EcoGeek

A new pre-fab data center will soon be heading to Iceland where it will become the world's first to achieve zero carbon status.  The IT company Colt will build the center's 37 components and then ship them off to Iceland where they will be assembled.

The ability for this data center to operate without carbon emissions has everything to do with its placement in Iceland.  The center will be powered exclusively by geothermal and hydroelectric sources and cooling will be taken care of by using the cold Iceland air.

The 500 square meter facility will only take four months to complete.  It will contain the servers of UK data hosting company Verne.  The facility will be able to supply 100 MW of computer load at any time and the capacity will be expanded as demand grows.

via Guardian

Scientists at the Carnegie Institution's Global Ecology department have published a study that found that evaporation from trees has a cooling effect on the climate.

Because water vapor is known to act as a greenhouse gas, scientists were unsure what role evaporation played, but it turns out that evaporation from trees causes low-level clouds to form in the atmosphere, which reflect the sun's rays.  The scientists created models that showed that not only did cooling occur locally (which was already known), but that the effect was a global one where tree evaporation created more low-level clouds around the world.

Trees have proven themselves to be great climate regulators and this new finding just adds to the list of reasons to preserve our forests and plant new trees.

via Yale e360

Harvard applied physics professor David Keith is building a machine that can suck carbon dioxide from the air.  Keith has started a company called Carbon Engineering that has attracted venture capitalists that see a future for this technology.

The machine uses a three-step process to filter the air and separate and sequester the carbon dioxide.  First, a fan sucks air into the machine where it enters a 31-foot-long chamber filled with wavy plastic material.  A sodium hydroxide solution runs down that plastic and reacts with the CO2 to pull it out of the air and turn it into carbonate solids.  Those solids then go into a 900 degree Celsius kiln where they're broken down and become a stream of pure CO2.  That pure CO2 is then capture where it can go on to be stored underground or used for other purposes.

The machine reuses ash left behind in the kiln to regenerate the sodium hydroxide solution and the process continues.

Of course the removal of the CO2 from the air is never the tricky part of these projects, rather it's what is done with the captured CO2 that leaves people feeling unsure.  The permanence of underground storage is still untested.

But the potential for the technology has generated some interest.  Bill Gates and other billionaire investors have given money to Keith's project and Keith himself hopes that it can be scaled up to a size that could actually make a positive impact on the environment.

via NPR

 

 

Thankyou for subscribing to the mailing list, you will shortly be sent an email where you can confirm your subscription.

The Prius line is expanding rapidly these days.  Toyota will begin selling the bigger and roomier Prius v next month in the U.S., opening up their popular hybrid franchise to those who need to carry a bit more with them on the road.

The Prius v looks a lot like the regular Prius except for the extended cargo space in the rear.  According to Toyota, the vehicle will offer more storage space than 80 percent of all small SUVs -- a nice 34.3 cubic feet of it.

The Prius v will use the same hybrid drivetrain as the regular Prius.  As for mileage, the larger size does take down the fuel efficiency a bit.  The Prius v is rated for 44 mpg city and 40 mpg highway with a rating of 42 mpg combined.  The regular Prius has a combined rating of 50 mpg.

For a nice-sized hybrid, the price is actually pretty affordable.  The car comes in three levels ranging from $26,400 to $29,990.

A plug-in version will likely follow soon.

via Green Car Congress

 

A hydrogen refueling station in Fountain Valley, California is not only providing fuel for vehicles, but is also helping to supply power to an adjacent industrial facility, and it is reported to be the first "tri-generation fuel cell and hydrogen station" in the world.

The hydrogen energy station is located next to a wastewater treatment facility, and biogas generated from that facility provides the feedstock for the system. The biogas is converted into hydrgen which is then available for refueling hydrogen vehicles as well as for a hydrogen fuel cell from FuelCell Energy which generates 250 kilowatts of electricity for the wastewater plant. Approximately 25 vehicles per day can be refueled from this station, in addition to the electrical power generated.

via: Energy.gov

Canada's federal Geological Survey Commission has released a report stating that the country's geothermal resources are so vast that they could power the country one million times over.

Heavy concentrations of geothermal stores near the surface in the Northern and Western parts of Canada (including British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon and Northwest Territories) are the stars of the new report, though resources exist across the country.  A team of scientists from the agency said that as little as 100 projects could completely power the country while generating very few greenhouse gas emissions.

Geothermal has its downsides, like high upfront costs and long construction times because of the tricky nature of drilling miles into the earth, but once a geothermal plant is operational, the energy is practically unlimited and -- unlike wind and solar -- constant.

Countries like Iceland, Indonesia and St. Lucia have started relying on and even exporting energy from their large geothermal resources.  Canada could easily be next.

via Montreal Gazette

Toyota has unveiled a new plug-in version of its hybrid Prius for the 2012 model year. Although the aftermarket has been offering conversion kits to allow it, and Toyota's competitors have come out with a variety of plug-in electric vehicles and hybrids, only now is Toyota producing a hybrid vehicle that can be recharged by plugging it in.

