Of Nanodiesel and Nanotubes

Green Power Inc. Announces Successful Demonstration of Waste-to-Fuel Technology Creating NanoDiesel

“We really can convert regular household waste, medical waste, anything that is not radioactive, metal, glass or porcelain, into diesel fuel,” said Michael Spitzauer, CEO of Green Power, Inc.

The demonstration took place in Fife, Washington and was witnessed by approximately 200 onlookers, including various government officials, oil refinery, corporate representatives and media. Visitors from as far as India and Japan came to witness the demonstration.

Ramesh Kumar Jalan, an advisor for Delhi Waste Management in India, flew in for the demonstration. “I’ve been evaluating waste management for 15 years and have never seen anything like this,” said Jalan, who has a doctorate degree in waste management.

NJIT Researchers Seed, Heat and Grow Carbon Nanotubes in Long Tubing

In less than 20 minutes, researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) can now seed, heat and grow carbon nanotubes in 10-foot-long, hollow thin steel tubing.

“The work took us three years to develop and get right, but now we can essentially anchor nanotubes to a tubular wall. No one has ever done anything like this before,” said lead researcher Somenath Mitra, PhD, professor and acting chair of NJIT’s Dep’t of Chemistry and Environmental Science. Graduate and post-doctoral students who worked on the project are Mahesh Karwa, Chutarat Saridara and Roman Brukh.

The ground-breaking method will lead to improvements in cleaner gasoline, better food processing and faster, cheaper ways to clean air and water.

technorati tags: alternative energy, economy, energy, nanotubes, nanodiesel, waste, green power

Article Link: Citizens Pony Up for Green Energy

Article

The trend is upward elsewhere, too. Utilities in 36 states offer some form of green pricing, and last year 430,000 households bought green power -- up 20 percent from a year earlier, the U.S. Energy Department reported.

Besides increasing the amount of clean energy being used, such programs educate consumers about renewable energy sources, said John Kelly, director of research and economics for the American Public Power Association, which represents public utilities.

"There is this continual education effort, so you have a few progressive states and utilities that kind of lead the way," he said.

technorati tags: alternative energy, economy, energy

Alternative Energy Stocks Continue to Decline

In the last few months, shares in the alternative energy sector have declined. In the U.S. it has been a quarter since May. For the rest of the world it is even sharper.

This seems curious since we continually read articles that suggest the entire world is going to move towards at least a small offering of alternative energy resources.

AtaHolding wants to carry out project of alternative energy sources

He said that the project on alternative energy source requires investment of $1.1bn and Azerbaijan enjoys very favorable wind and sun energy.

Bay set to power ahead with alternative energy

THE Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has announced plans to take the lead in providing alternative energy sources in the country by initiating an innovative process to provide renewable energy for residents.

Companies and projects chosen for the R9-billion initiative are Lereko Energy Consortium (wind turbines, solar heating, electricity generation from waste), Thermo-Rec (electricity generation from solid waste), and Enercon India (large-scale wind farm), being a 100% subsidiary of EIL South Africa Power Development (Pty) Ltd.

In this op-ed piece a citizen states his support for alternative energy subsidies if it would actually lead the country to getting off of the huge dependence on foreign oil. Of course we have oil we could tap, but have not. However, Cuba has now started up operations just 60 miles off of our coast. We would not touch it for environmental reasons but other countries do not have the same concerns and we might be the better choice due to technology and the fact that we have citizens who are concerned about such things.

Now for the original article that I read:
Alternative energy

The trouble is that, with much of the potential payoff in the distant future, valuations of alternative energy stocks are heavily exposed to mood swings in broader markets. During turbulence, that lends an edge to companies running other businesses too, such as Archer Daniels Midland, the leading US ethanol producer. But unless oil prices stay at current levels, fuels such as bio-diesel will continue to require US government support to be viable.

Another strategy championed by several smaller US companies is to focus on finding new, cleaner ways to extract energy from traditional sources. Converting coal into a gas for use in power plants has lately re-emerged as a favourite. It is potentially competitive with oil and gas at crude prices well below current levels. It would also benefit from the US's large coal reserves and allow carbon emissions to be captured more easily. But storing these emissions underground still looks challenging, while the economics will depend heavily on government subsidies.

