News on alternative energy and fuel

Turning heat into electricity

Posted in 01/18/18

What if you could run your air conditioner not on conventional electricity, but on the sun’s heat during a warm summer’s day? With advancements in thermoelectric technology, this sustainable solution might one day become a reality.

---

Shale gas is one of the least sustainable ways to produce electricity

Posted in 01/16/18

Shale gas is one of least sustainable options for producing electricity, according to new research from The University of Manchester.The major study, which is the first of its kind, considered environmental, economic and social sustainability of shale gas in the UK and compared it to other electricity generating options. These were coal, nuclear, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), solar photovoltaics (PV), wind, hydro and biomass.

---

Surprising Discovery Could Lead to Better Batteries

Posted in 01/12/18

A collaboration led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory has observed an unexpected phenomenon in lithium-ion batteries—the most common type of battery used to power cell phones and electric cars. As a model battery generated electric current, the scientists witnessed the concentration of lithium inside individual nanoparticles reverse at a certain point, instead of constantly increasing. This discovery, which was published on January 12 in the journal Science Advances, is a major step toward improving the battery life of consumer electronics.

---

After an Uncertain Start, U.S. Offshore Wind Is Powering Up

Posted in 01/11/18

This summer, the Norwegian energy company, Statoil, will send a vessel to survey a triangular slice of federal waters about 15 miles south of Long Island, where the company is planning to construct a wind farm that could generate up to 1.5 gigawatts of electricity for New York City and Long Island — enough to power roughly 1 million homes. Construction on the “Empire Wind” project, with scores of wind turbines generating electricity across 79,000 acres of leased federal waters, is scheduled to begin in 2023, with construction completed in 2025.

---

Sun, Wind, and Power Trading

Posted in 01/09/18

Our power grid works at a frequency of 50 hertz – usually generated by turbines, for example in hydro- or coal power plants, which rotate at a speed of 50 revolutions per second. "When a consumer uses more electrical energy from the power grid, the grid frequency drops slightly before an increased energy feed-in re-establishes the original frequency," explains Benjamin Schäfer from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS) in Göttingen and lead author of the study. "Deviations from the nominal value of 50 hertz must be kept to a minimum, as otherwise sensitive electrical devices could be damaged."

---

from ENN via feedburner.com