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UrduThe world’s first rapid testing facility for tidal turbine blades, which researchers say can speed up development of marine energy technologies while helping to reduce costs, has opened for business.
Tag: Renewable Energy
Algae-powered computing: Scientists create reliable and renewable biological photovoltaic cell
Researchers have used a widespread species of blue-green algae to power a microprocessor continuously for a year – and counting – using nothing but ambient light and water.
Towards more efficient, non-toxic, and flexible thin-film solar cells
Climate change, one of the major global concerns today, has made it clear that fossil fuels are detrimental to our environment and are not sustainable.
Senator Cantwell, Science Leaders Help Break Ground on $75 Million Grid Storage Launchpad
New facility will accelerate energy storage innovation, increase clean energy adoption and grid resilience.
Lowering the temperature on a hot topic: a climate change primer
Earth Day presents a good opportunity to help clear up some essential questions about climate change; what it is, what is responsible and how we know it’s real.
New method for enabling a more reliable electric grid
Case Western Reserve University chemical engineers are working on a new generation of smaller, safer and less expensive batteries they say could allow electrical energy to be stored four times longer.
Urban planning experts aid first US city decarbonizing all buildings
The city of Ithaca, N.Y., is moving ahead with an ambitious plan to decarbonize and electrify all buildings — part of an effort to be carbon neutral by 2030. It’s the first project of its kind in the nation, and…
Global solar grid risks solar inequity across developing world
India and the U.K. — in partnership with the World Bank and the International Solar Alliance — have launched a new initiative aimed at creating a solar grid across the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Its goal is…
100% Renewable Energy Using Building Science
In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory describe results from a techno-economic analysis aimed at identifying pathways to 100% renewable power systems. By analyzing readily available supply and demand strategies within specific U.S. regions, the team found a combination of resource diversification, excess generation, building efficiency, and demand flexibility improvements could reduce or even eliminate the need for long-duration energy storage in some regions.
Scientists bring efficiency to expanding offshore wind energy
New research shows how to make offshore wind farms more efficient in the face of impending rapid expansion – crucial information as the U.S. Department of the Interior affirmed White House plans to lease federal waters for several giant arrays of wind turbines along the waters of the East Coast.
Argonne taps internationally recognized researcher Shirley Meng as chief scientist for energy storage strategy
A pioneer in material science, Meng’s new role comes with a joint appointment as a professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at The University of Chicago.
Wind energy can deliver vital slash to global warming
Implementing advance wind energy scenarios could achieve a reduction in global warming atmospheric average temperatures of 0.3 to 0.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, according to new research from Cornell University.
Making Methane from CO2: Carbon Capture Grows More Affordable
PNNL researchers can make methane from captured CO2 and renewably sourced hydrogen, offering a path toward cheaper synthetic natural gas.
Turning Hazelnut Shells into Potential Renewable Energy Source
In Journal for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers share their work on the physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of wood vinegar and tar fraction in bio-oil produced from hazelnut shells pyrolysis at 400 degrees Celsius to 1,000 C. The researchers found the wood vinegar and tar left over after burning the shells contained the most phenolic substances, which laid a foundation for the subsequent research on antioxidant properties.
How Do Wind Turbines Respond to Winds, Ground Motion During Earthquakes?
Wind power has experienced fast growth within China during the past decade, but many wind farms are being built within regions of high seismic activity. In Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers present their work exploring the dynamic behaviors of wind turbines subjected to combined wind-earthquake loading. The group discovered that changes in the wind increase and decrease the response amplitude of the wind turbine under weak and strong earthquakes, respectively.
Waste to Energy: Biofuel from Kelp Harvesting and Fish
Using existing fish processing plants, kelp and fish waste can be converted to a diesel-like fuel to power generators or fishing boats in remote, coastal Alaska.
LLNL optimizes flow-through electrodes for electrochemical reactors with 3D printing
To take advantage of the growing abundance and cheaper costs of renewable energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers are 3D printing flow-through electrodes (FTEs), core components of electrochemical reactors used for converting CO2 and other molecules to useful products.
Machine learning provides a shortcut to simulate interactions in materials for solar energy harvesting
Computer simulations can help us understand interactions in materials for solar energy harvesting, but they can be extremely complex. Researchers at Argonne have simplified these modeling tasks using machine learning to speed up materials development.
