The Green Technocrat

The new world of solar technology is looming near.  Over the last few years researchers have started to have some limited of success building what are known as dye-sensitized solar cells. Solar cells that function by basically imitating the process of natural solar collection by plants and light-sensitive bacteria.
The cells are comprised of a semi-conductor [...]

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A few months back I wrote an article about how large scale solar and wind farms were starting to cause real headaches for the people whose job it is to ensure our nation’s electrical grid runs smoothly.  In November the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) released a report saying that if we began putting [...]

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Ocean waves have been an area of big interest in clean tech for a while now.  There are plenty of design teams out there, working on the perfect tidal turbine, that is, one that can efficiently harness the energy generated by the waves that occur with the ebb and flow of the tides.  A lot [...]

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We talk a lot about cutting back on our foreign oil dependency, going carbon neutral, creating jobs through the development of clean energy technologies, but often in these discussions leave out one of the most fundamental keys to achieving these goals, energy efficiency. While it is certainly critical that we continue to develop new [...]

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While I have never been super obsessed with having the latest gadget, I have always been fascinated by how rapidly technology changes, and the way in which social and political issues can shape the direction in which these changes occur.  Ten years ago it would be hard to imagine the massive consumer demand for technologies [...]

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Often times we (myself included) think of solar and wind power as the technologies leading the fight in the transition to generating our country’s electricity from clean, renewable resources.  This is certainly true, and as regular readers of this blog know, I fully support the development of both these technologies on a massive scale.  But [...]

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On Wednesday ScienceDaily reported that a Dutch sponsored researcher, Robin Gremaud, has designed a new metal alloy that efficiently absorbs hydrogen.  The alloy, which is composed of the metals magnesium, titanium, and nickel, is incredibly lightweight.  Weight has major sticking point in the implementation of mobile hydrogen storage tanks.
Hydrogen is incredibly explosive, making the safe [...]

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The other day I was browsing BBC Mundo and came across an interesting article about a Montana State University professor who made one hell of an interesting discovery; a diesel fuel producing fungus that grows in the Patagonia rainforest.  The article really provided me with a “trifecta of enjoyment”.  One, it was in Spanish and [...]

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What is it with east cost wind farm development these days?  I don’t think I have come across a single news story about east coast wind development in the last three months that didn’t involve some elements of corruption or intimidation.  Aren’t these mob tactics??
Take the case of Noble Environmental Power and First Wind, two [...]

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Earlier this month Google released their Clean Energy 2030 proposal to help the U.S. reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.  The plan lays out a possible path that could eliminate using coal and oil to produce electricity (cutting total fossil fuel-based electricity generation by 88%), would also cut oil use in cars by 38%, and would [...]

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