The Energy Blog

• EPA Raises Raises Requirements for Renewable Fuels

  Number of comments: 169
  An item of interest to ethanol producers and other supporters of ethanol is this announcement by EPA, as further clarified by this announcement by EERE: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on November 17 that the 2009 renewable fuel standard (RFS) will require most refiners,...
  
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  Posted: December 01, 2008, 8:42pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Qteros - Raises $25 million, Changes Company Name

  Number of comments: 42
  SunEthanol, a company that is developing microbes to produce cellulosic ethanol, announced on Nov. 18 that has raised $25 million in Series B financing and that it is changing its name to Qteros Inc. The funding will allow the company to scale up its process from the pilot plant to [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2008, 2:44am EST
  by James Fraser

• Aquaflow Algae

  Number of comments: 51
  Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation (ABC), Melbourne, New Zealand, states on its website: The world is expected to move from the cultivation of corn and sugar cane for energy purposes to the cultivation of marine algae. Aquaflow has set itself the objective to be the first company in the world to...
  
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  Posted: November 19, 2008, 8:03pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Biobutanol - Cobalt Biofuels Raises $25 Million to Accelerate Commercialization of Biobutanol Process

  Number of comments: 34
  Biobutanol (C4H10O) or butyl alcohol is a second generation biofuel that can be produced from biomass and can be used either as an industrial chemical or as a transportation fuel. Biobutanol can run in any gasoline engine with no modifications and, like ethanol, has a higher octane rating than...
  
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  Posted: November 14, 2008, 11:18pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Thin Film Solar - First Solar

  Number of comments: 11
  Thin film solar is becoming an increasingly important segment of the solar industry. Thin-film solar cells consist of layers of active materials about 10 µm thick compared with 200- to 300-µm layers for crystalline-silicon cells. Some sixty companies have announced to start thin film production by...
  
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  Posted: November 12, 2008, 7:57pm EST
  by James Fraser

• The Return of The Energy Blog

  Number of comments: 37
  Lest all of you that feared of my demise, The Energy Blog is returning, I am still alive and feeling better every day. I have been ill do to complications from chronic illinesses, but I am now taking medications that seems to have gotten every thing under control. I wish [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2008, 12:25am EST
  by James Fraser

• Pickens Mesa Power Orders 1,000 MW of Wind Turbines

  Number of comments: 185
  Per press release, edited slightly: Mesa Power LLP, a company created by T. Boone Pickens, has placed an order with General Electric to purchase 667, 1.5 megawatt wind turbines for the worlds largest wind farm, capable of generating 1,000 megawatts, nameplate, of electricity, enough to power more...
  
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  Posted: May 16, 2008, 7:48pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• Worlds Largest, $1.8 Billion, 500 MW, Wind Farm to be Built off the Coast of UK

  Number of comments: 51
  Per Fluor Corporation press release: Fluor Corporation, Dallas, TX, (NYSE: FLR) announced Wednesday that it has signed a contract with Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) to design and construct the 500 megawatt (MW) Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm. The venture is the world's largest offshore...
  
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  Posted: May 15, 2008, 1:31am EDT
  by James Fraser

• DuPont To Enter Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Market

  Number of comments: 33
  Per DuPont press release: DuPont (NYSE: DD) announced that it will soon begin construction on a research center in Hong Kong and a manufacturing facility in Shenzhen to support the rapidly growing photovoltaic (PV) solar energy industry. . . . DuPont expects growth in the photovoltaic market to...
  
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  Posted: May 13, 2008, 7:40pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• Sungri Claims 5-7 cents per kWh for CSP Solar Technology

  Number of comments: 54
  Using SUNRGI's propriety technology it is possible to produce large amounts of electricity from solar radiation at a wholesale price of US $0.05 / kWh is the lead headline on SUNGRI's website. The system is called Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics â„¢ or XCPVâ„¢. XCPV efficiently concentrates sunlight...
  
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  Posted: May 03, 2008, 2:18am EDT
  by James Fraser

• GM Invests in Mascoma

  Number of comments: 19
  General Motors Corp. and Mascoma Corp. today announced a strategic relationship to develop cellulosic ethanol focused on Mascoma's single-step biochemical conversion of non-grain biomass into low-carbon alternative fuels to help address increasing energy demand. Mascoma's single-step...
  
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  Posted: May 02, 2008, 2:02am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Land for Largest Field of Swithgrass for Bioenergy Acquired

  Number of comments: 35
  Oklahoma has secured 1,100 acres of land for the world's largest stand of switchgrass devoted to cellulosic ethanol production. Planting will take place within the next 45 days. Switchgrass is a perennial grass that is naturally drought resistant and grows on marginal lands.The Oklahoma Bioenergy...
  
