The Director of DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab provides a great overview of renewables current state and the future of it, including technology, policy, and all else. This was a presentation he gave at Stanford. Go trees! Literally, we need more trees.
A pilot project in Texas has generated 33,000 gallons of vegetable oil per acre from a close-looped algae bioreactor for use as a biodiesel feedstock. The project is headed by Vertigro, a joint venture between Global Green Solutions and Valcent Products. Interesting stat: Soybeans produce 49 gallons of veg oil per acre. Palm oil produces 630 gallons of veg oil per acre. Read more here. See video below.
Based upon research by W.S. Sampath, a mechanical engineering professor at Colorado State University, AVA Solar Inc. will begin production of solar panels with production costs less than $1 per watt. Sampath has developed a manufacturing process for solar panels using glass coating with a cadmium telluride thin film instead of the standard high-cost crystalline silicon. Interesting stat: The cost to the consumer could be as low as $2 per watt, about half the current cost of solar panels, and competitive with cost of power from the electrical grid in many parts of the world. Read more here. Learn more about Professor Sampath. Learn more about the company.
This LEED certified home was created by WIRED magazine and LivingHomes, a designer and manufacturer of green, prefrabricated homes. Interesting stat: Water conserving toilet uses 0.9 gallons of water for a “number 1″ and 1.6 for a “number 2.” See the