It comes down to how much are we willing to sacrifice to make the change? How much is too much? What about those who cannot afford the new technology? Should it be phased in and left to chance it will be continually delayed such as other projects in the US? Will other countries make the commitment to alternative energy?

technorati tags: alternative energy, economy, energy

Air Quality News: Pine Plantations Increase Carbon Dioxide Levels

PINE PLANTATIONS MAY BE ONE CULPRIT IN INCREASING CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS

The researchers estimate that some 10 million acres – roughly the size of New Hampshire and Vermont – of mainly hardwood and natural pine forests will be chopped down to make way for pine plantations by 2030 in just three Southern states. That translates into roughly 700,000 tons more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere annually, or 21 million tons over the 30-year period.

That number may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the 3 billion tons of carbon the United States emits annually. But Sohngen is quick to point out that the model only included Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi and that the results can apply across the southern United States, suggesting that carbon dioxide emissions could be as much as four times higher.

technorati tags: air quality, logging, carbon dioxide, pollution

Interesting Article on an Electric SPORTS Car

0-60 in no time flat and incredible breaking. Most of all, no engine and a 250 mile capacity before refueling. Can the tech sector save the troubled auto industry?

Battery-Fueled Car Will Smoke You

The trick? The Tesla Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries -- the same cells that run a laptop computer. Range: 250 miles. Fuel efficiency: 1 to 2 cents per mile. Top speed: more than 130 mph. The first cars will be built at a factory in England and are slated to hit the market next summer. And Tesla Motors, Eberhard's company, is already gearing up for a four-door battery-powered sedan.

In an age when a car's electronics are worth more than its steel, it seems only natural that the tech sector would have its own car company. The question is, can Eberhard turn the digital era into horsepower, torque, and rpm?
[...]
More important, Eberhard says, the electric cars of the past -- slow, cramped, spartan -- looked like they were designed by people who thought you shouldn't be driving to begin with. Eberhard calls them "punishment cars." What he wanted to build, he told his potential investors, was a classic sports car. He wanted to have his ecofriendly ride and race it, too. Initially, the Sand Hill VCs weren't interested. Eberhard got his first bite from Elon Musk, cofounder of PayPal, who -- over the course of two years -- put in nearly $30 million of his own money and also corralled some of his wealthy entrepreneur friends to chip in. By May 2006, Tesla Motors had raised $60 million. Now Eberhard had to get the car into production.

Nuclear Power Articles

Nuclear power revival looms

It may seem a mere tangle of pipes and instruments to the untrained eye. To nuclear engineer Jose Reyes, it's a sign of a coming nuclear-power plant revival in the United States with electricity produced more safely and for less money than the atomic behemoths built in the 20th century.
This jumble of technology is a one-quarter-scale model of the Westinghouse AP1000 power plant. Reyes heads a team at Oregon State University that built the model to test the AP1000's so-called passive safety systems, under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy and Westinghouse.

"We've conducted 20 tests for the AP1000," said Reyes. "We found the simple passive system could replace entire batteries of pumps that are normally used for cooling of the nuclear core."

This kind of safety system, Reyes said, would make nuclear leaks far less likely, and virtually eliminate the threat of a meltdown of the nuclear core.

China seen driving global nuclear power industry growth - Merrill Lynch

According to the China's People's Daily, the National Development and Reform Commission announced plans in 2004 to increase installed nuclear capacity to 36 mln-kilowatts by 2020, and is contemplating adding two or more reactors every year for the next 16 years.

'Despite this, there remains considerable uncertainty about the scale of future nuclear generation, and this is reflected in the relatively wide variation between different demand scenarios by the World Nuclear Association (WNA),' the note said.

technorati tags: oil, nuclear power, economy, energy, China, Oregon

Oil in 2007, Prices cooling

OPEC announced that it expects several factors to lead to the cooling of prices next year. However, they warned that the price of oil would still be subject to change due to political situations throughout the world. Right now that would be Iran, the current Israeli campaign to recover their soldiers and destroy various militants that host countries have neglected to reel in, and of course the ongoing problem in Nigeria. Apparently that is "muslim oil" there and should not go to the American "devils."

Oil prices helped by 'moderating' factors in 2007: OPEC

"The expected increase in OPEC capacity, combined with the projected decline in required OPEC crude, should help to moderate prices," the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said.

"Whether the market will benefit from the full effect of these trends will depend mainly on downstream developments and non-fundamental factors, particularly geopolitical tensions, a major factor behind the current record high oil prices," it added.

OPEC capacity is expected to increase by 1.0 million bpd to 34.3. million bpd by end-2007 but demand for the cartel's oil is set to drop to an average 28.1 million bpd, down 600,000 bpd from the estimate for 2006, due in part to high oil prices and slower economic growth, the report said.

