Greece has laid out a new plan to get itself out of a recession and to spread renewable energy through the country and the EU.  The new plan called Project Helios would see the country expanding its solar power capacity to 10 GW by 2050 through financing by international investors.

Greece is hoping to capitalize on one of it's great resources:  the country gets 300 sunny days a year.  Greece would lease out land to investors to build solar installations as a way to generate income and add jobs. To make the deal more attractive to investors, the country is promising to greatly ease licensing obstacles and cut out most of the red tape involved in building these projects.

The solar power systems would be connected to the mainland, islands and to the rest of continent, which would help other EU countries meet the renewable energy mandate that requires member countries to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2020.  The set up would be similar to the huge DESERTEC project in North Africa, but on a smaller scale within the EU.

The project would see 2.2 GW of capacity installed by 2020, 10 GW by 2050 and ultimately the country would become an exporter of renewable energy.

via Greentech Media

The roof is typically the best and biggest part of most homes for energy collection. But most of the available systems for gathering this energy are unsightly. That's not a concern for these roof tiles from a Swedish company, SolTech Energy, that are made from glass.

With a roof made from these tiles, it is possible to produce 300-500 kWh per square meter per year (28-46 kWh per square foot per year). Heated air collects under the glass tiles like a greenhouse, and is then drawn in and concentrated to transfer the heat to a hot fluid for use in heating the building. The system is ideal for use with a heat pump or a boiler where a hot water storage tank stores the collected heat. Then, when heat is needed, the heat pump or boiler has pre-heated water available, so that less external energy is needed to heat the space.

In addition to the energy benefits, glass tiles are expected to have a longer lifespan than traditional clay or concrete roof tiles. And because the glass is a smooth material, snow tends to slide off more readily, so that the system keeps itself cleared and in operating condition more of the time. The tiles also match common tile shape so that the glass roof system can be incorporated into a conventional tile roof.

via: Sweets News and Products

A geothermal plant on Hawaii's Big Island is providing 20% of that islands electricity needs, with additional capacity in the works.

The Puna Geothermal Venture is run by Ormat Technologies and is located in the Mt. Kilauea East Rift zone.  The plant has five wells that bring up 650-degree geothermal fluids to the surface where the steam is separated out and used to drive generators.  The plant also captures waste heat from the primary circuit with fluid pentane to increase power output and efficiency.

The plant is currently contracted to provide 30 MW of electricity to Hawaii Electric and Light through 2030, but is looking to add another 8 MW of capacity soon, as well as building new reservoirs off the coast of Maui and near Mt. Hualalai to expand its electricity coverage across the islands.

With the vast amount of geothermal energy in the area, Hawaii could easily get most of their electricity from these sources within the near future.

via Cleantechnica

Whey protein, a milk protein that is a byproduct of cheese production, is often used in protein bars and shakes, but scientists in Barcelona have discovered that it can also be made into a more sustainable plastic for food packaging.

The WheyLayer project was funded by the European Commission to find an alternative to petroleum sources in food packaging.  Through this project, research company IRIS found that whey protein could replace synthetic petroleum-based polymers.  The whey protein plastic has similar oxygen-blocking properties to traditional food packaging, but it's cheaper to make and, even better, more easily recyclable.

Traditional plastic packaging is hard to recycle because the petroleum-based polymers are almost impossible to separate for individual recycling, but with the whey protein plastic, the whey can be removed with enzymes so that the remaining film can be recycled or reused in new packaging.

This process also keeps the 40 percent of whey protein discarded by European cheese factories out of landfills.

via Earth911

Keeping electronic devices powered is an ongoing concern, particularly as the number of electronic devices proliferates. Researchers at UCLA have developed a liquid crystal display (LCD) that incorporates photovoltaic polarizers that can convert sunlight, ambient light, and even its own backlight into electricity to power the device.

Polarizers are what makes the display in an LCD function, by controlling the amount of light that passes through from the backlight to make the display. The new material, called a polarizing organic photovoltaic film increases the efficiency of display and allows for charging of the device in bright light.

