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The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released their 20% Wind Report Card on July 8, following up on a study in which the Department of Energy proposed a goal where 20 percent of U.S. electricity comes from wind energy by 2030. The AWEA gave the overall U.S. push for wind power a “solid B”—high marks from an advocacy group that grades U.S. infrastructure. The highest letter in the report was an A- awarded for “Technology Development.” This is no big surprise—for years now, the government, alternative-energy researchers and entrepreneurs have been putting time and money into making better tech for cleaner, more efficient energy production. Here are 10 wind turbine designs that push the limits of the current design and may help the U.S. get back to being an A student by 2030.

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To counter criticism that electric cars “run on coal” because the electricity used to charge their batteries is generated by coal-burning power stations, Better Place will buy green energy from solar and wind generators.

It will then sell drivers “clean” pay-as-you-go miles — £150 for 1,000 miles, say, £300 for 3,000 miles, and a few hundred pounds a month for unlimited driving.

www.timesonline.co.uk/...article6349906.ece - Preview

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A smart grid asks questions and answers them. It makes the meter on your wall a sensor that links you to a network that knows how much power you’re using, when you’re using it and how to reduce your energy needs – and costs.

Such a system will grow more important as we become energy producers, not just consumers. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids will return power to the grid. Rooftop solar panels and backyard wind turbines will, at times, produce more energy than we can store. A smart grid generates what we need and lets us use what we generate. That’s why the Obama Administration allocated $4.5 billion in the stimulus bill for smart grid R&D.

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Although it may come as a surprise, research shows a larger carbon footprint doesn't lead to happiness. While the United States ranks near the top of both per capita and aggregate carbon emissions, it's not in the top 10 when it comes to happiness. In fact, many nations ranked happier than the U.S. also tread much more lightly on the planet. Read on to find out where the U.S.'s carbon emissions come from and which countries are doing it right.

www.treehugger.com/...-half-the-carbon-emissions.php - Preview

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A couple years ago TreeHugger highlighted the efforts of the island of El Hierro (one of the smaller of the Canary Islands, with a population of about 10,000) to make the switch over to generating all of its power from renewable energy sources. For an update on this interesting project, the BBC is running a short video clip which is worth checking out.

www.treehugger.com/...nergy-plans-soon-completed.php - Preview

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Akeena Solar, maker of photovoltaic panels and racking systems, and Enphase Energy, maker of microinverters, have joined up to make integrated systems even more integrated. Taking out steps in the installation process, taking out steps in the troubleshooting process and giving you AC power faster - all in the hopes of making solar upwards of 25% cheaper.

www.treehugger.com/...-with-ac-integrated-panels.php - Preview

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Blight offers a brilliant twist on staid venetian blinds. Rather than serving simply to block the sun’s rays, the design re-envisions blinds as sun-soaking solar panels that store energy during the day and illuminate your interiors at night.

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But how does it work? Connect the main components (e.g. a DVD recorder) to the 'master' socket and all other components to the 'peripheral' sockets. When finished with the equipment just press the off button on the main component (or remote control) and the Earth Smart board will cut off the power to all of the other components completely. The master component will turn onto standby and stay powered thus ensuring that time is kept for all program recordings (applicable for a DVD recorder application).

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Jay Leno likes getting green energy at his garage. Check out this great video in which he and Ken Johnson from Enviro Energies talk about a magnetic wind turbine called the MagWind.

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With energy prices going through the roof, an alternative lifestyle powered by solar panels and wind turbines has suddenly become more appealing to some. For architect Todd Bogatay, it has been reality for years.

When he bought this breezy patch of scrub-covered mountaintop with views to Mexico more than two decades ago, he was one of only a few Americans with an interest in wind- and solar-powered homes.

Now, Bogatay is surrounded by 15 neighbors who, like him, live off the electricity grid, with power from solar panels and wind turbines that he either built or helped to install.

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Hugh Piggott is a pioneering creator of recycled wind turbines. He has managed to power and maintain an entire community on Scotland's north-west coast where he runs courses teaching wind turbine construction to students from all over the world

www.guardian.co.uk/...wind.powered.community - Preview

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The economy is hovering somewhere between catatonic and hebephrenic, and funding for the big plans that green tech companies laid in 2008 might be a lot harder to come by in 2009. Recessions haven't always been the best times for environmentally friendly technologies as consumers and corporations cut discretionary spending on ethical premiums.

Still, green technology and its attendant infrastructure are probably the best bet to drag the American economy out of the doldrums. So, with the optimism endemic to the Silicon Valley region, we present you with the Top 10 Green Tech Breakthroughs of 2008, alternatively titled, The Great Green Hope.

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Hank Green from EcoGeek has put together a very entertaining video taking a quick look at the latest in light bulb technologies.

Read on for more about awesome new lighting tech.

www.treehugger.com/...test-lighting-technologies.php - Preview

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While most tidal power uses a underwater mounted turbine of some sort the Power Buoy relies instead on the rising and falling of the waves to generate power.

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William Yuan, a 12-year old boy from Beaverton, Oregon, has developed a new 3D solar cell which if it ever gets commercialized could seriously change the face of solar power.

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Can you imagine being able to produce enough water in the Sahara to grow crops there? Can you imagine harnessing sufficient quantities of solar power to supply electricity to cities in Africa and cities in Europe? Can you imagine producing a sustainable bio-fuel that doesn’t impact on world food supplies? Charlie Paton, Michael Pawlyn and Bill Watts can and what’s more they can imagine all these happening in the same place at the same time.

This week this trio of visionaries launched the Sahara Forest Project: their proposal to combine two innovative technologies, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) and Seawater Greenhouses, to produce renewable energy, water and food in an area of desert known to be one of the hottest places on earth.

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Energy: Wind power has established itself as an important source of renewable energy in the past three decades. The basic idea is ancient, but its modern incarnation adds many new high-tech twists

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The average UK household uses around 4500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, plus some 18,000 kWh of gas for cooking, hot water and domestic heating. In the US the figure varies considerably from region to region. For example, households in New York City use around 4700 kWh a year, whereas those in Dallas use 16,100 kWh: there are a lot of air conditioners in Texas. In chillier regions where people use gas for heating and cooking, on the other hand, they can burn up an extra 28,000 kWh or so per household.

It would be a struggle to generate this much energy from renewables alone, so an important first step is to dramatically reduce wasted energy. This may be less fun than installing shiny new energy-generating gadgets, but it is almost as effective in cutting your reliance on fossil fuels and the grid.

www.newscientist.com/...w-to-unplug-from-the-grid.html - Preview

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The cabin is 14 x 14 and aproximately 400 square feet with a full loft. It includes a kitchen, dining area, bathroom and living area downstairs and a large bedroom and office upstairs.

I built this cabin by myself from new materials for under $2000 (not

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LaMar Alexander, is one eco-friendly-building-machine and he's ready to share a few things he's learned along the way in his new ebook, Simple Solar Homesteading. This book is not for just anybody, as the house is small, the appliances are few and while y

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