Non-OPEC supply in 2007 is set to increase by 1.7 million bpd, to 53.1 million bpd, compared to 51.4 million bpd in 2006, mainly helped by Africa, North America and Latin America, the organisation said.

technorati tags: oil, energy, alternative energy, OPEC, 2007, economy

Study IDs Energy Gains and Eviro Impact of Biofuels

Specifically corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel. The report shows that they both produce more energy than what it takes to produce the fuels. This has been a sticky point since other research had shown otherwise. However, soybean biodiesel is the cleanest of the bunch, reducing greenhouse emissions by 41%. Plus soybeans do not need the same chemicals that are normally used with crops and could reduce the chance of polluting ground water.

Article: Researchers Identify Energy Gains And Environmental Impacts Of Corn Ethanol And Soybean Biodiesel

The amount of energy each returns differs greatly, however. Soybean biodiesel returns 93 percent more energy than is used to produce it, while corn grain ethanol currently provides only 25 percent more energy.

Still, the researchers caution that neither biofuel can come close to meeting the growing demand for alternatives to petroleum. Dedicating all current U.S. corn and soybean production to biofuels would meet only 12 percent of gasoline demand and 6 percent of diesel demand. Meanwhile, global population growth and increasingly affluent societies will increase demand for corn and soybeans for food.

The authors showed that the environmental impacts of the two biofuels also differ. Soybean biodiesel produces 41 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than diesel fuel whereas corn grain ethanol produces 12 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline.

technorati tags: clean energy, ethanol, biodiesel, green energy, energy, soy, research

An Inconvenient Car

10 years ago there were a number of electric vehicles being made but one in particular really impressed its owners and had a waiting list of those who wanted to lease it. The car was named the EV1 and was manufactured by General Motors.

The car itself was priced at $33,995 but GM never sold a single unit. The lease ran $400-$550 per month and included a bumper to bumper warranty. The lease was three years and had no option to buy.

Even with the high price tag, the car was a loser for GM and was discontinued. As the leases ended the cars either ended up in musuems, universities, or was crushed.

It would have been a great go to town and come back car. A full charge took just three hours and would take you all of 80 miles. Hmmm, that would take me a couple of days just to drive up the coast 500 miles.

Article link.

As befits its title, ``Who Killed the Electric Car?'' begins with a funeral, a mock one, held at a real cemetery. It ends with an inquiry, one that implicates oil companies, auto manufacturers, the federal government, the California Air Resources Board and, yes, even you and me for murder of an automobile that looks like a winner in these days of high gas prices.

There were several makes of electric cars, but Chris Paine's trenchant documentary focuses primarily on General Motors' EV1. Launched in 1996, the car was fast and quiet, ran without exhaust, required no gas or oil changes and was so popular that dealers kept a waiting list with tens of thousands of names.

Technical specifications of 1998 GM EV1 Gen II NiMH

technorati tags: E85, energy, alternative energy, vehicles, EV1, GM, auto manufacture

Big 3 Continue to Push Flex Fuel Vehicles

However, the biggest hurdle is the fact that most stations do not offer E85. According to the article there are only 700 stations that do offer the fuel and most of those are in the Midwest. The automakers state that if E85 was available everywhere, up to 3.5 billion gallons of gasoline would be displaced each year. The National Petrochemical and Refiners Association states that E85 blends are not energy dense enough and too expensive in most parts of the country.

Big Three promise more flex-fuel cars

The Big Three automakers have produced 5 million flexible-fuel vehicles, which can run on gasoline and fuel blends of up to 85 percent ethanol, known as E85. They are expected to produce an additional 1 million of the vehicles this year. Their commitment would lead to 2 million annually by 2010.

Initial place that I ran across the article:
Motor Co. Triumvirate to Boost Flexible Fuel Vehicle Production

technorati tags: E85, energy, alternative energy, vehicles, flex fuel, flexible fuel, auto manufacture

Politics and Alternative Energy

Anyone who is surprised by how much the political ring is involved with in alternative energy in the US has not been paying attention. Here are a few articles highlighting this.

US asks India to join research on alternative energy sources

As part of cooperation under the India-US Agreement on Science and Technology 2005, Washington hopes to encourage India's decision to join the FutureGen international partnership to create a zero emissions coal-fired power plant that will produce hydrogen and sequester carbon dioxide below ground.