Obviously, the backlight isn't going to provide enough light to power the device infinitely long. But the researchers say that much of the energy lost from backlights can be saved with the new polarizer. "From the point of view of energy use, current LCD polarizers are inefficient, the researchers said. A device's backlight can consume 80 to 90 percent of the device's power. But as much as 75 percent of the light generated is lost through the polarizers. A polarizing organic photovoltaic LCD could recover much of that unused energy."

via: UCLA Newsroom

A scientist at Case Western Reserve University has discovered that adding carbon nanotubes to a traditional mix of plastics used in wind turbine blades could make them much lighter and stronger, meaning that future blades could be much more efficient while also requiring less maintenance.

The study found that carbon nanotubes are lighter per unit of volume than carbon fiber and aluminum and had five times more tensile strength than carbon fiber and 60 times more than aluminum.

If those carbon nanotubes are mixed with a polyurethane composite, the material lasts eight times longer than an epoxy reinforced with fiberglass and it was eight times stronger in fracture tests.  Compared to a vinyl ester reinforced with fiberglass (another material commonly used in wind turbine blades), the carbon nanotube material performed even better with far less fracture rates.

via Grist

Scientists from Mississippi State University have discovered that panda poo could hold the answers to faster, cleaner and cheaper biofuels.

It has long been suspected that animals like pandas that each giant amounts of tough plant matter every day have bacteria in their digestive systems that are especially efficient at breaking down the cellulose in plants into nutrients. The hope is that those bacteria could make a big difference in the production of biofuels from tougher, non-food plants, like switchgrass, corn stalks and wood chips.  After collecting panda feces from the Memphis Zoo for over a year, researchers found that was definitely the case.

So far the scientists have identified several types of digestive bacteria from the feces. Some are similar to those found in termite feces, but the study has shown the bacteria in the panda feces could be even better at breaking down cellulose than those in termites.

Based on this study and others, the researchers believe that the panda gut bacteria could convert 95 percent of plant biomass into simple sugars.  The enzymes in this bacteria are so potent that they can eliminate the need for heat, acids or high pressure processes in the manufacture of biofuels. Eliminating those processes would make biofuel production less energy intensive, faster and, of course, cheaper.

Researchers are working on identifying every bacteria present in panda intestines in order to single out the most potent of the enzymes.  Those enzymes could be put into yeasts through genetic engineering, which would allow for the mass production of those enzymes for the biofuel industry.

via Physorg

A statement from Toyota said the company wanted to work with Ford because of their leadership in producing SUVs and trucks and the high demand for those vehicles in America.  Basically, American love their trucks, so there should be better hybrid versions on the market.

The timeline for this duo's drivetrain has only been limited to sometime later this decade, but the pair will each use the drivetrain in their own vehicles, not in any collaborative vehicles.  Seeing as SUV and truck hybrids have been the least efficient hybrids produced so far, the sector needs some great improvements, so it's good to see automakers working together toward this goal.

Boston is getting a nice large EV charging network via Coulomb Technologies' ChargePoint stations.  The more than 150 chargers will mainly be located within the Route 495 Beltway.

The news was part of a joint statement released by Coulomb and BMW, whose Active E all-electric vehicle, i3 and i8 are all on the way in the next couple years.  The automaker was assuring Boston drivers that they'd have plenty of places to recharge by the time the plug-in vehicles launch.

Of course, Coulomb's ChargePoints can charge any EV, so this is also great news for all non-BMW EV drivers who find themselves on the 495 Beltway.

via Autoblog Green

Solar Roadways, the company behind a technology that could transform the nation's roads into a network of shatter-proof, energy-generating solar panels, has just a received a new $750,000 grant from the federal government.  With that money, the team will get to work at developing a prototype solar parking lot that will fully put their technology to the test.

The federal government has previously given the start-up a $100,000 grant and they also received $50,000 from GE's Ecomagination Challenge that allowed the company to fully develop its 12 foot x 12 foot solar panel.  The panels contain LED lights that could display road warnings and directions, while embedded heating elements could also help keep snow and ice from gathering on roads.  Underground wires will connect the panels to the grid to power street lights and even nearby buildings.

This fantastic idea has only one real drawback -- each panel costs about $7,000, which when spread across a network of roads and parking lots would add up quickly.  Hopefully as Solar Roadways continues to test and develop its technology, cost-saving measures can also be found.

via Businessweek