Nuclear power is still a divisive issue among EcoGeeks. It's clean, at least from a fuel cycle carbon emissions standpoint. But it's a reasonable question whether it is truly cost-effective once all the issues of mining and processing the fuel, and treating and storing the spent material and waste, along with the security and the public safety concerns (which carry their own not-insignificant costs).

There are many who claim that nuclear power is the greenest short-term alternative to coal to reduce carbon emissions from electrical power generation. And, on the other hand, we have seen some countries move to phase-out nuclear power in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.

However, Fukushima-style boiling-water reactors are not the only way to use nuclear power to produce electricity. For that matter, uranium isn't the only nuclear fuel that could be used. There are other reactor designs and fueling methods have been explored and are under development.

Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to take a look at several alternative nuclear power technologies with an EcoGeek persepctive. We aren't going to draw any final conclusions with this one way or the other. We are advocating neither in favor of nor against any of these alternatives, nor are we for or against nuclear power, in general.

This article is part of a series on alternative possibilities in nuclear power.
Previously at EcoGeek: Lesson of Fukushima: No-Nukes or Pro-Nukes?

MidAmerican Energy, a utility owned by Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway, is purchasing a large solar farm in California.  The 550-MW Topaz Solar Farm is being sold by First Solar for an as-yet-unknown price, though construction costs are estimated at about $2 billion.

The solar farm, located in the Carrizo Plain, is currently under construction and should be up and running by 2014.  It will use First Solar's thin-film technology and generate enough electricity to power 160,000 homes.

The Topaz solar farm is MidAmerican Energy's first solar energy purchase, but the utility has already been big on wind, ranking as the #1 utility in America for wind power by controlling 2,909 MW of capacity.

via Treehugger

A material that is 100 times lighter than styrofoam has been produced by scientists from the University of California, Irvine and the California Institute of Technology. The unnamed new material is made with nickel phosphorous in a nanoscale lattice. It is 99.99 percent air.

This material is even lighter than silica aerogel, and weighs just 0.9mg per cubic centimeter. The announced plans for the material include use for battery electrodes and for acoustic- and vibration-dampening applications. But there will doubtless be other applications that other materials engineers will find for this material.

The techniques used to fashion superlightweight materials may eventually be applicable for use with other materials. Even though there isn't an immediate green tech application for this material doesn't mean that it isn't interesting.

image credit: Dan Little, HRL Laboratories LLC

via: Architect Magazine

The Prius family of vehicles is growing fast, from plug-in to minivan, and now it has it's newest member.  Toyota has released a photo of a new Prius race car, set to compete in next year's SuperGT season.  The Prius GT300 looks nothing like its namesake and, if it wants to compete as a race car, won't drive anything like it either.

The GT300 will use a hybrid drivetrain of course and will compete in a class with the new Subaru BRZ and Honda CR-Z, replacing Toyota's former SuperGT offering, the Corolla Axio racer.  More details about the GT300's specifications should be available in January.

This isn't Toyota's first foray into racing electric and hybrid vehicles.  The automaker recently set a Nurburgring record for EVs and will enter a hybrid into the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship.

via Autoblog and Gas2.org

Producing natural gas from wastewater and sunlight sounds like an idealized fuel production scenario, and that is just what a company called HyperSolar is claiming to be able to do.

Unlike many other companies making fuel using microorganisms, the HyperSolar process is designed to mimic photosynthesis with a nanomaterial. Hydrogen is produced at normal pressure, and then reacted with injected CO2 to produce methane.

Sunlight activates the nanomaterial particles and produces a charge which allows the particle to release hydrogen from the water. The process can even use untreated wastewater as a feedstock, and will produce clean water along with the natural gas.

This kind of natural gas would, of course, be preferable to fossil natural gas, since it would use already freed CO2 and leave the sequestered fossil carbon undisturbed. Moreover, it would serve as a source of natural gas without the need for controversial extraction methods like fracking.

Because the process takes place at normal pressure and temperature, it is less expensive than other systems that require large capital investments for the special equipment needed for their processes.

