Hybrid Living

Indonesia’s 17,000 islands are home to hundreds of volcanoes and approximately 40 percent of the earth’s geothermal energy potential and the nation’s government is ready to harness that hot, clean energy.

The country has set a goal of bringing online 4GW of geothermal capacity by 2014, which will almost quadruple the current capacity of 1,189 MW.  If you think that sounds ambitious, you’re right.  It generally takes three to five years just to complete field exploration and then another three years to actually build a geothermal plant.

And then there’s the cost of the project — $12 billion to be exact. The country is looking to the World Bank, private investors and developed countries like Japan and the U.S. for help raising the money.  But once the plants are up and running, they’re basically tapping into endless, clean energy with little overhead required.

Plus, this plan will go a long way towards reaching the Indonesian president’s goals of cutting emissions to 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and adding 10GW of clean energy capacity by 2014.

via AFP

Australian scientists have discovered that whale poo is not only helping ocean plant life to flourish, but also increasing the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2.

Because whales’ diets are made up largely of iron-rich krill (small crustaceans), their droppings are a great fertilizer for marine plants, helping them to grow like weeds (or algae).  These plants then do their part by absorbing CO2 as they grow, a process that scientists have tried to amp up (unsuccessfully) in Antarctic waters with iron fertilization.

Researchers say one-third of the world’s oceans are low in iron.  On the other hand, whale excrement contains a very high concentration of the mineral — about 10 million times the concentration in Antarctic seawater.  But how will scientists use this information?  That’s not clear yet, but it’s a great reminder of how intricately well-tuned nature can be.

via AFP

Solar company Sungevity is offering President Obama a free rooftop solar power system for the White House and to get his attention they’ve launched the Globama campaign.

Sungevity is offering the 102-panel, 17.85 kW solar system, installation and warranty as a free donation, at no cost to the Obamas, the government or tax payers.  The only costs associated with the panels would be the upkeep and maintenance.  In case the president isn’t comfortable with the $107,900 donation, they’re also offering a 10-year lease of the equipment at $537/month with maintenance and monitoring included.

To sell the idea and to get us all onboard, Sungevity created a website, SolarOnTheWhiteHouse.com, where the company has laid out a full quote, detailing the financial aspects, utility savings, technical information and environmental benefits of the installation.  Also at the website, you can sign a petition asking the president to accept Sungevity’s offer.

According to Sungevity, the solar array would reduce the White House electricity bill by 81 percent, or $1,610/month.

via SolarOnTheWhiteHouse.com

As you may recall, last August the Navy put out a call to biofuel companies for 40,000 gallons of fuel to start testing in their F/A-18 Super Hornet jet.  Sustainable Oils ultimately won the contract to develop biofuel for the military branch and now the Navy is prepared to take the Hornet on a supersonic flight using a blend of 50 percent jet fuel and 50 percent camelina-based oil.

Tomorrow, at the Air Station at Patuxent River, Maryland, the so-called “Green Hornet” will fly over the Chesapeake Bay, hopefully proving that biofuels can perform well in a full range of flight operations, including traveling faster than the speed of sound.  The Super Hornet was picked as a test craft for biofuels because it’s the Navy’s largest aviation fuel-consumer.

Camelina biofuel has shown itself to be a great choice for jet fuel blends because it can work as a drop-in replacement for jet fuel.  All aircraft systems — fuel gauge, etc. — operate the same as if it were straight petroleum.  Also, a recent study found that the use of camelina jet fuel could reduce carbon emissions by 84 percent compared to regular jet fuel.

The Hornet won’t be the only naval craft to get a makeover though.  The Navy has committed to getting half of their energy from renewable sources by 2020, which will include cleaning up ships, aircraft and all of their power systems.  The U.S. military is the world’s greatest consumer of petroleum, so their commitment to reducing that consumption is an important one.

National Geographic News

Imagine the Toyota Prius.  Now imagine it stretched a little longer and taller, perhaps a “Baby on Board” sticker attached to the back, and that may just be what’s in store for a new version of the hybrid vehicle.

Japanese news source Nikkei is reporting that Toyota will be releasing a Prius minivan sometime next year. The minivan would be the first expansion of the Prius brand by the automaker.

