According to an article in the Hartford Courant, Northeast Utilities is looking for government funding to install a network of plug-in hybrid charging stations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Connecticut-based NU announced plans on Tuesday to install 575 stations over the next two years. Approximately half of the funding for the plan will come from a nearly $700,000 grant from the US Department of Energy that will be decided in June.
Their plan is similar to the "green highway" plan in Oregon and California where charging stations, as well as biodiesel, ethanol and other forms of alternative energy will be available along the I-5 corridor.
The NU plan has been embraced by local officials as a necessary catalyst to drive change in electric automotives. They hope that consumers will gain confidence by seeing the system in place.
Showing posts with label biofuel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biofuel. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Harvesting manure for biofuel
According to an article in Environmental News Network, the world's largest biomass power plant is located in the Netherlands. It runs on chicken manure and provides power for 90,000 homes.
The power plant has a 36.5 MW capacity and generates approximately 270 million kWh of electricity annually. It uses the carbon dioxide and methane gasses produced by the manure to produce power.
Not only does this method of power production spare the carbon cost of traditional power sources (coal, oil, etc), but it prevents the methane and CO2 in the manure from escaping into the atmosphere.
The power plant will use about 440,000 tons of chicken manure per year, which is about one third of the total yearly amount produced in the Netherlands.
The power plant has a 36.5 MW capacity and generates approximately 270 million kWh of electricity annually. It uses the carbon dioxide and methane gasses produced by the manure to produce power.
Not only does this method of power production spare the carbon cost of traditional power sources (coal, oil, etc), but it prevents the methane and CO2 in the manure from escaping into the atmosphere.
The power plant will use about 440,000 tons of chicken manure per year, which is about one third of the total yearly amount produced in the Netherlands.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Algae Biofuel
An article published yesterday by bionomicfuel.com discusses recent research developments at Rutgers University and other institutions. Dr. Paul Falkowski has conducted studies in this area for years. Recently, he has been working to make the production of algae biofuel more efficient and cost effective.
"Scientiest Confirm Algae Is the Most Effective Alternative Energy Source." http://www.bionomicfuel.com/scientists-confirm-algae-is-the-most-effective-alternative-energy-source/
Perhaps the most exciting implication of these developments is the idea that algae can be grown almost anywhere. The effectiveness of many energy sources-renewable or otherwise-is complicated by the cost of transportation. With algae, however, municipalities can produce their own algaculture fields to provide energy to the local community. This eliminates the cost of transportation, as the energy can easily be dispersed through the local power grid.
There is the additional benefit that communities would be responsible for their own energy production. This would likely lead to greater consciousness of energy consumption and reduce overall usage.
"Scientiest Confirm Algae Is the Most Effective Alternative Energy Source." http://www.bionomicfuel.com/scientists-confirm-algae-is-the-most-effective-alternative-energy-source/
Perhaps the most exciting implication of these developments is the idea that algae can be grown almost anywhere. The effectiveness of many energy sources-renewable or otherwise-is complicated by the cost of transportation. With algae, however, municipalities can produce their own algaculture fields to provide energy to the local community. This eliminates the cost of transportation, as the energy can easily be dispersed through the local power grid.
There is the additional benefit that communities would be responsible for their own energy production. This would likely lead to greater consciousness of energy consumption and reduce overall usage.
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