Tag Archives: Stanford University

Early-Stage Energy Ideas Also Receive Funding  The California Energy Commission approved a $5 million research grant today to address the unprecedented tree die-off across the state and turn dead trees to energy. More than 100 million trees have died across the state due to drought and bark beetles since 2010, and the dead trees can fuel larger, more damaging wildfires. The Fall River …

The California Energy Commission and the Department of the Navy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today that will help the state and the Navy and Marine Corps continue to operate on the cutting edge of technology by pursuing innovative renewable energy initiatives. Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller and Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment …

SACRAMENTO – Hosted by the California Energy Commission, the Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39) Citizens Oversight Board today elected Kate Gordon as board chair and James Ray as vice chair. The six board members in attendance were joined by the two ex-officio members, Energy Commission Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller and California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker. Approved by …

A groundbreaking paper on hybrid perovskites, one of the hottest solar cell and LED materials, just published in MRS Communications, a flagship journal of the Materials Research Society.   First created in 2012, perovskite solar cells have shown great promise in recent years as an affordable alternative to other solar technologies, such as photovoltaic cells typically used in solar panels. …

HOPE FOR THE PLANET: CALTECH‘S RESONATE AWARD HONORS INNOVATORS IN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND SUSTAINABILITY   Five Big Ideas in an Often Overlooked Field Get a Moment in the Sun   PASADENA, CA – May 19, 2014 – To promote innovative and potentially game-changing solutions to some of the hardest problems in alternative energy and the environment, Caltech’s Resnick Sustainability Institute …

 AMERICA’S NATURAL GAS SYSTEM IS LEAKY AND IN NEED OF A FIX   The first thorough comparison of evidence for natural gas system leaks confirms that organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have underestimated U.S. methane emissions generally, as well as those from the natural gas industry specifically. Natural gas consists predominantly of methane. Even small leaks from the natural gas system are …

Responding to a challenge by California Gov. Jerry Brown, more than 500 of the world’s top global change scientists have outlined the main environmental issues – from climate change to pollution and population growth – that policy makers must address immediately to avoid an approaching global tipping point. Gov. Jerry Brown discussing Earth’s tipping point with UC Berkeley professor Tony …

Solar power growth has depended on a variety of incentives to get the ball rolling in the consumer and utility scale markets. Subsidies, rebates, leasing, and so on have been needed to get funding for projects and R&D in this growing energy field. This item shows how a consortium set up to promote solar power is further stimulating the market …

New American Chemical Society Podcast Using the energy in oil shale without releasing carbon dioxide in a greenhouse world WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2011 — New technology that combines production of electricity with capture of carbon dioxide could make billions of barrels of oil shale — now regarded as off-limits because of the huge amounts of carbon dioxide released in its …

Google makes innovative use of electric vehicles and charging stations. For employees, Google took an early lead in converting Toyota Prii (yep that’s the official plural of Prius) to be plug-in hybrids. Then Google installed beautiful solar covered parking including charge stations so that electric cars can be charged with sunlight. At its headquarters, Google is now showing us how …

BMW and the German Chamber of Commerce invited me to a dinner about BMW’s electric future last month at Stanford University. BMW Group owns MiniCooper, BMW, and Rolls Royce. Although they didn’t lend me a Rolls Royce to take friends to dinner in Napa Valley, they did let me take the MiniE for a spin. The MiniE electric car delivered …

So you want to produce a free energy generator? Many of us are about saving the planet earth and conserving energy. Our energy originates from the large energy companies, and just how they get that energy we use is inside a dirty way. Coal is burned which releases toxic gas fumes in mid-air. This pollutes mid-air. As we all know, …

Here is a quick compendium of what is going on in the solar panels arena of late. Much is going on to develop new solar technologies that are more efficient, cheaper, and lighter weight. (Just imagine when they can cover the roof of every warehouse building and shopping center!) Solar Promoters Push Recycling as Path to ‘Double Green’ – Green …

The energy crunch is a real worldwide crisis as fossil fuel supplies decrease and populations increase. Utility costs are going up in pace with the increasing demand for electricity. It’s no wonder that the alternative energy arena is a quickly growing market with millions of dollars invested every year. And of these great clean renewable energy sources, solar wind power …