biomass

Sony is looking to revolutionize the inefficient way in which we consume power.

A new concept video from the electronics giant shows how we could use power more efficiently in the year 2030 by switching to smart outlets with authentication and wireless charging on a broad scale, assuming we survive the zombie Mayan apocalypse.

The prototype power outlet, integrated with a short-range wireless FeliCa transmitter (and a new RFID over power line technology), allows the user to swipe a pay card across the faceplate and pay for energy on the spot. What makes it truly interesting is if humankind keeps progressing towards alternative energies (such as wind, solar, and biomass), then our outlets could give us options as to what source from which we obtain our power. The video description notes that with this outlet, "the user can actively control and manage power consumption on a user basis as well as on a device basis." … Read more

Some Virginians will soon have forests to thank for their electricity.

Biomass manufacturer Enviva has signed a contract with Dominion Virginia Power, a subsidiary of Dominion, to supply wood waste chips to two power plants that are being converted from using coal to renewable biomass.

Dominion Virginia Power had announced in April its intention to convert three 63-megawatt coal-burning electricity plants into three 50-megawatt renewable biomass electricity plants. Specifically, it plans to convert its Altavista, Southampton, and Hopewell, Va., plants. The Southampton and Hopewell plants have contracted to use Enviva wood waste chips pending approval from the Virginia State Corporation … Read more

Rising global demand for cleaner energy from biomass could drive more land acquisition in poorer nations where food security and land rights are weak, an International Institute for Environment and Development report said today.

"If left unchecked, the growing pressure on land access could undermine livelihoods and food security in some of the world's poorest countries," the London-based nonprofit research group said, calling for more public scrutiny into global biomass expansion plans.

Biomass energy makes up 77 percent of world renewable energy, and trees and woody plants account for 87 percent of that biomass, the report said. … Read more

Biomass used to make biofuels must be carefully sourced, or the biofuels they produce may be no greener than conventional jet fuel.

That's according to a study that was published this week in the online version of Environmental Science and Technology and was conducted by a group of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For the nearly four-year study, researchers conducted a life cycle analysis on 14 diesel and jet fuel sources made from feedstocks, and identified the key factors that make a difference in whether a biofuel is truly an environmental improvement over conventional jet fuel.

The … Read more

The U.S. government yesterday gave four biofuel companies loan guarantees of nearly $650 million to help build plants that will make motor fuels from sources like animal fat, orange peels, and trash.

The government is supporting the development of new feedstocks for ethanol to ease dependence on corn. Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop goes to making ethanol, which has spurred concerns from environmentalists and food groups that production of the fuel can raise food prices.

The Agriculture Department gave Coskata loan aid of $250 million to build and operate a 55 million gallon-per-year (gpy) plant … Read more

The Chinese government has committed $15 billion over the next 10 years to the electric vehicle (EV) industry alone, while the U.S. Department of Energy spends $4 billion a year on research and development for a wide variety of energy-related tech.

The figures paint a portrait of two countries with vastly different approaches to growing industries and jobs, according to an Accenture report released today, "The US and China: The Race to Disruptive Transport Technologies," (PDF) which parses out the advantages and disadvantages each country has right now in the realm of alternative vehicles and fuels.

China … Read more

WASHINGTON--The Environmental Protection Agency said today it will delay for three years requiring biomass-fired boilers to have permits for emitting carbon dioxide emissions.

"We are working to find a way forward that is scientifically sound and manageable for both producers and consumers of biomass energy. In the coming years, we will develop a common sense approach that protects our environment and encourages the use of clean energy," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

The EPA said that it plans to finish by July a rulemaking that will defer permitting requirements for CO2 emissions from biomass-fired and other biogenic sources … Read more

GE subsidiary GE Energy Financial Services and North Bridge Venture Partners will invest $8 million in a company developing a biofuel production process coupled with the production of biochar.

Cool Planet Biofuels converts cellulosic byproducts like plant waste and woodchips into biofuel that can be used in vehicles.

The company's byproduct from the process is biochar, or manmade coal as some call it, which just like conventional charcoal can be burned for fuel. It's something the company says qualifies its biofuel process as being carbon neutral.

The biochar can also be buried in the ground serving as both … Read more

I have a dog. I'm a responsible dog owner; on a walk, after he does his business, I take care of it. The bag of waste is thrown into an always-open dumpster on the walk back to my apartment building.

But what if the contents of that bag could be used to power a park lamp? Indeed, the park where I and many of my neighbors walk our dogs has a single lamppost. And if an experiment by conceptual artist Matthew Mazzotta continues to be successful, my dog's doo might power it one day.

Mazzotta has a pilot project going in Cambridge, Mass., … Read more