"We especially appreciate India's agreement to participate in the FutureGen steering committee, its commitment to participate in the FutureGen Industry Alliance and its pledge of 10 million dollars to the project, 2.2 million of which has already been donated," Bodman said.

The US is also working together to bring India into the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme and to cooperate on efforts to study methane hydrates. India's effort in this regard will make use of Department of Energy-owned technology and will include many US researchers, allowing it to accelerate commercial utilization of hydrates in the United States and around the world.

Alternative energy called key to area's economic growth

The centerpiece was a panel discussion moderated by U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York.

Clinton and U.S. Rep. Thomas Reynolds, R-Clarence, Erie County, spoke at a news conference in support of the vision and said they would do what they could to get federal support.

With the right organization and focus, "we think we can create thousands of jobs," Clinton said.

The key, public and private officials said, will be for the region to work together.

HARRISON TOWNSHIP: Selfridge could land alternative energy project

Selfridge Air National Guard Base will be the home of an alternative energy project if a Department of Defense appropriations bill approved by the House of Representatives becomes law.

NextEnergy, a Detroit-based nonprofit alternative fuel cooperative, would continue research and development of a waste-to-energy project intended to make troops less reliant on conventional fuels, said Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Twp. The appropriations bill targets $2 million for the project, which would turn mess hall and other wastes into liquid fuel to run generators to provide electricity.

Kleeb pleased with developments in Monday rally

More than 60 supporters came out to hear Democrat Scott Kleeb. Kleeb's focus Monday was "Energy Independence".

He is calling for steps to break our nation's dependence on foreign oil.

He would like to see a transition to American made fuels like ethanol.

Siemens Receives Pennsylvania Grant for Clean Energy Project

Kevin Matthews, P.E., the senior facilities manager at Siemens who led the company-wide initiative to obtain the grant, explains that the system will utilize solar panels installed at a 25 degree tilt, which generates 15 percent more electricity annually than flat solar panels.

"Over the system's 30-year lifespan, we expect it to provide the equivalent environmental benefit of planting 5,057 trees or reducing the total number of vehicle miles driven by 7,586,250," said Matthews. "The energy savings for Siemens is estimated to average $14,000 to $16,000 per year for the next 25 to 30 years."

According to the Energy Information Administration and based on average U.S. household consumption, the system being installed by Siemens generates enough electricity to power all appliances, electronics, lighting and related household needs for 30 homes. While renewable energy only makes up about 7 percent of the energy used in the U.S., Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell has put in place an aggressive portfolio standard that mandates some 700 megawatts of electricity from solar photovoltaics in 15 years, attracting investments in solar technologies that will create jobs and ensure reliable, affordable electricity supplies.

"Advanced energy technology is about achieving both environmental protection and economic development - at the same time," Governor Rendell said. "In Pennsylvania, we are changing the way America produces fuel and thinks about energy - attracting investments that stimulate the economy and create jobs, putting indigenous resources to work to enhance security at home and realizing significant improvements in environmental protection."

technorati tags: clean energy, energy, alternative energy, politics

Nuclear Waste Issue

Utah tribe divided over nuclear waste

Excerpt:

Bear says it is the way to riches that will mean new homes, new jobs and better health care for the 118 members of his tribe. Only about two dozen _ including children _ still live on the 18,000-acre reservation, but this project will bring many of the others back, he predicts.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the lease in 1997. The deal is yet to be consummated amid lawsuits, regulatory hurdles and bitter opposition. It's close, though.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a license for the dump in February. The agency rejected arguments that the dump's location is unsafe because hundreds of F-16 jet fighters fly over the reservation on the way to bombing runs over nearby government land. The chance of a crash that could result in the release of radiation is one in a million, an adequate risk, the NRC said.

Private Fuel Storage LLC of Wisconsin, the consortium that would build and run the dump, has begun looking for nuclear power plant owners to sign up for waste shipments.

technorati tags: nuclear, energy, alternative energy, Utah tribe

Geothermal Section on House

No, not the doctor show starring the guy that used to be in Black Adder. :rolleyes

Earth as Heat Source and Sink

Geothermal systems use ground-source heat pumps to heat and cool your home or building, and to provide hot water. These systems are energy efficient because they use as a source the earth's constant temperature (about 52 degrees F). In winter, the earth's natural warmth is brought into your home, and in summer the system works in reverse to bring in natural cool.

The article mentions that a forced air system will run about $40-45K USD. With an average energy savings of 25 to 40 percent it would take me YEARs and YEARS to actually save money.

technorati tags: geothermal, energy, alternative energy

Legislating A Change

How much can you force a population to move towards an alternative form of energy? How much of a push is right and just?