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  Posted: May 02, 2008, 12:46am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Missouri City Goes 100% Wind Power

  Number of comments: 63
  Following the opening of a new 5 MW four-turbine wind farm last week, Rock Port, a town of 1,395 in North West Missouri, has become the first U.S. town to get all its electricity from wind power. The $90 million Loess Hills Wind Farm, was built by St. Louis-based Wind [...]
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  Posted: April 28, 2008, 1:41am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Optisolar to Build Largest Solar Farm in North America

  Number of comments: 30
  OptiSolar, Hayward, California, is developing a 550 megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar farm, the largest in North America, covering over 6,000 acres, in San Luis Obispo County, California. OptiSolar intends to submit an application to San Luis Obispo County for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) in May....
  
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  Posted: April 27, 2008, 11:51pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• EPRI Analysis Finds Utility Based Energy Efficiency Programs Could Cut Energy Consumption 7-11 %

  Number of comments: 27
  Energy efficiency improvements in the U.S. electric power sector could reduce electric consumption by 7 to 11 percent more than currently projected over the next two decades if key barriers can be addressed, according to a preliminary analysis of potential energy savings released recently by the...
  
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  Posted: April 26, 2008, 3:37am EDT
  by James Fraser

• eSolar Receives Funding for 33MW Modular Solar Power Plants

  Number of comments: 65
  From a 4/21 press release: eSolarâ„¢, a producer of modular solar thermal power plants, announced (pdf) that is has closed $130 million in funding from Idealab, Google.org, Oak Investment Partners, and other investors for the construction and deployment of pre-fabricated power plants. Their...
  
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  Posted: April 26, 2008, 12:43am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Order your Tesla Roadster Now, TH!NK City Coming to North America in 2009

  Number of comments: 48
  On Earth Day it is appropriate to feature one of the most sustainable products of the future, the electric car. High gas prices and growing environmental consciousness could finally usher in a new era for electric cars. The Tesla Roadster and the TH!NK City, represent the two extremes in electric...
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  Posted: April 22, 2008, 2:49am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Study Develops More Accurate CO2 Data

  Number of comments: 61
  Purdue University press release: - A new, high- resolution interactive map of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels has found that the emissions aren't all where we thought. "For example, we've been attributing too many emissions to the northeastern United States, and it's looking like...
  
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  Posted: April 19, 2008, 11:51pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• Largest Laser Beam in the World to Create Fusion

  Number of comments: 11
  This video is about the National Ignition Facility, more details in previous post, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, employing the largest bank of laser beams in the world, to be used in an experiment designed to create fusion ignition, a potential clean energy source for the 21st century....
  
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  Posted: April 19, 2008, 1:27am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Pickens Wind Farm to Get Underway

  Number of comments: 58
  Texas oil man T. Boone Pickens is commencing action, with plans for his company, Mesa Power, to build, over the next four years, the previously announced $10 billion wind farm, the world's largest, that will eventually generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity - the equivalent of building two...
  
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  Posted: April 18, 2008, 3:35am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Trina Solar Cancels $1 Billion Polysilicon Plant

  Number of comments: 31
  China-based Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) announced that it has canceled plans to build a $1 billion polysilicon plant that was revealed in December of 2007, with a target completion date by the end of 2012. Favorable changes in the polysilicon market has led Trina to believe that it can now [...]
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  Posted: April 17, 2008, 1:51am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Climate Change Confirmed but Global Warming is Cancelled

  Number of comments: 120
  I ran across an article, in The National Business Review (NZ), that (attempts to) explain why the climate is not highly sensitive to CO2 warming. In December last year . . . (the author) heard . . . a paper . . . that showed while the IPCC models predict [...]
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  Posted: April 09, 2008, 1:31am EDT
  by James Fraser

• The Beginning of the End for Coal

  Number of comments: 67
  A post on Earth Policy Institute describes the difficulty power companies are having in getting coal fired power plants approved. There first paragraph sums up the difficulty they are having: With concerns about climate change mounting, the era of coal-fired electricity generation in the United...
  
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  Posted: April 08, 2008, 3:17am EDT
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Nanomaterial Turns Radiation Directly into Electricity

  Number of comments: 23
  According to an article in New Scientist, materials that directly convert radiation into electricity could produce a new era of spacecraft and even Earth-based vehicles powered by high-powered nuclear batteries, say US researchers. . . . The materials they are testing would extract up to 20 times...
  
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  Posted: April 07, 2008, 1:08am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Volt Status Update

  Number of comments: 18
  GM released some more information on the status of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid last week in meeting with journalists and analysts at its battery research labs and design studio near Detroit. No real news to those of you who are following the Volt closely. A Reuters article summarized the...
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  Posted: April 07, 2008, 12:56am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Largest Tidal Stream System Installed

  Number of comments: 13
  Marine Current Turbines, has successfully completed the first installation phase of the 1.2MW SeaGen Tidal System, previous post, the world’s largest grid-connected tidal stream system, into the fast-flowing waters of Strangford Narrows off the coast of Northern Ireland. A crane barge safely...
  
