alternative energy
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University of Illinois researchers claim a modified sugarcane plant can produce large amounts of biodiesel.
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Artificial Photosynthesis Might Make Fuel From CO2 & Sunlight, One Day
Artificial photosynthesis involves breaking down CO2 and water molecules, and recombining them into fuel.
Stephen Edelstein -
Computers To Heat Your Home? Startup Nerdalize Distributes Server Farms To Dutch Residences
A Dutch startup uses servers to heat homes.
Stephen Edelstein -
How A Small German Town Became A Renewable Energy Miracle
A German town produces more energy than it needs from renewable sources.
Stephen Edelstein -
DoE Offers $1 Million Prize For Advances In Small-Scale Hydrogen Fueling For Homes
The Department of Energy hopes to spur development of hydrogen-fueling technology with a two-year contest.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Coming Solar Power Boom: Charts Tell The Story, Grid Parity In 2 Years
Will solar panels become as cheap as grid electricity by 2016?
Stephen Edelstein -
Ford will install Windy System wind-and-solar energy systems at four of its dealerships.
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Will Biofuels Be Better For Plastics Than For Vehicle Fuel?
Biofuel companies may use ethanol to make plastic bottles and soap, as well as fuel.
Stephen Edelstein -
Do Wind Turbines Kill Birds? Far Fewer Than Cell Towers...Or Cats
Wind turbines are among the least-significant causes of bird deaths, a new study says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Southwest Airlines Will Use Renewable Jet Fuel From Forest Waste
Southwest is expected to begin using biofuel in 2016.
Stephen Edelstein -
In 10 Years, Electric Cars Make Home Solar Practical Without Subsidies: UBS
Swiss bank UBS predicts home solar will be widely adopted in the next decade.
Stephen Edelstein -
Jet Fuel From Tobacco Plants To Be Tested By Boeing, South African Airlines
South African tobacco farmers could grow jet fuel in the near future.
Stephen Edelstein -
For many months now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has faced a dilemma: What to do about its rules that millions of gallons of cellulosic ethanol be blended into the U.S. gasoline supply. Now, The Detroit News reports that the agency has decided to accept reality: Supplies of that fuel simply don't exist, so the rules are being changed--at least retroactively. DON'T MISS: Could Congress Kill Ethanol Mandate Altogether In 2014? Under the 2007 Energy Independence & Security Act, Congress required that fuel blenders incorporate increasingly large volumes of ethanol into U.S...
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Green Car Reports, Five Years And 9,800 Articles Later
Five years ago today, Green Car Reports began a daily publishing schedule. At first one a day, and then more, we wrote articles on fuel efficiency, hybrids, diesel vehicles, and the plug-in electric cars that were then still two years away from the market. Think back to February 2009, when the...
John Voelcker -
More Efficient Solar Panels: Make Them Like Lego, Play Music For Them!
Two new studies suggest unorthodox ways to improve the efficiency of solar panels.
Stephen Edelstein -
Ethanol A Victim Of Change As Gasoline Sales Have Flatlined?
Eight years ago, ethanol was going to let the U.S. grow its own vehicle fuel, reduce its use of gasoline made from imported oil, and boost energy security. How much have you heard about those themes lately? Not much, we'd wager. A lot has changed since the 2007 passage of the Energy Independence...
John Voelcker -
Gas Stations Claim Oil Companies Block E15, FTC To Investigate
The idea is simple: Replace refined hydrocarbons yanked deep out of the earth with vehicle fuel derived from crops. The ongoing politics of ethanol remain anything but simple. The latest salvo sally in the ethanol wars was fired by two U.S. senators from agricultural states, Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]...
John Voelcker -
Electric Cars Vs. Solar Panels: Which One's The Gateway Drug?
Among the 100,000 or so U.S. drivers with plug-in electric cars, it's widely noted that a lot of them charge their cars using photovoltaic solar arrays. But which comes first, using solar power or buying an electric car? Remember that environmental concerns are just one of several reasons to buy an...
John Voelcker -
It appears that the U.S. Department of Energy has had a change of heart. Four years ago, then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu was widely known as a skeptic about hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Last summer, he appeared to relent--and now the DoE has said it will launch a campaign to promote hydrogen fueled cars, tentatively deemed H2USA. According to a writeup in trade journal Automotive News, the campaign is as much about symbolism and convincing municipalities and the industry that there is support for further tests of hydrogen cars. The article notes the campaign won't be lavishly funded...
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Obama: Use Oil & Gas Lease Dollars To Fund Gasoline-Free Cars
The sequester is now with us, and Congress has lower approval ratings than South American death squads, but President Obama is doggedly pursuing his green agenda nonetheless. Today, he will announce a plan to divert $2 billion of Federal oil and gas lease revenues over the next decade from general...
John Voelcker -
Diesel Fuel Derived From Algae Now Testing In 2 VW TDI Models
For a century, we've gotten almost all our gasoline and diesel fuel from petrochemicals. Now Silicon Valley startup Solazyme [NSDQ:SZYM] is testing diesel fuel derived from refining renewable oils--produced by specialized algae--in two Volkswagen turbodiesel models. Since July 2012, the VW Passat...
John Voelcker -
E15 Ethanol Controversy: No Signs Of Moderating Any Time Soon
Debate over the slow rollout and potentially damaging effects of gasoline with 15 percent ethanol blended in just continues to roll on. The latest to pile on are members of the Science Committee in the House of Representatives, which held a hearing Tuesday on the progress of EPA efforts to roll out...
John Voelcker -
EPA Quota For Cellulosic Fuels Tossed Out By Court As 'Wish'
Whatever the merits of ethanol as a fuel or a gasoline additive--and it's taken some hits lately--it's still in the running. The same cannot be said, however, for cellulosic biofuels, those derived from advanced crops or waste products. On Friday, a Federal appeals court ruled that an EPA mandate...
John Voelcker -
Ethanol Is Nothing New; E10 Gasoline Was Sold In 1930s
Back in the 1930s, the United States produced the vast bulk of the oil it burned. It wasn't until the 1973 oil crisis that things like OPEC and fuel efficiency entered the U.S. consciousness. And it took a while longer for the phrase "energy security" to come along. That's what led to the concept...
John Voelcker