Battery Technology | Electric Cars | Solar Power | Transportation Solar Team Great Britain has started a kickstarter page to help fund their design for entry in the 2017 World Solar Challenge. Founder Steven Heape leads a team of volunteers from many different disciplines, companies and universities working on a family-sized solar car to compete in the cruiser class. “Cruiser Class is about two or […]

Energy Inventions | Future Technology | Solar Power German Architect Andre Broessel believes he has a solution that can “squeeze more juice out of the sun”, even during the night hours and in low-light regions. His company Rawlemon has created a spherical sun power generator prototype called the beta.ray. His technology will combine spherical geometry principles with a dual axis tracking system, allowing […]

Fuel Cells | Hydrogen Fuel | Public Transit | Transportation In an effort to reduce China’s harmful and plentiful greenhouse gas emissions, Chinese company Sifang (a subsidiary of China South Rail Corporation) has developed the world’s first hydrogen powered tram. The tram took two years of research and development to complete, and will be powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells. Since this is a tram […]

Environment and Sustainability | Photovoltaic Cells | Solar Power Designed by renowned Italian architect Giancarlo Zema and produced by EcoFloLife, the WaterNest 100 is an eco-friendly floating housing unit. The 100 square meter residential units are made of up to 98% recycled materials; including the laminate timber and aluminum hull. Skylights, balconies and large windows encircle the dwelling, allowing for efficient lighting and beautiful […]

Hydro Power | Photovoltaic Cells | Solar Power Since 2011, French Company Ciel & Terre has been developing large-scale floating solar solutions. Their innovative Hydrelio Floating PV system allows standard PV panels to be installed on large bodies of water such as: drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals, remediation and tailing ponds, and hydro electric dam reservoirs. This simple and affordable alternative […]

Energy Politics | Environment and Sustainability | Solar Power France keeps making green headlines lately… the Eiffel Tower’s wind turbines, the tree-shaped wind turbines being installed in Paris, and now an exciting new law that is sure to have a huge environmental impact in urban centers. Every new commercial building in France must meet a new building requirement; the roof must be at least […]

Electric Cars | Future Technology | Transportation Recent rumours that suggest Apple may be working on an electric car have inspired the website carwow to produce some concept images of what the vehicle may look like. Speculation that Apple may be in talks to purchase electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors inspired the illustrations to have a similar resemblance. Apple obviously has the […]

Electric Cars | Transportation Some Friday fun… we discovered this intriguing electric beast while covering this week’s Vancouver Auto Show. It’s not really going to do much to help the environment, but we think it’s kind of neat that many manufacturers are jumping on the electric vehicle bandwagon. If anything this could help expose new technologies to a completely […]

Electric Cars | Fuel Cells | Hydrogen Fuel | Transportation This Tuesday we had a unique opportunity to preview the Vancouver International Auto Show. This year’s show features a wide variety of electric, hydrogen and hybrid-electric vehicles. We took full advantage and we’re absolutely thrilled to see so many manufacturers putting research and development into clean transportation technologies. Almost every manufacturer had something future-friendly to […]

Energy Industry | Future Technology | Solar Power AORA Solar has announced that it will begin construction of its solar-biogas power plants in Ethiopia. Construction of the first pilot plant will start by mid-2015. Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy has stated that ” AORA’s unique solar-hybrid technology is impressive and well-suited to provide both energy and heat to support local economic […]

Energy Inventions | Wind Power | Wind Turbines A French company called New Wind is installing tree-shaped wind turbines at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France. The company’s founder, Jérôme Michaud-Larivière came up with the idea while in a Paris square, when he “saw the leaves tremble when there was not a breath of air.” He hopes the trees can be […]

Energy Inventions | Future Technology | Solar Power Since 2008, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) has been working hard to develop technologies to transmit electricity wirelessly. The goal of the Space Solar Power Systems (SSPS), is to be able to transmit energy from orbiting solar panels by 2030. On March 12th, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) successfully conducted a ground demonstration test of […]

Energy Industry | Wind Power | Wind Turbines The 126 year old Eiffel Tower is going green! A pair of camouflaged VisionAIR5 wind turbines were installed inside the scaffolding on the second floor, and are expected to generate 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every year. That’s enough to power the tower’s entire first floor; including history exhibits, a souvenir shop and restaurants. The […]

Energy Inventions | Wind Power | Wind Turbines Iowa State Aerospace Engineers Anupam Sharma and Hui Hu are exploring the possibility of adding a smaller, secondary rotor to wind turbines. The engineers studied the base of existing turbines and found two major problems. First, they are big round structural pieces that don’t harvest any wind energy because they are not shaped like an […]

Energy Inventions | Hydro Power | Wave Power Mechanical Engineer David Hartmann and Craftsman Jason Ballash have designed a new wave power technology called the KymoGen, which has the potential to produce clean, low-cost energy using the constant power of waves. Key to the design is its simplicity. A portable 8’x8′ platform is tethered to a mooring on the sea floor. Inside the […]

