News tagged with electric grids

Grid realities cancel out some of wind power's carbon savings

(Phys.org) -- Wind energy lowers carbon emissions, but adding turbines to the current grid system does not eliminate emissions proportionally, according to a report by researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory.

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created 8 hours ago | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Sci-fi no longer, NREL engineers smart homes

Thanks to TV shows such as The Jetsons and Star Trek, many Americans grew up dreaming that homes of the future would be equipped with fantastic high-tech features. From automatic food dispensers to sliding do ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created May 28, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Satellite proposed to send solar power to Earth

(Phys.org) -- Artemis Innovation Management Solutions has been given some seed money by NASA to look deeper into a project the company first proposed last summer; namely, building a satellite that could collect ...

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Apr 11, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (54) | comments 75 | with audio podcast report

US probing cyber attacks on gas pipelines (Update)

A campaign of cyber attacks has been targeting US natural gas pipeline operators, officials acknowledged Tuesday, raising security concerns about vulnerabilities in key infrastructure.

Technology / Internet

created May 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Clean energy becomes a selling point

As somewhat bewildered Apple shoppers in San Francisco, New York and Toronto learned firsthand this month, Greenpeace has a new enemy: dirty data. To attract attention to its report, "How Clean Is My Cloud?" - which draws ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created May 16, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Solar Roadways Awarded DOT Contract to Pave Roads with Solar Cells

(PhysOrg.com) -- In a first step toward turning highways into energy-generating solar panels, the Sagle, Idaho-based startup Solar Roadways has recently received a $100,000 grant from the US Department of ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Sep 07, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (57) | comments 68 weblog

The heat is on for sodium-manganese oxide rechargeable batteries

(PhysOrg.com) -- By adding the right amount of heat, researchers have developed a method that improves the electrical capacity and recharging lifetime of sodium ion rechargeable batteries, which could be a ...

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jun 07, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Upgrading the vanadium redox battery

Though considered a promising large-scale energy storage device, the vanadium redox battery's use has been limited by its inability to work well in a wide range of temperatures and its high cost. But new research ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Mar 17, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

'Amplified' nanotubes may power the future

Rice University scientists have achieved a pivotal breakthrough in the development of a cable that will make an efficient electric grid of the future possible.

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Jul 14, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (15) | comments 8 | with audio podcast

How to choose a catalyst: Predicting which materials will perform best in fuel cells and metal air batteries

MIT researchers have found a new way to predict which materials will perform best as catalysts for oxygen reduction, a core process in metal air batteries and fuel cells, opening up the possibility of faster ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Jun 14, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Biggest solar storm since 2005 pummels Earth

A potent solar flare has unleashed the biggest radiation storm since 2005 and could disrupt some satellite communications in the polar regions, US space weather monitors said Monday.

Space & Earth / Space Exploration

created Jan 23, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (11) | comments 8

The Smarter Electric Grid Of The Future

The smart grid idea aims to save money, reduce pollution, lower costs, and create new "green" jobs. Smart grid is a phrase that refers to a number of things at the same time. It refers to the modernization ...

Technology / Engineering

created Apr 12, 2010 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (22) | comments 14 | with audio podcast

Experimental smart outlet brings flexibility, resiliency to grid architecture

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sandia National Laboratories has developed an experimental "smart outlet" that autonomously measures, monitors and controls electrical loads with no connection to a centralized computer or ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Feb 27, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Going For Exawatts: Building the most powerful laser in the world

Producing a laser with a power of a terawatt -- equal to one trillion watts -- used to be impressive, but now the forefront of optical research power is measured in 1 quadrillion-watt units known as petawatts. ...

Physics / General Physics

created Jan 25, 2010 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (22) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Advanced power-grid model finds low-cost, low-carbon future in West

(PhysOrg.com) -- The least expensive way for the Western U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to help prevent the worst consequences of global warming is to replace coal with renewable and other ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Feb 10, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (10) | comments 24 | with audio podcast