than 30 knots (45 miles an hour)—were tapped, they could potentially supply 10 to 15 percent of the world's energy needs. More »

6:00 PM on Sat Jul 12 2008
By Elaine Chow
9,295 views, 34 comments

Latest by lolphysics: Just beware - QuikSCAT is less accurate near coasts than it is over the open sea. more »

green

Smart Green Cell Station Makes Africa a Cleaner Place To Ask "Can You Hear Me Now?"

In an effort to clean up Africa's dirty and diesel-reliant mobile network, Swedish start up Flexenclosure has designed a green version of a cellular base station. Called the E-site, it runs primarily on wind and solar power and utilizes an intelligent operating system that adapts to local conditions. More »

3:00 PM on Sat Apr 5 2008
By Elaine Chow
2,899 views, 13 comments

Latest by Blakamin: @neomajic: You couldn't, it'd get stolen.... more »

pedal power

MIT Cyclists Set Record for Pedal-Powered Supercomputing

A team of 10 cyclists from MIT have set a new world record in the field of Human Powered Computation (HPC) by drawing 1.2 kilowatts of electricity and powering a a SiCortex SC648 supercomputer over the course of a 20 minute nonstop ride. If you recall, SiCortex pulled a similar stunt with another group of bikers at this year's NextFest. The original idea came in response to Google's "Innovate or Die" contest that challenges contestants to use pedal power to develop a "zero emission invention." More info and a video after the break. More »

5:30 PM on Mon Dec 17 2007
By Sean Fallon
4,089 views, 19 comments

Latest by GregCo3000: You forgot to mention Specialized bicycle company in regards to the "innovate or die" competition - After all, that's their more »

lightning power

Lightning Power For Energy, Time Travel Another Story

Lightning. It just goes about it's business—mocking us. We have always known there is potential there for an alternative energy source, but harnessing that power has proven difficult. However, an inventor names Steve LeRoy may be on the brink of changing all that with a device that generates lightning then harvests the resulting energy. The prototype can generate bolts 3-feet in length, but that is only enough electricity to illuminate a 60-watt light bulb for 20 minutes. However, LeRoy notes that a full-scale version has the potential to power 30,000 homes for a day with just one lightning bolt. Impressive. With that kind of juice you could easily get a Delorean traveling through time. [Buisnessweek via Sci Fi Tech]

7:20 PM on Mon Oct 15 2007
By Sean Fallon
7,016 views, 19 comments

Latest by toyotaboy: I don't think the intention of this invention is to try to create energy by generating the lightning bolt, I more »

green energy

Windbelt Wind Power Machine Tosses Out The Turbine

All of the cute little wind-power devices we've seen rely on turbines. One inventor finally said, "Screw the turbine," and built a wind-powered generator that behaves rather like a badly designed bridge. More »

8:55 AM on Mon Oct 15 2007
By Wilson Rothman
16,677 views, 26 comments

wind power

Tent-Mounted Wind Charger Powers Up That Cellphone in the Wilderness

With summer a mere hours away, our thoughts turn to the great outdoors and camping, and what better way to keep gabbing on your cellphone in the wilderness than a wind- powered cellphone charger? Perch this mini windmill atop your tent and it pumps out a half-watt trickle charge as long as the wind blows. More »

9:06 AM on Wed Jun 20 2007
By Charlie White
5,678 views, 15 comments

Latest by ,Comedian: @gotwind No, you don't get a break. If you demo something you damn well better expect to get feedback on more »