Alternative Energy Newswire

Italian Hydrogen Highway Starting to Take Shape

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:53:05 +0000

Three weeks ago I had talked about the Brenner Pass A22 in Italy becoming a corridor for hydrogen fueling stations. Now it has been publicized that Acta S.p.A. has signed an exclusive supply agreement with Girelli Bruni S.p.A., “…for the supply of photovoltaic installations and integrated hydrogen generators for the Italian service station sector.”

According to the press release, “Under the Framework Agreement, signed on 19 July 2010, Acta will be the exclusive supplier of photovoltaic installations to Girelli Bruni, which supplies forecourt installations in Italy for major brands such as Agip, Esso, Shell, Total, ERG, Repsol and Auchan. Girelli Bruni will also be the exclusive distributor of Acta’s hydrogen generators for the fuel supply sector in Italy.

“Based on Acta’s proprietary catalytic and hydrogen conversion technologies, these generators can be safely integrated with the photovoltaic installations to produce clean, dry and compressed hydrogen. Girelli Bruni completed more than 170 forecourt installation projects during 2009, of which the majority also requested the installation of photovoltaic capacity.”

Because of regional progressive environmental laws in Italy, the fueling station sector is expected to offset each new petroleum based fueling station with the use of photovoltaic energy plus alternative gaseous fuels such as hydrogen, methane or LPG.

The ACTA / Girelli Bruni hydrogen fueling stations will fit within these requirements. As of September 2008, Italy had 5 hydrogen refueling stations within the country. This number is expected to increase dramatically within the next 3 to 5 years as part of the overall build out of the European Hydrogen Highway system.

With the two latest developments, the Italian Hydrogen Highway is fast becoming its own entity. By joining forces with Germany and Norway (plus a little help from either Austria or Switzerland) there could be a formidable hydrogen corridor north to south from Oslo, Norway down to the southern tip of the Italian peninsula covering approximately 1,200 miles (pictured above).

Fossil Fuel Subsidies Outpace Renewables

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:58 +0000

The research and consulting firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reports that subsidies for fossil energies are far outweighing those for renewables. While many governments are putting support behind clean energy, the figures show that renewables are still far behind, reports BNEF.

U.S. DOE Funds ‘Sunlight-to-Fuel’ Project

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:58 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy Announced earlier this month that it would set aside more than $100 million to create an “Energy Innovation Hub” to encourage innovation around producing fuels directly from sunlight.

Enolia Solar Systems to Install 1.5MW of SolarEdge Power Harvesting Systems in Greece, as Part of a New Partnership

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:57 +0000

SolarEdge Technologies, a provider of end-to-end Distributed Solar Power Harvesting and monitoring solutions, is expanding its activity in Greece, announcing a partnership with Enolia Solar Systems SA, a leading Greek company active in the development of PV projects, trading of PV solar equipment and design and implementation of rooftop applications in the rapidly developing PV markets of Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria.

More MN State Cars Use E85

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:54 +0000

More state vehicles in Minnesota are able to use up to 85 percent ethanol in their tanks, according to the American Lung Association in Minnesota.

So far this year, state agencies used 437,063 gallons of E85, a 25 percent increase over last year. Those figures come from the state’s SmartFleet Committee, a group tasked with helping agencies comply with Executive Order 04-10, issued by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

The Faribault Academies, a campus of educational facilities serving deaf and blind Minnesotans, topped all others in the SmartFleet quarterly report, using E85 75 percent of the time they bought fuel. Another standout was the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, which reported 73 percent E85 use during the first half of the calendar year. In terms of sheer volume of E85 used, the state Department of Transportation used 170,617 gallons of cleaner-burning E85 in six months, compared to 376,312 gallons of gasoline and 690,798 gallons of B5 biodiesel blend fuel.

“This continued progress shows that the State of Minnesota is serious about its stated goal to reduce its petroleum consumption,” said Kelly Marczak, director for the American Lung Association in Minnesota’s clean fuel and vehicle technologies program and a member of the SmartFleet Committee. “In just six months, the state’s use of E85 in 2010 prevented more than 1,745 tons of lifecycle carbon dioxide emissions and harmful pollutants from entering our air.” In addition, the 5% biodiesel blend prevented 290 lbs of particulate matter, 400 lbs of hydrocarbons, 3,000 lbs of carbon monoxide and 700,000 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions.

The American Lung Association in Minnesota supports the use of E85 and biodiesel fuels in both public and private vehicles, as part of an overall strategy to reduce and prevent air pollution.

Wind Energy Update seeks technical experts and experienced researchers

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:45 +0000

Wind energy professionals who are able to recommend qualified researchers and experts have the chance to receive a &ound;200 cash referral bonus.

"Gut-Sliding" Movement of Caterpillars Inspires Soft-Bodied Robots

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:29 +0000

Photo by Anne Toal

You’re likely familiar with the way a caterpillar works its way up a stem or across a leaf — that move-the-front-then-move-the-back process is one of their charms. But what you might not know is that a caterpillar actually moves its internal organs forward before moving its legs. A team of researchers at Massachusetts’ Tufts University is working on soft-bodied robots and has looked to this quirk of caterpillars as biomimetic inspiration for their designs. The future of robots could lay with the comical blobs of colo… Read the full story on TreeHugger

Smart Glass Steers Solar Sail in Space (Video)

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:28 +0000

Image via New Scientist

Japan’s IKAROS spacecraft is a pioneering technology for solar sailing. The ship launched in May and is the first one to be propelled entirely by sunlight. It manages to steer itself by using just the pressure of sunlight on “smart glass.” Check out a video of the sail in movement. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

New U.S. Law Requires Electronics Makers to Disclose Conflict Mineral Use

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:28 +0000

Photo by Mark Craemer

Tucked into the financial reform bill that passed this week is a provision many sustainable electronics advocates will be happy about. Publicly-traded companies and electronics corporations will now be required to reveal whether or not they use “conflict-free” minerals. Even though that means they can still use the materials, they have to be forthright in stating such, which will put a serious damper on any new product releases that have to state, “Yep, materials in this cell phone helped fund rape and war.”… Read the full story on TreeHugger

How About Magnets 4 Energy To Help You Save Money?

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:52:26 +0000

So, you havedecided to have your own magnet generator so that you can save money, right? But you know very well that to buy these gadgets can also be very pretty expensive. So, instead of buying them, how about making one of your own with the help of Magnets 4 Energy? This is actually a book guide that will teach you the easy way to make your own alternative source of power. There are actually lots of learning tools around that you can choose to help you make your own magnet generator. But so far, nothing can top the simplicity and comprehensive kind of learning that Magnets 4 Energy can give.

Energy Tags: biodiesel, hybrid cars