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  Posted: April 06, 2008, 4:05am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Skeptics Speak Out on Global Warming

  Number of comments: 71
  Aqua satellite data suggests there are reasons why we should be skeptical to the extent to which carbon dioxide drives warming, that CO2-driven increases in water vapor actually cool the earth, not magnify warming, and with equal interest the latest data from Argos float buoy data in the ocean...
  
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  Posted: April 04, 2008, 11:58pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• DesignLine Orders 150 Capstone Turbines for HEV Buses

  Number of comments: 24
  Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST), announced that it has received a 150 unit order for C30 Capstone MicroTurbines(R) to be deployed in ECOSaver IV hybrid electric buses manufactured by DesignLine International. This is the largest order to date for Capstone products in a Hybrid Electric...
  
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  Posted: April 04, 2008, 2:39am EDT
  by James Fraser

• TransAlta and Alstom Develping CCS Facility in Alberta

  Number of comments: 0
  TransAlta Corporation (NYSE: TAC) and Alstom (EPA: ALO) signed an agreement to work together to develop a large scale CO2 capture and storage (CCS) facility in Alberta, Canada. The project will pilot Alstom’s proprietary Chilled Ammonia Process. TransAlta considers the Chilled Ammonia Process as...
  
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  Posted: April 04, 2008, 12:50am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Waste Hydrogen Used to power Vehicles and Car Wash

  Number of comments: 16
  CBCnews (Canada) has an interesting story about how the Integrated Waste Hydrogen Utilization Project (IWHUP) uses hydrogen from two chemical plants to power pickup trucks, shuttle buses and a car wash. The chemical plants produce more than 1000 kg/hr of hydrogen resulting form the production of...
  
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  Posted: April 02, 2008, 11:41pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• MIT Spin-off Developing Solar Cells That are 27% More Efficient, No more Expensive to Make

  Number of comments: 28
  1366 Technologies claims that its small multicrystalline solar cells are 27% more efficient than conventional cells while keeping costs about the same. It also announced its first round of funding of $12.4 million from Venture capitalists co-led by North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture...
  
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  Posted: April 01, 2008, 10:32pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• Project A Better Place Expands to Denmark

  Number of comments: 1
  Project Better Place (PBC), California, has signed a letter of intent with Danish energy company DONG Energy aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from the Danish car fleet by providing electric cars, batteries and the infrastructure required for implementing a sustainable transportation energy solution....
  
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  Posted: March 31, 2008, 11:38pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• More News on EEStor

  Number of comments: 16
  The latest about EEStor, the promising developer of ultracapacitors can be found in a post by Tyler in Clean Break, EEStor Powered cityZenn targeted for fall 2009 the key item is taken from Zenn Motor Company's press release following its annual general meeting of March 28: The cityZENN is planned...[...]
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  Posted: March 30, 2008, 10:44pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• Virent: Biomass to "Biogasoline"

  Number of comments: 28
  Shell and Virent Energy Systems, Inc., (Virentâ„¢) have announced a joint research and development effort to convert plant sugars directly into gasoline and gasoline blend components, via the BioFormingâ„¢ process, rather than producing ethanol. The process is a simple reactor system operating at...
  
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  Posted: March 28, 2008, 11:59am EDT
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Petrosun to Start Commercial Operation of 4.4 MGY Algae Oil Plant

  Number of comments: 32
  PetroSun, Inc (PINK: PSUD) announced that their Rio Hondo, Texas algae farm will commence operations on April 1, 2008 as PetroSun's initial commercial algae-to-biofuels facility. The current algae farm consists of 1,100 acres of saltwater ponds that the company projects will produce a minimum of...
  
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  Posted: March 25, 2008, 12:36am EDT
  by James Fraser

• 9MWe CHP Jatropha Bio-oil Plant Being Developed in Belgium

  Number of comments: 14
  Thenergo, a Belgian developer and operator of decentralized sustainable energy projects using biomass, biogas, bio-oil and cogeneration has announced that it has commenced development of a 9MWe, 6MWth CHP bio-oil to energy plant in Merksplas (Belgium). The project, named Greenpower, representing a...
  
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  Posted: March 25, 2008, 12:03am EDT
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Double Digit Oil Price is History

  Number of comments: 15
  The Economic Times has an article "Double-digit oil price is history: R S Sharma" that gives a perspective on where we stand on oil supply and consumption and some comments on what we need to do: Oilonomics has gone haywire. The rise in oil prices has now started to hurt. [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2008, 11:48pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• Duke Researchers Develop Ceramic Membrane that Permits Fuel Cells to Operate at Low Humidity and Higher Temperatures

  Number of comments: 0
  Researchers at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering have developed a membrane that allows fuel cells to operate at low humidity and theoretically at higher temperatures. “The current gold standard membrane is a polymer that needs to be in a humid environment in order to function efficiently. If the...
  
