electricity

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Elevator Horror Sparked Tallest Building Shutdown

Passengers trapped after crash, breaking glass, dust

(Newser) - The mysterious sudden shutdown of the world's tallest building in Dubai this week occurred after panicky elevator passengers were stuck between floors for close to an hour, new reports have revealed. People on the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa tower heard a crash and breaking glass Sunday, and dust...

Chavez Declares Electricity Emergency

Venezuelan leader blames drought, capitalism for shortages

(Newser) - Hugo Chavez has declared a state of emergency, giving his government extra powers to deal with chronic electricity shortages. The Venezuelan leader announced measures including a 100% surcharge on electric bills that show a 10% increase in usage. Chavez warned that the worst drought in decades has hit hydroelectric production...

Here Come Electric Cars— But Cities Aren't Ready

People without driveways or garages have nowhere to charge

(Newser) - If electric cars are ever going to put a meaningful dent in America's fuel habits, cities must start getting proactive now, writes Robert Gammon. Automakers are busy preparing plug-ins for the road, but the logistics of keeping them charged will leave many buyers out of the loop. Specifically, apartment and...

Gov't Will Slash Greenhouse Emissions: Obama

Executive order requires federal agencies to reduce waste, conserve energy

(Newser) - Federal agencies have until 2020 to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 28% under an executive order President Obama signed today. The order also calls for improvements in energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste reduction. "As the largest energy consumer in the United States, we have a responsibility to...

Google Applies to Buy, Sell Electricity

Search giant wants to tap the grid like a utility

(Newser) - Google has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to become an “electricity marketer,” a designation that would allow it to buy and sell energy in bulk like a utility company. It’s an unorthodox move, but one Google says will help it power its sprawling operations...

Buffett's Railroad Buy Is a (Smart) Bet on Coal
Buffett's Railroad Buy
Is a (Smart) Bet on Coal
ANALYSIS
Nov 3, 2009 5:56 PM CST

Buffett's Railroad Buy Is a (Smart) Bet on Coal

Growth in US economy will boost electricity demand

(Newser) - Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of railroad operator Burlington North Santa Fe is really a "huge bet" by Warren Buffett on the coal industry, writes Steve Gelsi . Burlington hauls more coal than anything else, and the material accounted for a quarter of its third-quarter revenue. Buffett already is heavily invested...

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....

New Google Mirrors May Cut Solar Power Costs

Would focus sun's energy to produce heat, steam

(Newser) - Google is working on new mirrors to make solar thermal power significantly cheaper, Reuters reports. If it works, the technology could reduce the cost of building a plant to draw power from the sun by 25% or more. “We've been looking at very unusual materials for the mirrors both...

Next Clunkers You Can Cash In On? Appliances

(Newser) - If you missed out on cashing in on that clunker in your driveway, your next chance may be no farther than the kitchen, USA Today reports. Stimulus funds that will give consumers rebates as high as $200 for replacing old, inefficient appliances with newer models are due to start flowing...

Recession Pulls Plug on Electricity Prices

(Newser) - Electricity prices across America have nosedived amid an almost unprecedented fall in demand, the Wall Street Journal reports. Market prices are down up to 40% from the historic highs of last year, and are on course to keep plummeting. The lower prices aren't always seen by consumers immediately because of...

Korea Roadway Recharges Cars
 Korea Roadway Recharges Cars 
May 18, 2009 2:31 PM CDT

Korea Roadway Recharges Cars

(Newser) - South Korean scientists are working on road technology that allows electric vehicles to continually recharge while driving, Reuters reports. Inductive charging, used with watertight electric toothbrushes, requires no contact between power source and appliance. For vehicles, electric strips would be embedded in the road at intervals, and a magnetic field...

Foreign Cyberspies Threaten Electrical Grid

(Newser) - It may sound like a B-grade espionage thriller, but foreign cyberspies have infiltrated the US electrical grid and stand ready to wreak havoc at the right moment, the Wall Street Journal reports. The foreign hackers—from China, Russia, and elsewhere—have left behind software programs that could theoretically allow them...

Clean Coal Myth Proves Industry Is Declining

(Newser) - Clean coal is a myth, and the companies selling it “have their heads stuck in the mine,” Thomas Kostigen writes on MarketWatch. Although Americans generate close to 50% of their energy from coal, the technology is so yesterday—and the industry is not poised to move forward. It...

Tiny New Fibers Draw Power From Wind, Flowing Blood

(Newser) - Scientists have developed electricity-generating fibers that can be embedded in clothing and other materials and draw power from the smallest of movements, LiveScience reports. The zinc oxide nanowires are as small as 1/5,000th the width of a human hair and produce energy when they vibrate, even from blood flowing...

Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission
Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission
ANALYSIS
Mar 23, 2009 3:54 PM CDT

Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission

Firms use green hype to build power lines that could carry electricity from coal

(Newser) - Plans to green the US power supply are in full swing, with the Obama administration working toward the goal of doubling the current supply of alternative energy over the next 3 years. But, some complain, power companies are using the popularity of green power to push through a needless—but...

Power Returns to Kabul, but Bribes Persist

Deal boosts electricity access, business in struggling Afghan capital

(Newser) - For the first time since the fall of the Taliban, the glow of light hangs over Kabul late into the night, GlobalPost reports. An energy deal with Uzbekistan is bringing unprecedented access to electricity to the Afghan capital, where most neighborhoods only had power for about four hours every second...

93-Year-Old Left to Freeze Leaves $500K to Hospital

Estate may be worth more than $500K

(Newser) - The 93-year-old Michigan man who froze to death last month after his electricity was cut off was a World War II medic who left his estate—possibly more than $500,000—to a local hospital, CNN reports. Despite the savings, Martin Schur was $1,000 behind on his utility bill....

Ky. Deploys National Guard for Ice Storm Relief

400,000 people still without power

(Newser) - Kentucky has deployed 4,600 of its National Guard troops to go door-to-door in what the state's governor is calling "the biggest natural disaster that this state has ever experienced in modern history.” At least seven—and as many as 21—people may have died as a result...

Brits Hunt for Oldest Bulb
 Brits Hunt for Oldest Bulb 
Jan 31, 2009 6:12 PM CST

Brits Hunt for Oldest Bulb

(Newser) - The UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry has offered a $700 prize for the lucky Briton who turns up with the oldest working light bulb in the nation, the Telegraph reports. The society hopes the search will produce a bulb even older than the current world record holder—a lamp...

New Power Source Catches a Wave: Ocean Tides

(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,...

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