Hasta La Gadget!

The Tibetan Plateau is the highest plateau in the world, with an average elevation of over 4,500 meters. And soon it will be home to the world’s most elevated solar power plant.

SunTech Power Holdings will be setting up a plant in the region, which will provide an estimated 20,000 mega watt hours (MWh) of energy to the surrounding region each year. Previously, the region relied mainly on hydroelectric energy to provide much of its power.

“With intense sunlight and cool temperatures, Tibet is extremely well suited for the utilisation of advanced photovoltaic technology,” explained SunTech CEO Dr Zhengrong Shi.

Once completed the plant will be located more than 4,000 meters above sea level. No word yet on when the completion date is expected to be.

Via Inhabitat

While the US military is developing solar powered tents, the UK is instead focusing on solar powered uniforms for soldiers.

By including photovoltaic solar cells in the uniform itself, it will eliminate the need for soldiers to carry around heavy batteries. In fact, the solar cells could be up to 50 percent lighter, creating a dramatic shift in weight. This increased lightness, combined with the fact that soldiers will no longer have to return to base to recharge equipment, will allow for increased mobility.

Researchers are also attempting to include thermoelectric chargers in the uniforms, which would allow them to continue to produce energy even when the sun goes down.

The high-tech gear could be ready within the next two years.

Via Inhabitat

When you hear “Google” and “chips” together, chances are you’re not thinking about recycling wood from trees. A startup called CoolPlanetBiofuels plans to create fuel using discarded wood chips and agriculture waste, and Google Ventures is a major investor, according to The New York Times. Because unrefined biomass is so expensive to transport for the amount of fuel it yields, the company plans to create equipment trailers that can be brought to the biomass to refine it into viable fuel. Mike Cheiky, the company’s chief executive, said that a cluster of these trailers could produce around 10 million gallons of fuel every year.

CoolPlanetBiofuels expects to start by producing a gasoline additive to help meet California laws encouraging a low-carbon fuel standard. Then, the company will move on to producing biofuel that can run in a regular gas engine.

Besides the Mountain View search giant, CoolPlanetBiofuels has also signed up ConocoPhillips, GE Capital and NRG Energy as investors, and has a small pilot plant up and running producing fuel already. They hope to have their first array of trailers making the biofuel-producing rounds within a year.

[via NYtimes.com]

The space around our planet is full of trash. And it’s becoming a problem. Even the tiniest piece of metal floating in space can cause serious damage to shuttles and satellites, and there are more than 500,000 pieces of junk more than one centimeter big in orbit around the Earth.

NASA’s proposed solution is a giant laser beam that could eradicate the waste. It would be a 5kw ground-based laser that would slow down individual pieces of space junk, as opposed to disintegrating them outright. Then, once they’re slowed enough, they will fall out of orbit with the planet, putting them out of harm’s way. And it wouldn’t even be that expensive to build, costing an estimated $1 million, a fraction of NASA’s overall budget.

A similar idea was cooked up back in the 1990’s, though it involved creating a laser that could actually destroy floating pieces of debris. But due to the fears of creating a potential death laser, the plans obviously never went through.

Via Inhabitat

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you already compost. But you may not know about another use for that decomposing pile in your backyard: cooking.

Because compost piles can get particularly warm, especially during summer months, it’s possible to use them to actually cook food. You just need to be patient. A hard-boiled egg can take 24 hours if you find the right spot and it’s even possible to cook a medium rare roast. If you have a few days to wait, that is.

It’s certainly an interesting, if not entirely effective and potentially gross, way of saving energy. Just be sure to wrap up your food carefully before putting it in the compost cooker.

Via GOOD