California sets "clean energy" oil tax on ballot

Californians will vote in November on a ballot measure proposing a constitutional amendment that would tax oil production to fund a range of alternative energy efforts, Secretary of State Bruce McPherson said on Wednesday.
...
Supporters are painting the vote over the ballot measure as between friendly environmentalists who want to cut energy prices versus polluting Big Oil and corporations seeking to drain consumers' wallets.

Opponents say the initiative is a sheep in wolves' clothing that if passed will create an unchecked bureaucracy and not only higher taxes but also higher fuel prices in the end.

Joint Israel-US alternative energy development bill goes to Congress

American legislation focusing on joint solutions for energy security between the United States and Israel is being discussed this week in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. HR 2730 - the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act - is designed to "establish a grant program to fund eligible joint ventures between United States and Israeli businesses and academic persons, to establish the International Energy Advisory Board, and for other purposes." The bill calls for the creation of a $20 million annual grant program administered by the Department of Energy. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif. introduced the legislation as the sole sponsor in the last Congress and reintroduced it May 26, 2005 with Rep. John B. Shadegg, R-Ariz. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hailed the Shadegg-Sherman Bill during his address to a joint session of Congress May 24.

Energy Incentives

The "Enhanced Energy Security Act of 2006," S. 2747, is sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), the ranking member of the Energy Committee. He has drawn bipartisan support for the bill in the Energy Committee and is committed to ensuring that the necessary tax incentives are supported by the Senate Finance Committee, on which he's also a member. The chances of passage should be good. The reason: This is legislation America needs.

Bingaman's bill would encourage the swift introduction of alternative energy automotive technologies by helping U.S. automakers revamp their manufacturing plants for the production of new hybrid and highly energy efficient cars and by ensuring that alternative fuels are readily available to consumers across the country. The bill would encourage the use of cellulosic ethanol and keep in place tax incentives to encourage automakers and consumers to embrace alternative energy vehicles.

technorati tags: politics, energy, power, electricity, alternative energy, legislation, United States

Balance to the Force, the Other Side

To keep things a bit balanced on the climate change debate here is an excerpt from an article that appears on the Frontpagemag.com website. Basically it attempts to attack Al Gore for the film that he was involved with and has been stomping for recently.

An Inconvenient Paranoia

After all, if the science is as conclusive as Al Gore, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times and virtually every other spokesman of the Left says it is, conservatives are just as likely to be scorched and drowned and otherwise done in by global warming as liberals will. So why aren't non-leftists nearly as exercised as leftists are?Do conservatives handle heat better? Are libertarians better swimmers? Do religious people love their children less?

And it actually goes downhill from there. Why take the time to launch such an attack? Is it not better to fight fire with fire? That is to use actual science and hard data to argue one side or the other.

I put this here to highlight the problem with the issue of global warming and with the alternative fuels debate. There's a lot of heated discussion going on but very little being said. To those out there: take your time, research, and give the public the facts. Leave the name calling and the like for the school yard, where it belongs.

((And yes, I realise both sides are guilty of this. So both of you hug and make up or you will be sent to your rooms.))

BTW, Germany won today! :)

technorati tags: politics, Al Gore, energy, power, electricity, alternative energy

Goodbye to the Alternator?

An Alternative to your Alternator
New thermophotovoltaic materials could replace alternators in cars and save fuel.

Appears that nanotech has made an old idea new again. This is very exciting and, if it works well and can be inexpensively built, will help us conserve even more fuel.

The technology, called thermophotovoltaics, uses gasoline to heat a light-emitting material, in this case tungsten. A photovoltaic cell then converts the light into electricity. The idea has been around since the 1960s, says John Kassakian, MIT electrical engineering and computer science professor. But until now, the light emitters for the photovoltaics produced inefficient and very costly systems. Improvements in the materials used in these latest devices -- possible in part because researchers can modify the material structure at the nanoscale -- are now making much more efficient systems, Kassakian says.

technorati tags: vehicles, alternator, energy, nanotech, power, electricity, alternative energy

Fuel Cells Soon To Get A Boost

More Powerful Fuel Cells Get Closer To Market

The Tufts group has designed the first sorbent system for high-temperature fuel cells. First, they use new materials: rare earth oxides, known to be stable and able to absorb hydrogen sulfide at high temperatures. And, instead of filtering gas through a thick sorbent bed, they pass it over the surface of a thin sorbent layer. Flytzani-Stephanopoulos calls the new design a "simple" solution to the sulfur problem.

