Photo: Jurvetson Telecom giant Nokia recently filed a patent for a cell phone powered by kinetic energy (one of our favorite kinds of energy here at Inhabitat!). The conceived phone would charge via built-in piezoelectric generators that will convert the user’s motions into power. Now, we̵[...]
Posts Tagged ‘Renewable Energy’
March 10th, 2010 - 4:00 am § in Energy
TAILPIPE POWER: Nanotube Thermocells Harvest Energy From Car Exhaust
Harvesting wasted energy from unexpected places is one of our favorite topics at Inhabitat, however one of the last places we’d look for a “clean” energy source is the tailpipe of a car. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have announced that they are working on a new[...]
March 9th, 2010 - 3:00 am § in Energy
Texas Breaks U.S. Wind Power Generation Record
Good news on the alternative energy front: Texas managed to break the U.S. wind energy generation record last Friday morning when it produced 6,272 MW of power–19% of the total electricity mix. The state, which is the country’s wind power leader, got just 6.2 percent of its electricity [...]
March 9th, 2010 - 2:13 am § in Energy
Thermopower Waves:MIT Scientists Discover New Way to Produce Electricity
We’ve written about the possibilities that carbon nanotubes can unlock before, and now, an intrepid team of MIT scientists have discovered a never before known phenomenon using the tubes, which are essentially rolled up sheets of graphene. The occurence, which researchers are calling “t[...]
March 9th, 2010 - 1:00 am § in Transportation
Coffee Powered Car Gets 56 Espressos Per Mile
Your morning cup of coffee may get your motor running, but it could also add some fuel to your gas tank — literally! Behold the Carpuccino, a £400 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco that has been retrofitted to run on coffee grounds. This caffeinated car gets a jolt of juice from every cup of joe, ave[...]
March 9th, 2010 - 12:02 am § in Energy
China to Launch Multi-Billion Dollar Renewable Energy Program
Photograph: Bob Sacha/Corbis China recently announced that it is planning to reduce its carbon intensity by 40-45% (from 2005 levels) and generate 15% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. According to Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, the country will be launching a mu[...]
March 6th, 2010 - 9:00 am § in Transportation
READER TIP: Magtenlight Harvests Energy from Your Bike Wheels
The Magtenlight is a lighting system for your bike that uses a contact-less dynamo to generate the energy to illuminate your way at night. The system works by mounting a ring of 28 magnets on the spokes of your bike, which move past the dynamo generating an electric current. Since the dynamo is not[...]
March 6th, 2010 - 5:15 am § in Products
VoltPot Table Planter Charges Your Gadgets With Dirt Power!
Part coffee table and part planter, this awesome Volt Pot puts the environment to work indoors by harnessing the power of dirt to charge your gadgets! The fresh green planter pot has a built-in Microbial Fuel Cell that is capable of generating enough energy to charge small electronics, giving users[...]