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NREL calculates emissions and costs of power plant cycling necessary for increased wind and solar

New research from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) quantifies the potential impacts of increasing wind and solar power generation on the operators of fossil-fueled power plants in the West. To accommodate higher amounts of wind and solar power on the electric grid, utilities must ramp down and ramp up or stop and start conventional generators more frequently to provide reliable power for their customers - a practice called cycling.

Sep 24th, 2013

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Fusion, anyone?

Not quite yet, but researchers from National Ignition Facility show just how close we've come.

Sep 24th, 2013

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Sun, water, CO2 and algae - a recipe for biofuel?

The nine-partner team behind the EU-funded project DIRECTFUEL ('Direct biological conversion of solar energy to volatile hydrocarbon fuels by engineered cyanobacteria') is developing photosynthetic microorganisms able to catalyse the conversion of solar energy and CO2 into engine-ready fuels.

Sep 24th, 2013

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Berkeley Lab releases most comprehensive databook on China's energy and environment

In the five years since the China Energy Group of the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released its last edition of the China Energy Databook, China has achieved two dubious distinctions: it surpassed the United States in energy consumption and it surpassed the United States in energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide, becoming the world leader on both scores.

Sep 23rd, 2013

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First steps towards achieving better and cheaper biodiesel

Is there any connection between wine and biodiesel? The answer is yes, however surprising it may seem. Acetals are chemical compounds found in many wines, like port, for example, which give it a unique, sweet smell. However if acetals are blended with biodiesel, they improve its properties.

Sep 23rd, 2013

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Organic waste transformed into industrial prime material

Researchers at the Iberoamerican University in Mexico City, look to consolidate a pilot biorefinery that will use the waste of various fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants produced in urban and rural areas, to transform them into fuels and high value products.

Sep 21st, 2013

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Reducing CO2 footprint with bio-plastics

The EU-funded project ECOTPU ('Plastics from renewable sources applied in footwear') was aimed at developing a new family of environmentally benign polyurethanes for the EU footwear market.

Sep 20th, 2013

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Solving the bottleneck in biogas production

The EU-funded project WAVALUE ('High added value eco-fertilisers from anaerobic digestion effluent wastes') will demonstrate a cost-effective industrial process for producing a new range of sustainable fertilisers, with digestate as their main component.

Sep 20th, 2013

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