Τετάρτη 20 Οκτωβρίου 2010
Πέμπτη 23 Σεπτεμβρίου 2010
Εγκαινιάστηκε το μεγαλύτερο θαλάσσιο αιολικό πάρκο στον κόσμο
Το μεγαλύτερο θαλάσσιο αιολικό πάρκο στον κόσμο, που θα περιέχει μακροπρόθεσμα 341 ανεμογεννήτριες, εγκαινιάστηκε σήμερα ανοιχτά του Κεντ, στη νοτιοανατολική Αγγλία. Το πάρκο, που βρίσκεται ανοιχτά της περιοχής του Θάνετ και κατασκευάστηκε από τον σουηδικό δημόσιο ενεργειακό όμιλο Vattenfall, έχει σήμερα 100 ανεμογεννήτριες που επαρκούν για την παραγωγή ηλεκτρικού ρεύματος για 240.000 νοικοκυριά. Ο αριθμός των ανεμογεννητριών του θα αυξηθεί σε 341 εντός τεσσάρων ετών.Η συνολική παραγωγή αιολικής ενέργειας στη Βρετανία φτάνει τα πέντε γιγαβάτ, δηλαδή αρκεί για την κάλυψη του ηλεκτρικού ρεύματος που καταναλώνεται στη Σκωτία. Σήμερα υπάρχουν περίπου 250 αιολικά πάρκα στη Βρετανία, γύρω στα δώδεκα από τα οποία είναι θαλάσσια, που έχουν συνολικά σχεδόν 3.000 ανεμογεννήτριες.
"Βρισκόμαστε στην εξαιρετική θέση να μπορούμε να ηγηθούμε παγκοσμίως σε αυτήν τη βιομηχανία. Ως νησί, πιστεύω σθεναρά ότι οφείλουμε να επωφεληθούμε στο μέγιστο από τους αιολικούς, παλιρροιακούς και θαλάσσιους πόρους μας", δήλωσε ο υπουργός αρμόδιος για την Ενέργεια και την αντιμετώπιση της Κλιματικής Αλλαγής Κρις Χαν, στα εγκαίνια του πάρκου.
Ωστόσο η οργάνωση "Φίλοι της Γης" χαρακτήρισε αξιοθρήνητες τις επιδόσεις της Βρετανίας στον τομέα των ανανεώσιμων πηγών ενέργειας και ζήτησε πολύ μεγαλύτερες επενδύσεις.
Το πάρκο του Θάνετ στοίχισε 780 εκατομμύρια στερλίνες (918 εκατομμύρια ευρώ) και χρειάστηκε δύο χρόνια εργασίας για να γίνει.
Self-renewing solar cells grow like plants
Self-renewing solar cells grow like plants
Scientists at MIT mimic plant processes to build solar cells that renew themselves like living beings.Living things don't have that many advantages over machines. We're not as quick, or as precise, and we don't have as good a memory. Moreover, while they are made of tough stuff, we are mostly composed of things that go squish. One of the limited advantages we have is that when we go squish, we have built-in repair shops. When they go crunch, they're crunched.
Self-renewal has been a goal of many different technology manufacturers, but especially the makers of solar cells. For years scientists have looked resentfully at their solar cells, the components of which wear out or break, and envied plants, which have a built-in systems that take apart and renew any worn-out bits.
MIT researchers have found a way to imitate this process:
The complexes are made up of light-harvesting proteins, single-walled nanotubes and disc-shaped lipids. The proteins (which are isolated from a purple bacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides) contain a light reaction centre (carried by the lipids) comprising bacteriochlorophylls and other molecules. . . . The nanotubes also serve to align the lipid discs in neat rows, ensuring that the reaction centres are uniformly exposed to sunlight.
Or at least that's what they do when there isn't a surfactant present. Surfactants are chemicals which lower the surface tension of liquids. The most commonly used surfactants are in soaps and laundry detergents. By lowering the surface tension of liquids, they let water leak into and break apart grease and debris, as well as breaking up the debris itself. That's how soap cleans your hands - by using a surfactant to break things down.
The surfactant does the same in these solar cells. It breaks down the structures into pieces and stops the cell from working. When the surfactant is removed, the pieces reassemble on their own, like new. This process can be repeated without end. The result is a three hundred percent increase in efficiency and a limitless lifespan.
Via Physics World and Nature Chemistry.
Τετάρτη 22 Σεπτεμβρίου 2010
Dan Garodnick: Going Green by Going White
The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com από τον/την συγγραφέα Dan Garodnick στις 21/9/2010
In the increasingly urgent fight against climate change, simple solutions can have the most immediate impact. As a growing number of New Yorkers are finding out, one of the simplest -- and most effective -- is white roofs.