Almost since it was first released, Toyota has been working on numerous new versions of its iconic Prius, but it has taken until recently for any of these to reach the public. We've seen concepts for other Prius options, and Toyota is now bringing these to the market. In addition to the new plug-in version, there is also the original Prius, and the larger Prius v.  Also, Toyota will also be bringing out another version called the Prius c in 2012.

The plug-in Prius now uses lithium ion batteries, rather than the nickel metal-hydride batteries in earlier models. The 4.4 kWh battery will give the new Prius a range of 15 miles at 62 miles per hour (about 24 km at 100 kph) in electric-only drive*. The car "is expected to achieve a manufacturer-estimated 87 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent) in combined driving and 49 MPG in hybrid mode."

hat tip to: @JaymiHeimbuch

[* edited to clarify range is for electric drive]

Bacteria may be a key in containing radioactive contamination and other environmental pollutants. A naturally occurring bacteria found in soil called Geobacter has been known to be useful in contaminated soil cleanup, but the process by which it prevents the spread of pollutants has not been known until the work of Gemma Reguera and her team of researchers at Michigan State University identified how the the bacteria concentrates contaminants.

The bacteria have nanowire structures called pili, which are like fine hair on the exterior of the bacterial cells. In a toxic waste site contaminated with uranium, these nanowires essentially become electroplated by the uranium. This process contains it and renders it insoluble, so that it cannot be dissolved and taken up by groundwater.

“This tiny microorganism can play a major role in cleaning up polluted sites around the world,” Reguera says. “Uranium contamination can occur at any step in the cycle of production of nuclear fuel – from mining, processing and enrichment to accidental spills from the nuclear plant. Contamination can spread fast and stay in the environment for many, many years. However, you can stimulate the natural Geobacter community of the soil and groundwater, or feed the improved strains in the environment. The bacteria will oxidize and precipitate the uranium.”

The pili also serve to protect the bacteria from the uranium, which is toxic, by keeping it outside the cell. The researchers are now working to develop strains of Geobacter with increased pili production to make it more effective for this type of remediation work.

via: MSU News

As wind energy developers continue to develop new locations, there are many instances where site access is particularly difficult because of swampy conditions, or the location is in a tidal zone, or is otherwise difficult for more conventional access. To make access to these sites possible, Hovertrans Solutions Pvt. Ltd. has a vessel called a hoverbarge.

The hoverbarge is a standard marine barge (which means that it will float even if it is not powered) which is further equipped with fans and skirts to perform as a hovercraft. The hoverbarge is self-propelled, and has a cargo capacity of up to 50 tonnes and an overall deck area of 24 meters by 7 meters (approximately 78.75 feet by 23 feet). The modular construction of the hoverbarge makes it possible to dismantle the vessel and ship it to remote locations, and then be re-assembled for operation.

The hoverbarge produces very little ground pressure, making it useful for construction with minimal adverse impact on a site. Barge based construction can eliminate the need to construct long roads and work pads for heavy equipment in areas with difficult ground conditions.

via: NA Windpower

Last year, we heard that New York City was considering a huge bike sharing program and now it's becoming a reality. New details have been released about the program and it's just as big as had been hoped. There will be about 600 stations with 10,000 bikes and the program could be up and running by next summer.

The stations will be widespread, covering the Upper East and West sides all the way down to the tip of Manhattan and then across the East River into Brooklyn as far as Greenpoint and Crown Heights.

The city has chosen Alta Bike Share to install and operate the system. Alta operates bike share programs in Washington, D.C., Boston and Portland, but the New York system will dwarf those systems by a few thousand bikes, making it the largest in the country. Above is a video featuring the Capital Bikeshare program in D.C.

The program will allow for 24-hour, multi-day or annual subscriptions as well as shorter rentals charged by the half-hour. Monthly subscriptions will be cheaper than a monthly MetroCard.

Bike share programs have had varying degrees of success around the world, but we hope that this ambitious system in a city that loves alternative forms of transportation will catch on quickly.

via New York Observer

A new study done by an engineering professor at Stanford University has found that the energy efficiency of computers doubles roughly every 18 months, and has done so since the very first general purpose computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) that was built in 1956.

With help from Intel and Microsoft, Professor Jonathan Koomey was able to gather information about computing devices from 1956 until now and with this new finding, Koomey is revising and improving Moore's law -- the observation that computer processing power doubles every 18 months.  Fortunately, the things that contribute to that power improvement (reducing component size, capacitance and communication time between them) also increase energy efficiency.

This finding has great implications for the future of computers and battery-powered devices.  As we constantly increase the performance power of computers and gadgets, we'll be improving their energy efficiency as well -- a much needed trend as we become more reliant on our portable devices.

Also, theoretically, we're far from the limit of how much electricity we can save.  In 1985, physicists projected that we could improve computer energy efficiency by a factor of 100 billion and since then we've only hit a factor of about 40,000.

via MIT Tech Review

Greece has laid out a new plan to get itself out of a recession and to spread renewable energy through the country and the EU.  The new plan called Project Helios would see the country expanding its solar power capacity to 10 GW by 2050 through financing by international investors.

