Kite power has long been discussed as the next step in the evolution of wind power, and KiteGen’s radical new kite power concept could be one of the cleanest and most efficient ways to address the world’s energy needs. The system uses high altitude, large-winged kites which the company claims can generate gigawatts of affordable, clean energy.

Read the rest of KiteGen’s High Altitude System Generates Affordable Wind Energy With Kites

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Post tags: "clean energy", "wind power", 'kite power, kitegen, kitegen carousel, kitegen off shore, kitegen stem, wind energy

The great river turbine is a conceptual design for a large (one hundred foot diameter) stainless steel water turbine developed to function as a tourist attraction and as a powerful electricity generator. The electricity is generated by the current of the river as it flows through the turbine rotating its twelve massive blades, which in turn activate a powerful generator. The stainless steel turbine is mounted on a specially designed, public access moored barge.

+ Michael Jantzen

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Post tags: "clean energy", "sustainable architecture", clean technology, great river turbine, green architecture, green design, hydroelectric power, michael jantzen, renewable energy, sustainable design, water wheel power

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Post tags: "clean energy", "energy efficiency", "natural materials", cameroon, eco design, geothermal, green design, Matteo Cainer Architects, Minergie, Musgum housing, passive design, rainwater harvesting, sustainable design, Swiss Clockwork Embassy, swiss watches

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Post tags: "clean energy", "sustainable development", Blueseed, clean tech, Dan Dascalescu, eco design, energy generation, floating silicon valley, googleplex of the sea, green design, max marty, paypal, Peter Thiel, renewable energy, San Francisco, sustainable design, visa free city, waste treatment

According to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, Americans are willing to pay for slightly higher electricity bills for clean energy. The survey, led by researchers from Yale and Harvard, asked this question: would consumers be interested in a law requiring utilities to source 80 percent of their power from sources including nuclear, solar and wind by 2035? The results indicated that on average, Americans are willing to pay an extra $162 more a year for an energy policy that mandated 80 percent of electricity is generated from renewables by 2035.

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Post tags: "clean energy", "wind power", Andrew Leiserowitz, clean energy policy, congress, Joseph Aldy, Matthew Kotchen, national clean energy standard, NCES, renewable energy, solar

Wind energy is one of the cleanest, most reliable sources of renewable energy out there, but there’s one strike against it: Most wind turbines aren’t exactly the most attractive sight. But for anyone who says that wind energy can’t match form to function, feast your eyes on the Enessere Hercules wind generator, which was designed by Terry Glenn Phipps. With curved wooden blades, the 23-foot-tall wind turbine looks more like a sculpture than other more utilitarian wind turbines, and because of its clever design, it can harness the power of wind coming from any direction.

Read the rest of The Enessere Hercules Wind Turbine Generates Wind Energy in Fine Style

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Post tags: "clean energy", "wind power", "wind turbine", Enessere, Hercules, renewable energy, wind energy, wind generator, wind turbine design, windmill, wooden wind turbine

Saudi Arabia has long been a wealthy country because of its enormous oil reserves. But the kingdom also is rich in sunlight, and it now promises to invest over $100 billion to develop 41 gigawatts of solar electricity by 2032. The plan could eventually transform Saudi Arabia from the world’s largest oil exporter to a leading innovator of solar energy and technologies.

Read the rest of Saudi Arabia Promises $109 Billion in Solar Power Investment

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Post tags: "clean energy", "solar energy", carbon emissions, Middle East, oil and gas, renewable energy, saudi arabia, solar, Solar Power, solar thermal

Yesterday legislation dubbed the “End Polluter Welfare Act” was announced in Congress by Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN). The bill will put an end to as much as $113 billion in taxpayer subsidies from which oil, gas and coal companies would otherwise benefit in the coming decade. The money will instead go towards green energy investment, while ending such loopholes as allowing oil companies to deduct the costs they incur cleaning up their own spills and other environmental damage.

