That's according to U s. Department of energy secretary Steven Chu, who said this morning that innovation has changed the world in remarkable ways
We need innovation in energy he said. Innovation in energy is going to be a second industrial revolution.
In a 45-minute presentation at the  Stevens Institute of technology, Chu outlined several technological innovations in history that transformed the world
ENERGY Chu said he saw similarities to Ford's assembly line when he visited a Suntech solar plant in China.
Clean energy technologies can positively impact the environment the same way that automobiles did. Not that cars don't produce smog,
At the time, gasoline-powered vehicles provided clean streets, Chu said. Now we have another environmental problem,
he said of pollution and greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. It may not be quite as visible or an assault on our senses as horse manure
That's why the Department of energy asks itself: how can we accelerate the decline to achieve the elusive $1/watt price where clean technologies are price-competitive with fossil fuels?
We think that even at $1. 50 a watt, this will go viral, he said.
if it doesn't fight to popularize clean energy technologies, too. Invented in America is not good enough,
The same ought to happen in energy. We can become us again, he said. We did in many other sectors.
We better become us again in the energy sector
Citrus surgery? Doctors refine their craft on clementinesyou know what s a great tool for practicing minimally invasive surgery?
Cleanstar's plan to use ethanol to clean up cookingcleanstar  Mozambique has opened a biofuel plant to produce cassava-based ethanol fuel in an effort to replace charcoal,
and sell ethanol for cooking as well as a modern cookstove designed to use the fuel. The company, formed two years ago by industrial enzyme maker Novozymes and Cleanstar Ventures, is tackling an economic, environmental and public health problem in Africa.
The widespread use of charcoal to cook food has created a $10 billion market. Its production also has devastated million of acres of forests.
 The cost of fuel is a huge issue in the country, where more than 50 percent of the population live on less than a $1 a day.
Charcoal has exacted more than an economic toll on the folks who use it for cook food.
The organization estimates that indoor air pollution from solid fuel use, including charcoal, causes almost 2 million  deaths a year.
The facility will produce two million liters a year of ethanol-based cooking fuel from surplus cassava supplied to the company by local farmers.
At the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, a clever engineer named Rudolf Diesel demonstrated his namesake engine with peanut oil.
But in the age of cheap petroleum, biofuels could never really overtake gasoline as the fuel of choice.
And now, the popularity of solar and wind power suggest that the entire discussion is moot.
Gasoline has a special vapor pressure specification for volatility for fumes. They end up back in the atmosphere.
Ethanol can only be made into gasoline. Butanol, the kind we use, can be converted into diesel fuel and also into jet fuel.
It has essentially no impurities and is essentially indistinguishable from normal diesel and jet fuels.
We can make it from a variety of feedstock. We can make butanol from corn, but we've decided to avoid that route.
That's really the challenge with all these fuel and chemical technologies, they have to cross the Valley of Death.
because prices are higher than they are in fuels and the key to getting the technology really, really, really cheap,
and not try to sell into the gasoline market at $2 a gallon. If you're building cellulosic ethanol, the second,
when you've been at BP--there, I was responsible for purchasing oil and selling crude products--is:
how do you make money in this business? You need to have cheap crude oil --i e. waste materials--and you don't want to be in competition for feedstocks,
or you're squeezing your margins. And you need to have good products. A lot of my competitors fall in love with the product
I actually ran clean fuels research for Amoco at the time, which actually involved cleaning up gasoline,
so I know what it takes to bring technology from test-tube scale to production.
But that's not a solution to the cellulosic fuel problem. I think you're going to see those show up,
DOE Dept of energy grants can support research and development, a pilot plant, a demonstration facility. Those programs have been out there,
The job the DOE has is sifting through applications. I do think in their first round that they made a few mistakes
but you have to realize that with the BP-Transocean oil spill we just poisoned half the food chain down there in the Gulf of mexico.
Knowing BP, it's not a surprise. It's a broken culture. The winners can come from anywhere in the last minute.
From a volume perspective, the fuels market is much better than the chemicals market. The chemicals market is pretty exciting--the revenues are the same.
Rising energy costs and concerns about food security have led some Canadian entrepreneurs to reconsider and reimagine local farms.