A new map of geothermal energy potential released by Southern Methodist University is the result of years of research funded by Google.org.  The map (click here to download and view in Google Earth) shows that there are enough viable geothermal resources in the U.S. to replace the current coal power capacity ten times over.

Last year, SMU gave us a sneak peak of the research they've been doing by releasing a geothermal energy potential map for West Virginia.  Surprisingly, the state is a hot spot for geothermal energy recovery, a wonderful development in an area where coal power has dominated for a long time.

The study limited its analysis to the top 6.5 km of the earth's crust to accurately portray what was actually drillable, recoverable energy.  When the researchers applied limits to depth and excluded areas that were inaccessible due to being in large urban areas or national parks, the technical potential versus theoretical potential for geothermal energy production was revealed.  The technical potential was about 14 percent of the theoretical potential, yet still enough to crush our current coal power capacity ten times over.

via Climate Progress

For the first time, investments in renewable energy projects surpassed those in fossil fuel power plants, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.  Last year, $187 billion was invested in renewable energy installations, while $157 billion was invested in new natural gas, oil and coal plants.

The increase in investments in the sector, even while in a down economy, has led to price drops in equipment and renewable energy power, making solar and wind power far more competitive with coal power.

Renewable energy subsidies deserve a lot of credit for the spending increase:  about $66 billion in subsidies were handed out last year.

It's a great bit of news as another round of global talks on the climate crisis is likely heading nowhere as we speak.

via LA Times

The European Union is requiring member countries to have no more than 35 bad air days per year by 2012 or the countries will face fines of around $450 million.  In order to clean up air pollution to meet the EU's standards, London is turning to glue.  Well, a glue of sorts.  The English capital is applying a calcium-based adhesive to streets to trap particulate air pollution and, believe it or not, it's working.

The city's street sweepers have applied the adhesive to air pollution hot spots around the city and particulate levels in those areas have dropped 14 percent.  The project has cost the city $1.4 million so far, which is pretty expensive, but 14 percent is a pretty substantial reduction from glue alone and a far cry from a payout of $450 million if they didn't meet the standards.

London will be taking other action to reduce air pollution, including rolling out cleaner buses, retiring the most polluting taxis, enforcing stricter emissions standards and planting trees.

via Grist

The StreetScooter is caled an open-source electric vehicle and has been developed to provide an affordable and sustainable option for mobility. The target price for the vehicle is only $7,000, although the batteries would have to be leased separately. The StreetScooter is intended as a Short Distance Vehicle (SDV) with a range of 40 kilometers (about 25 miles). While this doesn't meet every need, it is suitable for many basic transport purposes.

A consortium of 20 different companies has been behind the development of this vehicle concept, which was recently unveiled at the Frankfurt International Auto Show. The design team began with the idea of a vehicle that is intended for primarily short trips, and could then be priced accordingly. While it has a limited range, the Street Scooter has a top speed of 74 miles per hour (120 kph).

The modular approach undertaken by the design team focused on each partner applying their expertise to the area they knew best and having to coordinate only where the different systems interconnected. Production is supposed to begin in Europe in 2013 and then to follow to the United States later on.

The original site is in German, but this link gives a Google translated version that can give you some idea about the project.

via: Slashdot

We've heard a lot about sales numbers and predictions since the Chevy Volt's release, but we haven't heard as many real-world driving stories.  What kind of range are people getting?  Are they enjoying the car?

Jay Leno, probably the most famous Volt driver so far, has raved about his experience with the vehicle and reported that he's racked up 11,000 miles in the car without ever having to fill up the gas tank.

Leno drives his Volt from his home to the studio and back every day -- a 35-mile trip each way.  With the Volt's battery range of 40 miles, he's able to make the drive to work, plug in to recharge and then drive home again at the end of the day all without using any gas.  In fact, the half tank of gas that was in the vehicle when it was delivered to him is still there, untouched.

The big idea behind the range-extended vehicle was just this scenario:  people could make their regular commutes on battery power only, but have the option of filling up on gas for longer trips where EV chargers weren't as easily accessible.  Jay Leno has basically just proven that the idea totally works.

via Inhabitat