Bottling Clean Energy in Chemical Bonds
Of the various methods to store renewable energy, one stands out for holding onto energy for months at a time: storing energy in the chemical bonds of molecules such as hydrogen.
Department of Energy awards $4.15 million to Argonne to support collaborations with industry
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $4.15 million to Argonne National Laboratory to support collaborations with industry aimed at commercializing promising energy technologies.
Sensor Data Identifies Turbine Wake Clustering, Improves Wind Farm Productivity Via Yaw Control
In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers describe a real-time method for potentially helping turbine farms realize additional power from the clustering of their turbines. Their method requires no new sensors to identify which turbines at any given time could increase power production if yaw control is applied, and validation studies showed an increase of 1%-3% in overall power gain.
Renewable energy OK, but not too close to home
When it comes to transitioning from carbon-based to renewable source energy systems, Americans are on board. They’re less keen, however, having these new energy infrastructures—wind turbines or solar farms—built close to their homes, which creates hurdles for policymakers.
Baylor Study Evaluates Biodiversity Impacts of Alternative Energy Strategies
Climate change mitigation efforts have led to shifts from fossil-fuel dependence to large-scale renewable energy. However, renewable energy sources require significant land and could come at a cost to ecosystems. A new study led by Ryan McManamay, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental science at Baylor University, evaluates potential conflicts between alternative energy strategies and biodiversity conservation.
100% Renewable Microgrid “Takes Off” at Airport in Northern California
The Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid’s community partners today announced construction activities on what will be the first 100% renewable, multi-customer microgrid in California.
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientists Lead DOE Project to Enhance Offshore Wind Research Buoys
The collaborative project aims to design, install and deploy a buoy-based flux measurement system that can provide new insight on offshore wind conditions and improve forecast models.
Steering Wind Turbines Creates Greater Energy Potential
For wind farms, it is important to control upstream turbines in an efficient manner so downstream turbines are not adversely affected by upstream wake effects. In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers show that by designing controllers based on viewing the wind farm system as a coupled network, it is possible to extract power more efficiently.
New, Tiny Battery Powers Big Insight into Fish Passage for Hydropower
PNNL scientists developed a tiny battery and tag to track younger, smaller species, to evaluate behavior and estimate survival during downstream migration.
A novel energy storage solution featuring pipes and anchors
What do pipes and anchors have to do with storing energy? More than you might think! A new IIASA-led study explored the potential of a lesser known, but promising sustainable energy storage system called Buoyancy Energy Storage.
Saving the climate with solar fuel
Produced in a sustainable way, synthetic fuels contribute to switching mobility to renewable energy and to achieving the climate goals in road traffic. In the mobility demonstrator “move” Empa researchers are investigating the production of synthetic methane from an energy, technical and economic perspective – a project with global potential.
Argonne demonstrates benefits of restoring native vegetation at solar facilities
Modeling different land use types, Argonne researchers demonstrate that the growth of native grasslands on large solar utility sites can help restore biodiversity, maintain ecosystem services and aid agriculture.
Rare earth supply disruptions have long-range impacts, computer model shows
Many devices rely on rare earth elements. Disruptions to supplies have consequences. Argonne analyzed potential disruptions with a computer model called Global Critical Materials to forecast rare earth market dynamics.
Compound Commonly Found in Candles Lights the Way to Grid-Scale Energy Storage
A compound used widely in candles offers promise for a much more modern energy challenge—storing massive amounts of energy to be fed into the electric grid as the need arises.
Liquid-like motion in crystals could explain their promising behavior in solar cells
Scientists studied the inner workings of a solar cell material using X-ray and neutron scattering. The study revealed that liquid-like motion in the material may be responsible for their high efficiency in producing electric currents from solar energy.
Sandia app assesses value of energy storage for businesses, utilities
Utility companies and corporate project developers now have help assessing how much money adding an energy storage system will save them thanks to new Sandia National Laboratories software.
Argonne leads creation of definitive valuation guide for pumped storage hydropower
Argonne scientists led four other laboratories in developing definitive guidance on how to value pumped storage hydropower projects. Their efforts resulted in DOE publication of the Pumped Storage Hydropower Valuation Guidebook: A Cost-Benefit and Decision Analysis Valuation Framework. The guide provides an objective, transparent valuation methodology and helps measure both monetary and non-monetary value streams.
