Wired commandeered a 1949 Piper PA-11 (Cub Special) spy plane in order to snap the photos of the work in progress at Apple’s data center. Work is currently underway not too far from the main server farm, indicating the site where the company will lay its 4.8 megawatt biogas plant, converting the gas produced there into electricity. Meanwhile, the 100 acre 20 megawatt solar farm is still under construction, with a second installation located only a few miles away.

Curiously, there’s a smaller “tactical” data center located next to the main 500,000 square foot installation that Apple is staying quiet about. It’s significantly smaller at 21,000 square feet, but John Engates, Chief Technology Officer at Rackspace, believes the space could be used by Apple’s partners for testing iCloud and other online services without giving up access to the main data center.

Apple’s goal is for 60% of its power requirements to be met by the renewable energy projects found on site. The other 40% will be purchased from local and regional companies, which will also come from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and biogas.

By taking advantage of the surplus power capacity at night and cooling all products stored in the machine during that time, the rise in temperature is limited during the day–even after hours without power. The cooling process continues and the machine’s vacuum insulation keeps it from being affected by outdoor temperatures.

A two month-long filed testing period has been scheduled to begin on July 2 and will take place in a couple of Japan’s hottest regions including Gifu Prefecture’s Tajimi City and Saitama Prefecture’s Kumagaya City. Once the initial testing phase has been completed, Coca-Cola has future plans to test the machines and their cooling performance when there is shorter supply of power.

The Philips bulb, which tips the scales at 10W, was engineered to last 30,000 hours. According to the manufacturer, if you compare that life span to the average 60W incandescent bulb, its lifetime value is around $165. Nevertheless, getting customers to wrap their heads around buying a $60 light bulb has been quite a challenge, especially in this economy. Nevertheless, the company thinks it has a winner on its hand.

Philips did manage to win a prize from the US Department of Energy last year, after entering a contest for lighting efficiency. It was awarded $10 million. Philips said in a statement, “Because the new bulb is 83 percent more energy efficient than the standard 60-Watt incandescent, consumers can now experience new savings for their pocketbooks.”

[via MSNBC]

All you’ll need to do is pay a monthly charge of $9.99 after purchasing the devices you need to hook your whole house up, and connections you shall have! There are three different equipment packages you can choose from (listed below), and the monthly price appears at the moment to be the same regardless of your choice. You’ll be able to do all sorts of stuff like flipping on and off the lights in your kids rooms while you’re not there to drive them nuts and watch them through your networked cameras to see all the fear in their eyes when they think its ghosts!

You can get energy monitoring gadgets as well, thermostats, adapters to control appliances, and a sensor that can be placed on the circuit box to measure electricity use throughout the whole of your home. There’s remote door locks, again, advanced level cameras that can pan and tilt on command and get installed outdoors, window and door sensors, and light sensors.

The three kits available are thus:

Verizon Home Monitoring Kit – $69.99
• Gateway Device
• Indoor Camera
• Indoor Light Module

Verizon Energy Control Kit – $169.99
• Gateway Device
• Appliance Switch 110 Volt
• Smart Thermostat
• Energy Reader – Free ($99.99 Value)
• Remote Control

Verizon Home Monitoring and Control Kit – $219.99
• Gateway Device
• Indoor Camera
• Appliance Switch 110 Volt
• Smart Thermostat
• Indoor Light Module
• Energy Reader – Free ($99.99 Value)
• Remote Control

And again then the monthly $9.99. Seem like the deal for you?

Biofuels can kill

Two stories this week address the problematic nature of biofuels. At first they sound like a great idea, using food to create fuel, instead of petroleum. Decrease our dependence on foreign oil! But what happens when we are using too much food to create fuel, and there isn’t enough left for people to eat? And then add the fact (in the case of ethanol) that it takes more energy to produce the fuel than the fuel can actually generate. Now it starts to sound like a bad bargain.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) released a warning that policies in the U.S. and Europe to increase the production of biofuels could lead to close to 200,000 deaths in developing countries. Why? Because the purchase of food crops for use in fuel production has raised the price of food, especially corn, sugar and palm oil.

