NEWS - Features. September 14, 2011 Enlarge image NREL Researcher Grant Balzer cultivates strains of metabolically engineered bacteria for biodiesel production in the bioscience research lab. This work is part of a CRADA agreement with OPXBIO under DOE's ARPA-E program. Data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) show that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) leads all DOE national labs when it comes to working with businesses on research and development efforts to commercialize cutting-edge technologies.
CRADAs (Cooperative Research and Development Agreements) are used by the labs and collaboration partners to promote technology transfer. "We do cutting-edge research here, companies know that and they call us to collaborate," NREL Vice President for Commercialization & Technology Transfer William Farris said. Part of NREL's success is because of the lab's mission to grow and support new clean technology industries. OPXBIO —Making Diesel from Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide Enlarge image Sandia - 20. Students And Schools Go Green. With back-to-school time in full swing, many American students are returning to schools that are increasingly focusing on going green.
Both American universities and school districts are finding ways to cut down on waste and improve sustainability. Many of these green initiatives have been implemented by school administrators. Standing out on a national level is the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). According to its website, the ACUPCC: Is a high-visibility effort to address global climate disruption undertaken by a network of colleges and universities that have made institutional commitments to eliminate net greenhouse gas emissions from specified campus operations, and to promote the research and educational efforts of higher education to equip society to re-stabilize the earth’s climate.
The ACUPCC originated at a conference at Arizona State in 2006. There are many other green school initiatives around the country. Military renewable energy bid helps soldiers and firms alike - Aug. 17. Minimizing the armed forces' dependence on oil saves soldiers' lives and the move towards renewables is a lifeline like no other for the green energy industry. (Click the image for more information.) NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- One out of eight U.S. Army casualties in Iraq was the result of protecting fuel convoys. This statistic, derived from an Army study looking at fuel convoys in Iraq from 2003 to 2007, is a powerful incentive for the military to move away from oil and toward renewable energy, and that's exactly what it's doing.
From experimental solar-powered desert bases for the Marines to Navy robots that run on wave energy, the military is quickly becoming a leading buyer of cutting-edge renewable energy technology. For the armed services, the benefits extend beyond reducing fuel convoy casualties. A fighting force that isn't restricted by the reach of a tanker truck or weighted down by heavy batteries is more nimble and, as a result, more lethal. U.S. War veterans go solar. Home - CNBC: Energy Opportunities.
Secretary Chu, Intel President Discuss Need for More U.S. Engineers. Infographic: How one Danish island became 100% energy self-sufficient. The inhabitants of Samsoe don't use any fossil fuels -- in fact, they export renewable energy to the mainland (click on the image for a larger version) It took ten years and $80 million, but the Danish island of Samsoe now produces enough energy to satisfy all its needs and still export 40 percent of its energy to the mainland. Going 100 percent renewable wasn't easy, but the results have paid off handsomely. Farmers on the island who are powering their facilities with wind turbines are seeing a 6 to 7 year payback on those investments. And of course it's remarkable that wind, unlike other energy technologies, is entirely compatible with agriculture.
Here's an interview with one of the island's dairy farmers. Samsoe only has 4,000 people living on it, giving it the highest per-capita concentration of nearly every kind of renewable on the planet. The island also makes use of its renewable biomass resource for heating. [via SmartCities] Illustration: GDS Infographics. New Technology: Could Your Shoes Power Your Cellphone?