Beyond being the first hybrid minivan on the market, the vehicle may also be the first Toyota to use an in-house developed lithium-ion battery pack.  Details are scarce, but it would likely be a three-row, sliding-door vehicle, capable of seating up to seven people.

The automaker reportedly expects to price the minivan in line with it’s fully gas-fueled competition.

via Reuters

A vague, but potentially exciting announcement from Chrysler this week says that the automaker and NASA are pairing up to “share knowledge” and resources on advanced technologies.

The topics that this new alliance will discuss and investigate include materials engineering, robotics, radar, battery systems and other energy storage mediums.  Chrysler has obviously gained a very valuable resource for creating cutting edge (most likely electric) cars, but what’s in this partnership for NASA?

The car company says that they have a history working with NASA in their space program, specifically, building rockets and boosters for some of the manned Mercury and Apollo missions in 1961 and 1968.  Could Chrysler be offering the same type of help again?

So while the press release is vague with its mentions of “synergies and shared interest,” the possible outcomes of this partnership could be exciting.  But let’s face it — we’re ecogeeks.  Any discussion of robots, electric cars and space exploration has us giggling with anticipation.

via Autoblog Green

There’s been a lot of press lately about EV launches and pricing strategies of big auto companies, like Nissan with their LEAF.  But out of the shadows, practically-unknown Envision Motor Company has emerged and announced that they will be launching not one, but three EVs this summer, all with a price tag under $30,000, once the $7,500 federal tax credit is applied.

The all-electric vehicles will include a seven-passenger wagon, a utility van and a small pickup truck.  All models will be sold at a selection of dealerships across America.

The vehicles will be outfitted with 24kWh sodium nickel chloride batteries and AC motors.  The company states they’ll have a max speed of 75 mph and a 200-mile range.  They have onboard chargers and can juice up at home on a 110V circuit in six to eight hours.  The vehicles have already passed crash testing.

The EVs will make their debut on a test-drive tour around the country that starts in May.

via Autoblog Green

IBM has made a significant step in cleaning up its global operations.  It’s now requiring all of its suppliers in 90 different countries to install management systems to track environmental data like energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste and recycling levels.  All suppliers must set environmental goals and publicly report their progress.

For large global companies like IBM, turning over a greener leaf starts with gathering environmental data on all parts of your supply chain.  Once armed with that information, IBM will know where and how to make changes.

IBM is also requiring any subcontractors of their suppliers to track the same data if they’re a significant part of the supply chain.  The company says their goal with this project is to systemize environmental management and sustainability so that all of its global partners are working with the same type of information and are easily able to set and reach environmental goals.

All suppliers will need to have these systems installed by early 2011.  If they don’t comply, IBM says it will no longer do business with them.

via NY Times

Yamaha, one of the best-known names in motorcycles, is finally entering the electric bike fray.  The company has announced that it will be selling shares in order to raise $812 million to go towards developing low-cost, all-electric motorcycles and “motor-assisted” bicycles.

So far, electric bikes haven’t really taken off — they’re expensive and haven’t had that “it’ factor — but not many of the big players have been designing them, until now.  With Yamaha’s presence in the market, electric motorcycles may make a name for themselves.

Yamaha won’t be spending all of that money just on all-electric motorcycles, though it will all go to cleaning up the business.  The company’s R&D team will also be working on more efficient engines for its bikes and boats.

via Reuters

Image via Yamaha

NextGen Solar has announced that it has raised half of the $1 million it needs to bring its “solar paint” to customers.  The company claims its paint-on solar cells can hit 40 percent efficiency and will cost only a third of traditional solar PV panels.

The NextGen solar paint is a liquid material that forms webs of nanoscale solar cells when it dries and it can be painted onto practically any surface.  Developed by the Argonne National Laboratory, the solar paint beats out thin-film PV cells in efficiency because it captures more wavelengths of light.

The company is working with ambitious clean tech investors, hoping to get the prototype out of the lab and onto roofs, windows and walls soon.  A commerical breakthrough of this type of clean energy technology – one that is cheap and efficient enough to go up against coal – could make a big impact.

via Cleantechnica