Voltage optimisation offers substantial home energy savings

VPhase, part of the Energetix Group, has developed an energy-saving device for domestic premises, which uses the concept of voltage optimisation to significantly reduce electricity costs for householders.

NREL concludes that feed-in tariffs are legal in US

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has issued a long-awaited legal analysis of how states could implement feed-in tariffs and still comply with federal law. The January 2010 report, “Renewable Energy Prices in State-Level Feed-in Tariffs: Federal Law Constraints and Possible Solutions”, concludes that states can offer feed-in tariffs, but the programmes creating them must be structured in a way that meets federal requirements.

IPVEA calls for cuts in German PV solar feed-in tariff to be reduced

The International Photovoltaic Equipment Association (IPVEA) has backed the petition of German solar companies and the Federal Association of the German Solar Industry to scale back the level of planned reductions in the German feed-in tariff for photovoltaic (PV) solar power.

Feasibility studies commissioned for CSP plants in India

Spanish engineering company, Aries Ingeniería y Sistemas, has confirmed that it has been commissioned by Indian developers to conduct feasibility studies for two concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in India.

Geothermal capacity to triple in the US

According to the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), the US geothermal sector was “on launch trajectory” at the start of 2009 and as the year came to a close, it was clear that the past twelve months did not disappoint the investors, environmentalists, and policymakers who have long pushed for its growth.

Mylow -- After the Hoax Exposed

A summary of various observations and developments that have occurred or are occurring following Mylow having been shown in May, 2009 to be running a hoax -- alleging that he had a working Howard Johnson all-magnet motor design that worked, when in reality he employed methods of deception, but not as a malicious person but as a Don Quixote. (PESWiki; Jan. 31, 2010)

Attributes of the Ideal Open Source Project

There are a wide range of variables upon which the success of the open source project depends. Here is a list of the determining factors in sequence of importance, as I see it. Revenue will likewise depend on how well the project meets these ideals. The ideal free energy technology will need to be in harmony with a higher level of enlightenment. (PESWiki; Jan. 31, 2010)

Steorn overunity demonstration completed

Today's demonstration summarized the findings of 1) no back EMF, 2) no component degradation (e.g. Gauss diminishing) to produce the effect, and 3) inductance gain (energy being harvested from somewhere). With this final demonstration, the technology is now being released to developers to prepare the technology for market. (PESN; Jan. 30, 2010)

Perendev all-magnet motor replica appears to hold constant speed

In a YouTube video, user ubozkurt1 gives the rotor on his Perendev replica a push by hand to get close to what appears to be a resonant speed which then appears to be maintained by the magnetic interactions alone. Visual and audio analysis conclude "constant speed". (PESWiki; Jan. 30, 2010)

Investors win 26-million-dollar award against Tilleys

A Nashville jury found Carl Tilley and his wife guilty on several counts and levied both compensatory and punitive damages against them jointly, individually and the two companies. Tilley made a splash in 2002 with the claim he could run a DeLorean he had converted to electric, powered by his device that could keep the car running indefinitely. (PESN; Jan. 29, 2010)

Farming Ahead: CSIRO and related articles from 2010

Farming Ahead magazine regularly features CSIRO's research for the agricultural sector. This is a list of CSIRO articles published in the magazine throughout 2010.

Energy management by linked local controllers

CSIRO is developing control devices and software for homes and businesses that integrates and manages the energy needs of each major appliance, demands on the grid, and the needs and preferences of building occupants.

Dr Beverley Ronalds: Group Executive, Energy

As Group Executive, Energy, Dr Beverley Ronalds is focused on providing quality research and technology-based industrial solutions to the rapidly evolving needs of the energy sector.

Intelligent grid: a vision for wide-scale use of DE in Australia's future energy network

CSIRO is using simulation modelling to predict the economic, environmental and social benefits of distributed energy to demonstrate its viability to stakeholders and the wider community.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through carbon dioxide storage

Experience gained extracting fossil fuels can be reversed and applied to storing carbon dioxide greenhouses gas in underground reservoirs.

Street Smarts: The BioBus Brings a Rolling Science Lab to Resource-Strapped Schools

It's halfway through first period, and 10th-grade students at Frances Perkins Academy in Brooklyn are in science class--not in school, but on a specially outfitted bus parked outside. [More]

Utility to Build First Power Plant with Greenhouse Gas Emissions Limits in California

Calpine Corp. is poised to build the first U.S. power plant with federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions in California after clearing a final regulatory hurdle today.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District granted the Houston-based utility its final air quality permit today, allowing the company to proceed with the planned construction of a 600-megawatt natural gas-fired Russell City Energy Center. The 15-acre project site is in Hayward, just east of the San Francisco Bay.

Readers Respond on "Squeezing More Oil from the Ground"

End or No End? In “ Squeezing More Oil from the Ground ,” Leonardo Maugeri, director of strategies and development of an international oil company, expresses the conventional view of his profession, assuming a world of near-infinite oil resources to be produced under market forces. Maugeri is particularly dismissive of our Scientific American article “The End of Cheap Oil” [March 1998]. It is difficult to find fault with at least its title, considering that the average price of oil over the preceding 10 years was $28 a barrel but rose to $45 over the ensuing decade...

Obama Budget Increases Funding for Energy Research and Nuclear Power

Nuclear energy and energy research are among the big winners in the proposed $28.4 billion Energy Department fiscal 2011 budget the White House unveiled today.

The almost 5 percent increase in funding from fiscal 2010 covers a $36 billion boost in loan guarantee authority for nuclear power facilities for a total of $54 billion, $300 million for an innovative energy research program, and a $226 million increase in funding for the Office of Science for research and development of "breakthrough" technologies for a total of $5.1 billion.

Sewer or Septic?: When It Comes to Sewage, Most People Prefer to Share the Burden

Dear EarthTalk: What’s better for the local ecology, sewers or septic tanks? --T. H., Darien, Conn.