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Soy Lecithin Offers a Less Toxic Way to Disperse Crude Oil Spills

If you've studied ingredient labels on food packaging, you've probably noticed that soy lecithin is in a lot of products, ranging from buttery spreads to chocolate cake. Scientists have now found a potential new role for this all-purpose substance: dispersing crude oil spills. Their study, which could lead to a less toxic way to clean up these environmental messes, appears in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

24 Apr 2015

Less Expensive, Better Performing Batteries Essential for Reducing Cost of Plug-In Electric Vehicles

Vehicle cost, current battery technology, and inadequate consumer knowledge are some of the barriers preventing widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. Developing less expensive, better performing batteries is essential to reducing overall vehicle cost, and a market strategy is needed to create awareness and overcome customer uncertainty. The report recommends a range of incentives that the federal government can offer to address these and other barriers.

24 Apr 2015

Cooper's Hawk Could be the Most Polluted Wild Bird

A Cooper's hawk, found in Greater Vancouver, is the most polluted wild bird that has been found anywhere in the world. A team of Canadian researchers made this startling discovery while analyzing liver samples from birds of prey that were discovered either injured or dead in the Vancouver area.

24 Apr 2015

Several Countries in the Race to Exploit Gas Hydrates

Gas hydrate is also known as the ice that burns. And all that burns releases energy. And a lot of energy is stored in hydrates: a cubic meter of methane hydrate, for example, compresess as much as 168 m3 of the natural gas. And there are gigatonnes of it stored in the sediments of the oceans.

24 Apr 2015

New Method to Calculate Cost-Efficiency of Plug-In Hybrids

Plug-in hybrids have low fuel consumption, but require more costly parts than cars with a regular combustion engine. During development, the optimal cost balance must be calculated, which has been extremely time consuming to date. Now researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a new method that dramatically reduces the time needed for these calculations.

23 Apr 2015

Market Based and Cost Effective Support Schemes Needed to Support Wind Energy

On 22 April 2015, it is world Earth Day. The idea is to raise awareness of the need to rely on renewable energy. The EU requires its member states to provide a a 27% share of renewable energies by 2030—up from a 23.3% share of the overall electricity generated in Europe in 2012.

23 Apr 2015

Softwood Engineered with Hardwood Feature Could Improve Economics of Biofuel Industries

Scientists have demonstrated the potential for softwoods to process more easily into pulp and paper if engineered to incorporate a key feature of hardwoods.

23 Apr 2015

GE Energy Financial Services and GPI Partner to Invest in 42MW DC PV Solar Power Project in Futtsu City

GE Unit, GE Energy Financial Services has formed a new partnership with Tokyo-based renewable energy project developer, Green Power Investment Corp., to invest in a 42-megawatt (DC) photovoltaic solar power project in Futtsu City, Japan. GE Energy Financial Services will invest alongside GPI in the project.

23 Apr 2015

Air Pollution Could Be Spreading Farther Than Thought

A trio of recently published studies from a team of University of Toronto engineers has found that air pollution could be spreading up to three times farther than thought--contributing to varying levels of air quality across cities.

23 Apr 2015

Empirical Data Suggests Middle-of-the-Road Global Warming Scenario

A new study based on 1,000 years of temperature records suggests global warming is not progressing as fast as it would under the most severe emissions scenarios outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

23 Apr 2015

Amazon Deforestation Increases Potential Impact of Climate Change

Human activity has removed more than one-tenth of trees and plants from the Amazon rainforest since the 1960s, a study shows.

22 Apr 2015

Study Reveals Phytoplankton are Potentially Key Driver of Arctic Warming Under Greenhouse Warming

Phytoplankton, commonly known as plant plankton that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, are potentially a key driver of Arctic warming under greenhouse warming, a study reveals.

22 Apr 2015

Sumitomo Announces Investment in Battery Energy Storage Project in the US

Sumitomo Corporation together with Sumitomo Corporation of Americas announced their investment in an innovative battery power storage system which will provide a reliable and stable supply-demand balancing service for the frequency regulation market operated by PJM, the largest regional transmission organization of wholesale electricity in the U.S.

22 Apr 2015

Portland General Electric to Supply Wind-Generated Electricity to Linde’s Facility in Oregon

Linde North America, Inc., signed a contract with Portland General Electric to supply sustainable, wind-generated power for a significant portion of its electric requirements to its Hillsboro, Oregon, air separation unit which makes ultra-high purity gaseous nitrogen and oxygen.

22 Apr 2015

Pacifica Senior Living Selects Cenergy Power for Meridian Solar Project

Pacifica Senior Living (Pacifica), a division of Pacifica Companies, announced last week that it has selected Cenergy Power (Cenergy) to install its rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system at the Meridian at Lake San Marcos (Meridian), a northern San Diego based senior community. The project is expected to significantly lower the annual utility expenses of the senior community currently accommodating approximately 250 apartment homes and a 22,000 sq. ft. clubhouse.

22 Apr 2015