energy security
The decision by 28 International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries to release 60 million barrels of oil in the coming month to compensate for supply disruptions caused by the conflict in Libya has had an immediate effect on crude’s trading price. However, don’t look for it to result
concentrating solar power
Southwest Solar Technologies has successfully tested a high-temperature air receiver prototype that will eventually be used to test the company’s advanced solar-turbine power system. Currently in development, the system uses a parabolic solar dish with mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy to drive a high-efficiency turbine engine and
energy security
British officials see the need for a massive investment in the country’s energy infrastructure in the near future. The government today published a final version of its Energy National Policy Statements (NPSs) in advance of their scheduled debate in Parliament. The statements highlight the need for a “surge of
energy efficiency
Transphorm, which provides power conversion technology designed to reduce energy loss, has completed a $25 million round of financing. Investors in the company include Quantum Strategic Partners Ltd., a private investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management LLC, and previous backers Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Google Ventures, Foundation Capital
Technology
Cisco is betting that a new green-energy idea or other technological innovation can help pull Greece out of its ongoing economic crisis. The “Make Innovation Work – MIW” competition, organized by the American Hellenic Chamber of Commerce with the collaboration of Cisco, aims to foster innovation and competitiveness in Greece by
internet of things
Four new smart-grid companies have joined an organization working to promote the use of the Internet Protocol for the networking of “smart objects.” The IPSO (IP for Smart Objects) Alliance also announced plans to begin a series of interoperability tests, and has completed and approved two new standards for the
home area networks
Two smart-grid pilot programs are enabling residential and small-business customers in central Texas to actively monitor and control their energy usage through a home area network (HAN) installed at their properties. The pilots, led by Verizon Wireless and load management technology company Consert, involved customers with the Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative
corporate social responsibility
How much can energy efficiency save a business? Ask IBM, which says its conservation programs have cut its bills by more than $50 million in electricity costs since 2008. The amount of electricity it’s saved is enough to power 47,000 average US homes for a year. Currently celebrating
demand management
A variety of energy efficiency projects has helped the California city of West Covina to cut its energy spending by $184,800 a year and reduce its power consumption by more than 80 million kilowatt-hours (kWh). The city’s efforts have earned it a Gold Level Achievement award in Southern
wind energy
International ferry operator Stena Line has launched a unique project it says is the first of its kind in the world: a passenger ferry equipped with two wind turbines. The turbines at the prow of the Stena Jutlandica, Gothenburg-Fredrikshaven, are aimed at both supplying energy and reducing fuel consumption. “Within
energy efficiency
GE and its funding partners will invest $63 million in 10 innovative home energy technology companies. The investment is the second round of funding as part of the $200 million “GE ecomagination Challenge” to find better ways to use, manage and conserve energy. The second phase, “Powering Your Home,” was
photovoltaics
An effort known as Project Amp aims to install solar panels on industrial buildings across the US and feed the electricity generated into the nation’s power grid. The project, which has just received a conditional $1.4 billion loan commitment from the US Department of Energy (DOE), would be