And in the past four years, China has drastically ramped up its purchase of cassava chips, which it uses for producing fuel. In fact, 90% of the cassava chips from Thailand, the world’s largest producer of the root, are going to China for that purpose, and that has caused the price to double.

According to the AAPS: “Research by the World Bank indicates that the increase in biofuels production over 2004 levels would push more than 35 million additional people into absolute poverty in 2010 in developing countries. Using statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Indur Goklany estimates that this would lead to at least 192,000 excess deaths per year.”

And the unfortunate thing is that this is all driven by the developed world trying to reduce global warming and our “carbon footprint”. While the goal is admirable, the side effects are proving disastrous. There has to be a better way.

[via TreeHugger, New York Times]

Marauding Space Junk

Space, or at least Earth’s orbit, is becoming more and more congested with satellites, communications equipment, and just junk, and this week the International Space Station was in danger from a rogue bit of space debris. The Pentagon estimates there are now more than 370,000 pieces of junk floating around in low-Earth orbit, from collisions, missile tests, and space missions, turning the area directly above Earth into “an orbiting rubbish dump”.

One piece of that rubbish, a piece of a Chinese satellite that was destroyed in 2007, almost collided with the International Space Station this week, and NASA was on alert in case the three astronauts on board the station needed to be evacuated to the nearby Soyuz capsule. But as the errant satellite scrap approached, it turned out it wouldn’t get close enough to pose a threat. This is becoming a more common occurrence, as the space station had to move out of the way of another piece of junk only a week ago. And experts have said that the floating debris could pose a real danger if a collision with a satellite causes a chain reaction that takes out multiple satellites and interferes with our communications on earth. Looks like we need an orbital cleanup crew.

[via SlashGear]

Things that go fast: Rocket sleds and ejector seats, Giant rockets launching more stuff into space, and an underwater jet

Looks like quite a ride
The new F-35 jet is being built right now, and the ejector seat was tested using a kind of rocket sled hurlting down railroad tracks at 600mph. The testing was done with a dummy of course, not a real pilot. It only takes three seconds from when the handle is pulled until the pilot is out and floating under the chute. From the video below, it looks like a rough ride.

[via SlashGear]

Falcon Heavy Rocket Sets Record

The private spaceflight company SpaceX announced a brand new, and gigantic, rocket this week. The Falcon Heavy will be 22 stories high, and have a cargo capacity of 117,000 pounds. The rocket will have 27 engines, and a 227 foot booster. It is intended for launching huge payloads into orbit for both government and commercial concerns. And this rocket will set a new world record for lowest cost per pound to orbit, launching 117,000 pounds for “just” $80-125 million, according to company founder Elon Musk.

[via SlashGear]

Sir Richard Branson Tackles the Ocean Deep in a Jet

Sir Richard Branson has his fingers into everything from space flight to air travel and lots in between. He is set to take is Virgin empire under the sea. Branson has launched a new enterprise called Virgin Oceanic. The goal of Virgin Oceanic is to explore the seas in a manned craft and map the bottom of the ocean at some of its deepest points.

Virgin oceanic will work with some of the most important scientific institutions in the world to collate the data collected on its voyages and to catalog the ocean life it finds that may have been undiscovered before. Branson also hopes to have some fun and set some world records.

The single person sub that the enterprise will use looks like an underwater airplane and Branson will pilot some of the missions himself. The ship will use Google mapping technology to chronicle the dives as they happen and share the discoveries made as well as the footage of the missions with the world. The company believes that it will set as many as 30 world records with each dive being the world’s first solo dive to the bottom of the five deepest trenches in the world.

[via SlashGear]

Multitasking power plants, and a new way to re-use plastic

Gas from Solid Waste Actually Benefits Someone

Usually, when one thinks of gas produced from solid waste, something like this comes to mind:

But in Scotland, researchers are working on a dual-purpose wastewater treatment system that could also produce electricity. The team has received a grant to create a waste treatment system based on special bio-engineered bacteria that use anaerobic digestion (without oxygen). The bacteria would break down large amounts of solid waste, and in the process would produce gas that can then be captured to produce electricity.

