Tag: alternative energy

The Danforth Plant Science Center in Missouri is a cutting-edge lab for developing tomorrow's biofuels.

Big rig truckers are saving a lot of money by switching from diesel to natural gas, but we need a national network of filling stations before this cheaper, cleaner fuel takes over.

Hydrogen cars are coming by 2015, but in the meantime we already have big zero-emission cells powering businesses—like the Connecticut-based pasta factory I visited last week.

It was the most important year for electric cars since, what, 1910? The market is still in its infancy, but here’s a look at early directions it’s taking. The battery EVs and plug-in hybrids are hitting the road, and so are the charging stations—including fast charging. And don’t forget about hydrogen!

Obama's renewable vision is scattered and under attack, and it lacks what they call a "narrative." Both green futurist Jeremy Rifkin and the Rocky Mountain Institute are presenting clean energy frameworks that Obama could embrace.

Here’s a scenario: An electric storm knocks out power to your house just as the Super Bowl is starting. Do you knock on the neighbor’s door with a six-pack, or do you try plugging your television into your Nissan Leaf’s 24-kilowatt-hour battery pack?

Corn ethanol never made any sense, either economically or environmentally. Congress is finally killing corn ethanol subsidies, but it shouldn't abandon ethanol entirely. Made from the fiber of plants and with a really good energy balance, cellulosic ethanol is the better alternative.

The fuel-cell revolution is coming, and sooner than you'd think. Automakers are planning significant volumes in 2015, but they'll be deployed around the hydrogen stations--like the network Proton OnSite is building.

The Obama budget is a door stop at more than 2,400 pages, and nobody reads all of it--but it makes some hard choices with energy--downplaying hydrogen and launching a big push on electric car deployment. Much of it will fall by the wayside, but it's an interesting place to start.

The F-Cell is the end result of $2 billion and 15 years of hydrogen research from Mercedes-Benz. The car I piloted around woodsy New Jersey (yes, it's green!) is nearing production.