The tricky part is turning a profit by scaling a farm to the right size and carefully managing energy efficiency.
Select supplemental lighting also helps control energy costs. High efficiency natural gas boilers produce nearly net zero carbon dioxide;
The underlying building receives the added benefit of a 20 percent energy cost reduction, Lynn said.
and fossil fuel that s needed to make chemical fertilizer, mechanize working the land and its crops,
biobutanolyour fuel tank could be filled entirely by a corn product within a few years. A new drop in biofuel replacement for gasoline,
backed by BP and Dupont, is set to begin commercial production in 2014. There is more corn grown in the United states used for ethanol fuel production than for livestock feed.
Yet, ethanol arguably has a demand constraint: the so-called blend wall, and government subsidies are expiring.
Ethanol accounts for 10 percent of the U s. fuel supply. E-10, a federal blending requirement, has become a standard.
However, demand has hit a ceiling at 10 percent-the availability of E-85, a far richer blend,
and a rising federal alternative fuel mandate will guarantee future demand. There's also an alternative path toward growth:
Butanol is drop in fuel molecule that can be used in existing vehicles and fuel distribution infrastructure,
Biofuels and renewables can play a bigger role in terms of contribution towards the fuel supply in the USA, which at the moment,
another mandate missed USDA bets (again) on advanced biofuels BP, Shell score high on biofuel assessment Fuel to Byrne Cleanstar's plan to use ethanol to clean up cooking
Could cities rely 100%on urban agriculture for their food? While urban agriculture has gained in popularity throughout U s. cities,
and that are often found in oil-rich kingdoms or with names like Trump on them.
When it comes to preventive measures that reduce the fuel load inside forests there is more accord.
With the closest mill 180 miles away, it's too costly to do much with the harvested timber except sell it as firewood in grocery stores,
and rising fuel costs are shaving his already thin margins. But Ribelin is hopeful Timberguide might help his operation run more efficiently.
But among the current shortcomings, the energy required to power indoor lights can wipe out those CO2 gains.
Inside a sunless, hangar-like facility in the southern city of Den Bosch, Plantlab has mounted energy-efficient LED lights over racks
nor IS LED the energy efficient lighting. The world awaits the company s ability to sell low.
their energy consumption and management of greenhouse gas emissions. The companies are rivals in environmental leadership, as well as products.
Our first preference is not to use energy in the first place, Parker says. Over the period in question
Dell increased its purchases of renewable energy by 436 percent; the company sources approximately 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources,
which Parker says are chosen according to what is appropriate for the local markets where its facilities are based.
It this means direct sourcing, not just some game that involves buying renewable energy credits.
renewable energy credits are a good thing because they help fund investment, but I find it a bit disingenuous
HP's update about its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions goals sees it setting new goals for its consumption reduction goals,
Those involved reducing energy usage and related greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent below 2005 levels.
This includes the emissions and energy related to both its own operations AND its products. That is an important distinction,
and we can capture the carbon used in burning coal, that just leaves more coal ash.
is almost totally dependent on coal-fired power plants, with two of the three worst offenders located in my home state of Georgia. The worst is less than 100 miles south of Atlanta
Contributing to this progress have been technologies including energy management systems, new lighting, and updated heating, air condition and ventilation (HVAC) systems.
Disneyland Resort, for example, has installed a Thermal Energy Storage tank that chills water overnight to help cool the resort's buildings.
Energy: Drones will play a role in oil and gas exploration. Utilities can also use drones to survey power lines.
Weather and environment: Pilotless drones can safely observe weather events such as hurricanes, as well as help monitor environmental conditions
Dupont breaks ground on $200m cellulosic ethanol plantwhile dozens of companies, including BP, have ditched plans to produce cellulosic ethanol,
BP scraps cellulosic ethanol plant plans Turning pine trees into jet fuel Wood chip-to-sugar maker scales up to replace oil and food crops
Reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Protecting people & the environment. Growing in developing markets. The Applied Biosciences division,
A zero-fat soybean oil called Plenish under its Pioneer brand in 2012. We have a unique capability to have both science in advanced materials as well as biotechnology,
help clients satisfy government mandates for renewable fuels. To begin, Binetti offered a look at the global biofuels market.
