Energy News Articles Archive Page Page 10 from Tue 29 Mar 2011 to Mon 25 Apr 2011

Green Energy From Estuaries

Posted Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:22:01 GMT by Mike Campbell

An estuary is defined as being the mixing zone where fresh river water meets the salt water of the ocean. The penetration of salt water into the fresh river water can extend backwards from the coast for some distance. Researchers at Stanford University recently published details of a battery which uses changes in salinity to produce electricity (see Nano Lett., 2011, 11 (4), pp 1810-1813).

Green Energy From Estuaries

Fukushima: A Rush to Nuclear Energy Judgment?

Posted Mon, 25 Apr 2011 08:10:00 GMT by Mike Campbell

At the start of this piece, let me nail my colours to the mast: I am a proponent of nuclear energy and I have worked on the periphery of the nuclear industry. What has slowly emerged since a devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami hit north east Japan on the 11th of March has served to show how ignorant the world is about radioactivity and risk.

Fukushima: A Rush to Nuclear Energy Judgment?

Hydrogen fuel-cells get a boost with a cheap catalyst makeover

Posted Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:01:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Hydrogen-powered cars, laptops and mobiles could be a step closer, thanks to the discovery of a practical - and cheap - alternative to sky-high priced platinum. Platinum is currently the best catalyst for hydrogen fuel-cells. But the new carbon-iron-cobalt catalyst, described in today's Science, works as well as platinum, and its low cost could pull hydrogen power out of the shadows into a brighter renewable future.

Hydrogen fuel-cells get a boost with a cheap catalyst makeover

Nine month pledge to end Japan's nuclear crisis

Posted Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:07:27 GMT by Laura Brown

Tepco puts a roadmap in place to end the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant by the end of the year.The operators of Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant are implementing a nine month roadmap, ensuring the crisis will be resolved by the end of 2011. Fresh concerns were raised last week when, on Friday, levels of radiation in the sea near reactor 2 were measured to be 6,500 times the legal limit.

Nine month pledge to end Japan's nuclear crisis

Ethical impact of biofuels bonanza has 'backfired badly'

Posted Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:52:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Government policies that have pushed biofuels as part of the move to a greener transport system, have often pushed ethical concerns, for indigenous peoples, to one side. So says a new report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, on the ethical impact of the rush to biofuels. An internationally agreed ethical certification scheme is the way forward, say the authors.

Ethical impact of biofuels bonanza has 'backfired badly'

Shale-gas 'worse than coal' for total life-cycle emissions

Posted Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:05:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A new study on the total climate-impact of fossil fuels shows that natural gas is more dangerous to the planet than coal - but that top of the roost for climate-change causing fuels may well be shale gas. This massive new energy resource, being aggressively exploited across the US, has been slated for the waste-water pollution contamination from 'fracking'. Now its image as a 'clean' transitional fuel is in doubt too.

Shale-gas 'worse than coal' for total life-cycle emissions

Confrontations intensify over deep sea oil drilling in New Zealand

Posted Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:58:00 GMT by Lucy Brake

A flotilla of vessels opposing the surveying for deep sea oil has been ordered to stay away by the New Zealand Police. Activists in the Ruakumara Basin off the East Cape of New Zealand were able to stop the seismic survey vessel Orient Explorer from carrying out its work by swimming in front of it.

Confrontations intensify over deep sea oil drilling in New Zealand

Strong Smart Grid Week 2011 Kicks Off in China

Posted Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:54:00 GMT by Kirsten E. Silven

April's Smart Grid Week World Leadership Forum aims to develop new solutions to the world's renewable and sustainable energy needs by addressing the challenges associated with creating a smart grid system.

Strong Smart Grid Week 2011 Kicks Off in China

Wind power may have limits - but we don't need to push them

Posted Mon, 11 Apr 2011 17:36:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Headlines that wind power may not be renewable have quickly been scotched - with New Scientist changing its title for the provocative piece. It looked at a paper on how renewable energy production stacked up against the amount of 'free energy' the earth has at its disposal. But do we really need to claim such massive shares of the earth's energy bounty that those limits become a concern?

Wind power may have limits - but we don't need to push them

Algae-Based biofuel may not be economically viable for another 20 years

Posted Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:02:01 GMT by Kieran Ball

Research into algae-based biofuel continues, but some researchers now believe that completing replacing fossil based fuels any time soon in out of the question. Moreover, it would be difficult to produce enough of it to replace diesel.

Algae-Based biofuel may not be economically viable for another 20 years

$Shale gas - is this a fracking price worth paying?$

Shale gas - is this a fracking price worth paying?

Posted Wed, 06 Apr 2011 07:42:00 GMT by Michael Evans

Shale gas is the last fossil fuel to be exploited. It is relatively clean and relatively cheap, but it's downside is the harm that it can do to the environment. Fracking or hydraulic fracturing may not be a term familiar to everyone, but it is the name given to the process of extracting natural gas from shale.

Shale gas - is this a fracking price worth paying?

Will 'Peak Oil' save the planet?

Posted Mon, 04 Apr 2011 22:09:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

With a second oil price spike in three years threatening a fragile world economy, could 'Peak Oil' production be around the corner. And if so, will it help wean us off of polluting-oil use - or usher in a darker dirtier future?

Will 'Peak Oil' save the planet?

The Japanese nuclear disaster could just be the tip of an iceberg

Posted Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:12:01 GMT by Michael Evans

More than 10% of the 422 nuclear power stations in the world are located in aeas vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis. The Japanese disaster illustrates what could happen. A good example is the ageing Russian-built plant about 18 miles from the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

The Japanese nuclear disaster could just be the tip of an iceberg

President Obama Addresses Clean Energy Standard, Dependence On Oil

Posted Thu, 31 Mar 2011 17:34:00 GMT by Kirsten E. Silven

In an address at Georgetown University, President Barack Obama discussed the need for alternative energy standards and called for a significant reduction in the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Obama noted that there has been progress in the transportation sector, including the increased use of vehicles that are powered by biofuels and natural gas, as well as the auto industry's more efficient production methods involving traditional engines.

President Obama Addresses Clean Energy Standard, Dependence On Oil

New eco-battery potential where rivers meet sea

Posted Wed, 30 Mar 2011 13:54:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A new frontier in clean electricity generation, from the natural mixing of fresh river and salty sea waters, has moved closer with research published by Stanford University scientists. These eco-batteries could ultimately supply up to 13% of global electricity - once researchers can solve practical and conservation issues of deploying them in river mouths.

New eco-battery potential where rivers meet sea

China, Europe head Clean Energy race - US, UK lag

Posted Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:33:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

The Clean Energy race is on, according to a report from the PEW Environment group, with a record $240 billion invested in renewable energy sources in 2010. Leading the transformation are those with strong support for the greening of energy - including China, Italy and Germany. Uncertainty has left others, like the US and UK, further behind.

China, Europe head Clean Energy race - US, UK lag

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