Read the rest of Bill Introduced in Congress Will End $113 Billion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies

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Post tags: "clean energy", bernie sanders, Climate Change, coal, congress, end polluter welfare act, energy industry, fossil fuel companies, fossil fuel subsidies, keith ellison, loopholes, office of fossil energy, oil and gas, renewable energy, taxpayer subsidies

Going to the gym is of course great for your health, but there are at least two things that we dislike about traditional fitness clubs: you have to exercise inside (which feels particularly silly in the spring and summer), and the machines waste energy when they ought to be producing it. The Great Outdoor Gym Company, a British fitness company, offers a solution to both of those problems with gyms that are located outside and use human-generated energy to power light installations.

Read the rest of Finally, an Outdoor Gym that Generates Energy Instead of Wasting It

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Post tags: "clean energy", England, exercise, fitness, great britain, Great Outdoor Gym Company, human generated power, human power, kinetic energy, Outdoor gym, renewable energy

Imagine a solar cell that comes in a jar instead of a big, clunky panel, and that could be painted on a piece of plastic. It might be closer than you think - scientists at the University of Southern California have developed a new type of solar cell made from nanocrystals that are so small that you could fit about 250 billion of them on the head of a pin. Due to their size, the nanocrystals can be made into an ink and painted or printed onto clear surfaces. The breakthrough could open the door to solar cells that can be printed onto plastic instead of glass, and then bent and shaped to fit anywhere.

Read the rest of USC Researchers Develop Liquid Nanocrystal Solar Cells that Can Be Printed Onto Plastic

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Post tags: "clean energy", "solar energy", clean tech, green technology, liquid solar cell, nanocrystals, nanotechnology, renewable energy, science, solar, Solar Cell, Solar Power, University of Southern California, USC

At airports, the usable space is limited to a few areas: runways, terminals and storage facilities. Much of the rest of the land is left fallow, requiring maintenance from airport operators (mowing the grass, keeping wildlife from interfering with planes, etc). But what if that land could be used to generate energy? US Department of Agriculture researchers have been exploring alternative uses for unused airport land with the goal of reducing wildlife hazards, and in a new study they’ve shown that much of this land could be converted for solar, wind or biofuel production.

Read the rest of USDA Researchers Want Airports To Double as Renewable Energy Farms

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Post tags: "clean energy", airports, biofuels, Dr. Travis DeVault, National Wildlife Research Center, renewable energy, solar farms, Solar Power, switchgrass, US Department of Agriculture, usda, Wildlife, wind energy

Tesla may be best known for exceptionally good-looking electric sports cars, but their role in the automotive industry has honed their skills in battery-making too. Now, the company is teaming up with solar rental company SolarCity, and the pair is set to apply their battery know-how to create a complete off-the-grid kit for home solar power storage. The partnership could provide an easy (though potentially costly) way to overcome a long-standing problem: almost all solar systems are tied to and somewhat dependent on an electric grid. When the grid is off, the solar panels are out, and when the sun is off, there’s no solar power stored and you’re back on the electrical grid. And if both are out, you’re completely in the dark. But Tesla and SolarCity’s new off-the-shelf lithium-ion battery pack could just solve that once and for all.

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Post tags: "clean energy", alternative energy, california incentive, elon musk, energy tax, lithium ion battery, off the grid, peter rive, solar battery, Solar Power, solar storage, solarcity panel, tesla battery, tesla electric, tesla solarcity

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Post tags: "clean energy", Bjørnstokk and ØvreForsland, Daylighting, eco design, green design, hydraulic power plants, land art generator initiative, norway, power, power plants, site sensitive design, Stein Mamre Arkitektkontor As, sustainable design

A war of words between Donald Trump and the Scottish government is escalating over plans to install wind turbines near Trump’s golf course, set to open this summer near Aberdeen. Trump claims Scotland’s emphasis on developing wind power will ruin the economy. Scottish leaders reply that a renewable energy policy is the best way for Scotland to boost economic development as the country edges towards a 2014 referendum on leaving the United Kingdom. The rhetoric on both sides has become heated, and Trump plans to testify in front of a parliamentary committee tomorrow.

