energy storage

Bright Automotive, best known for its 100-mpg IDEA plug-in utility van, announced a new $1.4 million contract with the U.S. Army to build a plug-in hybrid for non-combat use.  The PHEV will be designed to cut Army fuel consumption as well as to demonstrate how an EV could potentially feed power back to the grid.  The project is part of an Army initiative to explore how bases could eventually run off-grid.

A company in Utah is developing a battery system for home-based electricity storage that may make energy storage much easier and more economical for off-the-grid homes as well as helping to improve the efficiency of grid-tied homes.

Flywheel-based utility power storage is one method for dealing with the variability of power from renewable sources such as wind and solar that may be more variable in their output than engineered power plant systems. Utilities like to provide an even level of power, and problems can occur in the grid when power production and power demand are not coordinated.

The Carnegie Institution and California State University have published new research that shows that high altitude winds could power the world 100 times and the greatest sources of wind energy are found above some of the world's largest population centers in East Asia, the eastern U.S., southern Australia and north-eastern Africa.

The Carnegie Institution and California State University have published new research that shows that high altitude winds could power the world 100 times and the greatest sources of wind energy are found above some of the world's largest population centers in East Asia, the eastern U.S., southern Australia and north-eastern Africa.

When lithium-ion batteries were first introduced as replacements for older, heavier nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, they offered a breakthrough in greater energy density and lighter weight. This technology has made its way through the field of consumer electronics, and lithium-ion batteries are now ubiquitous.

Governments around the world can beat the global recession by investing heavily in the information technology industry, which can lead to higher productivity and create more jobs in virtually every sector of the economy, a U.S. expert said Tuesday.

Investment in computers, broadband Internet and digital technologies will have a bigger, longer-term impact that any other kind of economic stimulus spending, said Robert D. Atkinson, who was technology adviser to President Barack Obama's transition team.

A new fiber optic laser system can reduce wear and increase output from wind turbines by sensing wind gusts from 1,000 meters away. Catch The Wind, a Virginia start-up, developed the device that allows turbines to adapt to the strength and direction of gusts before they hit.