Greece is hoping to capitalize on one of it's great resources:  the country gets 300 sunny days a year.  Greece would lease out land to investors to build solar installations as a way to generate income and add jobs. To make the deal more attractive to investors, the country is promising to greatly ease licensing obstacles and cut out most of the red tape involved in building these projects.

The solar power systems would be connected to the mainland, islands and to the rest of continent, which would help other EU countries meet the renewable energy mandate that requires member countries to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2020.  The set up would be similar to the huge DESERTEC project in North Africa, but on a smaller scale within the EU.

The project would see 2.2 GW of capacity installed by 2020, 10 GW by 2050 and ultimately the country would become an exporter of renewable energy.

via Greentech Media

The roof is typically the best and biggest part of most homes for energy collection. But most of the available systems for gathering this energy are unsightly. That's not a concern for these roof tiles from a Swedish company, SolTech Energy, that are made from glass.

With a roof made from these tiles, it is possible to produce 300-500 kWh per square meter per year (28-46 kWh per square foot per year). Heated air collects under the glass tiles like a greenhouse, and is then drawn in and concentrated to transfer the heat to a hot fluid for use in heating the building. The system is ideal for use with a heat pump or a boiler where a hot water storage tank stores the collected heat. Then, when heat is needed, the heat pump or boiler has pre-heated water available, so that less external energy is needed to heat the space.

In addition to the energy benefits, glass tiles are expected to have a longer lifespan than traditional clay or concrete roof tiles. And because the glass is a smooth material, snow tends to slide off more readily, so that the system keeps itself cleared and in operating condition more of the time. The tiles also match common tile shape so that the glass roof system can be incorporated into a conventional tile roof.

via: Sweets News and Products

A geothermal plant on Hawaii's Big Island is providing 20% of that islands electricity needs, with additional capacity in the works.

The Puna Geothermal Venture is run by Ormat Technologies and is located in the Mt. Kilauea East Rift zone.  The plant has five wells that bring up 650-degree geothermal fluids to the surface where the steam is separated out and used to drive generators.  The plant also captures waste heat from the primary circuit with fluid pentane to increase power output and efficiency.

The plant is currently contracted to provide 30 MW of electricity to Hawaii Electric and Light through 2030, but is looking to add another 8 MW of capacity soon, as well as building new reservoirs off the coast of Maui and near Mt. Hualalai to expand its electricity coverage across the islands.

With the vast amount of geothermal energy in the area, Hawaii could easily get most of their electricity from these sources within the near future.

via Cleantechnica

Whey protein, a milk protein that is a byproduct of cheese production, is often used in protein bars and shakes, but scientists in Barcelona have discovered that it can also be made into a more sustainable plastic for food packaging.

The WheyLayer project was funded by the European Commission to find an alternative to petroleum sources in food packaging.  Through this project, research company IRIS found that whey protein could replace synthetic petroleum-based polymers.  The whey protein plastic has similar oxygen-blocking properties to traditional food packaging, but it's cheaper to make and, even better, more easily recyclable.

Traditional plastic packaging is hard to recycle because the petroleum-based polymers are almost impossible to separate for individual recycling, but with the whey protein plastic, the whey can be removed with enzymes so that the remaining film can be recycled or reused in new packaging.

This process also keeps the 40 percent of whey protein discarded by European cheese factories out of landfills.

via Earth911

 

Keeping electronic devices powered is an ongoing concern, particularly as the number of electronic devices proliferates. Researchers at UCLA have developed a liquid crystal display (LCD) that incorporates photovoltaic polarizers that can convert sunlight, ambient light, and even its own backlight into electricity to power the device.

Polarizers are what makes the display in an LCD function, by controlling the amount of light that passes through from the backlight to make the display. The new material, called a polarizing organic photovoltaic film increases the efficiency of display and allows for charging of the device in bright light.

Obviously, the backlight isn't going to provide enough light to power the device infinitely long. But the researchers say that much of the energy lost from backlights can be saved with the new polarizer. "From the point of view of energy use, current LCD polarizers are inefficient, the researchers said. A device's backlight can consume 80 to 90 percent of the device's power. But as much as 75 percent of the light generated is lost through the polarizers. A polarizing organic photovoltaic LCD could recover much of that unused energy."

via: UCLA Newsroom

A scientist at Case Western Reserve University has discovered that adding carbon nanotubes to a traditional mix of plastics used in wind turbine blades could make them much lighter and stronger, meaning that future blades could be much more efficient while also requiring less maintenance.

The study found that carbon nanotubes are lighter per unit of volume than carbon fiber and aluminum and had five times more tensile strength than carbon fiber and 60 times more than aluminum.

If those carbon nanotubes are mixed with a polyurethane composite, the material lasts eight times longer than an epoxy reinforced with fiberglass and it was eight times stronger in fracture tests.  Compared to a vinyl ester reinforced with fiberglass (another material commonly used in wind turbine blades), the carbon nanotube material performed even better with far less fracture rates.

via Grist