Jul 24 2009

The Green Seen

Posted by: Leonard Anderson

Several items relating to the business and technology of clean energy caught our attention this week:

• Yet another hybrid vehicle is in the offing, this time a test car in a Toyota Prius shell equipped with a super capacity battery and a micro-jet turbine engine by ETV Motors, an Israeli company. The turbine engine serves as a charger for the high-density battery to run the car 35-50 miles on a single charge. The turbine can operate on gasoline, diesel and biofuel, says ETV, and the battery is based on lithium manganese nickel oxide. Tests may be held next year.
• Toyota is launching a nationwide promotion -  "Harmony Between Man, Nature and Machine" -  for its new 2010 Prius hybrid and calling attention to a solar power angle for the car. Toyota is putting up 18-foot-high plastic flowers in a plaza in Manhattan with solar cells in the petals and stems to power cell phones, computers and a Wi-Fi network for Internet connections. The new Prius features rooftop solar panels to power the ventilation system. The promo will also move to Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• The Pacific island state of Tuvalu halfway between Hawaii and Australia aims to generate all of its power from renewable energy sources by 2020. The government has installed Tuvalu's first solar power system and wants to inspire major nations at the global climate change negotiations in Copenhagen later this year. Tuvalu, with a peak elevation of just more than 14 feet, and other island nations are worried about flooding from rising seas. "We look forward to the day when our nation offers an example to all - powered entirely by natural resources such as the sun and the wind," a government official said.

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