Read the rest of Donald Trump Claims Scottish Government “Betrayed” Him With Wind Farm Plans

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Post tags: "clean energy", "wind power", aberdeen, Alex Salmond, Donald Trump, golf, golf course, renewable energy, Scotland, scottish coastline, Trump International Golf Links, united kingdom, wind turbines

US Energy Secretary Steven Chu and his British counterpart Edward Davey are set to announce a major collaboration between the two nations to develop new floating wind turbine technology. Traditional offshore wind turbines are drilled into the ocean floor, so they can only be built where waters are shallow enough to reach the bottom. Developing floating wind turbines would enable nations to tap into winds that are located in deeper waters. Under the agreement, each country will offer millions of dollars to contractors that produce demonstration projects.

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Post tags: "clean energy", "wind power", floating wind turbine, Offshore Wind Farm, offshore wind turbine, renewable energy, wind energy, wind farm, wind turbines

For the first time in a generation, Japan is set to go nuclear-free next month. Nuclear energy has suffered a serious blow to its public image since the March 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, and Japanese authorities have been cautious about restarting idled nuclear plants. Over the weekend, Japan’s Trade Minister Yukio Edano indicated that on May 6 the last operating nuclear reactor in the country is set to be taken offline, meaning that for the first time since 1970, Japan will be getting zero energy from nuclear power plants.

Read the rest of Japan to Shut Down Last Operating Nuclear Reactor on May 6th

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Post tags: "clean energy", atomic energy, earthquake, fossil fuels, Fukushima, fukushima daiichi, Japan, nuclear disaster, nuclear meltdown, nuclear power, nuclear reactor, power plant, tsunami

The Tokyo Institute of Technology recently unveiled a shiny new shell made of 4,500 solar panels that allow it to use half of the energy of a similarly-sized building. The panels — which line the structure’s facade and rooftop — have a total capacity of 650 kilowatts, and the building also generates another 100 kilowatts using fuel cells. Custom designed for the university’s Environment and Energy Innovation Building in Tokyo’s Meguro area, this innovative idea makes great use of the sun’s abundant rays.

+ Tokyo Institute of Technology

Via Asahi Shimbun via Gizmodo

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Post tags: "clean energy", Architecture, Environment and Energy Innovation Building, green technology, Japan, Meguro, renewable energy, solar panels, solar panels facade, Solar Power, Tokyo Institute of Technology, university

According to a Pew Charitable Trusts survey, the United States has reclaimed the top spot in clean energy investment, toppling China from its number one global ranking. Meanwhile, investment in renewables around the world continues to surge, reaching $237.2 billion in 2011, up almost 8 percent from the previous year. Despite austerity measures, expiring tax credits and the continued global hunt for oil, developed and developing nations alike are striving to add more non-fossil fuels to their energy portfolio.

Read the rest of United States Pulls Ahead of China in Clean Energy Race

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Post tags: "clean energy", "solar energy", "wind power", clean energy investment, investment in renewables, Pew Charitable Trusts, renewable energy, renewables, solar, Solar Power, stimulus, tax credits

The French nuclear engineering company Areva was awarded a contract this week by Indian power company Reliance Power Ltd. to build the largest concentrated solar power installation in Asia, which will be located in India’s Rajasthan region. Areva’s installation will consist of two power plants that will use compact linear fresnel reflector (CLFR) technology, and they are estimated to produce about 125 megawatts of power each.

Read the rest of Areva Announces Plans to Build Largest Solar Installation in Asia

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Post tags: "clean energy", "solar energy", Areva, asia, CLFR technology, Compact linear Fresnel reflector, India, photovoltaic, Rajasthan, Reliance Power, renewable energy, solar array, Solar Power, solar power plant

Yesterday Walmart announced the installation of six more solar projects in Denver, Colorado, bringing the total number of Walmart’s solar power installations to 100. The rooftop solar installations, built in a partnership with SolarCity, are enough to power 225 homes annually. Walmart and SolarCity say that these projects will prevent 5 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.

Read the rest of Walmart’s 100th Solar Power Installation Gets Switched On in Colorado

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Post tags: "clean energy", colorado, Denver, power purchasing agreement, ppa, renewable energy, solar, solar installations, Solar Power, solarcity, tobey corey, walmart