Archive for March, 2010
GM Unveils Trio of Two-Wheel Electric… Egg Pods
Last year, just prior to declaring bankruptcy, GM debuted its Project P.U.M.A., a Segway-like device that moves about on two wheels controlled by the body movements of the driver. But unlike the Segway, you sat in the P.U.M.A.. While it didn’t save GM from bankruptcy, the idea apparently held some weight with the designers, who [...]
Comments Off
Supercar Legend McLaren Will Concentrate on Efficient Cars and Hybrids
2010 could go down as the year of the green supercar… prototype. Most every high-end automaker has either rolled out a hybrid concept, like the Porsche 918 and Ferrari KERS hybrid, or at least plans for some kind of more fuel-efficient supercar. Well now you can add McLaren to that list. The famous maker of [...]
Comments Off
Cargo Ships Avoiding Cleaner Fuel By Choosing Dangerous Routes
Big cargo ships are some of the heaviest polluters on the planet. They might also be one of the most efficient forms of transporting goods — and a large reason why we Americans are able to purchase so much from so far away for comparatively little money. In an effort to curb the harmful emissions [...]
Comments Off
Freightliner Electric Vans To Use Tesla Battery Packs
Electric might not seem very practical for most of the population right now, but for many companies that employ fleets of vehicles, they make all the sense on the world. Many fleet vehicles don’t wander too far from home base, and often run the same route every day. Without the cost of gas or maintaince, [...]
Comments Off
China’s BYD Offers Plug-in Hybrid to Individual Buyers
BYD’s F3DM plug-in hybrid. By this time next week, China’s BYD will become the first automaker to offer a mass-produced plug-in hybrid to individual buyers. That sounds like a major milestone, but the realities of such an event tell a different story. Despite fears that BYD and other Chinese carmakers will quickly dominate the emerging [...]
Comments Off
Halfway to a Green Taxi Fleet in San Francisco
By Gavin Newsom San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Almost two years ago to the day, I sponsored a Green Taxi Law requiring San Francisco cab companies to lower their greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. When I announced this goal many said it was unattainable. We thought it was not only [...]
Comments Off
California Ballot Initiative Aims to Block Tougher Emissions Standards
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act into law back in 2006. Energy industry money is fueling a campaign currently underway in California to prevent the state’s landmark AB32 emissions standards from taking effect as planned. With the most aggressive pieces of the legislation scheduled to kick in in 2012, a new bill [...]
Comments Off
J.D. Power Study: Toyota Prius Is Most Dependable Compact Car
High-profile media reports of runaway cars give the impression that the Toyota Prius is unsafe and undependable. However, the hard data tells a different story. J.D. Power—the auto industry’s top source for information about vehicle dependability—yesterday reported that among compact cars, the Toyota Prius had the fewest numbers of problems experienced per 100 vehicles over [...]