Ethanol is projected to rise to 20 percent of the overall transportation fuel supply. Drop in fuels and non-food feedstocks are needed.
Drivers: energy security, rural community growth, fewer greenhouse gas emissions, food constraints, green jobs. Binetti outlined the advantages of cellulosic ethanol:
60 percent reduction in greenhouse gases. Grown on marginal land. Good income for farmers. Then he outlined the advantages of biobutanol:
It has a higher energy density/content than ethanol, at 26 percent. Key to Dupont's gains in cellulosic ethanol:
Binetti said he expects a lot of interest in the fuel. Once the technology becomes available, we expect plants to be built quickly,
the company is partnering with oil giant BP on commercialization in the U s. and Brazil.
and BP brings the fuel blending, testing and marketing.)The advantage of butanol is that its higher energy content means more of it can replace gasoline,
Binetti said. This makes it easier for fuel producers to meet mandates, he said. Ã Â Retail gas stations can be taken into and out of butanol service without problem.
and fats/oils, and not significant for soda/juice. Comparing extremes, healthier diets cost $1. 48 per day more than the least healthy ones.
We know that data centers consume their share of energy, but is this offset or compensated by the natural resources not consumed?
If all of the greenhouse reductions noted in this study were converted into energy saved, Fuhr and Pociask forecast that IT applications could save 555 million barrels of oil by year 10,
or roughly 11%of the oil imported into the US today. In general, the evidence presented in this study shows that broadband-driven technologies can make a sizable contribution to reducing carbon emissions,
as well as many other environmental benefits, Fuhr and Pociask point out. Workers and consumers routinely send and receive electronic documents that once were printed on paper,
and water pollution and saving the energy needed for manufacturing, distribution and sales. Newspaper circulation is declining,
What's also needed now is a bigger-picture study on the degree of power consumption that IT is helping us to avoid as well.
and better conserve energy resources. These are all noble goals, and there's no doubt it's in the best interest of companies to save on power costs.
However, most studies ON IT energy consumption don t to take into account the overall savings in electricity and power usage as a result of mass computerization.
and all the energy consumption that goes with that. How many stores and shopping centers have not been built because of the replacement of sales through online channels?
It grows on its own so energy costs are one 10th of the costs to create foam.
so it requires much more energy and creates more waste. We re using waste materials and using the entire organism.
It s a New york state Energy Research and development Authority-funded program. We re also doing building materials as well--replacing foam insulation.
In January we are going to be announcing an oil collection service to work with a local producer of biofuels, DC Biofuels.
They will use the oil to create fuel that will be used by D c. Public schools and D c. Public works.
It addresses the energy issue and localization issue. Right now, the oil is being reused for cosmetics
or animal feed--but we think this is a better use. It s local, and by addressing this energy question it can be part of the solution for global warming.
We ll probably start that in February. What else? It s interesting to talk about this industry
The EPA (Environmental protection agency)' s website lists emission metrics from power plants, oil refineries, paper mills and other industries across U s boundaries and states.
and find that no wind power or solar power plants exist in the vicinity of heavyweight U s polluters--or few on the map itself, in honesty.
The Scherer coal-fired power plant near Macon, Ga.,is labelled as the largest producer of greenhouse gases in the United states. In 2010,
Petroleum refineries ranked second with emissions of 183 mmt. CO2 accounted for the largest percent of greenhouse gas emissions,
Lead from recycled U s. batteries polluting Mexico Clean energy policy is political priority for Americans survey The Morning Briefing:
increase the nation's energy security, and improve our environment. We continue to call on Congress to work through the legislative process,
the rise of a maverick group called the Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy. The coalition is made up of local chambers who are focused on the flip side of addressing climate change--that it could be a catalyst for group.
increase annual household income $1, 100 and boost GDP $111 billion through comprehensive clean energy and climate policies.
Spain was on the forefront of renewable energy but, due to the stumbling economy and the lack of rain, Spain cannot invest much further into this resource.
Now companies must rely on more expensive coal-and gas-burning power generators. A lack of grass is also dramatically raising the costs to farmers in animal Feed in addition, cities with seemingly endlessly-growing levels of pollution, like Madrid, Barcelona,
Finding power in coffee wasteresearchers at the Energy & Environmental Research center at the University of North dakota once worked on technology to convert waste from a space station and future Martian bases into heat and power.
