Work on the world’s largest hydropower plant is expected to start in October, 2015 following commitments from the World Bank and other development agencies to finance its construction. South Africa has also agreed to buy more than half of the energy that would be generated at the 4800 MW Inga 3 plant at Inga Falls on the Congo River. Preliminary reports show that a series of dams on this section of the river would have a relatively small environmental and social impact, but International Rivers and other non governmental organizations warn that virtually none of this power would improve the lives of local residents in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

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Post tags: Africa, African Development Bank, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Environment, hydropower, International Rivers, News, off grid solutions, renewable energy, South Africa to buy DRC energy, world bank, world's largest hydropower plant

The heat emitted from waste incinerators, refineries, and data processors could soon become much more useful, thanks to a discovery by the startup OsmoBlue. The Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne Laboratory of Microsystems startup has found a way to convert waste heat over 30 degrees Celsius into electricity that could be used to heat buildings and even power the machines that produce the heat in the first place,

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Post tags: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, converting heat into energy, data processors, epfl laboratory of microsystems, gas or steam into electricity, heat over 30 degrees can be turned into electricity, osmoblue, refineries, turning heat in the form of air, using osmosis to convert heat into electricity, waste incinerators, water issues

A group of Rice University mechanical engineering students recently created a pair of energy-generating shoes that are able to create and store electricity with every step. The team’s kinetic energy-harvesting PediPower shoes could be used to power portable electronics and medical devices.

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Post tags: battery, energy generating shoes, energy-generating-clothing, engineering students, kinetic, kinetic energy, mechanical engineering, PediPowers, rice university

A team of Norwegian research scientists has unveiled a concept that could store energy on the seabed. Conceived by Subhydro AS, the underwater pumped hydroelectric power plant would use high water pressure to create and store electricity for later use on the shore.

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Post tags: energy storage, renewable energy, SINTEF, subhydro, Subhydro AS, tidal power, water pressure, wave power

Two supermarkets are making lemonade out of lemons the green way—by converting their spoiled food into energy. Grocery chains Ralphs and Food 4 Less (both part of the Kroger Co.) have joined forces with FEED Resource Recovery to make use of the rotten and expired foods that their markets don’t sell. Any food that can’t be sold or donated will be transformed into energy to help run their distribution center in Compton.

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Post tags: anaerobic digester, biogas, eco design, FEED Resource Recovery, Food 4 Less, food recycling, green design, Kroger Co, Ralphs Supermarket, sustainable design

When architect Ed Mazria announced that buildings account for nearly 50% of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, the building industry was taken aback. After a long career in passive solar architecture, he has taken on the goal of steeply reducing the carbon footprint of architecture – most notably with his 2030 Challenge, which aims to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in new construction, and to cut the use of fossil fuels in existing buildings by 50% by 2030. To help hit those targets, Mazria is launching a new initiative called the 2030 Palette—a robust, visually oriented online design tool which strives to help produce low-impact, people friendly projects. We recently visited Mazria’s offices in Santa Fe, where we spoke to the architect in-depth about his work and how sustainable development can save us from the worst climate change has to offer.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: Ed Mazria, Founder of Architecture 2030 Introduces the 2030 Palette

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Post tags: 2030 Palette, Architecture 2030, carbon neutral architecture, Ed Mazria, global warming, green architecture, green construction, Sustainable Building

Every once in a while an idea comes along that is so unlike anything before that it defies reference. Take Belatchew Lab Architecture’s Strawscraper, a skyscraper covered in hair that can harness the energy of the wind. The building looks as though it belongs at the bottom of the sea, with its long anemone-like hair, but its technology is planted firmly on the terra firma of the future.

Read the rest of Swedish Strawscaper Harvests Energy from the Wind With a Kinetic Hair-Covered Shell

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Post tags: "wind power", Architecture in Stockholm, Belatchew Architecture, Belatchew Labs, hair shell harvests wind, Piezoelectric technology, renewable wind energy, Strawscraper, swedish architecture, urban wind energy

Today is National Bike to Work Day, and all across America, people are ditching their cars and trucks for a cleaner, healthier journey via bicycle. Our friends at Voltaic Systems joined in the fun to support NYC’s Bike to Work Day, and it’s no surprise that they added their own solar-powered flair to the day’s festivities. Company staffers decked out a commuter bicycle and with a custom-built bike trailer carrying 60+ Watts of portable solar panels, 180 Watt hours of charging capacity, and lots of connectors to charge up smartphones, tablets and even a MacBook, in an effort to show New Yorkers how much fun can be had when human and solar power are combined.