Comments Off
G4G Resources Reports on Progress of Geothermal Acquisition in Argentina – MarketWatch (press release)
G4G Resources Reports on Progress of Geothermal Acquisition in ArgentinaMarketWatch (press release)… exclusively in providing consulting, operational and training services in the exploration, development, assessment and valuation of geothermal energy. … and more » email this article to a friend
Comments Off
First Gen Corp spends US$1.5bn in expansion move – Industrial Fuels and Power (blog)
First Gen Corp spends US$1.5bn in expansion moveIndustrial Fuels and Power (blog)The 112MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydroelectric power plant will benefit from a 77MW extension while the 150MW Bacon-Manito geothermal unit will add 110MW to … and more » email this article to a friend
Comments Off
First Gen group plans $1.5-b expansion – Manila Standard Today
First Gen group plans $1.5-b expansionManila Standard TodayThe projects include the 550-MW San Gabriel natural gas power plant, the rehabilitation of the Bacon-Manito geothermal facilities that could add 110 MW, … and more » email this article to a friend
Comments Off
Hot rocks, water heat this town – msnbc.com
Hot rocks, water heat this townmsnbc.comGeothermal energy is unknown in much of the country but accounts for 0.5 percent of the nation's energy production. It can be seen on a snowy day in a … and more » email this article to a friend
Comments Off
First Gen planning to hike capacity by 1000 MW – BusinessWorld Online
First Gen planning to hike capacity by 1000 MWBusinessWorld Online… state's Angat hydroelectric plant as well as the independent power producer administrator contract for the 1200-MW Ilijan combined cycle power plant. … and more » email this article to a friend
Comments Off
Endesa in Powerline Smart Grid Play
Spanish utility group Endesa is leading a programme to develop a telecommunications network with the same coverage as the distribution network and which permits information to be used in real time. email this article to a friend
Comments Off
Repower Delivers Polish Machines
REpower Systems AG has concluded a contract with a project company of the WSB Group to deliver 15 wind turbines to Poland. email this article to a friend
Comments Off
EU Supergrid Lobby Group Founding Meeting
“Friends of the Supergrid” (FOSG), an organization recently announced by leaders from 10 global companies, has been set up to progress policy towards the construction of a high voltage DC (HVDC) pan-European Offshore Supergrid. email this article to a friend
Comments Off
Blowing away taxpayers
Wind power is unreliable, expensive and doesn’t result in lower C02 emmissions. Why is Ontario still rushing ahead with it? By Michael Trebilcock T he Ontario government’s rush into renewable energy, and industrial wind turbine-generated electricity in particular, is likely to reveal the law of unintended consequences. The government needs to rigorously re-evaluate this precipitous [...]
Comments Off
Tentec Offers Training for Safe & Efficient Use of Bolt Tensioning Tools
For safety and efficiency engineers must be trained in the operation of equipment. Tentec, offer standard and customized training in the use of its bolt-tensioning equipment for the petrochem, power generation and wind turbine markets. email this article to a friend
Comments Off
California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project Launches Today; Save $5,000 On an Electric Car
Is the Golden State getting ahead of itself? Starting today, the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project will offer financial incentives of up to $20,000 towards the purchase of a new, zero-emissions and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Cars like the all-electric Tesla Roadster qualify for a $5,000 rebate, and the money can be applied towards passenger cars, commercial [...]
Comments Off
Butanol To Join American Le Mans List Of Approved Fuels
As we get close to the American Le Mans series opener at Sebring, the racing news is getting piled on. So, just one more Le Mans post today, I swear! The American Le Mans Series bills itself as “The Global Leader of Green Racing,” and they’ve got a good bit of street cred to back [...]
Comments Off
Biodegradable Motor Oil To Be Run In Formula Race Car
Like it or not, we are still stuck with the internal combustion engine for some years to come. That means in addition to gas, we need lots and lots of engine oil to keep our metal bits well lubed. As someone who changes his own oil, I’ve had my fair share of grimy, oily messes [...]
Comments Off
Silicon-Based Lithium-Ion Batteries with 10X Capacity Edge Closer to Reality
Over the past three years, the idea of using silicon in lithium-ion batteries to greatly increase energy storage capacity has been an on-again, off-again proposition. But some new announcements by different groups of researchers working on silicon-based lithium-ion batteries indicate that silicon may well be a viable charge-holding battery material. If so, electric cars with [...]
Comments Off
Top 5 Myths About Prius Runaway Acceleration
Tales of runaway Prius acceleration make for good late night comedy sketches, like this week’s ad spoof from Saturday Night Live. But the truth is that the chances of Prius drivers experiencing unintended acceleration are extremely rare. 1Myth: Toyota vehicles, like the Prius, put drivers at a high risk. Fact: Carnegie Mellon University Professor Paul [...]
Comments Off
Why James Sikes Is a Hybrid Hero
Step aside Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio. James Sikes might just become the hybrid movement’s most recognized celebrity. For the past several weeks, media and government officials have stirred widespread public concern about the safety of the Toyota Prius—publishing first and investigating later (if at all). But the truthfulness of the most publicized incident so [...]
Comments Off