The EERC is working withã Â Vermont-basedã Â Wynntryst to develop a gasification power system to use the waste from the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters processing plant to produce energy.
Startup turns landfill-bound plastics into oil E coli bacteria that eats switchgrass to make fuel Dead people power:
The technology that Cherry Central is using includes IBM DB2 Web Query running on the Power system platform.
--U s. chain restaurants and a group of congressmen are launching an assault against biofuels on the grounds that fuel produced from crops like corn are pushing up food prices.
Fuel Standard (RFS. The RFS requires transportation fuels to contain a minimum complement of renewables.
That includes ethanol which is produced from corn, a crop that has fed long the cattle that the food industry turns into burgers and steaks that groups like White Castle and Wendy's sell.
White Castle and its fellow meat marketers are hoping to take a bite out of the renewable fuel forces that they say are pushing up prices.
Believe it or not, Icelandic geothermal to power European cars Fuel efficient cars: What a waste Meanwhile up in the sky,
lots of entrepreneurs and energy, said Abbey Patterson, head of the nonprofit Atlanta Recycles, which advocates businesses and government for better recycling practices.
while input and energy use per unit output has decreased over the last 50 years. Despite these tremendous advances, U s. farmers are facing the daunting challenges of meeting the food, feed,
looking for a non-food feedstock to produce fuel for jets and automobiles. In the Pacific Northwest, forest biofuel has been touted as a potential job creator,
a means for achieving renewable energy targets, and a way to prevent wildfires. But a new study says that
however, the biomass could still be better than burning fossil fuels. In the study, bioenergy production did result in fewer emissions in one scenario:
developing efficient and economically competitive ways to refine cellulose into fuel remains high on the industry s to-do list.
Lufthansa plans to use the fuel for 6 months on 8 daily trips between the two cities, for a total of 1200 flights.
because they do not emit CO2 the way conventional hydrocarbon jet fuels ââ oetypically kerosene-do.
Scientific studies consistently show that most of the currently used biofuels are worse for the climate than fossil fuels, a Foe position paper states.
and other NGOS found that EU road biofuels are between 81%and 167%worse for the climate than the equivalent fossil fuels,
With partial funding from the German government, Lufthansa has purchased 800 tons of blend from Finland s Neste Oil for the 6-month, â 6. 6 million biofuel program.
Fuel producer Honeywell UOP says that camelina grows on fallow wheat fields and improves yields in the fields subsequent wheat-growing years.
and was a former blood diamond company that regrouped as an African green fuel operation, according to the UK's The Telegraph.
Et tu Brute, renewable energy? Biofuels fly mainstream: Lufthansa passenger flights taking off Airbus and Europe map jet biofuel goal Will the real biofuel Lindbergh please stand up
That s what the UK-based Energy Saving Trust concludes in its freshly minted report, The Elephant in the Living room:
While most of us have thought at least about curtailing the fuel use of cars, we ignore global warming consequences
assuming electric utilities continue to use the same mix of fossil fuel. Emissions would stand at 43.6 million tons of greenhouse gases,
even if manufacturers are improving the energy efficiency of each gadget. The number of computing and communication devices alone more than doubled between 2004 and 2009 in British homes, from 30 million to 65 million, the report states.
notebooks, tablets, smartphones, e-readers may mean more energy used by chargers. Not all sectors of domestic use are rising.
Energy efficient replacements to the incandescent bulb have helped drive down domestic lighting consumption from 16.6 TWH in 1999 to 15.8 TWH in 2009,
Bottom, Energy Saving Trust More digital global warming: Facebook plans Subarctic data center Iceland cometh
GE Water sustainability chief Jeff Fulgham: We need a price on waterwhy doesn't water get more attention?
quantity, quality and the energy consumption related to it. From a quantity standpoint, we've reached a point globally where the demand for fresh water is exceeding the global supply.
take the energy cost out--about 50 percent of the cost of running a desal plant is energy
Some of the less conventional fuels used right now...take natural gas. In New york and Pennsylvania, we're sitting on one of the greatest shale gas reserves in the world.
and they have problems with extraction and the development of the oil sands. We have a joint development center with Conocophillips in Doha, UAE.
coal, nuclear, gas. A big power plant uses a boatload of water. The primary use is to cool those processes--the big hyperbolic cooling towers.
