Affordable Renewal Energy

Author Archives for EcoGeek

T. Boone Pickens Walks Away from Alternative Fuels All Together


Once upon a time, ex-oil baron T. Boone Pickens was one of wind energy’s biggest proponents with plans for the world’s biggest wind farm in Texas and massive transmission structure to get that clean power into our homes. He also backed natural gas as a…

Nevada Home to World’s First Hybrid Solar-Geothermal Plant


Nevada’s Stillwater geothermal plant has added a solar array to become the world’s first hybrid solar-geothermal plant. Enel Green Power North America installed more than 89,000 solar panels with a capacity of 26 MW to the site. The plant’s combined ca…

Saudi Arabia Aims for 41 GW of Solar Power by 2032


Saudi Arabia is making a major push make renewables, especially solar power, a bigger part of its energy mix. The oil-rich country is aiming to have 41 GW of solar power capacity installed by 2032 as well as a host of other renewable energy projects li…

SuperStation Grid Connecting Project Moves Forward in New Mexico


When we first wrote about the Tres Amigas SuperStation back in 2009, it was a well thought-out concept that seemed far off from becoming a reality, but an influx of new investments has pushed it forward and the project is set to break ground this summe…

Enclosed Rooftop Wind Turbines from Australia


A new, small-scale wind turbine suitable for rooftop use is under development in Australia. The Windpod looks more like a cylindrical, vertical-axis wind turbine, than a ‘pinwheel’ horizontal-axis turbine, but is deployed on its side.
The Windpod G1 …

Toyota Unveils All-Electric RAV4


Toyota unveiled the all-electric RAV4, the first all-electric SUV to hit the market, at the Electric Vehicle Symposium 26 in Los Angeles on Monday. The EV is the result of a partnership between Toyota and Tesla Motors, which provided the electric drive…

Volkswagen Develops Crowd-Sourced All-Electric Hover Car Concept


As part of its People’s Car Project (PCP) in China, Volkswagen has developed a concept car based on a crowd-sourced idea for an all-electric hover car that it will debut at the Beijing Auto Show.
The car is a two-person city car that hovers above…

A Remembrance of Ernest Callenbach


Ernest Callenbach died a couple of weeks ago at the age of 83. You may not recognize his name, but his book, ‘Ecotopia’ was an extremely influential early novel of environmentalism. It has been translated into a dozen languages and has sold nearly a…

Major Automakers Team Up on Fast Charging System for EVs


A group of eight major German and American automakers are teaming up to demonstrate a new single-port, fast-charging technology for electric vehicles at the Electric Vehicle Symposium 26 in Los Angeles. BMW, Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, Audi, C…

Map Shows Which States Are Cranking Out Renewable Power


The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released a map that shows which states have the highest concentration of renewable power. The map compares 2001 to 2011 and displays the share of total net generation of non-hydro renewable energy fo…