Empowering citizens for successful energy transitions
A new study explored options for empowering citizens as a driver for moving from awareness about the need to transform energy systems to action and participation.
Bioenergy expert available: Meltem Urgun-Demirtas, Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne engineer Meltem Urgun-Demirtas leads the Bioprocesses and Reactive Separations group at Argonne, where she brings more than 20 years of diverse experience in waste and water treatment, biofuels production and materials synthesis for energy and environmental applications. Working with…
GREEN ENERGY TECHNOLOGY
As Earth Day approaches, a promising startup that grew out of University of Delaware research is on the cusp of making sustainable green hydrogen a reality. Versogen, a UD spinoff company led by Professor Yushan Yan, is one of three startups selected for the fourth cohort of the Shell GameChanger Accelerator (GCxN) program.
Experts’ Predictions for Future Wind Energy Costs Drop Significantly
Technology and commercial advancements are expected to continue to drive down the cost of wind energy, according to a survey led by Berkeley Lab of the world’s foremost wind power experts. Experts anticipate cost reductions of 17%-35% by 2035 and 37%-49% by 2050, driven by bigger and more efficient turbines, lower capital and operating costs, and other advancements.
Cybersecurity in the Blue Economy
More than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by the oceans and seas. Over the next decade, these vast waters are expected to add $3 trillion to the global economy by generating electricity using marine renewable energy (MRE) devices. These “blue economy” technologies harness power across waves, tides, and currents that could reduce the carbon footprint from energy production and provide grid stability to remote coastal communities.
COVID-19 pandemic drives down U.S. energy use in 2020
Americans used approximately 7 percent less energy in 2020, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).
Shining, Colored LED Lighting on Microalgae for Next-Generation Biofuel
As biofuels continue to present challenges, microalgae are gaining momentum as a biofuel energy crop. In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers show how a combination of monochromatic red and blue LED illumination on one type of microalga can enhance its growth and increase the biosynthesis of critical components, such as lipids, for microalgae feedstock development. The researchers focused on Dunaliella salina, typically extracted from sea salt fields and found in salt lakes.
Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab – Week of March 29, 2021
India’s Ambitious Clean Energy Goals, a Secret Pathway to Harnessing the Sun for Clean Energy, and a Supersmart Gas Sensor for Asthmatics
Is it worth investing in solar PV with batteries at home?
Researchers looked into some of the issues that hamper the uptake of residential solar energy and proposed different policies to encourage the use of this technology.
Reshaping the future of the electric grid through low-cost, long-duration discharge batteries
Research begun at the Department of Energy’s Joint Center for Energy Storage Research and continued at spinoff company Form Energy may launch a new era of renewable energy.
‘Wearable microgrid’ uses the human body to sustainably power small gadgets
This shirt harvests and stores energy from the human body to power small electronics. UC San Diego nanoengineers call it a “wearable microgrid”—it combines energy from the wearer’s sweat and movement to provide sustainable power for wearable devices.
Research promotes ‘doubly green’ renewable energy captured from biowaste
Cities around the United States could use their own biowaste from food scraps or manure to produce renewable energy for vehicles to the tune of $10 billion a year, according to a researcher at Missouri S&T. The proposed operation creates renewable natural gas (RNG) from biowaste and renewable hydrogen (RH2) from surplus electricity generated by solar or wind energy.
Green fuels for aviation
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the partner institute Empa have started a joint initiative called SynFuels. The goal is to develop a process for producing kerosene from renewable resources. In this way liquid fuel mixtures of the highest quality, which would allow the most residue-free combustion possible and thus be suitable for aircraft propulsion, should be obtainable using carbon dioxide and hydrogen from renewable resources.
Low-Level Jets Create Winds of Change for Turbines
Global wind power capacity has increased more than fivefold over the past decade, leading to larger turbines, but low-level jets are one cause for concern. The effects of these strong, energetic wind flows depend on how high the wind flows are in relation to the turbines. In the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers considered three different scenarios in which the LLJs were above, below, and in the middle of the turbine rotors.
How Argonne is working to power a clean energy revolution
A growing global population will need energy from a range of sources. Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have been pioneering solutions for 75 years.