Alternative Energy News

New hydropower storage project to be built in Canada

August 17, 2018August 16, 2018 John Max

Hydropower Storage Project - Hydropower station

The site for the proposed pump hydropower project is near a retired open pit coal mine. Alberta may soon be home to a pump hydropower storage project, which will be the first of its kind in the province. Called the Canyon Creek Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project, the project has received regulatory approval and the plan is to build it next to the decommissioned Obed Mountain open pit thermal coal mine. Canyon Creek will be able to utilize existing infrastructure to help reduce new environmental disturbances. The Obed Mountain coal…

DOE awards $38 million to support fuel cell and hydrogen projects

August 17, 2018August 16, 2018 Amanda Giasson

DOE hydrogen project funding - American Money

More than 25 projects across the United States will receive funding. The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that it has awarded $38 million in funds to support both new hydrogen projects as well as projects related to fuel cell technologies. In total, 28 projects in America will receive funding support. The funding specifically supports early-stage research and development. The DOE funding announcement was made by US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, while he was in Golden, Colorado touring the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This particular…

Corncob biofuel could be greener than ethanol fuel produced by corn grain

August 16, 2018August 15, 2018 Angie Bergenson

Corncob Biofuel - Corn - Corn on the cob

New research has found that corncobs could be effective for producing cleaner biofuel. Corncob biofuel, ethanol fuel produced from corncobs, produces less greenhouse gases compared to other sources used to produce biofuels, such as corn grain. This discovery was made by researchers from Iowa State University (ISU), who recently published their study findings in the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. Corncobs also produce ethanol with greater efficiency than other sources. The researchers analyzed the entire ethanol production chain, from transporting the raw material to sending the resulting fuel to service…

Promising research could lead to the production of clean hydrogen

August 16, 2018August 15, 2018 Tami Hood

A Stanford graduate student may have found a solution to platinum catalysts. Scientists around the world continue their quest to find cheap and clean hydrogen fuel production methods that do not require the use of expensive metals, like platinum. Now, a graduate student from Stanford University, Xinjian Shi, has revealed in a recent study, published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, that he may have found a solution using cobalt. Cheap and abundant metal sulfides can be transformed into powerful electrodes for HERs. Like other scientists searching for cheap…

REAP’s solar power storage system could benefit from new California solar mandate

August 15, 2018August 14, 2018 Alicia Moore

Solar power storage - Solar panels installation

The new mandate could be advantageous for REAP’s Power Stac VRFB. Renewable Energy and Power (REAP) could provide the perfect solar power storage solution for California’s new solar mandate. The company has announced the expansion of marketing activity for its Power Stac vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) power storage system, according to a news release published on Global Newswire. California is making residential solar energy mandatory for certain new buildings and renovations. The state has mandated that by 2020, all new houses and multi-family residences of three stories or less,…

Plug Power to expand production of its hydrogen fuel cell technology

August 15, 2018August 14, 2018 Erin Kilgore

Hydrogen fuel cell technology - Warehouse and forklift

Plug Power is expanding its operations into a new building. The new 38,400-square foot building is located in Clifton Park, Saratoga County, New York, and will help Plug Power increase its production of hydrogen fuel cell technology. The new building is about 15 minutes away from the company’s headquarters in Latham. Plug Power’s CEO was also named to the Department of Energy’s HTAC In addition to announcing its new building for its hydrogen fuel cell technology production, Plug Power Inc. has also announced that its CEO, Andy Marsh, was named…

Maryland launches a community solar power pilot program

August 14, 2018August 13, 2018 John Max

Community solar power - Solar Panels in Field

Any resident of Maryland can power their home with solar energy. A new community solar power pilot program has been launched in Maryland. Under the program, anyone within the state can power their homes with the energy generated by solar panels, even if their homes cannot support these structures. Even renters or condo residents can benefit from solar power. The purpose of the community solar power program is to give Maryland residents who want to obtain their energy from renewable sources other than fossil fuels – but who currently don’t…

Delaware Hydrogen plant project announced by PBF Energy

August 14, 2018August 13, 2018 Tami Hood

Delaware Hydrogen Plant - Cargo Ship on ocean

The new project will help to make cleaner fuel for ships. In an effort to boost cleaner fuel production, a new Delaware hydrogen plant will be built at the Delaware City Refinery. The owner of the refinery, PBF Energy, is betting that more hydrogen will lead to bigger profits and give them a key competitive advantage over other fuel producers, reported Delaware Online. Hydrogen is a vital sulfur-removing catalyst in oil refining. With a growing demand for clean diesel, the Delaware hydrogen plant is likely to have a strong future.…

