A very interesting new technology that converts human waste to methane. It seems this could be a great solution to chicken and cattle waste as well.

From UK’s Daily Mail Reporter

VW’s ‘dung’ Beetle: The car that leaves nothing to waste… thanks to its methane gas-powered engine

A car powered by methane gas has been created by a team of British engineers. The vehicle named the ‘Bio-Bug’ is run reliably on biogas, which is produced from human waste at sewage works across the country.

Excrement flushed down the toilets of just 70 homes is enough to power the pioneering VW Beetle car for 10,000 miles – the equivalent of one average motoring year. This conversion technology has been used in the past but the Bio-Bug is Britain’s first car to run on methane gas without its performance being reduced.

Full speed ahead: The converted Beetle car that runs on methane gas that is a by-product of treating human waste

The vehicle’s improved reliability means that its makers believe it can ‘blow away’ electric cars and pave the way for a green motoring revolution.

Mohammed Saddiq, of sustainable energy firm GENeco, which developed the prototype promised that drivers ‘won’t know the difference’. He said: ‘Previously the gas hasn’t been clean enough to fuel motor vehicles without it affecting performance
‘However, through using the latest technology our Bio-Bug drives like any conventional car and what’s more it uses sustainable fuel.

Wessex Water’s Recycling Manager Sean Hill stands beside the Bio-Bug which has a top speed of 114mph

‘We thought it would be appropriate that the poo-powered car should be the classic VW Beetle Bug because bugs naturally breakdown waste at sewage works to start the treatment process which goes on to produce the energy. ‘At the moment we are using waste flushed down the toilets in homes but it won’t be long before the energy will also be generated through the treatment of food waste. ‘If you were to drive the car you wouldn’t know it was powered by biogas as it performs just like any conventional car. It is probably the most sustainable car around.’

The Bio-Bug is a conventional 2 litre VW Beetle convertible, which has been modified to run on both conventional fuel and compressed methane gas.

Power ranger: How the ‘dung’ Beetle car gets from A to B

The car, which has a top speed of 114mph, is started using unleaded petrol but automatically switches to methane when the engine is ‘up to temperature’. If the methane tank runs out the Bio-Bug reverts back to petrol.

Around 18 million cubic metres of biogas is produced from human waste every year at Wessex Water’s sewage treatment works in Avonmouth, Bristol.

The gas is generated through anaerobic digestion – where bugs which are starved of oxygen break down biodegradable material to produce methane. However, before the gas can be used to power vehicles it must undergo ‘biogas upgrading’ where carbon dioxide is removed to improve performance.

The Bio-Bug does 5.3 miles per cubic metre of biogas, which means that just one sewage works could power 95,400,000 miles per year saving 19,000 tonnes of CO2.

Lord Rupert Redesdale, chairman of The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association, believes that the Bio-Bug could prove to be the future of green motoring. He said: ‘This is a very exciting and forward-thinking project demonstrating the myriad benefits of anaerobic digestion. ‘Biomethane cars could be just as important as electric cars, and the water regulator Ofwat should promote the generation of as much biogas as possible through sewage works in the fight against climate change.’

GENeco, which is a sustainable energy company owned by Wessex Water, plans to convert its fleet of vehicles if the Bio-Bug trial proves to be successful.

After watching HOME, here is a positive step in the right direction ending our. http://www.genepax.com

by The Associated Press

President Barack Obama announced Saturday the awarding of nearly $2 billion for new solar plants that he said will create thousands of jobs and increase the country’s use of renewable energy sources.

Obama disclosed the funding in his weekly radio and online address, saying it is part of his plan to bring new industries to the U.S.

“We’re going to keep competing aggressively to make sure the jobs and industries of the future are taking root right here in America,” Obama said.

The two companies that will receive the funds from the president’s $862 billion economic stimulus are Abengoa Solar, which will build one of the world’s largest solar plants in Arizona, creating 1,600 construction jobs; and Abound Solar Manufacturing, which is building plants in Colorado and Indiana. The Obama administration says those projects will create more than 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs.

Finally a bit of good news on the oil spill. Let’s hope Kevin inspires other actors and sports stars with big bucks to help fund promising technologies in energy that can ultimately replace oil. During these challenging times, applied imagination is our greatest asset. That’s how new paradigms are created.

From www.domain-b.com

After trying various methods to clean up the oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico, British Petroleum (BP) has turned to a highly unlikely source, Hollywood actor Kevin Costner-funded technology firm to not only clean up the mess but also separate oil from the water.

