Synthetically grown (all-natural) algae biofuel has recently been pegged as the most promising replacement for traditional fuels.  The potential to grow it in a factory setting and the much lower carbon footprint make it a potential miracle fuel source.

Until researchers found one pretty big snag.  Growing the algae biofuel in the manner most thought to be scalable, (large, clear cylinders) has been found to have a carbon footprint 3.7x that of petro-diesel, the fuel it was intended to replace.

The study also found that when grown in ponds instead of turbo-sized test-tubes, the carbon footprint of algae biofuel drops to 4.5 x lower than petro-diesel.  However, this method consumes more water.  Not an issue in regions with an abundance.

Although the yield using ponds is lower than that of the test-tube method, it’s the carbon foootprint and cost effectiveness we’re worried about.  The algae fuel seems to be the perfect solution as it consumes carbon-dioxide and spits out a combustible fuel.  It could very well be the solution to our addiction to oil, global warming and a suffering economy rolled into one neat little technology.

Other scientists are experimenting with new test tube reactor designs that use a series of baffles to move water and algae around in a manner that achieves the circulation necessary while using much less energy.  This issue being that algae needs constant movement and exposure to sunlight in order to grow quickly.  This method, pioneered by Benjamin Taylor at the University of Cambridge uses 4% of the energy typically consumed by this method of production.

You can read the entire study here.

Ground has been broken on the largest wind farm in the United States.  The farm, capable of 570 MW in the first phase of construction or enough to power about 600,000 homes, is a project of the Terra-Gen Power LLC and will be called the Alta Wind Energy Center.

With a $1.2 Billion price tag, the farm will consist of five separate segments.  Financing was just secured recently, kicking construction into gear.  Just 75 miles north of Los Angeles, the project will be built in the Mojave desert.

The first phase of the project will be complete in 2011.  Upon completion, the project will meet 10% of California’s mandated renewable energy needs.  More impressively, when complete, the farm will prevent 5.8 Billion pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.

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Right after investing $38.8 Billion (with a “B”), Google has purchased 20 years worth of wind energy from a company in Iowa.  If you ever wondered what it looked like to have more money than you know what to do with, investigate this growing company.

Google began it’s commitment to become carbon neutral back in 2007 and announced on it’s blog today that the contract to purchase wind energy will power “several of it’s datacenters”.

As with anything Google does, it did it big.  The deal is the first transaction by Google Energy, a subsidiary of Google with SEC approval to trade energy on the open market.

So what does it cost Google actually consume in energy?  It uses half a milliliter of water (in energy) for each search, therefore the 300 million searches each day require 150,000 liters of water to produce the required electrical power.

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According to a new report by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), a U.N. supported initiative, half of all new energy projects in the U.S. were renewable.

In Europe, 60% of projects were renewable while 25% of global projects were renewable.  China, under great environmental strain, has lead the pack with 37 Gigawatts of energy.  China also has the money to burn, for now.

As Ecogeek puts it, we have a long way to go.  But progress is progress.

Here’s something you may not know: as solar panels heat up, they become less efficient.  An ironic truth for something designed to sit in the sun all day.  Up until now, a homeowner was required to choose between photovoltaic solar panels (the kind that generate electricity) and hot water solar panels (the kind that generate, well, hot water).

Hot water panels could heat your house, consumable hot water, swimming pool, etc.  Even during the winter.  Photovoltaic cells can charge a battery bank that in turn powers your house.  A company called Solimpeks has combined the two technologies to create a more efficient, widely applicable product.

In addition to giving a homeowner a longer list of potential uses, the new hybrid panel solves the inverse efficiency issue by drawing heat away from the solar cells.  Voila! A more efficient, multi-purposed solar panel.

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Ever notice LED’s (Light Emitting Diodes) are always round?  They emit light in all directions which has been somewhat of a hindrance for some advanced applications.  As we’ve discussed before, LED’s are a major component of the energy conserving consumer plan.

Interestingly, most light sources we have create round light.  Go ahead, look around you and notice the shape.  This is handy for illuminating entire rooms or large spaces.  However as noted by the folks at Green Tech Media, many elements of life are, in fact, square or straight.  Read: desks, roads, paper, etc.

The value in a new product coming from a startup in Austin, TX is that their LED light source creates a square light which will work from a practical and design perspective in more applications.

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As I write this, I am enjoying a frozen sorbet from “Del Monte”.  There isn’t one mention of words like no preservatives, no trans fat, no hydrogenated oils, etc.  And yet, there is none of that in the ingredients.  Isn’t that good old fashion honest food manufacturing?  Kudos to Del Monte for being health conscious for the sake of food ethics, not marketing.

I digress.

With oil spilling into the ocean at an alarming and disgusting rate, Steve McCallister over at Modern Hippie Magazine has presented a resource for transitioning away from oil.  Now, we’re not talking about getting rid of foreign oil, but oil altogether.  It is common knowledge (except for those steadfast ignorati who still don’t even think global warming is happening) that our global oil supply is finite.  That is, it’s limited and running out, fast.

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As many experts and amateur alternative energy enthusiasts have long predicted, fuel cell concepts are still way far from realistic production.

The technology works, the market and demand are present, the cost is still prohibitive.  As many industry insiders have been saying for decades, Hydrogen fuel cell technology is promising for the future: the distant future.  Despite the potential to truly push us into carbon sobriety, manufacturers can’t seem to produce a car without a large price tag.

As recently as 5 years ago, the fuel cell vehicle made by Toyota cost in the neighborhood of $150,000 to produce.  Clearly too rich for the current market.  Toyota’s new $50,000 fuel cell sedan is a step closer to reality.  Although still way too expensive for the average consumer, it’s a fair next step and a follow-through on their promise of introducing a fuel cell vehicle by 2015.

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“It is estimated that harnessing just 2 one-thousandths of the oceans’ untapped energy could provide power equal to current worldwide demand.”
-Annette von Jouanne founder of the Wave Energy program at Oregon State University (OSU)

With 70 percent of the world’s surface covered by ocean a remarkable opportunity exists to produce clean energy. The sea remains the greatest pool of untapped renewable power on the planet. The wave energy off American coasts alone can provide as much electricity as the nation’s hydroelectric plants.

“Full scale of the wave resource is about the same as the hydro resource, which is approximately six percent,” Dr. Ted Brekken told me by phone. He is the co-director of the Wallace Energy Systems and Renewables Facility at Oregon State University, “the highest-power university energy systems lab in the U.S.”

“The resource will be fully developed when there are five to seven wave parks with each of those generating over 100 megawatts,” he said. The amount of electricity from one park could power several hundred thousand homes.

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Electric cars are coming into their own with the announcement of the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, the first two all-electric consumer market vehicles available.

Although electric cars are not new (read: Who Killed the Electric Car) they are growing exponentially as the only legitimate solution for removing the top cause of greenhouse gas emmissions.

FedEx announced recently that they will be converting a (very) small part of their fleet to all-electric vehicles. Specifically, four vehicles will be added to their Los Angeles fleet.

In line with my previous post on not buying a hybrid, FedEx is doing a good job of utilizing their existing fleet by converting them to hybrids.

FedEx is also selling the concept with an informative website, allowing users to track the FedEx truck as it makes it’s way across Route 66 on a promotional tour.  FedEx is also taking the initiative up a notch by advocating for a complete electric vehicle infrastructure and “homegrown energy production.”

Read more at the official FedEx site.

(source: EcoGeek)