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).

Read the rest of World’s Largest Hydropower Plant on Track for 2015 Groundbreaking in DR Congo

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
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 Central American country of Nicaragua has never been as fortunate as its neighbors when it comes to energy reserves. In fact, most commercial electricity is generated by imported petroleum while a small portion of domestic energy is generated through hydropower and geothermal power. However that’s set to change with the country’s National Development Plan, which calls for 94% of the country’s electricity needs to be sourced from renewables by 2017.

Read the rest of Nicaragua Aims To Be 94% Powered By Renewable Sources By 2017

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: alternative energy, foreign oil, geothermal, Geothermal power, hydroelectric, hydropower, Latin America, National Development Plant, nicaragua, renewable energy, renewables, San Jacinto Project

Japanese company Ibasei recently devised a tiny underwater turbine that can be placed along a riverbank or canal to generate electricity without harming the environment. Hydroelectricity, produced by harnessing the energy in moving water, is the most widely used form of renewable energy in the world. Still, it’s not always popular among those who care about protecting the planet. That’s because hydropower is almost always executed on a large scale, requiring massive river dams that disrupt the surrounding ecosystem. But there’s no rule that hydropower generators have to be huge. Ibasei’s Cappa compact hydropower generator can deliver 250 W of electricity yet is small enough to be transported between locations as needed.

Read the rest of Mini Hydropower Generator Creates Clean Energy Without The Need for Giant Dams

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Cappa, dams, ecosystem, Electricity, hydropower, Ibasei, renewable energy, rivers

The International Energy Agency (IEA) just published an optimistic prediction for the future of renewable energy, suggesting that world-wide green energy usage will increase by forty percent or more by 2017. The agency estimates that the use of wind, solar, hydro and biopower will jump exponentially over the next five years as the world embraces renewable energy, reducing our dependence upon fossil fuels.

Read the rest of IEA Predicts 40 Percent World-Wide Increase of Renewable Energy Usage by 2017

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: bioenergy, concentrating solar power (CSP), eco design, geothermal, green design, hydropower, International Energy Agency, Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report of 2012, ocean power, offshore wind, onshore wind, renewable energy, solar photovoltaics, sustainable design

The final turbine has now been installed on China’s massive and controversial Three Gorges Dam, making it the biggest hydroelectric dam in the world. Work on the dam, which is located in the middle of the Yangtze River, began in 1994, and its construction cost a total of more than $50 billion and displaced at least 1.3 million people. The enormous dam will be extremely productive, though; with the installation of the final turbine, the dam now has a capacity of up to 22.5 gigawatts, which is about 11 percent of the China’s total hydroelectric capacity.

Read the rest of Three Gorges Complete: China Finishes Construction on the World’s Largest Hydropower Dam

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 3 Gorges Dam, china, dams, hydroelectric dam, hydropower, renewable energy, three gorges dam, yangtze river

Iceland’s ailing economy isn’t going to keep it from making environmental strides – the city of Keflavik will soon be receiving 37 prefabricated components in order to complete the world’s first zero-carbon data center. The project, commissioned by UK start-up Verne Global (a data hosting company), will comprise 5,400 sq ft and will be powered completely by geothermal and hydroelectric power.

Read the rest of Iceland to Build World’s First Zero-Carbon Data Center

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: colt it group, energy use it data centers, Geothermal power, hydropower, iceland energy, it data centers, prefab architecture, prefab data center, verne global, world's first zero carbon data center, zero carbon data center

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Crystal Palace, eco building, eco design, Green Building, green design, green roof, heat recovery, hydropower, passive design, Slovenia, solar panels, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

A recent report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration reveals that America now receives more of its energy from renewable sources than it does from nuclear generation plants. In the first three months of 2011, the country’s biomass/biofuel, hydropower, wind, geothermal, and solar energy generation plants produced a combined 2.245 quadrillion Btus of energy or 11.73 percent of U.S. energy production. During the same period, nuclear energy plants produced 2.125 quadrillion Btus.

Read the rest of Report Reveals America Now Receives More Power From Renewable Sources Than Nuclear

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: alternative energy, biofuels, biomass, eco design, Energy Information Administration, geothermal, green design, hydropower, Monthly Energy Review, nuclear, renewable energy, Solar Power, sustainable design, wind energy

Read the rest of Casa Iseami: Stunning Off-Grid Institute in Costa Rica

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", casa iseami, Costa Rica, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, hydropower, iseami institute, juan robles, off-grid, osa peninsula, robles arquitectos, Solar Power, Sustainability, sustainable design

This just in: Aquamarine Power just unveiled its freshest wave generator design this morning! Dubbed the Oyster 2 (you may remember our coverage of the original Oyster), the new renewable energy generator is about 26 meters long and packs a mean punch – Aquamarine Power says that even a small Oyster farm could power 12,000 homes onshore! Check out the video of the plant after the jump.

Read the rest of New Oyster 2 Wave Power Generator Unveiled This Morning

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: aquamarine power, generator, hydropower, offshore, oyster, oyster 2, renewable energy, water pump, wave, wave power

The U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a memorandum of understanding this week stating that they would work together to promote hydropower. The moving water on this Earth can be a huge source of energy — from the tides to the raging rivers there’s a lot to tap into. However, it can also be hugely destructive to the surrounding environment. Though it’s not our favorite source of green energy — solar and wind are much less invasive — we still welcome the detour from carbon based energy.

Read the rest of US Government Signs Memorandum to Give a Boost to Hydropower

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: dam, environmental politics, government, hydropower, ken salazar, obama administration, politics, steven chu, tidal energy, water energy

The concept of harvesting energy from river waves to power New York City just got more enticing. Earlier this year we brought you GRO Architects notable concept, which stood out among the entries for Metropolis Magazine’s 2009 Next Generation Design Competition. Brian Novello, one of the partners in the project, also has a beautiful design to expand these modular docking stations in energy-collecting floating houses, and it looks so cool that we had to spread the news.

Read the rest of Flood Harvesting Housing Brings Tidal Power to New York City

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Architecture, brian novello, concept, flood harvesting, GRO architects, hydropower, new york city, Next Generation 2009, richard garber, river turbine

The Big Apple’s known for its bright lights, but the city’s iconic luminescence also sucks up huge amounts of power every year. Luckily, a team of designers came up with a plan to keep the city’s lights burning bright by harnessing the power of its massive rivers. One of the most exciting entries into Metropolis magazine’s 2009 Next Generation Design Competition, Richard Garber and Brian Novello’s design provides a way to power street lamps using tidal power.

Read the rest of Tidal Docks Use Waves to Power NYC’s Streetlamps

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: brian novello, docking systems, green nyc, greening nyc, hydropower, metropolis, next generation design competition, nyc alternative energy, nyc rivers, nyc wave power, richard garber, roosevelt island tidal energy project, tidal power, turbines, waves to power streetlamps