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Ontario invests in harnessing river flow for energy
New York City already has it: A Free Flow Turbine in the East River which will generate 10 MW when the project is completed; now Ontario wants to place a three-blade, horizontal-axis turbine on the floor of the St. Lawrence River
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Energy from vortices
When water flows over an underwater obstacle, whirlpools or vortices form alternately above and below it; the vortices create a tugging effect, so the result is an alternating force that yanks the object up and down; Wolverines researchers want to harness the power of vortices to generate energy
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USGS says Bakken Formation holds large recoverable oil, gas reserves
U.S. Geological Survey assesses Bakken Formation to Hold 3 to 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil — 25 times more than 1995 estimate; in addition, assessment also identified 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids
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Next-generation nuclear fuel may be too hot to handle: report
It sounded like a good idea: Enrich the uranium used to power nuclear reactors further so that operators will be able to extract more electricity from a given amount of fuel; trouble is, burn-up rates above a certain point would violate U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s safety standards unless new methods were devised for packaging the fuel
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The future of U.K. nuclear power
In the last five years the U.K. government has been vigorously promoting the idea of a U.K. nuclear power revival; John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform explains the government’s policy
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Clean Diesel licenses WMF technology to China's Headway
The U.S. EPA gave Clean Diesel’s Wire Mesh Filter technology high marks, and China needs it: At the beginning of the year it signed up to the Euro IV PM emission standards for light and medium duty trucks; a clean diesel technology will allow it to meet the treaty’s standards
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NRG, Toshiba to promote ABWRs
There are serious questions about the security of Boiling-Water Reactor (BWR) design and construction, questions which Advanced Boiling-Water Reactor (ABWR) design was supposed to answer; not everyone is convinced; NRG Energy, Toshiba to promote and build ABWRs in the United States
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Saudis set up special force to protect critical insrastructure
In February 2006 al Qaeda terrorists tried to blow up the world’s largest oil processing plant at Abqaiq; the Saudi government responded by setting up a 15,000-strong special force to protect oil, gas, and water desalination infrastructure
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Sugars to be converted directly into gasoline
Shell, Virent in effort to convert plant sugars directly into gasoline and gasoline blend components; sugars can be sourced from non-food sources such as corn stover, switch grass, wheat straw, and sugarcane pulp, in addition to conventional biofuel feedstock like wheat, corn, and sugarcane
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Breakthrough: Dramatic increase in thermoelectric efficiency achieved
Two hundred years ago scientists discovered the thermoelectric effect: Certain materials can convert heat into electricity and vice versa; trouble is, most materials which conduct electricity also conduct heat, so their temperature equalizes quickly; until now: Boston College, MIT researchers solve this vexing problem
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New material captures carbon dioxide
Georgie Tech researchers developed material which captures CO2 from the chimneys of coal-fired power plants and other generators of the greenhouse gases
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Converting CO2 into fuel
Scientists suggest mimicking the photosynthetic system of green plants to address the twin needs of readily available fuel and a clean environment: Reacting carbon dioxide with water, two of the major components used to extinguish fire, and turning them into a fuel
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Aussie-Chinese collaboration on clean coal
Australia, China in collaborative clean coal effort; the goal is to hone the post combustion capture (PCC) process, which uses a liquid to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from power station flue gases
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Toshiba establishes U.S. unit to promote its nuclear power business
Rising oil prices and worries about the environment have renewed interest in nuclear power generation; more than 30 new nuclear plants will be built in the United States in the coming years; Toshiba plans to benefit from this trend
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Study: Costs of solar panels far exceeds benefits
There is growing interest in solar power, but the cost of solar panels still exceeds their benefits, a University of California economist says; even under the most extreme assumptions — a 5 percent annual increase in electricity costs and 1 percent interest rate — the cost of solar PV is about 80 percent greater than the value of the electricity it will produce
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More headlines
The long view
Strengthening the Grid’s ‘Backbone’ with Hydropower
Argonne-led studies investigate how hydropower could help add more clean energy to the grid, how it generates value as grids add more renewable energy, and how liner technology can improve hydropower efficiency.
LNG Exports Have Had No Impact on Domestic Energy Costs: Analysis
U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports have not had any sustained and significant direct impact on U.S. natural gas prices and have, in fact, spurred production and productivity gains, which contribute to downward pressure on domestic prices.