After seeing the effects of the Valdez spill in Alaska on TV, Costner put in $24 million of his money in 1995 to fund a team of scientists, including his brother Dan Costner, also a scientist, to develop a technology that could deal with huge oil spills.

BP tested the machine in New Orleans last month, which had then failed to work because the oil had become thick due to the effects of the dispersants sprayed on the spill. But after the machines were adjusted to handle the thick oil volume, they worked perfectly.

Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP said in a statement, “We were confident the technology would work but we needed to test it at the extremes. We’ve done that and are excited by the results. We are very pleased with the results and today we have placed a significant order with Ocean Therapy Solutions and will be working with them to rapidly manufacture and deploy 32 of their machines.”

Last week BP signed a letter of intent with Ocean Therapy Solutions, a company co-owned by Kevin Costner to deploy 32 centrifuge machines to assist in the cleanup of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a testimony before the House of Representatives’ science and technology committee, Kevin Costner told the panel about the challenges he faced bringing the technology into industrial use and urged committee members to legislate that oil rigs be required to have mitigation equipment on site.

”We’ve legislated life preservers. We legislated fire extinguishers,” Costner said. ”We legislated lifeboats and first aid kits. It seems logical that as long as the oil industry profits from the sea, they have the legal obligation to protect it, except when they find themselves fighting for life and limb.”

Just one of the company’s V20 machines can clean up to 210,000 gallons of oily water per day. There are 3 V20 centrifuge machines currently operational in the Gulf. Ten more should become operational within weeks.

These sophisticated centrifuge devices can handle a huge volume of water and separate oil at unprecedented rates. The machines are taken out into the spill area via barges, where they can separate the oil and water.

The machines come in different sizes, the largest of which, the V20, can clean water at a rate of 200 gallons per minute. Depending on the oil to water ratio, the machine has the ability to extract 2,000 barrels of oil a day from the Gulf. Once separation has occurred,  the water is more than 99 per cent free of crude and stored in tanks.

From: Andy Soos, ENN

There is Sunday of course which was originally and literally Sun’s day as a vaguely religious observance. Now there is Solar Day which is not so much a day set aside to honor solar (power) but a day to show how solar power has grown and can be used. This is to be June 19 and will be an annual day of recognition for the growth of clean, solar energy. The premise of Solar Day is simple: a national day of recognition for solar energy, energy independence and protection of the planet.

The first annual Solar Day was held in 2009 with only one event — a tour hosted by the city of San Francisco using bio-diesel buses of solar hot water heating systems in the city. It is designed to be held on the weekend closest to the summer’s solstice which is the longest and sunniest day of the year.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), in 2009 the solar industry added 441 megawatts of new, clean power to the U.S., pulled in 1.4 billion in new venture capital investments, provided 45,000 jobs and grew by 36% in annual revenue.

NextEra, the largest solar generator in the world, co-owns and operates two solar thermal projects in California — Harper Lake and Kramer Junction — as well as 15 wind farms. The Harper Lake plant, which has been in operation for more than two decades and generates 160 gross megawatts of power, sells electricity to California’s electric utility companies, which are required to use renewable energy to produce 20 percent of their power by 2010 and 33 percent by 2020. NextEra has invested $1.5 billion in power generation assets in California, about $1 billion of that in solar and wind projects.

So yes solar power has indeed grown.

This year Solar Day 2010 events will be held in more than 40 cities so residents can find out about their energy options, solar rebates and ways to reduce the cost of their electricity bills for years to come.

Secretary of the Interior Salazar, noting the Administration’s priority on diversifying the nation’s energy portfolio to include renewable energy, said his department is spurring solar, wind, and geothermal energy development on federal lands in California and around the West as well as on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. “We are cutting bureaucratic red tape; creating strategies to expedite development; prioritizing public lands best suited for renewable energy; and spurring investment with stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

Salazar said there are 9 fast track solar projects and 3 fast track wind projects being reviewed for Interior Bureau of Land Management areas in California. The nine solar projects on fast-track review would be capable of producing more than 4,500 megawatts of power, enough to meet the needs of more than a million homes and provide tens of thousands of jobs.

The Secretary has established Renewable Energy Coordination Offices to help complete reviews on the most ready to go solar, wind and geothermal projects on U.S. public lands. These offices, which work closely with state agencies and private developers to ensure timely review of applications, are processing 53 solar applications covering 445,000 acres and 90 wind applications (71 for testing and 19 for development) covering 876,000 acres.

So the future is bright with the power of the sun.

For further information: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2010/march/NR_03_22_2010.html or http://www.greenprogress.com/alternative_energy_article.php?id=1729