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  Posted: March 24, 2008, 12:31am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Most GM Vehicles will be Hybrids by 2020

  Number of comments: 20
  Via the Detroit News: General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz said on May 19 that GM would have produce 80 percent of its vehicles as some type of hybrid by 2020 in order to meet new tougher fuel economy standards. "Ultimately by 2020, we figure that 80 percent of vehicles" [...]
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  Posted: March 24, 2008, 12:02am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Why Exxon Won't Produce More

  Number of comments: 9
  From Business Week online March 20, 2008: . . . If you want to understand why Exxon won't produce more, it helps to listen in to ExxonMobil's presentation to analysts in New York City in early March. Halfway through the three-hour meeting, Exxon management flashed a chart that showed the [...]
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  Posted: March 23, 2008, 10:49pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• An Update on Uranium Reprocessing

  Number of comments: 22
  A March 22 article "Recycling uranium and plutonium: where's it heading?" on the Nuclear Engineering International website explores the status of uranium recycling and its future. Programs for the recycling of plutonium were developed in the 1970s when it appeared that uranium would be in scarce...
  
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  Posted: March 23, 2008, 9:56pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• FYI: GE Demonstrates World's First ''Roll-to-Roll'' Manufactured Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs

  Number of comments: 33
  Press release - GE Global Research and GE Consumer & Industrial in conjunction with ECD announced the successful demonstration of the world’s first roll-to-roll manufactured organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting devices. This demonstration is a key step toward making OLEDs and other high...
  
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  Posted: March 18, 2008, 10:21pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• New Enzyme Promises to Reduce Ethanol Costs

  Number of comments: 29
  University of Maryland research that started with bacteria from the Chesapeake Bay has led to the development of a bacterium, called Saccharophagus degradans which can break down almost any source of biomass, or plant life, into sugars, which can then be converted into ethanol and other biofuels....
  
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  Posted: March 14, 2008, 12:10am EDT
  by James Fraser

• Basin Electric Selects Powerspan's ECO2 Carbon Capture Process for Commercial Demonstration Project

  Number of comments: 8
  Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Powerspan Corp. today announced the selection of Powerspan's carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology, called "ECO2(TM)," for a commercial demonstration at Basin Electric's Antelope Valley Station, a coal-based electrical generation facility located near Beulah,...
  
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  Posted: March 13, 2008, 9:45pm EDT
  by James Fraser

• GM, Toyota Dismiss Fuel Cells for Mass Use

  Number of comments: 49
  The Wall Street Journal reported this week that executives from General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., at the Geneva Auto Show Tuesday, "expressed doubts about the viability of hydrogen fuel cells for mass-market production in the near term and suggested their companies are now betting that...
  
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  Posted: March 07, 2008, 12:05am EST
  by James Fraser

• Five Passenger TH!NK Ox Introduced at Geneva Auto Show

  Number of comments: 11
  Norwegian car maker TH!NK unveiled a new model, a five seater, the TH!NK Ox, at the Geneva Auto Show. The production model is said to closely resemble the concept car. The base model Ox, scheduled for production in 2011, will have a range of about 125 miles (200 kilometers) on [...]
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  Posted: March 06, 2008, 2:10am EST
  by James Fraser

• GM will use Lithium-ion Batteries with its "Mild" Hybrid Drivetrains

  Number of comments: 12
  The Wall Street Journal reports that GM will announce an upgrade of its "mild" powertrain, the "Belt Alternator Starter," (BAS) drivetrain that is used on hybrids such as the Saturn Aura and Chevrolet Malibu at the Geneva Motor Show. The new system, "BAS-plus," will use lithium-ion batteries...
  
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  Posted: March 05, 2008, 3:56am EST
  by James Fraser

• Chilled Ammonia Carbon Capture Process to be Demonstrated

  Number of comments: 5
  A pilot plant that uses chilled ammonia to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fueled power plants was launched by Alstom, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and We Energies, at We Energies’ Pleasant Prairie Power Plant in Wisconsin. Alstom designed, constructed and will operate the...
  
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  Posted: March 05, 2008, 1:55am EST
  by James Fraser

• Nuclear Power: A Change for the Better

  Number of comments: 77
  Former Florida governor Jeb Bush shared his opinions on nuclear power in the Ocala, Fl Star Banner: "Change" seems to be the operative word this election season. It's on the lips of political contenders and on the minds of the voters. But politics isn't the only arena where change is [...]
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  Posted: March 04, 2008, 4:41am EST
  by James Fraser

• Sodium Sulfur Batteries to be Used for Energy Storage at MN Windfarm

  Number of comments: 28
  Xcel Energy, (NYSE: XEL)in partnership with the University of Minnesota, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Great Plains Institute, will soon begin testing a one-megawatt sodium-sulfur battery storage system to demonstrate its ability to store wind energy and dispatch it to the...
  
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  Posted: March 02, 2008, 10:26pm EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Smith Elecctric Vehicles Orders Drive Components for 4,000 Vehicles

  Number of comments: 9
  Enova Systems, Torrance, CA, has announced that it has received a production order and has begun delivering 90kW and 120kW electric drive components for in excess of 1,000 units during 2008, and as many as 3,000 in 2009 to Smith Electric Vehicles, in Vigo Centre, UK, a division of The [...]
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  Posted: February 28, 2008, 1:12am EST
  by James Fraser

• DOE announces $33.8 Million in Enzyme Research for Cellulosic Ethanol

  Number of comments: 17
  Inexpensive cellulosic ethanol is essential for the development of liquid fuel products from non-food materials. Several companies are already involved in building pilot plants or small commercial plants to produce cellulosic ethanol. (see cellulosic ethanol category for more information) One of...
  
