Solar Roadways Named A Finalists Of 2010 EE Times Ace Award

On January 30th Forced Green posted an article called “Riding The Solar Roadway To A Green Future“,

… well since then Solar Roadways, the little innovators that could from Sagle, Idaho has been named a finalist for the “Most Promising Renewable Energy Award” by the prestigious 2010 EE Times ACE Awards. AND they have completed the first prototype Solar Road Panel with funding from a U.S. Department of Transportation Phase I SBIR contract. Phase II involves a commercialization plan to begin the manufacturing process. (more…)

Center of Excellence in Ocean Energy Technology

Florida‘s cleanest and most abundant source of renewable energy is its oceans. The Gulf Stream is the strongest current in the world, it flows northward past the southern and eastern shores of Florida, funneling through the Florida Straits with a mass transport greater than 30 times the total freshwater river flows of the world – over eight billion gallons per minute. The warm, surface water of the Gulf Stream overlays much colder deep water that flows through the depths of the ocean and into the Florida Straits from the Arctic regions, yielding an energy-rich and stable source of ocean thermal power. The cold, deep ocean water also has enormous potential for cold water air-conditioning (up to 45% of Florida’s residential electricity consumption is used for air conditioning) and environmental mitigation. These energy sources can supply all of Florida’s energy needs. The kinetic energy of the Gulf Stream has significant potential to supply Florida with much of its needed consumer electricity, provided that technically-feasible and environmentally-friendly harvesting technology can be developed. (more…)

Concentrating the Power of the Sun

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is emerging as one of the most promising sources of renewable energy for the 21st century. Tessera Solar International, headquartered in Houston, Texas, (Tessera Solar International, based in London, United Kingdom), will develop, build, operate and own large-scale solar power plants around the world, using the new SunCatcher Solar Dish Stirling System, developed by Tessera’s sister company, Stirling Energy, Inc. (SES), headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. (more…)

The Beauty of Ocean Waves Powering Your Life

Hydrokinetic power is renewable and does not release airborne pollutants or greenhouse gases. Also, unlike wind and solar power, hydrokinetic energy can provide continuous power that utilities can depend on any time of day. Achieved from flowing water from rivers, ocean currents, tidal streams and artificial waterways such as canals. The flowing water currents drive rotors in turbines to generate electricity, just as breezes drive rotors on wind farms. (more…)

Wellington, New Zealand

New Zealand is in a very windy region of the world, particularly around Cook Strait!

A $440 million wind farm with future capacity to power Wellington was connected to New Zealand’s electricity grid yesterday.

Twenty 111m-high turbines at Meridian’s West Wind project in the hills of Makara began spinning to generate enough energy for 17,000 homes.

By the end of this year it will use 62 turbines, which have 40m-long blades, to generate enough power (more…)

Already a water utility, Snohomish County PUD began operating as an electric utility on September 1, 1949, providing public power to Snohomish County and Camano Island in Washington state. Snohomish County PUD is the second largest publicly owned utility in the Pacific Northwest and the twelfth largest in the nation in terms of customers served. Along with power generation from the Henry M. Jackson Hydroelectric Project, a 112-megawatt facility, the PUD also owns a cogeneration facility on the Everett waterfront that burns wood for fuel.

The Henry M. Jackson Hydroelectric Project, which began operating in 1984. Water from Spada Lake flows through a tunnel/ pipeline before reaching the powerhouse on the Sultan River, downstream from the dam.After traveling through the turbine-generators at the powerhouse, most of the water goes back into the river. Some of it flows to Lake Chaplain where it becomes part of the water supply. Water from Lake Chaplain is distributed to nearly two-thirds of Snohomish County’s population or is used to maintain proper water flows for fish populations in the Sultan River. (more…)

OK, environmentally concerned restaurant people, listen up! Been pulling your hair out over what to do with all that used vegetable oil you accumulate every day? Knowing it’s most likely being disposed of in landfills or wastewater treatment plants. Well cheer up Baldy, because here’s a solution invented just for you (well, and the planet).

The Vegawatt system uses waste vegetable oil from any food service operation as a fuel to generate on-site electricity and hot water, saving the restaurant thousands of dollars as well as providing a clean, renewable source of energy.

A Vegawatt system contains more than just power generation equipment. (more…)