Author Archives: admin
German breweries’ waste grain creates steam and biogas
RADOLFZELL –the technical director at German biomass company BMP Biomasse Projekt GmbH, Wolfgang Bengel, saw a business opportunity in solving the breweries’ grain waste problem. He reasoned that the leftover grain could be used to create steam and biogas, which would provide energy for the breweries, reducinging their energy costs and the expense of transporting [...]
Tokyo taxis to test EV quick-change batteries
PALO ALTO, California – Better Place has received an award from the Japanese government to conduct a pilot project in Tokyo for the world’s first electric taxis with switchable batteries. The California company is to partner with Tokyo’s largest taxi operator, Nihon Kotsu, in a project commissioned by the Natural Resources & Energy Agency of [...]
Australian and German companies collaborate on ocean energy
SYDNEY – Australia’s ocean energy company, BioPower Systems, and Germany-based engineering and technology giant, Siemens Ltd, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to evaluate and develop joint opportunities for ocean power conversion. Additionally, BioPower has selected Siemens as its preferred supplier of electrical and control systems technology for its ocean tidal and wave energy conversion [...]
Abandoned mineshafts are an untapped source of heat in Spain
By staff at Plataforma SINC, Spain
OVIEDO, Spain – Mine shafts on the point of being closed down could be used to provide geothermal energy to local towns. This is the conclusion of two engineers from the University of Oviedo, whose research is being published in the journal Renewable Energy. The method they have developed makes [...]
Feasibility of a tidal fence across the Severn Estuary
ABERDEEN – The Scottish consultancy Sigma Offshore has been brought in by the consortium behind a £3.5 billion plan to generate 1% of the UK’s energy needs through tidal power technology. The Severn Tidal Fence Group (STFG) has been contracted by the Government to investigate the feasibility of a tidal fence across the Severn Estuary.
STFG’s [...]
Finns lead project to develop manufacturing method for biofuel
ESPOO – VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has started a large European project, combining the forces of European research institutes and companies for developing the next generation of biofuel. The NEMO project, which has received funding of €5.9 million from the EU, is aimed at developing manufacturing methods for liquid biofuel from agricultural and [...]
Europe is the world’s largest waste-to-energy market
LONDON – Europe is the largest waste-to-energy plants market in the world with a very well developed infrastructure and 429 installed plants in 2008. New analysis from California-based Frost & Sullivan (F&S) titled European Waste to Energy Plants Market, finds that the market earned revenues of €3.10 billion in 2008.
The emphasis of the European Union [...]
New Zealand utility enters the USA windpower market
WELLINGTON – Meridian Energy, the largest electricity generator in New Zealand that generates power only from renewable resources, has purchased Cleantech America Inc., a San Francisco-based developer of utility scale photovoltaic (PV) solar farms. The two firms share a common vision of developing, owning, and operating utility-scale renewable electric generation facilities.
Meridian is very excited to [...]
Offshore wind farms could power 37 million homes in Europe