chapman's blog
Man, this thing is about as cool as it gets. It's a sailboat that has a special design underneath to allow it to actually be propelled by the very water and waves it floats on. Using the sails in combo with the underwater wave propulsion technology this puppy will cruise along at about 5 knots top speed.
With a maximum speed of five knots, the Suntory will take two to three months to complete a voyage that diesel-powered craft accomplish in just one. But speed is not the point. The voyage aims to prove that wave propulsion can work under real-world conditions, opening up the technology for commercial applications such as cargo shipping. “Oil is a limited power source,” Horie says, “but there is no limit to waves.”
Ken-ichi Horie, the boat's inventor, is a true pioneer in renewable sailing and a Guinness Book of World Record holder:
In 1996 he set the world record for the fastest crossing of the Pacific Ocean in a solar-powered boat. And in 1999, he made a solo trip across the Pacific in a catamaran made from recycled beer barrels.
Now, using the Suntory Mermaid II, built of durable recycled-aluminum alloy, he plans to set another record: "the longest distance traveled by a wave-powered boat".
Read more about this adventure...
Best of luck and keep up the goods, Ken-ichi Horie!
I recently surfed through an interesting article on Popular Mechanics about an air-powered car that might actually make it to the US market by 2009 or 2010.
Here is a snippet from the site:
The CityCAT, already being developed in India (bottom left), will be available for U.S. production in three different four-door styles. But it's the radical dual-energy engine, with a possible 1000-mile range at 96 mph, that could move the Air Car beyond Auto X Prize dreams and into American garages.
The Air Car caused a huge stir when we reported last year that Tata Motors would begin producing it in India. Now the little gas-free ride that could is headed Stateside in a big-time way.
Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) confirmed to PopularMechanics.com on Thursday that it expects to produce the world’s first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the U.S. licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car as a compression-based alternative to the internal combustion engine, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country, at a clip of up to 10,000 Air Cars per year.
Revenue Potential of Open Source Energy Projects - PES Network, Inc is glad to work with inventors to bring their technology forward via an open source method. We are confident that there are several revenue centers that can be tapped to make this path worth while. (PESWiki; Jan. 6) [Pure Energy Systems News]
Renewable Energy and Cohousing Reduce Home Energy Costs - Community Buzz found a great article on renewable energy in cohousing and how the two can reduce your energy costs. The article is on Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm in New Hampshire
original news source [Hugg.com]
Clean-tech and wind power both soaring - Investment in clean-tech companies rose 44 percent from 2005 to 2006, and jumped an additional 44 percent from 2006 to 2007, soaring to $5.18 billion, according to the Cleantech Group LLC. Last year in clean-tech, energy generation received $2.75 billion in investment, followed by energy storage ($471 million) and transportation ($445 million). And you know what that means: "More new car companies were financed in the last 12 months than probably in the last 50 or 60 years," says the Cleantech Group's John Balbach. Um ... great? In related news, U.S. wind power grew by 45 percent last year, boosted by federal and state energy policies and green-energy incentives. The American Wind Energy Association predicts that wind could provide 20 percent of U.S. power by 2020. Let it never be said that they don't have ambition.
sources: Reuters, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal (access ain't free) [Grist Daily News]
Straight from Pure Energy Systems:
G Force Rotational machine demo video posted - Since 1993, an Armenian inventor has been demonstrating his patented machine that harnesses static gravitational energy to turn a 3 meter diameter wheel that turns a 300KVA electric generator. Just release the brake, and off it goes. Commercial version expected in about a year. (PESWiki; Jan. 4) [Pure Energy Systems News]
This just in from Pure Energy Systems:
New Energy Congress Scouting for Key Leadership - In expanding from a volunteer organization to a due diligence corporation supporting the financing and business development of the most promising clean energy technologies, the NEC is looking for individuals to fill the primary leadership roles. (PESN; Jan. 3) [Pure Energy Systems News]
Opal Myth and Conscious Reggae on point here for Freely Renewable, getting the site up and running so the people can take over.
This is just a post to get some content into Drupal to test a few things out with.
We go with no beta. Just wing it.