The system would be perfect for use in the developing world, where sewage systems are poor or non-existent. The principal investigator on the project, Dr. Gavin Collins, spoke with The Engineer about the project:

“We can use anaerobic digestion where we can pump high volumes of high-solid wastewater in to achieve a much more efficient system and at the same time not pump energy into the system because it doesn’t need air. The obvious alternatives are based on aerobic digestion like those used in developed countries. But these are unsustainable approaches where we don’t recoup any energy or useful products. Instead we put a lot of energy in and it costs a lot of money. Conventional techniques also result in the production of huge volumes of excess sludge and new waste, which we also want to avoid.”

There are still quite a few problems to be worked out, for example, anaerobic bacteria is now used in treating only wastewater with a low solid content so the bacterial won’t be pushed out of the tank by the solids (best not to dwell on what those are). But the team thinks it can bio-engineer bacteria to stay put. Then they will have to determine how to capture the gas produced. And on what scale it can be feasibly done. However, they think that they can come up with a prototype system in four years.

If successful, this would be a great way to use something gross to produce something good, but there are a lot of hurdles to be overcome. This could be useful not only in poor countries, but in the developed world as well.

[via The Engineer]

Coal Power also heats sidewalks


Heated sidewalks seem like kind of a luxury, similar to heated seats in your car. Well, 23 years ago, the town of Holland, Michigan came up with a way to keep its sidewalks from freezing without the use of salt or chemicals. They use the hot water generated by the coal power plant, and run it through 325,000 linear feet of uponor PEX plastic pipe that runs underneath the sidewalks, heating them up and keeping them snow-free. 762 gallons per minute are pumped through, and the water is put to a useful purpose instead of being pumped into nearby Lake Macatawa.

However, according to TreeHugger, the power plant has found ways to avoid upgrades to limit emissions, making it one of the dirtier coal plants around.

Well, at least they have found a way to use the hot water for a good purpose.

[via TreeHugger]

Bringing Plastic Full Circle

We are producing ever larger amounts of plastic waste. There is enough plastic in the Pacific Ocean gyre to fill Texas twice, and there are two trillion pounds of plastic sitting in US landfills. And at the same time, oil prices are going up at a rapid rate. Well, an Oregon company called Agilyx may have a solution to both of these pressing problems. The company has a patented method of converting plastic waste into synthetic crude oil. And they are currently selling the product to refineries.

Agilyx uses a set of four primary vessels, along with some secondary processing equipment, and can convert 10 tons of plastic into around 2,400 gallons of crude each day. You can see the process step-by-step here. The waste plastic is ground up, placed into a cartridge that is placed inside one of the vessels. Hot air is circulated around the cartridges, melts the plastic, and turns the plastic into a gas. The gas is pulled through a central condensing system, where it is cooled and condensed into synthetic crude. Impurities are filtered out, and gases that don’t condense are made environmentally friendly and released into the atmosphere (this part is a bit scary). Then, the oil can be sold to a refinery, mixed with regular crude oil, and distilled. It could possibly even be made back into plastic again.

This process can’t be used with all plastics, only those made from hydrocarbons, like ABS, polycarbonate, and polypropylene.

There is another company doing this now as well (thanks to a commenter for pointing this out), JBI Inc., and I am sure more will pop up. It is a genius idea, and a profitable one. Definite win-win.
[via SlashGear]

If these can be produced on a large scale, and the price can be accessible to the general public (a big if, at this point), this could be a great energy saving solution.

See KR Sridhar’s 60 Minutes interview from last year:

Thermoelectric cooling is often explained as “solid-state heat pumps.” The technology captures wasted heat and converts it into energy and thus can maintain cool temperatures by displacing heat. Current refrigeration relies on the use of large air compressors that are noisy and expensive compared to the actually cooling they can provide. Replacing them with thermoelectric technology could save consumers tons on energy bills and definitely make an environmental impact. GE may have already jumped on the bandwagon with their recent acquisition of Calnetix, a company also focused on this technology.

“The idea is to take advantage of the very same quiet, compact, lack of moving parts [traits] that thermoelectric devices already have, but introduce a materials system with more efficiency,” says Phonic CEO Anthony Atti. The company will be creating and testing prototypes for commercialization and plans to bring products to market by 2013.

