With EU funding of the project 'Thermochemical energy storage for concentrated solar power plants' (TCSPOWER), scientists are developing ways to store the Sun's thermal energy for electricity production during the night.
Oct 4th, 2013
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Researchers are developing a multidimensional mapping tool to identify areas of similar climate, building practices, technologies and economics. This will aid efforts to improve the energy and resource efficiency of the built environment.
Oct 4th, 2013
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University of Tuebingen microbiologists show soil microbe communities can be influenced to decrease nitrous oxide emissions.
Oct 4th, 2013
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The aim of the project is to establish and implement replicable, off-grid electricity generation, based on a solar photovoltaic storage system, which promotes development in sub-Saharan Africa.
Oct 4th, 2013
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New research shows that making stuff on a 3D printer uses less energy - and therefore releases less carbon dioxide - than producing it en masse in a factory and shipping it to a warehouse.
Oct 3rd, 2013
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U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced a proposed $100 million in FY2014 funding for Energy Frontier Research Centers to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to build a new 21st-century energy economy. Research supported by this initiative will enable fundamental advances in energy production and use.
Oct 2nd, 2013
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The term 'carbon capture and storage' seems only to appear when shortly followed by 'not commercially proven' or 'in development'. But construction has now begun on what will be the world's first commercial carbon dioxide mineralisation plant, in which carbon dioxide greenhouse gas is transformed into baking soda.
Oct 2nd, 2013
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To meet a goal set by the US Environmental Protection Agency's Renewable Fuels Standard to use 36 billion gallons of biofuels each year - mostly ethanol - the nation must expand its infrastructure for transporting and storing ethanol. Ethanol, however, is known for triggering stress corrosion cracking of steel. Researchers investigated the mechanism of how ethanol triggers stress corrosion cracking along with ways to circumvent this issue to prevent ethanol-related corrosion issues.
Oct 1st, 2013
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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently issued a new report, 'Non-Hardware ('Soft') Cost-Reduction Roadmap for Residential and Small Commercial Solar Photovoltaics, 2013'. The report builds off NREL's ongoing soft-cost benchmarking analysis and charts a path to achieve SunShot soft-cost targets of $0.65/W for residential systems and $0.44/W for commercial systems by 2020.
Oct 1st, 2013
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Solar modules are exposed to many environmental influences that cause material to fatigue over the years. Researchers have developed a procedure to calculate effects of these influences over the long term. This allows reliable lifespan predictions.
Oct 1st, 2013
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Global production of photovoltaic cells grew by 10% in 2012 in comparison to 2011 despite a 9% decline in solar energy investments according to the annual 'PV Status Report' released by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.
Sep 30th, 2013
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The water budget of the troposphere, the bottom layer of the Earth's atmosphere, determines the weather and plays a central role in climate change. The isotope composition of water vapor, i.e. the ratio of light and heavy water molecules, provides insight into underlying mechanisms. Climate researchers gather the data required by in-situ measurements as well as by using remote sounding instruments, e.g. on board of satellites. In a recent campaign, they combined both methods and proved the precision of remote sounding measurements for the first time.
Sep 30th, 2013
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The synthesis stage of the bioliq pilot plant successfully started operation. Now, all stages of the bioliq process, i.e. flash pyrolysis, high-pressure entrained-flow gasification, and synthesis, have been realized. The project will now be completed by testing the entire process chain and optimizing it for the large industrial scale.
Sep 30th, 2013
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A major scientific breakthrough in the development of renewable energy sources and other important chemicals; The research team succeeded in producing 580 mg of gasoline per liter of cultured broth by converting in vivo generated fatty acids.
Sep 29th, 2013
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Human influence on the climate system is clear. This is evident in most regions of the globe, a new assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes.
Sep 27th, 2013
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An innovative new way of treating dairy wastewater and whey could cut water and energy consumption dramatically, saving the food industry millions of euros.
Sep 26th, 2013
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New figures show contrast this year between strong growth in photovoltaic installations and sharp fall in new wind capacity added.
Sep 26th, 2013
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Teams of international scientists have decrypted the effectiveness of two types of bacteria, which could be used in the future to help combat oil spill disasters.
Sep 26th, 2013
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