Atlantis Resources Corporation, the maker of turbines that generate electricity from the ocean’s waves, has joined forces with data center developer Internet Villages International to construct the Blue Data Center. Initially, tidal power will only take care of one-fifth of the data center’s requirements, but Atlantis is hopeful that if the first phase is a success, they can extend the tidal power array to make up the remaining electricity requirements.

As the world becomes progressively digitized, the energy demands from data centers are rapidly growing. How to transform those centers to use renewable energy without effecting dependability is of prime concern. Undoubtedly, Google is also looking into powering its vast data centers in a dependable and renewable energy focused manner as well.

Usually, when the word biofuels comes up, people think of a harvest of something (corn, sugarcane, etc) that can be grown in a field. However, cellulose exists in many things, from banana peels to cardboard to telephone poles. Canadian biofuel company Enerkem is focusing on telephone poles as an energy source. As a matter of fact, telephone poles are what companies are beginning to term “negative cost feedstocks”, which means anything that you get paid to take away.

Enerkem has a thermo-chemical process that transforms wood into ethanol. Despite the fact that old telephone polls are less ideal than fresh wood, due to their various chemical treatment, they are suitable for producing energy. The Enerkem plant will be converting old telephone poles into about 1.3 million gallons of ethanol per year, within a couple of months. Of course, these negative cost resources are only going to exist for so long, and will not have an impact on a significant scale. However, to help cellulosic ethanol companies get going and begin to scale up their solutions, they’re ideal.

It’s amazing what people are taken in by these days, but titles such as the one on this post have created a buzz around the blogosphere today. Even with Google coming out and saying, no, they did not find Atlantis, that people were merely observing lines made by a sonar carrying path of boats, the news continues to spread. So why not join in on it?

If you’re not aware, basically what happened is that a UK engineer sighted what he thought looked like the “lost continent” while using Google Ocean. What he viewed was reportedly over five KM below the water’s surface with the same geographical coordinate range of where many believe the “lost continent” to be.

If you want to see what all the buzz is about yourself, just boot up Google Ocean (which is available via the Google Earth program) and fill in the coordinates with 31 15′15.53 N 24 15′30.53 W. Then you can decide whether you believe its simply lines created by a path of boats, or perhaps the lost continent itself.

All across the country people are becoming concerned with both computer recycling as well as TV recycling methods, in order to help combat global warming and save our environment. You see, unfortunately, computers contain parts that may release toxins into the earth’s oil. Alternative methods of computer disposal will become more and more of a normal event as officials become knowledgeable of the danger they can pose in a landfill.

In many areas electronic stores or recycling centers are starting to accept old computers from consumers. They then take the computer apart, and place the different parts in the right containers marked for proper disposal. This is expected to become more and more mainstream, as PC manufacturers continue to upgrade computer abilities and make them more affordable for the average consumer to purchase.

Recycling old computers to save the environment is something that absolutely needs to be done, we all have a responsibility to do our part in proceting the plaent. People are going to continue to require new computers and other electronic equipment, and recycling is needed to handle all the old equipment that likely double or even triple over the coming years.

Japan has a population with high density in cities, which makes the Japanese market highly challenging in comparison with other countries. For instance, if near-shore and offshore installations could be used for wind energy. Offshore applications are more expensive because the construction costs are high. However, it is often the case that the wind is significantly stronger offshore, which could counteract any of the higher expenses. Additionally, equipment itself is improving. The price, measured in kilowatt-hour being produced, will be lower, since turbines will be more efficient. Therefore, there is an increased interest in wind energy. When compared to additional renewable energy sources, wind is highly competitive today. The largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world, Vestas wind systems, is highly involved in capital investments in Japan for the purpose of enhancing its generating capacity power from wind turbines.

World War II taught Japan to not become dependent on energy supplies from foreign nations, as the their oil supply lines were destroyed. Japan truly needs to produce energy by itself, and since its an island nation with relatively few natural resources requires constant flow of foreign investment as well as technological innovation.

Energy production using what is known as mini and microhydroelectric power plants are also gaining traction in Japan. The country has many streams and rivers, which are ideally suited for constructing such microhydroelectric plants, as are defined by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization to be producing an output reaching a maximum a hundred kilowatts. In comparison, minihydroelectric power plants can produce up to a maximum of a thousand kilowatts of electrical energy.