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  Posted: February 28, 2008, 12:24am EST
  by James Fraser

• End in Site for Silicon Shortage in Solar industry

  Number of comments: 37
  Severe shortages of silicon have plagued the solar photovoltaic market over the past few years. According to a Frost & Sullivan press release a turnaround can be expected this year with polysilicon catching up with the demand . Quoting from the press release:It was estimated that the demand for...
  
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  Posted: February 27, 2008, 12:06am EST
  by James Fraser

• EU Research Shows that Hydrogen Energy Could Reduce Oil Consumption in Road Transport by 40% by 2050

  Number of comments: 47
  The EU HyWays project has released its main report "European Hydrogen Energy Roadmap" The "Roadmap" analyzes the potential impacts on the EU economy, society and environment of the large-scale introduction of hydrogen in the short- and long- term (up to 2050). A few excerpts from the press release...
  
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  Posted: February 26, 2008, 11:59pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Yergin: Climate Change and Energy are Converging into New Era of Clean Energy

  Number of comments: 26
  The sometimes outspoken Daniel Yergin, chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) and executive vice president, IHS Inc., spoke at the 2008 National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 23. Some of his remarks may be of interest to readers of TEB.“High...
  
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  Posted: February 26, 2008, 1:38am EST
  by James Fraser

• Bank of America to Asess Cost of Carbon on Loans to Utility Companies

  Number of comments: 12
  The banking industry is taking an increasing interest in green energy and carbon emissions, in lieu of the Federal government not taking any action. Because of this failing, the Bank of America has decided to start assessing the cost of carbon in their risk and underwriting processes for loans to...
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  Posted: February 24, 2008, 11:44pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Emissions from Photovoltaic Life Cycles

  Number of comments: 22
  A new report has found that thin-film cadmium telluride solar cells have the lowest life-cycle emissions primarily because they consume the least amount of energy during the module production of the four types of major commercial PV systems: multicrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, ribbon...
  
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  Posted: February 23, 2008, 12:46am EST
  by James Fraser

• DOE Enhanced Geothermal Systems Projects

  Number of comments: 2
  In a move that I greet with great enthusiasem DOE has embarked on a project with a number of partners to test Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technologies at a commercial geothermal power facility near Reno, Nevada. EGS technology enhances the permeability of underground strata, typically by...
  
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  Posted: February 22, 2008, 3:36am EST
  by James Fraser

• AE Biofuels Builds Integrated Cellulose Ethanol Commercial Demonstration Plant

  Number of comments: 2
  Another company is entering the Cellulosic ethanol market place with the announcement that AE Biofuels, Cupertino, CA, has begun construction of an integrated cellulose and starch ethanol commercial demonstration facility in Butte, Montana. The plant will use proven patent-pending Ambient...
  
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  Posted: February 22, 2008, 1:13am EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Abengoa to Build 280MW Concentrating Solar Power Plant in Arizona

  Number of comments: 26
  Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) announced plans that Abengoa Solar will build the Solana Generating Station, a 280-megawatt (MW) concentrating solar power (CSP) plant, 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, near Gila Bend, Ariz. Solana will employ technology that can both produce and store energy during...
  
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  Posted: February 22, 2008, 12:27am EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Zenn Still Planning on EEStor

  Number of comments: 9
  ZENN (TSX: ZNN) the Canadian manufacturer of low speed electric car vehicles has a statement in its first quarter 2008 report that they anticipated EEStor technology being commercialized and is making plans to incorporate it into its products. In addition ZENN is invstigating longer-range highway...
  
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  Posted: February 21, 2008, 11:47pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Syntec Cellulosic Ethanol Sets Price Record

  Number of comments: 23
  Syntec Biofuel Inc (OTCBB: 'SYBF'), a company developing biomass to fuel conversion technologies, announced that it has achieved a yield of 105 gallons of alcohol (ethanol, methanol, n-butanol and n-propanol) per ton of biomass. This marks a major milestone for Syntec as this yield is equivalent to...
  
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  Posted: February 19, 2008, 2:10am EST
  by James Fraser

• Historic Data Suggest Geosequestration of CO2 Safe

  Number of comments: 5
  Alpha Galileo reports that a new study has revealed that storing carbon dioxide beneath the earth may be a safer and longer term method of reducing emissions in the atmosphere than previously thought. Researchers at the University of Manchester found that carbon dioxide (CO2) has been naturally...
  
