Electric motorcycle that can actually get up to speed

A few years ago, some electric motorcycles came out. They were very slow, in comparison to their gas counterparts.

Now, researchers at Kingston University in the UK have come up with an electric model that can get up to 102 miles an hour and run for up to 38 miles. While that's still not up to the speed of Ducatis and other high-end bikes, it still offers some fun for riders who want to take short jaunts.

The new bike can be charged from a standard outlet. It runs on two custom-built 72-volt batteries, according to Alternative Energy News.

The Kingston University team is taking its bike to the world’s first zero-emissions Grand Prix later this summer, competing against 24 other eco-bikes from America, India, Italy, Germany and Austria. The race is the 2009 Isle of Man TTXGP.

Helping save bats from wind turbines

One of the negative aspects of generating electricity from wind is the unfortunate death of birds and bats.

A new study shows that turning off the blades during periods of low winds reduces bat deaths by 70 percent. It makes sense, because bats don't like to fly in heavy winds. At least around here, they like still nights.

The study, performed by Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative and the Pennsylvania Game Commission at Pennsylvania's Casselman wind farm, found that turbines that were not curtailed on low wind nights were as much as four times as likely to result in bat deaths.


Curtailing the turbines did not even result in a great loss of electricity generation. The full study (PDF) showed that if all 23 turbines had been shut down, it would have resulted in a 3 percent annual loss of electricity generation.


Of course, in a low-margin business like electricity generation, every percentage point counts. But it is important for renewable energy sources to show that they can be friendly to nature.

I would like to see a related study on how to reduce bird deaths from wind turbines.

H-car Gets nearly 3,000 miles per gallon equivalent

Yes, you read that correctly.

In a competition to build the world's most efficient car, some Norwegian students constructed a tiny, aerodynamic car that runs on hydrogen. Teams that enter the Shell Eco-Marathon try to see whose car will go the farthest on the equivalent of one liter of gasoline.

The DNV Fuel Fighter team designed a car that went 1,246 kilometers, beating the world record of 848 kilometers. Doing the math, the little car got about 4,600 kilometers a gallon, or about 2,950 miles a gallon.

The car was built by ten students at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway.

What a great accomplishment. Learn more here.

Now, if we can just get these kids to come work for General Motors ...

Here are some more pictures from the event.

Mongo power lines for Kansas?

Under a proposed compromise to bring both more wind power and more coal plants to Kansas, a giant power line could be constructed.

The set of three power lines have to be big enough to send massive amounts of electricity to power-hungry folks back East. Each cable would measure 30 inches in diameter. All three cables would carry 765 kilovolts in total, or more than double the 345 kilovolts of the largest existing power line in Kansas.

I would not want to live near that power line. I've stood under much smaller power lines and felt the buzz and had my skin crawl.

Still, the prospect for making Kansas a real power in the wind energy world is tempting. It would bring lots of jobs and hopefully less expensive energy for residents of the state.

On the other hand, the notion of sending electricity many, many states away is not at all in line with the think-local ethos that America needs to adopt regarding its consumption patterns.

Plus, we don't really need more coal plants in this state. Former Governor Kathleen Sebelius spent parts of two terms fighting this, and now that she's gone Sunflower Electric is finding a sneaky - and smart - way to get this done. Yet, the compromise would require state utilities to generate 20 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2020.

Much to think about.

Doughnuts for (wind) dollars

Wind turbines should be able to spin a little faster and a little longer if new research by Leviathan Energy plays out.

The company came up with a method to direct the winds around a wind turbine more efficiently into the path of the blades. A doughnut-shaped plastic and metal skirt is placed at the base of the turbine, directing windflow more efficiently.

Supposedly it will increase efficiency by 15-30 percent.

We're just at the beginning stages of real advances in wind power. I can't wait until the price comes down -- and the technology improves -- to the point where I can cost-effectively add one to my home.

First public recharging station for electric cars

If - no, WHEN, my wife remind me - we win the lottery, I want to get a Tesla electric roadster. The car goes 244 miles on a charge and does 0-60 mph in four seconds. And you can charge it in your garage overnight.

Which is all well and good unless you're on a cross-country jaunt.

Well, someone has finally built the first public electric charging station. It's at Gateway Center in East Woodland, Calif.

Here are some pictures from the launch of the recharging station.

Kansas has great potential to export wind energy

Kansas has the potential to produce 19 gigawatts of wind-generated electricity, according to a recent Forbes article.

The problem is what to do with all the electricity?

To export it to states to the East would require massive investment in grid and delivery infrastructure.

At the current cost of building wind generators, the projects are prohibitive. However, if the cap on carbon emissions goes through, or some other federal assistance comes on line, this could become a reality.

The Forbes article is based on a report from the American Council on Renewable Energy. It says the Kansas economy could reap benefits of $400 million per year by 2018 and $800 million to $900 million annually from 2020 to 2030.

However, the council says that wind energy investments have been slow in coming to Kansas after the state agreed not to build wind towers in the picturesque Flint Hills. The power industry has come away with the impression that Kansas is "anti-wind."

As a stubborn Missourian living in Kansas, I would like to see at least something positive come out of this state, so here's hoping that the Kansas wind generation industry can take off.

Global warming, they hardly knew you

Or did they?

For years the Global Climate Coalition spent billions to debunk scientific claims about global warming. Read about it here.

The coalition, which was funded by the fossil fuels industry, was disbanded in 2002, but its legacy remains. It was able to cause enough doubt to delay serious efforts toward understanding and addressing climate change.

Personally, I think global warming is the wrong term to use. While the Earth may be getting warmer on average, not all places are. Most places, however, are seeing changes in their climate patterns. This has impacts on the ability of humanity to feed itself, and for the natural ecosystem to remain in balance. Climate change is the term that should be used going forward.

If not for the Global Climate Coalition, and the many media outlets that seized on its messaging, we may have been able to begin adopting more renewable energy sources years earlier. Doing so would have put the U.S. in a position to better take advantage of the global economic revolution that is happening, with nations and companies spending billions and billions on energy saving technologies.

Domo-ori-gato, Mr. Tomato

Trends via TrendHunter.com.

Here's a video of a Japanese exoskeleton that is made to help elderly rural farmers continue on in the task of growing and harvesting vegetables and whatnot.

It looks strange, but I'm all for anything that helps people maintain self-sufficiency, even when their body no longer is able to naturally do so on its own.

I do wonder about the net impact of such a device. Does the cost to purchase, maintain and power a device like this far exceed the amount gained by growing your own veggies?

Electricity goes viral

An MIT team has found a way to use a virus to build batteries. The virus, M13 bacteriophage, is attracted to inorganic materials, making it fairly unique among viruses.

The virus is coated with gold and cobalt oxide to transform it into a piece of nanowire. When the viruses are encouraged to grow into a chain, they form a film that carries a negative ionic charge.

The advantage to this kind of battery making is that it eliminates harmful solvents that are used to make traditional batteries.

This is a pretty cool advance, and I wish the MIT team well.

One always has to wonder about the unintended consequences of new technologies, however. What happens when a battery containing a virus is discarded? After the battery's shell breaks down, can the virus escape and take on all the inorganic material in the landfill as a host? Could it mutate?

Yes, I watch too many sci-fi movies.

Self-cleaning solar cells

One of the issues with traditional solar panels is that, in order to maintain maximum efficiency, they need to be cleaned to remove dust and other buildup.

A new three-dimensional design of solar cells promises to be somewhat self-cleaning.

Bumps and peaks on the photovoltaic surface help wisk away water, carrying with it dust and dirt.

The new innovation comes from the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Read more here.