The smaller-scaled mini- and the micro-hydroelectric plants have been designated originally as suitable for production of electricity only in mountainous regions, but they have now, through innovation, come to be regarded as ideal for Japanese urban areas also. For example, Kawasaki City Waterworks and Tokyo Electric Power Company have already begun the implementation and development of small-scale hydroelectric power plants inside several Japanese cities.

I imagine your first question upon reading this is - What is free energy? The term free energy can be defined as that which can theoretically, using the appropriate technology, be extracted straight out of the atmosphere, apparently in large quantities. Their are many debates concerning whether or not “free energy” can become a practical reality or not, and, if so, what quantities it would be available in. As well, what would be the cost factor in harnessing such energy?

A free energy device actually has several different meanings. What is being referred to might be a device used for collecting and transmitting the energy from some source that conventional science has yet been able to validate. or a device which collects energy at without financial obligations; or what could be meant is the legendary perpetual motion machine. Needless to say, the latter - a machine that can drive itself, continuously without end, is impossible. However, this isn’t so cut and dry that a new technology for extracting the energy that is often described to be floating in the atmosphere is impossible.

Supporters of “free” energy maintain that there are vast quantities of energy can be drawn from the so called Zero Point Field. This field is described as a quantum mechanics state of matter for a specifically defined system which is achieved when the system is at the lowest possible energy state. Zero Point Energy (ZPE), also know as “residual” energy. and also “vacuum energy” generally represents the energy of empty space.

To sum things up here, if free energy every becomes a practical reality in these times, it could change our lives and the earth’s outlook signifinantly. For those reasons, my opinion is that this is something that should strongly researched.

Technologies relating to geothermal energy present a mostly untapped source of significant alternative power potential, naturally produced by the planet. Large quantities of energy are found below the earth’s crust. Tapping into this power, could help to change the way we power our lives, in turn protecting the planet.

The planet’s core temperature is as high as sixty times higher than water reaching boiling level. The tremendous heat causes pressure that are harboring energy just a couple of miles below us. Superheated liquids in the form of fluid magma, a power that is evident by volcanic eruptions, which we could tap. These liquids additionally trickle up to the surface, emerge from vents, often appearing as steams. Using technology, we can create our own vents as well as our own containment chambers for the magma, subsequently converting the energy into electric power for lighting as well as heating our homes. When building of a geothermal plant, a well would be excavated above an established magma source. Pipes would be moved down into the geothermal source, artificially causing the fluids to move to the surface to produce the required steam. The steam would turn a turbine, which would inturn generate the coveted electric power.

There is current criticism of geothermal extraction of energy which creates an obstacle to its implementation on a large scale. Critics state that conducting research to find the right areas for geothermal plants are too costly as well as taking too much time. On top of that, there is additional high expenses for building power plants, and there is no guarantees that the plant would be profitable. Some geothermal sites, once explore, could be able to only produce small amounts of steam for the power plant to be reliable and viable. Additionally, environmentalists worry that moving magma up can also move up potentially harmful materials along with it.

Nonetheless, the substantial advantages of geothermal energy are likely to exceed the criticism if only we would research it more. Geothermal energy is very efficient, with the requirements needed to tap it are small after a site is found and a power plant is erected. Additionally, geothermal plants need not be as large as electrical power plants, atomic energy facilities, or large dams, and the environment would therefore be less affected. Notably, this is an alternative form of energy—which would indicate a lesser dependent on oil and coal. Arguably most important of all, geothermal energy will last for a very long time, and therefore isn’t a commodity that would continuously become expensive, due to its ubiquity. Geothermal energy would eventually be very cheap, after appropriate research investment and power plant building costs are recovered.

Arguably, most of you reading this have never heard of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), however, believe it or not, it’s concept was first thought of in 1881, by a French engineer named Jacques D’Arsonval. That’s a long time, but to this day The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii contains the only operational OTEC plant in the world. It is an experimental plant. The biggest obstacle concerning OTEC exploration and possible implementation is its high costs.

Research indicates that thermal energy from the ocean would be significantly clean burning without adding pollutants into the environment. Unfortunately, another problem with OTEC is that with the technologies currently available, OTEC plants would be able to disrupt and possibly cause harm to local environments.

OTEC plants are capable of being utilized to pump up deep cold sea water which can subsequently used in refrigeration as well as air conditioning. Also, using sea water in an enclosed area, can be used for mariculture and aquaculture projects such as fish farming. There is certainly various uses for this alternative energy source.