[via VentureBeat]

Image © David Oooms

The new stores will use LED lighting, solar-power, and reflective flooring to reduce the need for overhead lights. The stores will have roof mounted solar panels that will produce approximately 30% of the electricity used.  The LED lights also use sensors to detect when less light is needed and automatically adjust.

There will also be charging stations for EVs at the stores.

In 2009, 7-11 opened its first US green store, but the cost of these stores (about 30% more than a standard 7-11) is prohibitive, especially for small franchise owners who would have to shoulder the cost. Government subsidies would only offset 10% of the cost of renovation at this time, and then energy savings, while substantial, is probably not enough to make up for the extra building cost.

Still, this is a step in the right direction. Even if stores started replacing the fluorescents with LEDs, it would be a huge energy savings.

[via GoodCleanTech]
from Inhabitant

The Casio watch is, by and far, still just a concept that Casio is putting a lot of work in. With the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology inside, the watch is utilizing the new low-power-consumption version of the short-range wireless networking standard. The watch is able to power its normal usage through a single button-cell battery, which makes it possible for the BLE-fused watch to consume the same amount of power as a normal wristwatch, even with the extra features thrown in.

Casio is testing the technology now, knowing that the BLE-technology will be implemented in devices in the near future. And that means not just smartphones. No word on when Casio will be trying to get something like this out to market, but the company will be showing the device off at their booth at CES, so stay tuned.

Press Release

CASIO DEVELOPS WATCH THAT COMMUNICATES WITH SMARTPHONES VIA BLUETOOTH® LOW ENERGY LINK

Prototype Features the Latest Wireless Technology with Very Low Power Consumption

LAS VEGAS, JANUARY 5, 2011 — Casio Computer Co., Ltd., announced today that it has developed a watch using Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) technology, the new low-power-consumption version of the short-range wireless networking standard*. A prototype of the watch, sharing a two-way data link with a smartphone, will be exhibited at Casio’s booth (#11006) at the International Consumer Electronics Show to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 6-9, 2011.

Casio has been redefining the wristwatch for years by applying the latest technologies. Now, Casio’s application of BLE positions the company to create new possibilities for the way people use their watches. Taking advantage of the low power consumption of BLE, the new watch powers wireless communication functions with a single, ordinary button-cell battery, and without consuming any more battery life than a conventional wristwatch. Users can wear it every day just like they normally do, without the hassle of recharging which is required by typical mobile devices. Battery life is estimated at approximately two years based on the prototype model, assuming that the Bluetooth wireless communication function is used for 12 hours per day.

Casio’s new prototype communicates with BLE-equipped smartphones, which will be available in the near future and will connect to networks of various kinds of devices. As the wireless link between smartphones and watches gains in adoption, and as the universe of smartphone applications continues to grow, Casio expects to see new possibilities for watches in everyday life.

Casio aims to produce its first Bluetooth Low Energy Watch in 2011. Meanwhile, Casio will call for partner companies to develop applications compatible with smartphones and other household devices in such areas as sports, health, home entertainment, security, and communication with family and friends.

Overview of Casio’s Prototype Bluetooth Low Energy Watch

Main features:

§ Wireless communication is powered by the button-cell battery used in small devices and watches

§ Battery life with the communication functions is the same as previously released watches

§ The watch case measures a comfortable 53.4 (D) x 44.4 (W) x 12.8 (T) millimeters

Main functions:

§ The alert signal notifies the wearer of calls and e-mail messages arriving on the networked smartphone

§ Alarm and vibration functions of a smartphone can be activated using a watch button

§ A smartphone’s ring and vibration alerts can be stopped by tapping the watch

§ Accurate time information can be transmitted from a smartphone to the watch to ensure correct time

Casio’s demonstration of the Bluetooth Low Energy Watch uses a prototype of a Bluetooth Low Energy smartphone. The demonstration will be conducted at Casio’s Booth (#11006) at 2011 International CES, in cooperation with NEC Casio Mobile Communications.

