I've been thinking that since alternative energy sources on are everyone's mind of late, that it might be nice to have a thread dedicated to the topic. I don't know that there's enough news to make it monthly, but keeping the topic in one dedicated thread (or one dedicated thread a month) would make it easier to update the topic when a bit of new news comes around, or someone is trying to find the information via search. So with that in mind: Details on the Tesla SUV surface. Pee powered robot gets an upgrade. You know, I can see this as being a great thing for bars. Plenty of urine available to generate power, if they're able to generate enough power to start selling it back into the grid, they could give patrons credits for discounts on drinks! VW to build 250+ MPG diesel hybrid.
Peugeot to build air powered hybrid car. It will be interesting to see if they can actually pull it off. There's an ex-Formula 1 engineer who's tried to build something similar, but he's never brought his to market in over 10 years of promising that it'll be ready "next year."
Austin city government goes all renewable. DIY ethanol kits available. You're supposed to use it to power a car, not drink it.
The Better Place electric car company is well and truly dead. I remember when the company was announced, a lot of people were all excited about it, but I couldn't help but think that the concept was pretty flawed. Elon Musk supposedly looked into buying the company, but obviously decided against it.
So Brazilian company RAR Energia has something called a gravity motor. Supposedly there's one up and running in Brazil, and they're building another one in Illinois, which my brother is part of the team working on. http://www.pureenergyblog.com/2013/...gilman-illinois-gravity-motor-build-progress/ Thoughts? I have to say I'm skeptical, especially since one of their documents claims that the thing can generate electricity "without heat." I'm far from an engineer, but I do have a passing familiarity with the basic laws of physics. I mean come on. EDIT: Now that I think about it, they could have meant that the machine doesn't use heat to generate electricity, not that no heat is generated in the process of generating electricity. That would make a bit more sense.
I'm dubious about that as well. I've posted the link to it on a board where many of the members are engineers who work for the electrical generation industry (they help design power plants of various types) and will report back anything they have to say. Study claims that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles equipped with supercapacitors are more efficient than any other design.
Well, the engineers on the other board are baffled by it as well, so I dunno. Warren Buffet plunks down $1 billion to build windfarm in Iowa.
All "free energy" devices (i.e. energy out without any detectable energy of any form going in) are bullshit. Many are deliberate hoaxes, scams and frauds. Others are the results of well meaning individuals or groups failing to take account of all factors, not realizing there is some kind of obscure (and undoubtedly inefficient) energy input, and the thing won't work without that, etc. The RAR Energia guys are bit more industrious with their hoax than most by the looks of things - but it's still just as much bullshit. IMHO the only alternate energy techs that really make sense for massive-scale deployment for the powering of basically everything worldwide, are solar and nuclear. Solar power for 90+% of everything, and nuclear power for things that require high density low physical footprint power in one place, independent of grid connections. This is strictly using currently developed tech of course. Fusion if perfected could supplant both nuclear fission power and solar power in the future.
Not only did California double the amount of solar power generated in the state last year, but the increase was greater than in the previous 30 years. Combined.
When Afganistan ends, instead of redirecting the billions then not being spent on war into social programs and vote buying, they should fund the construction of massive massive solar farms in desert areas where direct strong sunlight is almost constant (and has the added bonus of no local residents around to start NIMBY bitching). They should also fast track the development of thorium plants and high temperature low pressure molten salt reactors. Much more efficient and safer than current pressurised water designs.
I didn't know about this project until I saw the article saying it had been approved, very cool and right in my backyard. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/busin...ernment-approval/story-fni6uma6-1226825241883
Charge Rage hits Silicon Valley companies that don't have enough spots for employees who drive EVs. I'm not surprised, and I'm waiting for kids in apartment complexes to think that its a real "hoot" to unplug somebody's car while its charging.
Tesla SUV delayed again. Leaf owners charge for free in Texas. Tesla still losing money, despite increased revenue. Just over half of Cadillac dealers will carry the Caddy plug-in hybrid.
The coolest electric trike ever built. Lots more pics at the link. It can't go much faster than about 12 MPH, and I don't know what the range is, but no doubt it wouldn't be too difficult to improve the speed and range of it if you were willing to plunk down the money.
Without reading the link, are you using a nuclear reactor on your ship to produce the energy needed to split water up that way?
The article doesn't specify, but it looks like it is a combination of that and the Fischer-Tropsch process to create the fuel.
In news sure to make everyone happy who's had to endure temporary hearing loss caused by some picodicked cocksucker wearing assless chaps on a motorcycle with an exhaust system louder than a jet engine, Harley-Davidson is going to be selling electric (i.e. nearly silent) motorcycles!!!!!!!! Oh, and yes, the asshats can install a PA speaker system to blast out "potato, potato, potato" at high volume, but it'll eat into their range, so they're less likely to do that.
IBM shows off radio telescope shaped solar collectors which can produce pure water while generating energy. A sneak peak at Toyota's 2015 model fuel cell car.