Rare earth oxides are inexpensive and easy to obtain. The system could be added to a SOFC using two small boxes -- one for fresh sorbents, the other for spent ones. Sulfur-free gases generated by the fuel cell would sweep the spent sorbents clean, allowing the same sorbents to be used over and over.

technorati tags: clean energy, fuel cells, energy, Tufts University, power, electricity, alternative energy

Clean Energy News in the AM

Power vets want to start incubator for clean energy

Two power industry veterans, including a co-founder of Sacramento energy software firm Henwood Energy Services Inc., want to launch a local incubator for clean-energy ventures.

Gary Simon and Mark Henwood hope to bring together 15 to 20 companies with new ideas for fuel cells, hydrogen storage systems, solar power and other renewable- energy technologies. The nonprofit incubator would help the companies find funding, develop business plans and research potential markets.

Device could power the future of energy

Dolan has built a machine that creates and stores hydrogen. The device, powered by sunlight, sends electricity through water to separate hydrogen from oxygen and then pumps the hydrogen as a gas into a container, where it is stored as a renewable energy source.

"Once you have this stored hydrogen, you can take it out of here and run it into any device that uses fossil fuels," said http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=23739009Dolan, a 46-year-old Trumbull resident. "The only thing hydrogen won't do is it won't make plastics. That's what we need fossil fuels for."
...
But a problem with Dolan's prototype, from a practical standpoint, is the space needed to store hydrogen.

A pound of hydrogen may have three times the energy content of fossil fuels, but it takes 400 cubic feet to store the hydrogen equivalent of a gallon of gasoline, Dolan said.

But Dolan said his machine's storage container, 4 feet by 8 feet and capable of storing 1,000 cubic feet of hydrogen, could be larger.

Martin Ferguson and the nuclear debate

Ferguson claims that the existing policy discriminates in favour of existing uranium mining companies and against other potential uranium miners. He ignores the option of levelling the playing field by putting an end to uranium mining altogether.

In a March 20 briefing paper, which Ferguson is circulating within the ALP and to trade unions, he states: “State and Territory Labor governments which have knowingly allowed uranium exploration, will come under pressure to allow the development of discoveries within the next few years: if they reject mining applications, it will raise questions about sovereign risk for mining investors in Australia.”

But uranium exploration companies are well aware of Labor’s policy of opposition to new uranium mines. Labor state governments or a future Labor federal government face no legal risk. Further, state Labor governments could put an end to the current situation whereby they allow, and sometimes subsidise, uranium exploration.

UK and France to work more closely on N-power

France and Britain announced yesterday that they will work more closely in the civil nuclear field at a time when London is widely expected to restart the country's atomic energy programme.
"We have agreed to explore in the short term and further develop the opportunities of working together in the civil nuclear field," the two countries said in a joint statement after a summit in Paris.
"To that end we have agreed to establish a regular Franco-British Nuclear Forum, involving representatives from government, industry and technical experts."

The big question that I still ask is will this push for clean energy keep going after the price on oil crashes? Yes, I am now saying crash since the futures market has refused the let the prices come down gradually. I am not the only one thinking that although I do think it will take a bit before it happens.

BP's CEO, Lord Browne, disagrees with me though. He is saying that the price for oil will crash to $40 in the very near future.

BP CEO Lord Browne says oil price will fall to 40 usd per barrel mid-term

BP PLC chief executive Lord Browne told Der Spiegel he expects world oil prices will fall to 40 usd per barrel in the mid-term and that in the long term they could drop to 25-30 usd per barrel.

technorati tags: clean energy, UK, nuclear power, green energy, oil, hydrogen, economy

Energy Impact of the World Cup

England expects one heck of a power spike come tomorrow when England faces off against Paraguay. This article states that the spike could be as high as 1,500 megawatts. Apparently it has something to do with that country's fascination with drinking tea.

technorati tags: energy demand, England, energy, green energy, soccer, World Cup

Quick Solar Power Trivia

The World Cup Soccer (Football to the rest of the world) games start soon and Germany is doing what they can to keep it green such as offering free mass transit trips and using rain water recovery systems for use with the sanitation systems.

Plus, 2,500 kilowatts will be generated by solar power during peak hours.

Articles:
Green Goals for World Cup Nets
World Cup city sets green goals
Germany's 'green swathe' cup goal

technorati tags: solar power, Germany, Brazil,energy, green energy, soccer, World Cup