Main Specifications of the Prototype Bluetooth Low Energy Watch

Communication Specifications
Data Transfer Rate
1 Mbps
Signal Strength
0 dBm (1mW)
Signal Range
2–5 m (may differ depending on surrounding conditions)
Encryption Method
128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
Communication Functions
Time Correction
The watch can be synchronized with time information transmitted from a smartphone
Incoming Call and E-mail Alert
The watch alerts users of incoming calls and e-mail messages sent to a smartphone
Finder Function
Alarm and vibration functions of a smartphone can be activated using a watch button
Watch Functions
Alarm
5 independent daily alarms; hourly time signal; vibration function
Stopwatch
1/100-second; measuring capacity: 23:59’59.99”; split time
Countdown Timer
Measuring unit: 1 second; Input range: 1 minute to 24 hours
World Time
100 cities (35 time zones, daylight saving on/off) and Coordinated Universal Time
Light
Electro-luminescent backlight with afterglow
Other
Full auto-calendar, 12/24-hour format; sleep mode
Power Source
CR2032
Approx. Battery Life
(Based on the Prototype Model)
Approx. 2 years (assuming the communication function is used for 12 hours per day)
Size of Case
53.4 × 44.4 × 12.8 mm
Total Weight
Approx. 50g

Thanks to the VIVA Design Team out of Guangdong University of Technology in China, we can say that some day that may just happen. Their Green Pass Turnstile is designed to harness the energy which is inherently produced by people passing through the turnstile. And, as you might imagine, the power that’s created from those people pass in and out of the turnstile would be used to power the turnstile itself. So, the system that reads your card would be powered by your body. Pretty creative, eh?

There’s no word on when or if this concept design will ever see the light of day, but we’ve got to admit: it’s a good idea. Putting a renewable energy source behind even the smallest of things can make the biggest of differences, so we’d be pretty excited to see these green turnstiles pop up all over the world.

[via EcoFriend]

As Electronista reports, the process almost always produces less CO2 than traditional methods and, unlike solar power or similar methods, can run 24 hours a day without dependence on light or wind.  A typical Energy Server produces about 100kW of power in the surface area of a parking space and can link up with other servers as more power becomes needed. Bloom adds that smaller units would be enough to power single homes; in 10 years, a small module and a roof solar panel could potentially give a home its own power. On the large scale, most who buy the full servers should recoup the costs in about three to five years.

If you think this might be one of those head-in-the-clouds startups, some companies are already reportedly using Energy Servers; eBay uses it for about 15%of its entire campus power (saving them $100,000 in the process). Prominent  firms of the likes of Bank of America, Coca-Cola, FedEx, Google, Staples and Walmart have already signed up to use the new power option.

What on earth is a Tweet-a-Watt, you might be wondering? Well, it’s a device that keeps track of how much power you’re using and then posts a tweet about it on Twitter for you. So, that means everyone you know can just pop online to see how much energy you’re using. For good or for bad!

The device is actually a Kill-A-Watt and an XBee receiver combined, allow you to keep track of energy usage and then post it to the web wirelessly. And the best part is you don’t have to do a thing other than open a Twitter account. You can expect to pay $20 for the standard Kill-A-Watt device plus another $90 to turn it into a tweeting machine.

[via Coolest Gadgets]

The new Aqous LCDs are capable of 450 cd/m2 luminance output, the 32-inch is better equipped in contrast department, rated at 3000:1 contrast as oppose to its smaller siblings with 1500:1 rating. Other features included analog/digital tuners for Japanese broadcast system, improved image processing LSI unit, noise reduction digital amplifier and HDMI connectivity.

There aren’t much to go on with the basic Aquous D except its energy saver performance to achieve over 50 percent power reduction. The Sharp units are sensor-based displays to auto adjust backlit brightness, but unlike the Sony’s eco friendly Bravia, its auto shutdown function reads signal inputs instead of scanning the presence of audiences in the room.

All models are available in three colors from red, white to black, and are scheduled to be released in Japan on the 20th this month. The 32 inch model will be selling for 140,000 Yen ($ 1,556), while the 26 and 20 inch models are priced at 110,000 Yen ($ 1,230) and 90,000 Yen ($ 1007) respectively.