Just by coating black tar roofs across the city with a white, solar-reflective coating, we can immediately reduce temperatures inside and out -- making white roofs a quick and easy way to cut carbon emissions and reduce our risk of 'brown-outs' while saving millions in energy costs.
The concept is basic: dark colors absorb heat and light colors reflect it. The reflective properties of a white roof substantially lower the amount of heat absorbed by a building, keeping it about 10 degrees cooler inside and reducing summer energy use by 10 to 15 percent. (In the winter, when we want our buildings naturally warmer, black tar roofs have a negligible effect.)
Read More...
More on Climate Change
Παρασκευή 3 Σεπτεμβρίου 2010
Πέμπτη 2 Σεπτεμβρίου 2010
Get Green Certified WebSite
Get Green Certified WebSite: "Welcome to the Official site to be GREEN certified easily. This is the right place if you want to get the GREEN Cerfication for you, your site, or any other product.
Home Be certified now About Us
The Official GREEN certification explained
Be the first of your industry to get the Official GREEN Certification, to show your customers that the GREEN values are important to you.
Show them that you really believe in all GREEN initiatives, by certifying that your product is Fully GREEN Compliant.
Green Certification Advantages:
Be a proud member of the GREEN Community
Show everyone that you really care for GREEN
Many other advantages that you can imagine by yourself!
Use the Official GREEN Logo on your certified products
Green certified logo:"
Home Be certified now About Us
The Official GREEN certification explained
Be the first of your industry to get the Official GREEN Certification, to show your customers that the GREEN values are important to you.
Show them that you really believe in all GREEN initiatives, by certifying that your product is Fully GREEN Compliant.
Green Certification Advantages:
Be a proud member of the GREEN Community
Show everyone that you really care for GREEN
Many other advantages that you can imagine by yourself!
Use the Official GREEN Logo on your certified products
Green certified logo:"
"Wind Lens" Turbines Could Boost Energy Generation 3X | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World
"Wind Lens" Turbines Could Boost Energy Generation 3X | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World: "ENERGY
“Wind Lens” Turbines Could Boost Energy Generation 3X
by Ariel Schwartz, 08/02/10 filed under: Renewable Energy, Wind Power
Forget about traditional tri-blade wind turbines — the ultra-efficient turbine of the future might look completely different if Kyushu University professor Yuji Ohya has anything to say about it. Ohya and his team recently unveiled the Wind Lens, a honeycomb-like structure that purportedly triples the amount of wind energy that can be produced by offshore turbines."
“Wind Lens” Turbines Could Boost Energy Generation 3X
by Ariel Schwartz, 08/02/10 filed under: Renewable Energy, Wind Power
Forget about traditional tri-blade wind turbines — the ultra-efficient turbine of the future might look completely different if Kyushu University professor Yuji Ohya has anything to say about it. Ohya and his team recently unveiled the Wind Lens, a honeycomb-like structure that purportedly triples the amount of wind energy that can be produced by offshore turbines."
Green Home Remodeling | ProudGreenHome.com
Green Home Remodeling | ProudGreenHome.com: "Get Free Membership
Sign In
HomeFeaturesNewsBlogsVideosPhotosWhite Papers
Research Centers ▼Community ▼
RESEARCH CENTERS
Appliances
Certification / Accreditation
Cost of Ownership
Energy Audits
Heating & Cooling
Indoor Air Quality
Landscaping
Lighting
Rebates / Tax Credits
Remodeling
Solar Power
��Research Center: Green Home Remodeling
Let's get small
For the past 11 years I have written a weekly column about small living spaces. Suddenly this is …
Tags: Construction Techniques, Designs / Floor Plans, Remodeling
2010-08-31
FEATURED PUBLICATIONS"
Sign In
HomeFeaturesNewsBlogsVideosPhotosWhite Papers
Research Centers ▼Community ▼
RESEARCH CENTERS
Appliances
Certification / Accreditation
Cost of Ownership
Energy Audits
Heating & Cooling
Indoor Air Quality
Landscaping
Lighting
Rebates / Tax Credits
Remodeling
Solar Power
��Research Center: Green Home Remodeling
Let's get small
For the past 11 years I have written a weekly column about small living spaces. Suddenly this is …
Tags: Construction Techniques, Designs / Floor Plans, Remodeling
2010-08-31
FEATURED PUBLICATIONS"
Εγγραφή σε:
Σχόλια (Atom)