California is on track to meet its state-mandated targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions for 2020, but it will not be able to meet its 2050 target without bold new technologies and policies. This is the conclusion of the California Greenhouse Gas Inventory Spreadsheet (GHGIS), a new model developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to look at how far existing policies and technologies can get us in emissions reductions.
Nov 4th, 2013
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Scientists in Taiwan have developed a microwave-based process that transforms waste cooking oils into biodiesel in 10 seconds.
Nov 1st, 2013
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It is all around us. But most of the time, you can't see it. And there is a good reason why scientists are currently focusing their research efforts on it.
Oct 31st, 2013
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Research into the best ways to arrange wind turbines has produced staggering results - quite literally.
Oct 31st, 2013
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In the race for higher power yields, the Zentrum f�r Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-W�rttemberg (Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research, ZSW) has set a new world record. The Stuttgart researchers have improved the efficiency of CIGS thin-film solar cells to 20.8%. This figure is a record for converting sunlight into electrical energy and, for the first time, it exceeds the efficiency of market-dominating multicrystalline silicon solar cells.
Oct 31st, 2013
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A multi-million Euro project has advanced global progress on capturing tidal and wave energy thus bringing the EU closer to its target of generating 20% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020.
Oct 30th, 2013
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Microbial electrode catalysts that turn wastewater into watts.
Oct 29th, 2013
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The aim of this initiative is to share knowledge, projects and developments in terms of scientific advancements, based on the creation of synergies and possible frameworks for cooperation between the various research groups, organisations and institutions that address this matter.
Oct 29th, 2013
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Stanford University's Precourt Institute for Energy, the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center and the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy have awarded 11 seed grants totaling $2.2 million for promising new research in clean technology and energy efficiency.
Oct 29th, 2013
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In a new book, an engineer and an architect lay out a program for urban development based on the cold hard facts about environmental sustainability.
Oct 29th, 2013
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With energy bills again rising and the winter approaching, researchers from Keele University in the UK have found a positive way of helping householders to keep their energy costs down and houses warm.
Oct 28th, 2013
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Vast energy sources are slumbering below big cities. Sustainable energies for heating in winter and cooling in summer may be extracted from heated groundwater aquifers. Researchers from KIT and ETH Zurich developed an analytical heat flux model and found that increasing heat in the underground is mainly caused by an increase in surface temperatures and heat release from buildings.
Oct 28th, 2013
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Billions of euros are spent treating trillions of litres of wastewater every year, consuming substantial amounts of energy. However, this wastewater could act as a renewable resource, saving significant quantities of energy and money, as it contains organic pollutants which can be used to produce electricity, hydrogen and high-value chemicals, such as caustic soda.
Oct 25th, 2013
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Converting heat directly into power could be a major source of renewable energy. A novel approach to study this so called thermoelectricity may help to design new materials that are highly efficient. In an experiment with cold atoms trapped by lasers at ETH Zurich an international group of physicists precisely simulates the behavior of thermoelectric materials.
Oct 24th, 2013
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The ongoing challenge in the PVEG industry is to decrease the overall cost of a photovoltaic electricity generation system per peak watt generated.
Oct 24th, 2013
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Coal, natural gas, and oil accounted for 87 percent of global primary energy consumption in 2012, as the growth of worldwide energy use continued to slow due to the economic downturn, according to a new Vital Signs Online trend released by the Worldwatch Institute.
Oct 24th, 2013
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Researchers report that wood-biochar supercapacitors can produce as much power as today's activated-carbon supercapacitors at a fraction of the cost - and with environmentally friendly byproducts.
Oct 24th, 2013
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Scientists report steps toward safer, cheaper, longer-lasting, and faster-charging solid-state battery.
Oct 23rd, 2013
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