Hybrid Cars | Transportation It’s Friday, so we figured it’s time for a little humour. James Lawler, a Landscaper from Torquay Australia, has built himself a mini-motorhome atop his Toyota Prius Hybrid. The project took just over a week to complete using scrap materials, and ended up costing him just under $150. What inspired this project? Lawler says “There’s […]

Pedal Power | Solar Power | Transportation Described as the “most efficient vehicle on the planet”, The ELF is a solar and pedal-powered hybrid tricycle hand-built in the United States by Organic Transit. It is available in one, two and three seater models, and according to their website it gets the equivalent of 1800 miles per gallon! It is legally considered a […]

Energy Economy | Energy Industry | Environment and Sustainability Environmentalists have pushed greenhouse gases as being the leading cause of global warming. Carbon dioxide has been regarded as being the biggest contributor to the greenhouse effect. But what if there was a way to recycle the most abundant greenhouse gas in the Earth’s atmosphere? Carbon dioxide is a major byproduct of industrial power generation […]

Energy Inventions | Human Power | Hydro Power We just received an email from a company called Hydrobee, asking us to vote for them as Autodesk’s inventor of the Year. Having never heard of this we checked it out… what a neat invention! This soda-can sized device generates electricity for USB devices when you’re off the grid. It can generate power using flowing […]

Electric Cars | Future Technology | Transportation We’ve been getting a lot of positive news about electric cars recently. This week at the Geneva International Auto Show, Goodyear unveiled a new concept tire called the BH03. While we don’t know why it is called that, we do know that Goodyear’s new tire looks radical and could potentially generate electricity for electric cars […]

Energy Inventions | Wind Power | Wind Turbines Back in 2013 Google purchased a company called Makani, creators of the Energy Kite. Their goal is to make wind energy pricing competitive with fossil fuels, and they believe a

Electric Cars | Energy Industry | Transportation Ever wanted to own an electric car, but didn’t think any of the current options were practical? Think again! Nissan is turning over a new leaf with it’s new 100% electric e-NV200 — a 7-seater electric minivan — perfect for cargo, families and even taxis. Previously only available as a 5-seater, the new model has […]

Energy Inventions | Wind Power | Wind Turbines Sri Lankan inventor Leelananda Jayasuriya just sent us this concept for a Lateral Axis Wind Turbine. The turbine functions just like a Ferris Wheel, with the blades orbiting in an epicyclical path around the central shaft. Leelananda believes there are many advantages to his design: it can rotate with the direction of the wind, it […]

Electric Cars | Future Technology | Transportation 3D Printing is all the rage these days, so it’s no surprise someone has printed a complete and functional electric automobile, appropriately named the Strati (Italian for “layers”) 18 months ago, Phoenix Arizona company Local Motors teamed up with Cincinnati Incorporated to develop a neighborhood electric car. The project is open source; members are encouraged […]

Electric Cars | Hybrid Cars | Transportation Considering a green car? These days it makes a lot of sense but there are so many options; electric, hybrid, hydrogen and even solar. One day soon we’ll all be driving one, so how do we choose? And if we don’t have a green car, what can you we do to help the environment in […]

Energy Politics | Environment and Sustainability | Future Technology Today Google announced their exciting proposal to redevelop four sites in Mountain View, California. Designed by Bjarke Ingels at BIG and Thomas Heatherwick at Heatherwick Studio, the new headquarters will be the first time Google will design and build their offices from scratch. The concept is simple and genius: instead of building permanent structures with […]

Energy Inventions | Future Technology | Photovoltaic Cells | Solar Power How would nature do it? Researchers at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland may be discovering the answer, thanks to advancing solar and 3D printing technologies. They have developed some very decorative prototypes of what they are calling “energy harvesting trees”. The tiny leaves generate and store solar energy and can be used to […]

Environment and Sustainability | Photovoltaic Cells | Solar Power Home Inspector Bill Barber recently created an excellent infographic that details how solar panels can power homes and help the environment at the same time. According to the infographic, “1 hour of Energy from the Sun = 1 Year of Power for the Global Population”. And as stated, solar power remains the 3rd most important […]

Do you know who is the most competent solar power expert, according to a research team from Tel Aviv University? It is the humble common Oriental hornet found in our gardens! Much to the astonishment of the scientists and researchers, the hornet utilizes solar power much like a plant and it produces electricity. [...] Read More... Posted in: Environment , PhotoVoltaics , Solar Power

New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge Park is getting even greener with the addition of a solar powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station – the first of its kind in New York City. Brooklyn Bridge Park has already added a number of green areas with lush grass, making it a great spot for both locals [...] Read More... Posted in: Environment , Politics , Solar Power