Cleantech news you might have missed: 4 Feb. 2009
Published Wednesday, 4th February 2009
If you couldn’t wade through all the cleantech news yesterday, not to worry. Following are some highlights from the past 24 hours:
- The Electric Power Research Institute has launched a second project aimed at helping utility operators add solar power to their existing, fossil-fuel-based electric plants. Both projects plan to use solar thermal energy to provide added steam power for the plants, which would help to both reduce fuel costs and curb carbon emissions;
- Scientists from China and the EU plan to meet in the UK next week to explore ways in which Britain can help China develop carbon capture and storage technologies. China currently relies heavily on coal for energy, and has been building new coal-fired power stations at the rate of about one per week;
- Starting later this summer, the Cambridge area is expected to begin operating what silicon.com calls “self-steering ‘guided buses.’” The £116 million project is retrofitting existing buses with wheels that fit into a rail system for automatic steering;
- Earth2Tech reports that California-based Borrego Solar Systems Inc. has secured $14 million in first-round funding. The company specialise in grid-connected solar electric systems for homes, businesses and the public sector;
- Both Currys and B&Q have shelved their much-hyped plans to sell solar panels and micro wind turbines, the Guardian reports in an article titled, “High street quietly ends fling with microgeneration”;
- DVICE reveals the United Arab Emirates are building a personal rapid transit (PRT) system that will shuttle passengers by driver-free electric taxis throughout the city. A network of tracks below street level will take riders to within 100 meters of any spot in town, it says.
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