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Post tags: bike commuting, bike to work day, bike trailer, solar charger, solar panels, Solar Power, voltaic systems

In the developing world, mortality rates for expectant mothers total over 300,000 deaths each year. The WE CARE Solar Suitcase is a brilliant new device that aims to reduce this figure by providing hospitals in off-grid areas with access to a steady source of energy and light. Designed by Dr. Laura Stachel and her husband Hal Aronson, the system includes high-efficiency LED lights, a universal cellphone charger, 12V DC outlets, a set of 40 or 80 watt solar panels, and a 12 amp-hour sealed lead-acid battery.

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Post tags: birth, clean tech, Design for Health, developing nations, dr. laura stachel, green design, hal aronson, health technology, Light, photovoltaic light, renewable energy, Solar Power, solar suitcase, solar-powered light, sustainable design, wecare solar

Beijing-based Decode Urbanism Office has designed a conceptual skyscraper with a façade composed of thousands of small wind turbines that would be able to produce enough energy to power the entire building. At night, the diamond-shaped generators are lit with thousands of tiny LED lights incorporated into the building envelope.

Read the rest of Taiwanese Wind Tower is Covered with Thousands of Wind Turbines and LED Lights

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Post tags: Beijing architects, Decode Urbanism Office, kinetic energy wind, LED facade, LED lights, renewable energy sources, sustainable tower, Taichung buildings, Taichung towers, Taichung Wind Tower, Taiwan Wind Tower, tower plum blossom, wind facade

An incredible new printer at the University of Melbourne has allowed researchers to print solar cells up to the size of an A3 sheet of paper. Developed in collaboration between the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC), CSIRO, and the University of Melbourne, the solar cell printer makes renewable energy even easier to source.

Read the rest of Australia’s Largest Solar Cell Printer Can Spit Out a Photovoltaic Panel Every Two Seconds

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Post tags: CSIRO, eco design, green design, largest solar cell printer, solar cell printer, sustainable design, university of melbourne, Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium

Japan has hemmed and hawed about closing its nuclear reactors after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. At first there was talk of closing down all reactors, but the motion was whittled down to affect just those that fail rigorous safety testing, and finally none at all. A panel of seismic experts just announced that one of Japan’s oldest reactors sits on a highly earthquake-prone site and should be shuttered permanently – and the government is taking the first steps towards shutting it down.

Read the rest of Japan Takes Steps to Permanently Close First Nuclear Reactor Since Fukushima Disaster

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Post tags: earthquake nuclear reactors, Fukushima disaster, fukushima japan, fukushima meltdown, fukushima nuclear power plant, fukushima reactor, Japan closing reactors, Japan ending nuclear power, japan nuclear power, Japan nuclear reactors, nuclear power concerns

A team from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have broken their own record after flying their hydrogen fuel cell powered-Ion Tiger UAV for an astonishing 48 hours and 1 minute last month. The UAV, which used liquid hydrogen fuel in its  new, NRL-developed, cryogenic fuel storage tank and delivery system, broke its previous record of 26 hours and 2 minutes which it set in 2009.

Read the rest of Naval Research Laboratory Flies Their Hydrogen-Powered Ion Tiger UAV for Over 48 Hours

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Post tags: fuel cell, hydrogen, hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen power, Ion Tiger UAV, liquid hydrogen, Naval Research Laboratory, NRL, UAV

Alternative energy company Urban Green Energy (UGE) has announced the launch of its new vertical axis wind turbine, the VisionAIR. The turbine was the result of over a year of dedicated testing at UGE’s research and development facility and according to the company, and it could be used in distributed energy applications, which are typically located near the point of energy consumption. The VisionAIR will debut at the Beijing International Garden Expo next week.