People underestimate the amount of energy that it takes to make and pump water. California's the highest--19 percent of their energy bill goes to that.
There are a lot of things you can do to reduce the amount of energy you consume. With this next wave of megacities being built,
there's a great opportunity to rethink how we do things. The smart grid and energy
there's a parallel, probably five to 10 years behind. There's a smart grid out there for water, somewhere.
At our nuclear plant in Wilmington, North carolina we're doing water treatment there. Our aircraft engines plant in Cincinnati.
It's been used for energy for a number of years but now it's been expanded for water.
so it can be used for cooking oil and in animal feed. However, when the GM CROPS persist in the wild
but also the great demand in Asia that still fuels the international trade after it was outlawed in 1989.
Indianapolis Fruit was able to reduce fuel costs by an average of 8 percent to 9 percent per vehicle,
tapioca and wheat, says algae-based plastic could replace up to 50 percent of petroleum content found in traditional plastic resin.
it relies on increasingly-depleted fossil fuels, it uses energy and increases greenhouse gas emissions. If a big company like Conagra were to make the switch,
the impact would be felt across the economy. But algae must still be sourced. Cereplast plans to get it from companies that use algae to minimize carbon dioxide emissions from polluting smokestacks.
More stories about algae and alternative fuels on Smartplanet: Turning algae into oil the NASA way Growing the next'green'fuel Algae could be jet fuel of the future The algae bloom of alternative energy The Algaeus algae-fueled Prius hits
the road Scientists create high-capacity batteries from algae
Green initiatives highlighted at international flower showthe theme of this year's  Philadelphia International Flower Show,
Ground zero in the energy-water nexusthe oil and gas producing countries of the Middle east may be sitting pretty in fossil fuels,
That was the focus of the International Water Summit held in conjunction with the World Future Energy Summit in Abu dhabi three weeks ago,
The slogan of the conference was Bringing the water-energy nexus to life, a topic
and energy-intensive process, explained Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, managing director and CEO of Masdar City.
We are ready to aggressively pursue desalination powered by renewable energy Dr. Sultan al-Jaber said at a press conference.
Other Middle Eastern oil and gas producers are considering similar options. UAE's next door neighbor Qatar has the world's third-largest gas reserves
that most of Qatar's water would be produced with renewable energy in 10 years'time.
since it burns more than 1 million barrels a day of crude oil just to desalinate water.
Aside from being an enormous waste of an incredibly versatile and energy-dense resource, that's a major sacrifice of income.
If all of that oil were sold at current Brent benchmark prices (it wouldn't be but just as a point of reference), that's $115 million a day in lost revenue, just to make fresh water.
International Energy Agency director Maria van der Hoeven echoed that point when I interviewed her at the conference.
then reinforced how essential water is to oil production. And then they use it and then it's gone.
Because you need the water again for oil production. You need it. Fifteen to 20 percent of global oil use is there
and once it's consumed it's not going to be there anymore. Conservation is key With such enormous water demands and energy costs,
it's clear that desalination alone--especially if it's powered entirely by relatively expensive renewables--can't solve the Middle east's problem.
Indeed, energy in general is too cheap in Abu dhabi at about $1. 80 for a gallon of gasoline
Bader Al Lamki, the Director of Clean Energy at Masdar, explained to me how his electricity bill details the amount he is charged
mishandling of my consumption of electricity, water, oil and gas? he asked rhetorically. Dubai also started to do a little bit of relief of the subsidy that has been in,
He is a vigorous proponent of the emirate's efforts in conservation and energy transition.
even as blessed as it is with energy resources both renewable and nonrenewable. Because for Abu dhabi, like its neighbors,
when its fossil fuel resources are depleted sharply and its groundwater is gone. In time after a long process of cultural change, even the 16 percent of the UAE's crude oil production that is consumed internally--nearly half a million barrels per day--might be reduced as more electric vehicles,
such as the ones being used in Masdar City, take to the roads. It might not take much more than Sheikh Mohammed letting his people see him rolling around downtown in a snazzy,
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