Formed to further the “green energy” movement, Tech-Owls in Action (TOA) is Oregon Tech’s Renewable Energy Club. I find myself in good company with peers who are eager to do their parts in engineering clean energy solutions to the world’s energy problems. During the first term at Oregon Tech’s new, consolidated Wilsonville campus, TOA [...]
Quicklink to “Wedge Game”
If you are worried about climate change and have been involved in the discussion, this picture may look familiar. Here (below) is a graph of our expected carbon emission path vs. a sustainable path. The gap between the two, I admit, is quite intimidating. It is possible to bridge the two and [...]
The idea of using algae as a photo-bioreactor certainly isn’t new. For decades, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists have been studying algae as a natural mechanism for producing clean water and oxygen. Latin for “seaweed” algae are a large and diverse group of plantlike single-cellular organisms. Algae contain chlorophyll and can manufacture [...]
I would like to pay homage to a catalyst of change. To a city that will be the model for all new cities world-wide. To a city dedicated to 0 wastes, 0 carbon emissions, and being 100% fossil fuel free. Masdar City is a $22 billion renewable energy metropolis currently under construction in the United [...]
Photovoltaic (PV) panels are made of a semi-conductive material, primarily silicon, which generates electrical power by converting solar energy into an electrical current. Photovoltaics are a particularly important step in a national motion toward clean-energy production. Perhaps just as important, photovoltaic panels also provide a path away from commercial power production. With clean energy incentives [...]
Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC)
Fuel Cells are simple mechanisms specifically designed to draw electricity from chemical conversion. They are being widely studied for their ability to generate electricity in static, mobile, and even remote locations. A variety of fuel cell types have been developed since their advent over 170 years ago, differing in fuel and electrolyte [...]
What is the real cost of cheap power, and why isn’t it cheap?! As consumers we look at our power bills and see we are charged per Kilowatt-Hour while oblivious to cost factors such as maintenance, management, transmission, distribution, and profit. So let’s take a second to think about a few of these. Maintenance does [...]
The US depends upon a constant oil supply in order to remain an economically competitive nation, this much is certain. It remains questionable whether the push for offshore drilling will grant the security of national energy independence. But in the midst of the largest man-made disaster of our time, which is visible from space, the [...]
Meet Your Secretary of Energy: Steven Chu
“Coal is my worst nightmare”
Nominated by President Barack Obama, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate, Dr. Steven Chu assumed office as Secretary of Energy on January 21, 2009. The way that America thinks about energy is undergoing a drastic evolution! Reflecting this, the recently appointed Secretary of Energy [...]
Independence Day has always been an outlet for me to explore what freedom really means. As an American, it is a celebration to the beginning of my culture and the strength we have together as a nation. In the 21st century however, on the break of a new energy frontier, I want to join in [...]