A recent study by the National Resources Defense Council finds that cable and digital recording devices are now "the single largest electricity drain in many American homes." The study found that "In 2010, set-top boxes in the United States consumed approximately 27 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is equivalent to the annual output of nine average (500 MW) coal-fired power plants."

This power consumption translates to roughly $3 billion in annual electricity costs paid by consumers, as well as being responsible for the release of 16 million metric tons of CO2 emissions each year. Furthermore, according to the NRDC report, an average HD set-top cable box and HD-DVR uses more energy (446 kWh/year) than an average 21 cubic foot Energy Star refrigerator (415 kWh/year).

Even worse than the "standby drain" of electricity used by equipment in a supposedly "off" position, many of these television set-top boxes - which include cable and satellite equipment, digital video recorders (DVR), and the like - are on 24 hours a day. Power strips can be useful for turning off these vampire loads, but consumers are reluctant to use those when they want their DVRs to be able to record programs.

NRDC points out that these devices could be designed to be more energy efficient, but that the service companies who provide these to consumers feel little incentive to do so, since it is the end users who pay for that power use.

image: CC-BY 2.0 by Scott Thomson

via: New York Times

The Obama administration will formally propose new fuel efficiency standards in September, but recent meetings with domestic automakers reveal that the administration is gunning for a 56.2 mpg standard for cars and light trucks by 2025.

The new standard would be a huge jump from the current 30.2 mpg standard for cars and 24.1 mpg standard for light trucks.

The White House will hold more meetings with both domestic and foreign automakers and the numbers could change before September.  According to reports, the initial proposal would require automakers to increase fuel efficiency by an average of five percent each year over years 2017 to 2025.

If the 56.2 mpg standard were to be finalized, the cost of new cars could increase by $2,100 - $2,600, but consumers would actually save $5,500 - $7,000 in fuel costs over the life of the car and the extra cost of the car would made back within about 2.5 years.

via The Detroit News

A plan that originated in the 1980s to build a system of interstate bike paths has come back to life after lying dormant for 30 years. Only two stretches of bike interstate were established back then:  U.S. Bicycle Route 1 from Virginia to North Carolina (initially planned to run from Florida to Maine) and U.S. Bicycle Route 76 from Virginia to Illinois (initially planned to run from Virginia to Oregon), but new routes may soon cover the whole country.

The Association of American State Highway and Transportation Officials has already approved six new routes. Four of these will be in Alaska, one will span Michigan's lower peninsula and one will go from New Hampshire to Maine.  Another 15 have made it past the planning phase.  The ultimate goal is to have a nationwide system of bicycle routes, and 42 states have expressed support for the plan.

If you're curious, the eight states that haven't jumped onboard yet are Alabama, Hawaii, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and South Carolina.

AASHTO has created a full map with prioritized routes marked.  It's a sight to behold.

via GOOD

It's the electric car that we all covet.  It's high performing, long-range, gorgeously designed, crazy expensive, and about to be discontinued. It's being reported that in mere months, Tesla will stop production of the Roadster to start focusing all of its attention on the upcoming Model S sedan.

"People in Europe and Japan probably have another six months to place orders for the Roadster.  In the U.S., it's maybe a month or two," said CEO Elon Musk.  So, if you're one of the lucky people destined to drive a Roadster, act now.

While it's sad to see the Roadster go, there are plenty of exciting EVs coming soon from Tesla.

The Model S is slated to launch next year, while a crossover SUV called the Model X should be revealed by the end of this year, but a production date hasn't been set.  Musk has also promised an affordable $30,000 all-electric sedan within the next five years.

via SF Gate

The Department of Energy is providing backing for a $1.4 billion loan for Project Amp, a plan to install 733 megawatts of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on industrial buildings in 28 states and the District of Columbia. This is nearly equal to the entire amount of PV installed in the US in 2010. The project is expected to lead to the creation of one thousand new jobs and is expected to last for four years.

When complete, Project Amp is expected to produce up to one million megawatt hours annually. The power that is produced is not going to be used on site necessarily, but will instead be fed to the grid to add more solar power to the available production.

image: US Navy Photo

Flow batteries are soon going to be implemented for grid-scale power storage in the US. A test instalation in Modesto, California is being built to provide 25 MW of power for up to 3 hours as well as serving as a demonstration of grid-tied flow battery storage. The Modesto area has wind-energy resources which will serve as the energy source which charges the system.

Flow batteries use large tanks of electrolyte chemicals for a large energy storage capacity, but only a small amount of the chemicals are in contact with the reactive electrodes. This allows large capacity at fairly low cost, since much of the hardware is fairly basic chemical storage tanks and pipes. A more complex kind of flow batteries for electric vehicle charging was also recently noted on EcoGeek.

Primus Power, the company which has developed this technology, received a $2 million award from the US Department of Energy's ARPA-E program last year, and has raised another $11 million in private investment. The company's technology is in the development of low-cost and durable electrodes that will allow flow batteries to function for a long time.

via: EERE News

The Texas state legislature has passed a bill that will require television manufacturers who sell TVs in the state to offer free recycling programs to consumers.  Governor Rick Perry signed the bill into law last week.

TVs both old and new, like other electronic waste, can leach heavy metals and other toxic materials into the ground when not disposed of properly, but this new law will make sure manufacturers have a better plan for them at the end of their lifecycle, and possibly even start making them with safer materials.

Advocates of the new recycling requirement at TexasTakeBack.org say "by making the producer responsible for their end of life products, there is a market-based incentive to start designing for reuse, recycling and with safer materials.”

The Consumer Electronics Association also backed the bill.

via Earth911

Virgin will use the so-called LEAP engines, which were designed by CFM International, Snecma and GE, in 30 new airbuses and in 30 existing A320s.  The engine will cut fuel use and carbon emissions by 15 percent, while reducing nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 percent.  For those worried about noise pollution as well, the new engines will reduce noise by 15 decibels -- a significant difference.

A new map created by the City University of New York and the Department of Energy shows that two-thirds of the New York City's rooftops are suitable for solar power installations and if all of those roofs were outfitted with solar panels, the city could double the nation's current solar power capacity.

The NYC Solar Map was made by surveying every -- yes every -- rooftop in the city to see which were most primed for capturing solar power.  A team of researchers made a series of flights over the city using a Lidar laser system to collect date on size, shape, angle and sun exposure vs. shade cover of each building.  The rooftops that were deemed suitable could generate 5,847 MW, which is more than twice the nation's capacity of 2,300 MW, and enough to power half the city on solar power alone.

The map is interactive and allows users to type in addresses and get information on any building's solar potential.  Building owners can even draw a mock system on their roof and see how much energy it would generate and how much money it would save.  The map also has full details on all existing rooftop installations.

via NY Times

Bangladeshi officials have announced that there are now over one million homes powered by solar energy in the country.  In a flurry of expansion, Bangladesh went from 7,000 solar-powered homes in 2002 to the one million mark only 9 years later.

The reason solar power has caught on so quickly there is that most rural homes are off the electricity grid and renewable energy is the easiest way to for those people to get access to power.  Approximately 60 percent of the population doesn't have access to reliable electricity, so non-governmental organizations have been working in the country to provide low-cost loans for solar panel installations.

The country hit the one million milestone 18 months ahead of schedule and officials believe that there will be 2.5 million solar-powered homes by 2015.

via Yale e360