Voices » green tech

As Alternative Energy Grows, NIMBY Turns Green

Martin LaMonica — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:05:09 +0000

By Martin LaMonica, Senior Editor, CNET

Painting the Golden Gate Bridge yellow might cause less fuss than trying to install a wind farm off Cape Cod’s historic coast.

But when you’re trying to build where the wind is strongest or the sun is brightest, you never know what obstacles you may run into.

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Peak Power Developing a Second Hump Because of Computers

Michael Kanellos — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:00:44 +0000

By Michael Kanellos, Senior Analyst, Greentech Media

Because of big screen TVs and home computers, utilities are seeing another peak power problem evolve. Traditional peak power hours–the time during the day when power demand shoots up–run from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., according to Andrew Tang, senior director, smart energy web, at Pacific Gas & Electric. But utilities are now seeing a second surge after the 7:00 p.m. drop in demand; it runs from about 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., he said. That’s when people head toward the electronic entertainment devices.

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Capitalism to the Rescue

Jon Gertner — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:00:19 +0000

By Jon Gertner, Contributing Writer, New York times

One afternoon last May in Menlo Park, Calif., a venture capitalist named Ray Lane led me from his office to the parking lot, where an automobile had been delivered a few hours earlier by flatbed truck. The car, built in Norway, was powered by batteries and had a plug-in outlet hidden under a flip-top cover near the driver-side door.

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Solar Power Storage Turns a New Leaf

John Murrell — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:00:13 +0000

By John Murrell, Blogger, Good Morning Silicon Valley

It’s difficult for us layfolk to gauge the real implications of breakthrough research announcements, but when the scientists start throwing around words like “nirvana,” it does catch the attention. And from the description of the latest work of MIT’s Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy, it’s easy to get excited. Nocera and team say they’ve come up with an answer to the dark side of solar energy–the difficulty of storing it for when the sun isn’t shining.

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The Technology That Will Save Humanity

Joseph Romm — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:04:46 +0000

By Joseph Romm, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

One of oldest forms of energy used by humans–sunlight concentrated by mirrors–is poised to make an astonishing comeback. I believe it will be the most important form of carbon-free power in the 21st century. That’s because it’s the only form of clean electricity that can meet all the demanding requirements of this century.

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