Alternative energy

[clarencebunsen]

Hybrid Solar System Makes Rooftop Hydrogen

ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2011) — While roofs across the world sport photovoltaic solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity, a Duke University engineer believes a novel hybrid system can wring even more useful energy out of the sun's rays.

Instead of systems based on standard solar panels, Duke engineer Nico Hotz proposes a hybrid option in which sunlight heats a combination of water and methanol in a maze of glass tubes on a rooftop. After two catalytic reactions, the system produces hydrogen much more efficiently than current technology without significant impurities. The resulting hydrogen can be stored and used on demand in fuel cells.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110809132232.htm


Engineers Reverse E. Coli Metabolism for Quick Production of Fuels, Chemicals

ScienceDaily (Aug. 10, 2011) — In a biotechnological tour de force, Rice University engineering researchers this week unveiled a new method for rapidly converting simple glucose into biofuels and petrochemical substitutes. In a paper published online in Nature, Rice's team described how it reversed one of the most efficient of all metabolic pathways -- the beta oxidation cycle -- to engineer bacteria that produce biofuel at a breakneck pace.

Just how fast are Rice's single-celled chemical factories? On a cell-per-cell basis, the bacteria produced the butanol, a biofuel that can be substituted for gasoline in most engines, about 10 times faster than any previously reported organism.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110810133010.htm

[corner]

im thinking farts are the way to go>

[JGRobinson]

They wanna tax Cow Farts!

[Clipper]

I wonder who is going to install the gas meters on the cow's asses? Sounds like a dirty job to me! ROFL

[clarencebunsen]

I've lost track of the thread in which we discussed JGR's wind turbine (& I'm feeling too lazy to track it down) but the article in today's paper (sorry) reminded me that I've run across two postings recently to pass along.


The first discusses the pluses and minuses of vertical designs.
www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-wind-turbine-alternative-designs-work

The second was something I read in my college alumni magazine concerning a study done by one of the faculty analyzing local economic impact of wind turbines. (A little background. My alma mater is a small branch of the U of MN located on the prairie. It has operated a wind generator for more than a decade and in recent years added a second turbine and a biodiesel generator. It now generates essentially 100% of it own electricity needs.)

I found the report on-line and realized it's conclusion was something obvious which I had never considered. Wind generators have a more favorable local economic impact if they are locally owned.

www.morris.umn.edu/ownershipofwind/
You have to fuss with the controls a bit to get something readable.

Combining the two results in the germ of an idea. It could be a benefit to the region to have a local co-op or NFP form for the purpose of siting low impact generators in the area. Some of the first installations could be vertical units located on some of the tall buildings downtown.

[dgriffin]

I imagine "public policy currently favors corporate ownership" is because the power monopolies favor it that way and want to have a financial interest in the wind machines. Every few years when I'm asked to choose an energy producer to buy electricity from via my local "distributor,"
e.g. National Grid, Central Hudson or NYSE&G, I wonder how much of that Producer is owned by my Distributor.

But perhaps I'm being cynical. That's been known to happen.

[JGRobinson]

Thats a good article on the Pros and cons of Vertical mills, they are still far from perfect but do have some positives. R&D is expensive, and once the bar has been set, thats what we get! Our government has already thrown its support behind the Horizontal ones years ago.

Not any different than the Pigtail CFL's. First to hit prime time, they got the seal of approval and now they are the standard. Sadly they have serious negatives and those have not been eliminated. Mercury, poisonous Luminescence powder and 60 Cycle flickering that can cause some people to convulse and seize. LED's cause none of those things but are very expensive because we sold our souls to the Chinese CFL!

Local Co-ops have been making or buying bulk Electricity and distributing it for over a century. Customers in Bouckville, Madison and Sherrill save well over 50% under what we pay from the 2 biggie delivery companies.

Its a great Idea that has come, gone and now is returning again. Its time to dredge the mill ponds and install some new hydro turbines, capture the Methane from the old dumps, new Gas wellls and Cow Poop Storage Tanks and fire some steam turbines. Time to encourage villages to sponsor their own Wind Mills and bio diesel production.

We keep waiting for big brother to come up with "the answer" when we can already make a difference without their unction. I guess we just have to make a local commitment!