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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

From 2GreenEnergy Intern Fabio Porcu: Sodium Sulfur (NaS) BatteriesNaS batteries are not new, but the application in industrial scale has taken place only recently, in the 1990s, by the Japanese. How do they work?

Essentially they consist of two basic materials: the anode is made of liquid sodium and the cathode is liquid sulfur. The two materials are separated by a solid electrolyte which is a beta-alumina; this is sintered, i.e., compacted and formed into a solid mass by heat and/or pressure, is made of material of ceramic type, and has the property to push through only the sodium ions. This enables the migration of sodium ions in the process of charge and discharge from side to side. The reactions that occur are the following: (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

Exaggerations in American PoliticsI just received this:  Ten days ago, Ben Carson went on national television and said that legal abortion is like slavery. He compared young girls who had been raped to slaveholders. And the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released just yesterday has Ben Carson leading the GOP primary—and beating the Democratic front-runner by ten points. This is not a drill. America could be on the verge of electing the most anti-choice president in history. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Different Reasons to Love Renewable EnergyI had an experience yesterday at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum in San Francisco that I thought I’d share.  Right before lunch, I took the opportunity to pose a question to the panel on the stage, prefaced with this announcement:

I see a few people around the room checking the latest news on their cell phones, so it’s probable that I’m not the only person in this room who knows that President Obama has rejected the Keystone XL pipeline. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Biomass

Biomass BriquettesKenyan reader Gladys Mogo writes: Quick question Craig. How much of biomass briquettes, if any, is used by manufacturing industries in the US?  We have successfully introduced our biomass briquettes in the local market and the uptake is good.

Biomass briquettes are not an important element of the American industrial process. At this point, almost all our electricity comes from our power utilities, and the energy generators who supply them. (In some cases those two are one in the same, though in many of our regions the generation and the transmission/distribution are decoupled.)  The component of biomass is close to zero in this mix, and what there is would be waste wood and municipal solid waste. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Here's a Concept: Love One Another

I wrote a piece on a much-loved baby in my circle of friends the other day, whose photo, I have to admit, has totally captivated me. Check it out for yourself. Isn’t it as if she knows something that you and I did long ago, but we somehow forgot? It’s almost spooky.

Maybe it’s a calling to us to be as blissful in our state as she is in hers. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

An Incredible Week for the Environment, Sponsored By People Who Care—and There Are Apparently a Heck of a Lot of ThemThe good people at Environmental Action, environmental-action.org, sent me this:

Breaking: Yesterday the New York Attorney General announced an investigation into whether Exxon lied about climate change. Today, President Obama officially blocked the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Tonight MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow will host a forum with all three Democratic presidential candidates, and we want her to ask them about this week’s amazing climate news. Click here to join the call to #AskOnClimate. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

Lithium-ion BatteriesLithium-ion batteries were first marketed by Sony in 1991 and their development continues to accelerate today. In their conventional structure, they employ carbon in the negative electrode, while the positive is a lithium compound, such as LiCoO2. Lithium ions are extracted electrochemically during discharge from the alloy (anode) and migrate through the electrolyte. Lithium reacts violently with water, and for this reason the electrolyte is composed of polymers with non-aqueous lithium salts acting as purely ionic conductors. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Pipeline Rejected!Needless to say, this is fantastic news, primarily from the perspective that Mr. Steyer notes  below. I.e., it’s an announcement that my country does, in fact, have an energy policy,  one that contemplates the welfare of the world’s people and rejects the corruptive effects of the oil companies’ money and power.

From: Tom Steyer (more…)

by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainable Building

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Cleaning your house is undoubtedly important – living in a clean and dust-free environment affects your health, life standard and self-esteem in the most positive way possible. Moreover, welcoming guests to a dirty home is never good. In order to achieve the highest standards of home cleanliness, many people use strong chemical-based products that are actually bad for them. Here is how your home can be spotless and toxic-free by using environmentally friendly products. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

Lead Acid BatteriesLead cells were the first type of secondary batteries, invented by French physicist Gaston Plante in 1859. In the following 150+ years they have been refined considerably, and are currently used in many applications including, most notably “SLI” (starting, lighting and ignition) in automobiles, but also telecommunications, traction, and energy storage. They occupy about 70% of the world accumulator market. In addition, the recent rapid development of lithium ion batteries is causing further technological development and improved manufacturing processes for lead-acid batteries. (more…)

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