Over 100m dollars raised to support launch of Nikola fuel cell trucks

August 13, 2018August 10, 2018 Angie Bergenson

Nikola Fuel cell trucks - Truck on road at sunset

Nikola Motors says it has raised millions in just one week. Nikola fuel cell trucks – Nikola One and Nikola Two – have received more support. The Salt Lake City-based American hybrid truck design company claims it has raised more than $100 million in just one week after launching its new round of funding for $200 million. The money is to assist Nikola Motors launch and scale it two hydrogen-powered trucks in 2020. This round of funding will continue for another three weeks. The current round of funding for $200…

Trump administration seeks to start new California fracking projects

August 13, 2018August 10, 2018 Bret Williams

More than a million acres of public land in California could be open to hydraulic fracturing. While California fracking is nothing new, for the past five years there has been a moratorium on leasing federal public land in the state to oil companies. However, this could soon change as the Trump Administration recently took the first step in a process that could open up 1.6 million acres of public land and mineral estates in central California to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and conventional oil drilling. The BLM intends to analyze the…

Plastic waste is adding to the ever-increasing greenhouse gases problem

August 10, 2018August 9, 2018 Amanda Giasson

greenhouse gases - Plastic waste on beach

New research from Hawaii reveals plastics release GHG emissions. Due to common plastics degrading in the environment emitting greenhouse gases (GHG), plastic waste is now an even bigger environmental problem. This discovery was recently made by researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). Exposure to ultraviolet light triggers the effect. The study, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE, reports that the most common plastics degrading in landfills and oceans emit the greenhouse gases methane and ethylene when they…

Teesside takes another step forward in becoming a UK hydrogen “powerhouse”

August 10, 2018August 9, 2018 Alicia Moore

UK Hydrogen in Teesside -Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough - Teesside - England

Teesside makes a bid for hydrogen super fleet. The UK hydrogen industry has received more support in Teesside. The conurbation in the north east of England has made a £220,000 ($282,200) bid in support of a major “super-fuel” vehicle fleet plan that could see cars, buses, trains and bin lorries powered by hydrogen fuel in the region, reported Teesside Live. Bringing the plan to fruition could create 1,000 jobs. The hydrogen fuel vehicle (HFV) fleet is part of a broader campaign to make Teesside a UK hydrogen “powerhouse”. The recent…

German solar electric car to hit the market in 2019

August 9, 2018August 8, 2018 John Max

Solar electric car - Cars on raod in sunlight

A unique electric vehicle is equipped with solar cells. Known as the Sion, this unique solar electric car being developed by Munich-based company, Sono Motors, is an electric vehicle outfitted with solar cells that enables the car to charge as you drive. The solar EV can charge using two methods. In addition to the battery charging from the solar power that is generated via its solar cells, the solar electric car can also be charged from conventional power outlets, reported Reuters. Therefore, in addition to a traditional charging method, the…

Ammonia to hydrogen technology tested in fuel cell cars for first time

August 9, 2018August 8, 2018 Tami Hood

CSIRO successfully refuels two fuel cell vehicles with it ultra-high purity hydrogen. Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has announced the successful road testing of two fuel cell cars powered by its ammonia to hydrogen technology. The organization became the first to demonstrate the production of “very clean hydrogen” produced from ammonia. The two fuel cell vehicles selected for the road test in Australia were the Toyota Mirai and the Hyundai Nexo, according to a CSIRO news release. They hydrogen was produced in Queensland using CSIRO’s membrane technology.…

Apple to collaborate on new solar and wind energy projects

August 8, 2018August 7, 2018 Angie Bergenson

Solar and wind energy projects - solar panels and a wind turbine

The tech giant is increasing access to green energy in the eastern United States. Apple is teaming up with Swiss Re, Etsy and Akami to develop new solar and wind energy farms in the United States. The companies will collectively purchase energy from a wind farm in Illinois and a solar farm in Virginia. Combined, both clean energy projects will produce enough energy to power 74,000 homes. Together, the companies will purchase 165 MW from a solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant just outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and 125 MW from…

Hydrogen technology to be used to produce monoethylene glycol from coal

August 8, 2018August 7, 2018 Bret Williams

Honeywell UOP PSA technology to be applied in a Chinese MEG chemical plant. Hubei Sanning Chemical Industry Co., Ltd, a China-based manufacturer of agricultural chemical products, will be using Honeywell UOP’s hydrogen technology to produce monoethylene glycol (MEG) from coal. This is the first time this tech will be used in a MEG chemical plant in China. The Hubei Sanning chemical plant at Zhijiang in China’s Hubei province, will be the first MEG plant in China to use the innovative hydrogen technology. More specifically, Honeywell UOP’s Polybed Pressure Swing Adsorption…

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