In its largest single award ever; Clemson University has received a $45 million grant from the Department of Energy (and an additional $53 million in matching funds) to construct and operate a large-scale facility that will test wind energy drive train components at the research campus. This places one of the most important sites for US wind energy research and development in South Carolina.

The funds will develop a high-tech facility at the campus to test the next generation of wind turbines in the US. Now that state-of-the-art turbine sizes have increased with each new turbine, existing drive train testing facilities have become obsolete.

The five-year DOE grant will pay to help develop large-scale turbines that don’t yet exist in the United States, according to Clemson officials. The facility will be able to test advanced drive train systems for wind turbines in the 5 to 15 MW range.

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(Via Green Options.)

Eco Factor: Concept electric car harnesses solar and wind energy for power.

Electric cars being developed today are considered great for the environment, since they don’t pollute the atmosphere with harmful gases. However, if electricity generation is taken into consideration, which is mostly produced in coal-fired power plants, the ecofriendly credentials of electric cars get debatable.

Industrial designer Flavio Adriani has tried to end the debate on a winning note, with a concept car that runs on electricity that is generated by onboard solar and wind energy generators. Dubbed Lamborghini Countach EV, the all-electric car features photovoltaic modules towards the rear and two wind turbines under the hood that generate enough energy to refuel the battery packs.

The batteries fuel a set of motors located in the wheels, which provide all the necessary power to get the beast moving. With an aerodynamic design and the use of lightweight materials, the vehicle will surely impress speed lovers who love to burn the streets without polluting it.

Via: Tuvie

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(Via Ecofriend.)

Eco Factor: Bus shelter made from recycled buses.

We’ve seen some hi-tech bus shelters being developed and commissioned in different parts of the world. These ecofriendly shelters mostly harness energy from the sun and power up a set of devices that provide access to the internet and information about bus schedules. Sculptor Christopher Fennel has a different mindset, for him green doesn’t always have to be flashy and expensive.

Christopher has created a bus shelter in Atlanta using materials no one would have ever thought of. The shelters are made entirely from decommissioned school buses, and a total of three buses were used in the design. Exterior slices of ‘62,’72 and ‘77 buses were joined together and the seating came from an old city bus.

Via: PSFK

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(Via Ecofriend.)

Eco Factor: Solar energy harvesting bag to charge portable electronics.

Konarka Technologies has announced that the company’s Power Plastic solar panels have been integrated into Neuber’s Energy Sun-Bags, which are the lightest solar energy bags available on the market.

The bag weighs 500gm, which includes the additional weight of the panel and the battery. The bag is made available in 37 different colors with custom printing. Priced at $150, the bag is equipped with a 1.4W solar panel that can charge most devices needing 5V, which includes cellphones, MP3 players and cameras.

Via: Treehugger

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(Via Ecofriend.)

Eco Factor: Self-sufficient city proposal for 100,000 inhabitants.

With the world looking for better living alternatives that are self-reliant in terms of energy, design and architecture firms are pushing the limits of technology to help save the world from the disasters of global warming. Dutch architecture firm MVRDV envisions the future in self-sufficient cities constructed on artificial mountains.

A scale model of the proposal was shown at the Beijing Center for Arts, and if constructed will provide green living for about 100,000 inhabitants. The architecture firm believes that the concept can be realized with the use of present technology.

The design is to be constructed on a site of 1 X 1 X 0.5 km and is terraced to offer sufficient space illuminated with natural light. The city will also be equipped with renewable energy generators, and the interiors of the hills will provide space for retail, industry, leisure and technology.

Via: Treehugger/Designboom

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(Via Ecofriend.)

Eco Factor: Liquid battery to be developed to store excess renewable energy.

Back in March MIT announced the development of a liquid battery, which was fashioned using liquid metals and a liquid electrolyte between them. The battery was touted to be developed for mobile applications such as portable electronic devices and automobiles.

After gathering some major funding from ARAP-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency, Energy), the inventor now believes that instead of powering small systems, the battery can be made large enough to store excess renewable energy.

The inventor believes that the battery will be made at a size never been seen before and will enable round-the-clock power from wind and solar power stations, thereby increasing the stability of the grid. Since solar generators only work during the day and wind is stronger at night, the battery will be used to store excess energy and power the grid during downtime.

Via: GreenOptimistic/MIT

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(Via Ecofriend.)

Let’s talk parking. Recently I suggested that building new parking garages isn’t an environmentally friendly thing to do, even if such garages are nicely landscaped and have energy-efficient lighting systems. The environmental impact of the structures themselves is minuscule in comparison to the impact of the transportation system they are part of, and the green flourishes do nothing to change this basic equation.

For making this fairly bland observation, I was accused of, variously: being an enemy of personal freedom, hating the poor, wanting people to live in mud huts, and obstructing environmental progress.