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  Posted: February 19, 2008, 1:21am EST
  by James Fraser

• The Case for Investing in Energy Productivity

  Number of comments: 4
  McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) reports that an additional annual investment in energy productivity of $170 billion through 2020 could cut global energy demand growth by at least half—the equivalent of 64 million barrels of oil a day or almost one and a half times today’s entire U.S. energy...
  
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  Posted: February 18, 2008, 11:59pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Volt Price Tag to Escalate Initially

  Number of comments: 23
  GM has confirmed reports that the first Chevy Volts will cost $35,000 not the $30,000 that they had claimed previously. Canada.com first published the report, that includes the following statements: GM has found it can't re-engineer features such as windshield wipers and high-powered audio systems...
  
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  Posted: February 16, 2008, 11:52pm EST
  by James Fraser

• New Materials Can Isolate and Capture CO2 More Efficiently with Five Times More Density than Current State of the Art

  Number of comments: 18
  UCLA scientists have demonstrated that they can successfully isolate and capture carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, rising sea levels and the increased acidity of oceans. Their findings could lead to power plants efficiently capturing carbon dioxide without using toxic materials....
  
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  Posted: February 15, 2008, 10:29pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Sandia, Stirling Energy Systems Set New World Record of 31.25% for Solar-to-Grid Conversion Efficiency

  Number of comments: 29
  On a perfect New Mexico winter day — with the sky almost 10 percent brighter than usual — Sandia National Laboratories and Stirling Energy Systems (SES) set a new solar-to-grid system conversion efficiency record by achieving a 31.25 percent net efficiency rate. The old 1984 record of 29.4 percent...
  
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  Posted: February 15, 2008, 12:50am EST
  by James Fraser

• Georgia Tech: CCS from Vehicles with Carbon Recyle = Zero Emission Car

  Number of comments: 6
  Georgia Tech abridged press release: The Georgia Tech team’s goal is to create a sustainable transportation system that uses a liquid fuel and traps the carbon emission in the vehicle for later processing at a fueling station. The carbon would then be shuttled back to a processing plant where it...
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  Posted: February 14, 2008, 11:58pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Mitsubishi Unviels New "I MiEV"

  Number of comments: 61
  Mitsubishi Motors Corp has unveiled the newest version of the electric vehicle, "i MiEV," with a longer cruising range than the previous model and a new Li-ion battery . Mitsubishi aims to launch mass-production of electric vehicles in 2009. And, in this field test, the company plans to investigate...
  
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  Posted: February 12, 2008, 3:07am EST
  by James Fraser

• ZeaChem Announces Poplar Tree Feed Stock Agreement for High Yield, High Efficiency Bio-Refinery

  Number of comments: 4
  ZeaChem, Inc. and GreenWood Resources, Inc. (GWR), on behalf of GreenWood Tree Farm Fund, LP ("GTFF") announced Monday the signing of a non-binding Letter of Intent to supply poplar tree (aka Pacific Albus) feed stock under a long-term agreement to support the operation of an initial 1.5 million...
  
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  Posted: February 12, 2008, 2:17am EST
  by James Fraser

• Plans Announced for a Wave Power Plant in Hawaii

  Number of comments: 11
  Oceanlinx, an Australian wave energy company, announced plans for a $20 million project to install three floating wave energy converters (WECs), i.e. wave-powered turbine platforms, to supply up to 2.7MW of electricity to the island of Maui, Hawaii. The company has signed a Memorandum of...
  
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  Posted: February 10, 2008, 1:45am EST
  by James Fraser

• EPRI, INL Announce Plan Focused on Near-Term Increase in Nuclear Energy Production

  Number of comments: 53
  The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) today announced the public release of a joint INL/Nuclear Power Industry Strategic Plan for Light Water Reactor (LWR) Research and Development. More evidence that the nuclear energy...
  
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  Posted: February 08, 2008, 12:06am EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Industry's First Phase Change Memory Prototypes

  Number of comments: 3
  Intel Corporation and STMicroelectronics reached a key industry milestone today as they began shipping prototype samples of a future product using a new, innovative memory technology called Phase Change Memory (PCM). The prototypes are the first functional silicon to be delivered to customers for...
  
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  Posted: February 07, 2008, 6:56pm EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: National Geographic Special on Global Warming

  Number of comments: 10
  I thought this series might be of interest to some of my readers. Can anyone stop global warming? Part of National Geographic’s mission is to inspire everyone to at least try, with a bevy of new content designed to educate, inspire and even alarm. National Geographic’s “Six Degrees Could Change [...]
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  Posted: February 07, 2008, 6:38pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Cheap Cars Mean Higher Gas Prices

  Number of comments: 31
  The introduction of cheap cars in China and India may accelerate the increase of price of gasoline in the rest of the world. That is the essence of a CNNMoney article that points to projection that India will be have annual sales of 3 million light vehicles and China roughly [...]
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  Posted: February 06, 2008, 3:05am EST
  by James Fraser

• MIT & TI Team Develop Chip up to 10 Times More Energy-Efficient than Current Chips

  Number of comments: 7
  From MIT News comes what seems to be one of a long string of disruptive technologies in the semi-conductor industry. The potential impact of these chips is unimaginable at this time. Can you imaginge a pacemaker or other implantable medical device that requires no batteries? Researchers at MIT and...
  
