Posts by — techstar

Teams of University  researchers have secured grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help re-invent the toilet for use in the developing world.

Their work will be followed closely by off-gridders to see if they can come up with any improvements on existing composting systems.

The researchers have one year to build a toilet that can run off-the-grid, in communities where there is no access to sewage systems, electricity or running water. Their model also has to be cheap enough that it’s affordable for people who live on miniscule incomes of a dollar or less each day.   (more…)

Vodafone is set to announce it will build one of Africa’s greenest commercial buildings as a base for testing new ways of using renewable energy across its global network.

Based in Midrand, South Africa, the innovation centre will examine how the company can reduce carbon emissions through the use of renewable energy, as well as batteries. The centre will also look at how to reduce the running and deployment cost of base station sites. Findings will be shared across the Vodafone group. (more…)

Ah, the irony. In San Andreas, CA, atop a possible earthquake of cataclysmic proportions, the town is adopting the latest distributed power generation technologies.

Someday soon, fuels from forests in this area south-east of Sacramento may power water plants, schools and even private businesses.

Bob Dean, a member of the board of directors of the Calaveras County Water District,has proposed portable cogeneration plants to both generate electricity and allow for more efficient use of wood-chip waste generated as local forests are thinned. (more…)

When it comes to technological innovation, the US Army often leads the way. There was the Internet, spawned by DARPAnet in the early 90s, or the Jeep in the 1940s. Off-Grid and Micro-Grid power is the Next Big Thing for the US military.
The Department of Defense Micro-Grid Development Project will be used to develop standards for the U.S. Army’s effort on the Energy Surety Micro-Grid Program – a plan to make all battlefield troops energy self-sufficient. Research efforts will focus on evaluation of micro-grid technologies to provide off-grid, islanded power to specified areas. (more…)

2011 MAR 21 – (VerticalNews.com) — For the fourth year, ConocoPhillips and Penn State University kick off the ConocoPhillips Energy Prize. Their goal is to see who can develop the most original and actionable solutions that can help improve the way the United States develops and uses energy.

The competition, which began in 2008, awards up to $300,000 and recognizes innovative ideas and solutions in three areas: developing new energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and combating climate change. (more…)

LONDON, March 15 — UK Government News –The Office of Fair Trading today formally launched a market study into off-grid energy, following a short consultation on its scope. The study will cover both consumer and competition issues and consider the main energy sources available to the 3.6 million households off the main gas grid in the UK. (more…)

The Smart Grid installs a meter in every home and business. It sends usage info back to the power company and other authorized third parties. But consumers will have no control over the data, and little or no ability to enforce privacy.

EU citizens might try to rely on the European Union Data Protection Directive. But enforcement is a sore issue for the EU DPD.

“Its an open secret that the framework is largely not enforced,” (more…)

A mix of biomimicry and solar power offers the best hope for low cost off-grid energy in the near future.
The Gratzel solar cell imitates Nature’s way of converting sunlight to energy and is slowly making its debut in a variety of products.
The technology uses a photosensitive dye to start its energy production, the same way leaves use chlorophyll to begin photosynthesis.
The dye-sensitized cells provide power for devices ranging from e-book readers to cellphones — and will take some interesting forms. For e-book readers, for example, the cells may be found in thin, flexible panels stitched into the reader’s cover.
German photonics expert Prof Michael Gratzel is the inventor of the dye-sensitised solar cells. often known as Gratzel cells or Gratzel solar cells. Because these are low-cost photovoltaics, they are largely being developed for use in Africa and India by G24 Innovations of California.
This means off-grid users in the West risk losing out on the earliest deployments although panels will also be housed in new lines of backpacks and sports bags, where they can recharge devices like cellphones and music players. (more…)

While the San Andreas fault has the attention of most doomsday scenario buffs, the lesser known New Madrid Fault System is the one that has FEMA (Department of Homeland Security; Federal Emergency Management Agency) tied up in knots.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there were over 500 measurable earthquakes in the New Madrid Fault System since September. A massive quake in this area would kill or injure millions and leave 14 million homeless. (more…)