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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: power grid

power grid stories: 15 news summaries

 Obama Tags $3.4B 
 for Smart Energy Grid 

Plan will create tens of thousands of jobs and cheaper electricity

(Newser) - President Obama will roll out a plan to use $3.4 billion in stimulus funds to modernize the nation’s electrical grid today. The “smart grid” spending will go to private contractors, utilities, and municipal governments in grants of between $400,000 and $2 million. The administration expects $4.... More »

 Exercisers Boost Power Grid 

Green tweak captures energy from popular gym equipment

(Newser) - Exercise buffs who hop on an elliptical machine for half an hour can power a laptop for an hour with the generated energy, thanks to a tweak made by a young Florida entrepreneur. The technique takes advantage of a generator already built into a popular model of the cross-trainers. About... More »

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power grid green energy fitness gym human-powered energy

(Newser) - To combat the rising threat of attack on the nation’s computer networks, the US government is turning to the dark side for help, the AP reports. A call has gone out for so-called “ethical hackers” who “think like the bad guy” to work with Homeland Security to... More »

(Newser) - In the search for renewable energy, Europe and the US are turning to one of the earth’s most abundant resources—the tides, Bloomberg reports. Technology developed three decades ago to turn tidal energy into electricity in developing countries is finally finding traction in the West. The largest grid-connected turbine,... More »

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environment power grid ocean electricity green energy turbines tides

Google CEO: Energy Bailout
Is a Must, Too

Adviser thinks Obama should open power grids, fund innovation

(Newser) - Google CEO Eric Schmidt thinks the government needs to fund a massive reinvention of America’s energy infrastructure, opening up the grid to startups and funding innovation, Information Week reports. It’s crucial “that small startups with funny names get founded and funded in the new regime,” said... More »

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Google power grid Eric Schmidt startup bailout energy policy

OPINION

 Gore: 5 Steps to Save Planet 

Nobel laureate calls on Obama, new Congress to act now

(Newser) - The road to energy efficiency is paved with the same solutions needed to fix the economic crisis, Al Gore writes in a New York Times op-ed. Dismissing proposals for domestic drilling, the climate crusader says, “We simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical... More »

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climate change Barack Obama energy Congress Middle East Al Gore power grid carbon renewable energy auto industry foreign oil sustainability

Outdated Power Grid Blowing
Wind Energy Hopes: Experts

Creaky infrastructure not able to deliver alternative energy to consumers

(Newser) - The nation's outdated and congested power grid is putting a damper on plans to expand renewable energy programs, the New York Times reports. Generating power from the wind and sun is becoming easier—but getting the power to consumers who live far from the country's windiest and sunniest places remains... More »

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alternative energy power grid electricity renewable energy wind wind power wind farm

  African Sun Could Power EU 

Scientists propose African solar farms for Europe's power

(Newser) - All of the European continent’s electrical needs could be generated by massive solar farms in Africa, scientists posited today, unveiling a plan to do just that, the Guardian reports. The proposal, which would require an area the size of Wales—insignificant in the vast expanse of the Sahara... More »

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Africa power grid European Union Europe renewable energy solar power Sahara solar panel

 GM, Utilities Join
 to Speed Plug-Ins 

Three-dozen utilities agree to help integrate electric cars with their grids

(Newser) - General Motors and three dozen electric utilities in nearly 40 states have agreed to work together on the transition to plug-in electric vehicles that are expected to begin rolling out within 2 years, the Wall Street Journal reports. With GM’s Chevy Volt and Saturn Vue  expected to hit the... More »

Cybercrooks Hacking Power Grid

In cities outside the US, hackers shut down grid for blackmail

(Newser) - Foreign extortionists have managed to hack into US power grids and shut them down, PC World reports, citing a CIA analyst speaking at a security conference this week. "In at least one case, the disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not know who executed these... More »

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CIA Internet power grid electricity extortion power outage hackers cybercrime

Feds Prepare
for Cyberwar

Attack by hackers, likely from China, could cut communications,
power, banking

(Newser) - Readying for a new cyber doomsday in which Americans wake to find the power off, cell phones dead, and no access to cash, the Bush administration is considering creating an agency to protect critical public and private computers. Experts say that any attack, which would likely originate in China, would... More »

Iraq Electric Grid Seized
by Militias

Baghdad increasingly
in darkness as armed bands horde power

(Newser) - Large swaths of Iraq's power grid have fallen under the control of armed militias, the New York Times reports. The balkanization of power stations worsens an already fragile situation in which insurgents blow up power lines and leave Baghdad without power at the height of a 110-degree summer. More »

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Iraq insurgents Baghdad power grid electricity militia

Iraq's Power Grid Is Near Collapse

Insurgents target plants, and provinces are disconnecting from the system

(Newser) - Iraq’s power grid is teetering on the edge of collapse as insurgents destroy almost any attempt to restore power and the country’s fractured government is stalled, the AP reports. With enough power for only half of demand, there have been four nationwide blackouts in the last two days.... More »

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Iraq energy insurgents power grid power gas prices

Booming India Is
Starved for Power

Chronic electricity shortages belie booming economy

(Newser) - India's economy is growing so fast it has outstripped its electrical capacity, leaving burgeoning businesses, industries and homes to generate their own power with soot-belching diesel-powered generators for hours every day. Half of India's populace has no connection to the grid at all, and new construction often goes up without... More »

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energy nuclear power India alternative energy power grid coal power electricity US economy

Plug-In Has Power to Spare

Higher-Capacity Batteries Open PossibilitiesMay Make Motorists Into Energy Traders

(Newser) - A souped-up plug-in hybrid unveiled yesterday has excited talk of a future in which  cleaner-running cars are also profitable. With a new lithium-ion battery that can store up to nine kilowatt/hours of electricity, a hybrid owner could buy electricity at night, store it in the battery, and then sell it... More »

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energy environment alternative energy power grid energy trading electricity hybrid car cars

15 Stories