Fortunately, the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority has my back. The agency just a few weeks ago released a data-driven study on how to address the city’s parking woes. The study’s use of detailed surveys to establish actual usage patterns on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, overlaid with data on retail spending habits, provides a groundbreaking look at how people get around in cities.

San Francisco faces the same problems that plague many cities. Streets are congested, parking is chronically in short supply, and the public transportation system, though popular and heavily used, suffers from budget deficits. San Francisco employs a conventional pricing scheme for many of its metered spots: two-hour time limit, low flat rate, free after 6PM, and free on Sundays.

Unsurprisingly, the study reveals that this price structure deeply affects driver behavior. People circle endlessly looking for cheap parking, and after 6PM drivers squat in their free spots for as long as they are able. Interestingly, the study also found that the majority of people in shopping districts don’t arrive by car. About 75% come in by public transit, on foot, or on bicycle. Based on these findings, the authors make the following recommendations:

• Decrease the price of parking at times of day, such as mid-morning, when spots are under-utilized
• Increase the price of parking during times of heavy use, with the goal of achieving an average occupancy rate of 85%
• Extend the metered parking until later in the evening in certain neighborhoods to match actual traffic flow
• Start metering on Sunday in certain neighborhoods
• Extend the meter time limits to four hours at certain times

The plan will have the following benefits:

• Drivers will have an easier time finding spots and will be able to park for longer
• Bus service will become faster and more convenient, due to a reduction in traffic and unnecessary circling in congested areas
• Retailers will benefit from increased turnover and improved access to stores
• The additional revenue raised from meters will plug the transit authority’s budget gap and forestall a fare hike for public transit riders

If this sounds like an ‘everybody wins’ scenario, that’s because mispricing a scarce asset results in suboptimal use of that asset. Put more plainly, underpriced parking is wack. The only people who benefit from the old system are those drivers lucky enough to snag a cheap spot. Underpriced parking is especially wack because parking carries with it negative externalities like congestion, noise, pollution, etc. The solution is not to build more underpriced parking, but to correctly price the stuff that’s there.

After you check out the study, take a look at parking guru Donald Shoup’s related commentary. Good stuff.

Car owners in love with their free parking really want to deflect this issue into an argument over the ability of the poor to have access to downtown. Populism always plays. The problem is, the poverty argument cuts the wrong way. Most people don’t drive downtown. Poor people benefit from subsidized public transit. Poor people benefit from improved bus service. And it’s very difficult to make the case that some who drives downtown to do some shopping is going to have his personal finances devastated by a small rise in parking fees.

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(Posted by Adam Stein in Transportation at 1:07 PM)

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(Via Worldchanging: Bright Green.)

Most of us have been in this situation before; you’re up late cranking away at some work project or homework assignment as thunder and lightning dance outside your window, shaking the whole house. Then the power goes out. All your work is gone, as is your time, and you’re left with frustration and darkness until the power goes back on.

Yet imagine if power outages were a thing of the past? Electric cars could provide the answer, as well as a boost to the U.S. power grid. The U.S. Department of Energy is lending funds to several automakers, including Detroit Electric and Chrysler, in a bid to promote these technologies.

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(Via Green Options.)

Eco Factor: Solar and thermoelectric energy generators to be coated in battle dress for on-demand power.

At present, soldiers carry up to 70kg of equipment, out of which about 10% is the weight of the batteries that are required to charge their radios, counter-measure devices and flashlights. Researchers at the University of Glasgow believe that the weight of the backpacks of future soldiers will be considerably lighter, as the number of batteries in there will be reduced.

These researchers are proposing the use of thermoelectric and photovoltaic devices in the battle fatigues that will generate electricity to recharge a much lighter battery. During daytime the photovoltaic coating will generate electricity and after dark the thermoelectric devices will do the needful.

The systems will be protected against wear and tear by specially designed polymeric films and it would also be possible to camouflage these materials by applying colors as required.

Image Courtesy: ScrapeTV

Via: Physorg

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(Via Ecofriend.)

Eco Factor: Portable solar-powered concept cooker.

Solar-powered cookers are definitely a green solution for all those camping enthusiasts who don’t want to contribute to global warming by burning wood for cooking food. However, present day solar cookers are only good as a secondary choice since they directly use the energy of the sun to cook food, where an overcast day means that you’ll starve.

Industrial designers Xiao-Fang Shen and Nikolai Ruola have tried to solve the problem with a concept Portable Parabolic Cooker that collects solar energy to heat oil in a tank. Once heated, the oil is moved to a well insulated storage area, where it can retain all that solar heat for days. When the need arises the user can control the movement of hot oil in the heater or oven through appropriate valves, which can then be used to cook food even if the sun isn’t shining.

Via: Tuvie/Coroflot

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(Via Ecofriend.)