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  Posted: February 05, 2008, 11:19pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Oil Shortages Start in 2010; Peak Oil Hits 2012-2015

  Number of comments: 45
  EnergyTechStocks.com had a very interesting post on peak oil based on an interview with Charles T. Maxwell. Maxwell spent 40 years on Wall Street, plus 12 years before that working for a major oil company, a lifetime of experience. Now a senior energy analyst at Weeden & Co., Maxwell is [...]
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  Posted: February 05, 2008, 4:26am EST
  by James Fraser

• Bio-crude Turns Cheap Waste into Valuable Fuel

  Number of comments: 13
  CSIRO and Monash University announced that they have developed a chemical process that turns green waste into a stable bio-crude oil. Bio-crude works in much the same way as crude oil, making it economical to produce bio-crude in local areas for transport to a central biorefinery for further...
  
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  Posted: February 05, 2008, 1:23am EST
  by James Fraser

• Leading Wall Street Banks Establish The Carbon Principles

  Number of comments: 2
  Guidelines to strengthen environmental and economic risk management in the financing and construction of electricity generation. Three of the world's leading financial institutions announced the formation of The Carbon Principles, climate change guidelines for advisors and lenders to power...
  
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  Posted: February 05, 2008, 12:27am EST
  by James Fraser

• DOE Selects 4 Small-Scale Biorefinery Projects for Up to $114 Million in Funding

  DOE announced on January 29 that it will invest $114 million in four ten-percent of commercial-scale scale biorefinery projects over four years, to be located in Colorado, Missouri, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Expected to be operational in four years, the selected projects will use a wide range of...
  
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  Posted: February 04, 2008, 12:43am EST
  by James Fraser

• Plans for Coal-to-Liquids Facility Announced

  Number of comments: 34
  Fuel Frontiers, Inc. (FFI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nuclear Solutions, Inc. (OTC:NSOL), announced that it is working with Shaw Stone & Webster (Shaw) to launch an engineering program that will provide a technical basis for a 400 Tonne per day Coal-To-Liquid (CTL) Ultra-Clean Diesel fuel...
  
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  Posted: February 02, 2008, 1:25am EST
  by James Fraser

• Latest on the Volt

  Number of comments: 46
  Jan 31 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp plans a strong production run for its plug-in Chevy Volt, according to a senior executive on Thursday who also urged Congress to approve tax incentives to help spark demand. . . . "As volume (of batteries) scales up, you will move down this [...]
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  Posted: February 01, 2008, 11:10pm EST
  by James Fraser

• FutureGen Scrapped, CCS to be Demonstrated on Multiple Clean Coal Power Plants

  Number of comments: 7
  From a DOE announcement: DOE announced a restructured approach to its FutureGen project that aims to demonstrate cutting-edge carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) clean coal power plants. Under this strategy, the U.S....
  
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  Posted: January 31, 2008, 12:08am EST
  by James Fraser

• Do We Need Yucca Mountain?

  Number of comments: 111
  The referenced post, by the World Nuclear Association, presents one view on the need for Yucca Mountain and nuclear fuel recycling as stated by NEG. Would Yucca Mountain, the nation’s planned repository 90 miles outside Las Vegas, be expected to store the nuclear waste? Not necessarily, came the...
  
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  Posted: January 31, 2008, 12:05am EST
  by James Fraser

• Hydrogen form "E. Coli"

  Number of comments: 9
  A professor in Texas A&M University's chemical engineering department envisions "E. coli" as a future source of energy, helping to power our cars, homes and more. By genetically modifying the bacteria, Thomas Wood, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has "tweaked"...
  
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  Posted: January 30, 2008, 11:14pm EST
  by James Fraser

• Big Business Says Addressing Climate Change 'Rates Very Low on Agenda'

  Number of comments: 20
  Poll of 500 major firms reveals that only one in 10 regard global warming as a priority The Independent -- Global warming ranks far down the concerns of the world's biggest companies, despite world leaders' hopes that they will pioneer solutions to the impending climate crisis, a startling survey...
  
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  Posted: January 30, 2008, 12:01am EST
  by James Fraser

• Seadog Wave Pump Exceeds Epectations

  Number of comments: 27
  Independent Natural Resources Inc's. ( INRITM) SEADOGTM wave pump is a form of wave power that has been around for a while that I hadn't heard of. It seems to me to have several advantages over other forms of wave power, being simpler than most, consuming no external power and [...]
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  Posted: January 29, 2008, 3:10am EST
  by James Fraser

• GM-Volt.com Reaches Major Milestone: Waitlist for Chevy Volt Climbs to 10,000

  Number of comments: 23
  GM-Volt.com claims to be the definitive source of real-time news, information, and discussion about the General Motors Chevrolet Volt plug-in vehicle and related topics. A key component of the site is the Chevy Volt waiting list. People who are interested in purchasing the car are signing up. Even...
  