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Post tags: "wind power", "wind turbine", Seamless Grid, UGE, urban green energy, vertical axis wind turbine, VisionAir, wind energy

Offshore wind farms and tidal energy facilities harness the power of the wind and the ocean – but why should we have separate turbines for each task? Offshore technology company Mitsui is developing a hybrid wind-current power generating system that combines a floating vertical-axis wind turbine with an underwater turbine that generates power from ocean currents. The clever apparatus would cut down on material waste, and it could produce twice as much energy as a conventional wind turbine.

Read the rest of World’s First Floating Wind-Current Turbine to be Installed Off Japanese Coast

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Post tags: floating wind turbine, Hybrid wind and ocean current turbines, Japan, Mitsui Ocean Development & Engineering Company, MODEC, ocean currents, ocean power, offshore wind, renewable energy, tidal turbines, vertical axis wind turbine

US-based wind energy company SheerWind just unveiled the INVELOX – a tunnel-based wind turbine that can produce up to 600% more power than traditional wind turbines. The company states that after extensive field-testing, their new INVELOX turbine “significantly outperforms the traditional turbine” and could reduce installation capital costs to less than $750 per KW.

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Post tags: "wind power", INVELOX, INVELOX system, SheerWind, SheerWind INVELOX, traditional wind turbines, tunnel wind turbine system, wind energy, wind turbines

Hyundai isn’t joking when it claims it wants to fight global warming. The car manufacturer just announced that it plans to install what will be South Korea’s largest solar photovoltaic system on the rooftops of its plant in Asan. Working with thermal power company Korea Midland Power Ltd. (KOMIPO), Hyundai plans to install 40,000 solar photovoltaic modules on the rooftops of the plant’s press, welding, assembly and engine buildings by the end of the year. The giant rooftop solar plant will curb 5,600 tons of CO2 emissions – the equivalent of planting 1.12 million pine trees.

Read the rest of Hyundai Unveils Plans to Install South Korea’s Largest Solar Power Plant

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Post tags: car manufacturing plant, HYUNDAI, hyundai asan plant, Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, korea electric power corporation, korea midland power, multiple green benefits, rooftop solar power plant, solar panels on car manufacturing plant, south korea's largest solar power plant

The Window Socket is an idea so fabulously simple, it’s slightly amazing that we haven’t seen one before. Designed by Kyuho Song & Boa Oh, the charger sticks to a window and draws solar power to an internal battery, which enables one to either plug in small devices to the outlet right there and then, or save the stored power for use during night time hours.

Read the rest of Window Socket: Portable Solar-Powered Outlet Sticks to Windows, Charges Small Electronics

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Post tags: Boa Oh, green energy, Kyuho Song, off grid charger, off grid living, portable outlet, portable socket, portable solar, solar battery, solar charger, solar devices, window socket

Yale researchers recently discovered a way to boost the efficiency of solar cells by a whopping 38 percent by coating them with a fluorescent dye. Polymer solar cells are popular for their low cost, low weight, large area and mechanical flexibility, according to Physorg, but they only convert roughly 50 percent of the solar energy absorbed into usable electricity. The organic squaraine dye improves light absorption and recycles electrons, thereby hastening the light to energy conversion process.

Read the rest of Fluorescent Dye Boosts Solar Cell Efficiency by a Whopping 38 Percent

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Post tags: "solar energy", alternative energy, cleantech, Förster resonance energy transfer, renewable energy, solar cell efficiency, Solar cells, solar research and development, Squaraine dye, Yale University solar research

When it comes to capturing solar energy, plants are first in their class. Able to function at nearly 100 percent quantum efficiency, they can produce an equal number of electrons for each photon captured. Using these photons to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, the resulting electrons are able to create sugars that help the plant to live and reproduce. Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a way to harness the power of the photosynthetic process to generate a clean form of electricity. Ramaraja Ramasamy, assistant professor in the UGA College of Engineering, explained how his team manipulated the biology for human advantage.

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Post tags: "clean energy", carbon nanotubules, electrons, journal of energy and environmental science, photon, photosynthesis, plants, quantum efficiency, ramaraja ramasamy, Solar Power, sun, thylakoids, uga college of engineering, University of Georgia, water issues