Power and Electrical Engineering
This topic covers issues related to energy generation, conversion, transportation and consumption and how the industry is addressing the challenge of energy efficiency in general.
innovations-report provides in-depth and informative reports and articles on subjects ranging from wind energy, fuel cell technology, solar energy, geothermal energy, petroleum, gas, nuclear engineering, alternative energy and energy efficiency to fusion, hydrogen and superconductor technologies.
Environmental costs of home construction lower with wise choice, reuse of building materials
Most of the energy that goes into building U.S. homes is consumed – not by the power tools, welding and trucking during construction – but during the manufacture of the building materials, according to a comprehensive life-cycle assessment comparing typical wood-, steel- and concrete-frame homes.
Using the least energy-intensive building materials – and taking steps toward such things as recycling and reusing more building materials – makes sense considering the nation’s energy conc
Molecular assemblies created to convert water to hydrogen gas
Wonder where the fuel will come from for tomorrow’s hydrogen-powered vehicles? Virginia Tech researchers are developing catalysts that will convert water to hydrogen gas. The research will be presented at the 228th American Chemical Society National Meeting in Philadelphia August 22-26, 2004
Supramolecular complexes created by Karen Brewer’s group at Virginia Tech convert light energy (solar energy) into a fuel that can be transported, stored, and dispensed, such as hydro
Vast new energy source almost here
Solar hydrogen fuel dream will soon be a reality
Australian scientists predict that a revolutionary new way to harness the power of the sun to extract clean and almost unlimited energy supplies from water will be a reality within seven years.
Using special titanium oxide ceramics that harvest sunlight and split water to produce hydrogen fuel, the researchers say it will then be a simple engineering exercise to make an energy-harvesting device with no moving parts and emitting n
Taking charge of molecular wires
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and the University of Florida have uncovered information that may help “molecular wires” replace silicon in micro-electronic circuits and/or components in solar energy storage systems. The scientists were studying how electric charge is distributed in polymer molecule chains that are several nanometers, or billionths of a meter, in length.
Brookhaven chemist John Miller, the study’s lead scientist
RWE SCHOTT Solar Installs Greece’s Largest Solar Roof
In time for the Olympic Games RWE SCHOTT Solar has begun operation of the country’s largest rooftop solar-energy unit in Athens. Supported by its Greek and German partners, this will help the company to further strengthen its market position in Greece.
“With this unit on the roof of the German School in Athens we aim to encourage the Greek government in introducing an incentive scheme along the lines of the German Feed In Tariff”, comments Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, Spokesman for the B
Near-zero-energy buildings blessing to owners, environment
An electricity meter that sometimes runs backwards is just one of the cool aspects of Department of Energy near-zero-energy homes.
While low or no electric bills are an obvious benefit, high energy efficiency homes and businesses also reduce the amount of electricity that needs to be generated, thus reducing pollution, said Jeff Christian of DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
In Tennessee, air pollution is of special concern as the state ranked third behind Cal