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  Posted: January 27, 2008, 2:41am EST
  by James Fraser

• Ice Loss in Antartica Nearly Mathes That of Greenland

  Number of comments: 3
  Via Biopact -- Ice loss in Antarctica increased by 75 percent in the last 10 years due to a speed-up in the flow of its glaciers and is now nearly as great as that observed in Greenland, according to a new, comprehensive study by UC Irvine and NASA scientists. . [...]
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  Posted: January 27, 2008, 12:05am EST
  by James Fraser

• Shell CEO Presents Two Scenarios For the Futue of Energy

  Number of comments: 11
  The chief executive of Shell has posted this article on Shell's new energy scenarios. I was made aware of it by The Oil Drum, who first posted it at http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3548 and I thought it was worth repeating for your comments. They had a large number, 153, of mostly very insightful...
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  Posted: January 26, 2008, 3:27am EST
  by James Fraser

• Wal-Mart in Discussion on Possibility of Selling HEVs and PHEVs

  Number of comments: 1
  (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott said he held talks with automakers on the possibility of selling gasoline-electric hybrid cars and plug-in automobiles at the retailer's stores. " Maybe there isn't room for Wal-Mart in this right now, but something tells me...
  
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  Posted: January 26, 2008, 1:24am EST
  by James Fraser

• Johnson Controls, Partner to Open Lithium-ion Battery Factory in France

  Number of comments: 1
  Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE:JCI) and its French joint venture partner, Saft, soon will open their first factory to build lithium-ion batteries for a plug-in version of a Mercedes-Benz sedan. The company also is making batteries for Dodge Sprinters that are being tested in Los Angeles and New York....
  
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  Posted: January 26, 2008, 12:56am EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Alberta to Cut Projected Emissions by 50 per cent Under New Climate Change Plan

  Alberta will cut projected greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 as part of a long-term climate change plan that focuses on carbon capture and storage, consumer incentives and greener energy production. Research indicates new and next generation technologies will deliver the majority of the new...
  
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  Posted: January 26, 2008, 12:24am EST
  by James Fraser

• GM Forms New Organization for Hyrids, Plug-ins and Advanced Batteries

  Number of comments: 2
  General Motors has formed a new engineering organization especially dedicated to implementing hybrid and extended- range electric vehicles (E-REV) and advanced battery technology. The global team will be led by Robert Kruse, executive director of vehicle engineering for hybrids, electric vehicle...
  
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  Posted: January 25, 2008, 11:58pm EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Renault Nissan Considers Using A123Systems Batteries in Addition to Their OAwn

  The Wall Street Jounal reports that Renault and its partner Nissan Motor Co., which this week announced a major commitment to develop battery-powered cars, are considering using lithium-ion batteries both from their in-house team and the American battery start-up A123 Systems. "In some markets we...
  
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  Posted: January 24, 2008, 7:50am EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Zap and China Youngman Automotive Issue RFP for Two Passenger Electric Vehicle

  Number of comments: 5
  Officials from ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP) and China Youngman Automotive Group announced their Joint Venture Company has initiated the RFQ (Request For Quotation) process for a vehicle project called the ZAP Alias™. The Joint Venture Company targets the Alias to retail at a price of $30,000 in a...
  
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  Posted: January 24, 2008, 7:15am EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: New Path to Produce Butanol

  Number of comments: 2
  A team of researchers headed by an environmental engineer at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a new techniques to produce butanol, a biofuel superior to ethanol. It can be derived from lignocellulosic materials, which are plant biomass parts that range from woody stems and straw to...
  
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  Posted: January 24, 2008, 7:08am EST
  by James Fraser

• Raytheon Sells RF/CF Technology for Extracting Oil From Shale to Schlumberger

  Number of comments: 11
  Raytheon has sold its technology to extract oil from shale and tar sands to Schlumberger, a leading oilfield services company. In order to create new momentum for extracting oil from shale, Raytheon utilized one of its many intellectual property reserves (radio frequency, or RF, technology)....
  
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  Posted: January 24, 2008, 12:08am EST
  by James Fraser

• Record High Methane Storage Material Found

  Science Now reports the development of a new type of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), called PCN-14, that has a high surface area of over 2000 m2/g. Laboratory studies show that the compound, composed of clusters of nano-sized cages, has a methane storage capacity 28 percent higher than the DOE...
  
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  Posted: January 23, 2008, 10:52pm EST
  by James Fraser

• FYI: Huckabay Ridge Now Producing Renewable Natural Gas from Manure at Full Capacity

  Number of comments: 17
  Biopact reports that Environmental Power Corporation (Nasdaq: EPG), announced that its Huckabay Ridge facility in Stephenville, Texas, has achieved full-capacity production levels of pipeline-quality renewable natural gas (RNG(R)) and has now moved into full-scale commercial operation. The facility...
  
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  Posted: January 23, 2008, 10:22pm EST
  by James Fraser