Green Technology

A "hotel" in Madrid has been built completely from waste materials.

Showing both what can be done to re-purpose items and potentially how dirty beaches are the "... walls of the Beach Garbage Hotel ... made of materials found in landfills, the beaches and even flea markets ..."

" ... created the Beach Garbage Hotel because the oceans of our planet are the biggest garbage dump ... 30-40% of the objects used for the hotel were found on the beaches of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain ..."

The temporary "hotel" closes soon (Jan 23rd) so book soon if interested!

Via:  Huffington Post LINK

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requires push through government incentives, mandates and subsidies.  The US trails other countries who have shifted their energy portfolios with renewable sources.  …

…   “In Germany, for example, government mandates and subsidies have pushed 17% of electric power generation to alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass, compared with just 1% to 2% in the United States.”   …

Via Knowledge at Wharton: Infrastructure Investment.

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In June of 2009 Dell announced that they source over 1/4 of their global energy needs from renewable sources. 

" ... powers nine ... facilities in the United States and Europe with 100 percent renewable energy. ... Round Rock, Texas; Twin Falls, Idaho and Oklahoma City, Okla. ..."

In addition to using a significant amount of renewable energy sources they " ... plan to reduce ...  greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2015. ... "

Dell follows a simple 3-step model where they work efficiently (energy-wise), use renewable energyand offset with carbon credits from verified sources.

" ... only company in the computer industry to achieve operational carbon neutrality in August 2008 ..."

Via:  DELL  LINK

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... "Ian Rousseau, a native of South Hero, Vt., who is completing undergraduate studies in physics, will study Novel Solar Energy Conversion via Terahertz Rectification in Germany. " ...

Continue reading "Fulbright enables Solar Studies" »

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... "solar-powered boat made a gentle plop as it was lowered by a huge crane on to the waters of the Kiel firth in northern Germany today ... " ...

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... "The smart meters are connected to a central office for analysis and planning via a data concentrator, providing data to optimize usage efficiency and minimizing waste. Benchmarking data from last year will contribute to emissions and efficiency programs in 2010 and beyond. " ...

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... "The thin film panels, while less efficient than conventional silicon, were projected to perform better in cloudy weather than silicon. Team Germany got its proof on the competition's fifth day when skies turned slate gray and a cold rain splattered the solar village. " ...

Continue reading "Thin Film Solar Cloudy Power" »

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... "The technology of the future for smart energy management is going to be developed and tested, under the label E-Energy, in several cities. " ...

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Continue reading "Solar Decathlon Germany House Technology Showcase" »

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... "24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (PVSEC) and Exhibition, to be held in Hamburg, Germany from the 21 to 25 of September 2009 ... " ...

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... "Located in Luckenwalde near Berlin, the fully-automated factory processes Nanosolar cells into finished Nanosolar panels using innovative high-throughput manufacturing techniques and tooling developed by Nanosolar and its partners. The panel factory is automated to sustain a production rate of one panel every ten seconds, or an annual capacity of 640MW when operated 24x7. " ...

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The small German town of Dardesheim (fewer than 1,000) and neighbors in Halberstadt in what was East Germany "... want to become 100% renewable using solar, wind, and biomass."

" ... Four pioneering wind turbines were installed in the mid-1990s, collectively producing one million kWh per year ..."

"In 2006 they developed a 62 MW wind project comprising 28 Enercon E70s and one E112, a giant 6 MW turbine ... wind turbines will generate from 120 to 130 million kWh annually, enough to meet the needs of nearly all the 80,000 residents of the county."

" ... also installed nine different solar PV plants ... During their first year of operation the combined 380 kW of solar PV generated nearly 250,000 kWh, about one-third of the Dardesheim's domestic electricity consumption."

Via: Wind-Works LINK

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... "The plane, covered in almost 12,000 photovoltaic cells, has a wingspan of 63.4 meters, or roughly that of Airbus A340, and only weighs 1,600 kg, equivalent to that of a motor car. " ...

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... "The recipient of the award is chosen by a panel of commissioners composed of scientists and presidents of several solar energy-related professional societies, a representative of the U.S. Secretary of Energy, the past recipient and a member of the B?er family. Scheer, who has been a member of the German Parliament since 1980, was named president of EUROSOLAR in 1988 and was made chairperson of the World Council for Renewable Energy in 2001. " ...

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... "The researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have succeeded in overcoming this obstacle. They have managed to localize the defects in a region of the solar cell that is not electrically active. As a result, the active regions of the solar cell remain relatively free of defects – a prerequisite for achieving the highest efficiencies. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 08:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Porshce has an electric car in it's family history ... before Hybrids were even a common word.  The Lohner-Porsche was made in 1901 - 1905 and could run on either gas / electric.

Fast forward to today!  Porsche is a real performance car ,,,, and now a modern hybrid is coming ... "Due by the end of the decade, the Cayenne uses a parallel hybrid system that will help the SUV achieve fuel economy of at least 26 US MPG. ... "

Via:  Autoblog    Link

Via:  Wikipedia   Link

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Investments in Berlin research park are positioned to pay off as solar technology benefits from a strong collaboration between industry, academia, and research centers.  ...

...   "Lips said Adlershof is a solar scientist's paradise, due to the close proximity of research and industry, and the unique, open dialogue and collaboration that exists between the two. "   ... 

Via Deutsche Welle: Solar Tech Berlin

Adlershof Germany

Hahn-Meitner Institute: "The Hahn-Meitner Institute (HMI) is a scientific research institute which focuses on two main areas of work: structural and solar energy research. "

Posted by Green Tech at 11:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "In Germany, for instance, solar panels have been installed on 700,000 roofs and a feed-in tariff has been established by the German government that guarantees a high rate of return to consumers for generating electricity and returning it to the energy grid. " ...

Continue reading "Solar Leadership in Germany" »

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Sail Power may be the next big thing in energy savings for ocean going cargo vessels. 

"A simple fact: wind is cheaper than oil and the most cost-effective offshore energy source. Yet, ... it is not presently being used by cargo ships ... "

"SkySails is now offering a wind propulsion system based on large towing kites, which, for the first time, meets the requirements of shipping companies."

"By using the SkySails-System, a ship‘s fuel costs can be reduced by 10- 35% on annual average ... Under optimal wind conditions, fuel consumption can temporarily be reduced by up to 50%. Even on a small, 87 metre cargo ship, savings of up to 280,000 euros can be made annually.

"In 2007 the first SkySails-Systems with towing-kite areas of up to 320m² for cargo vessels, superyachts and fish trawlers will be available. Series production will start in 2008."

"Virtually all cargo ships can be retrofitted with the SkySails technology trouble-free."

Via: SkySails GmbH & Co.   Link 

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... "After careful assessment the experts of the German technical inspection authority TUV determined that the development process of the new C-Class accords with the requirements of the internationally recognized ISO standard 14062. Applying the concept of Design for Environment, this standard governs the integration of environmental aspects into product design and development. In addition, TUV checked and confirmed the data and statements contained in the environmental product information provided for the new C-Class. " ...

Via DaimlerChrysler: New Mercedes-Benz C-Class with Environmental Certificate

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