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Cellulosic ethanol, or "treethanol," is a promising new energy source with the potential to mitigate high gas prices, national security concerns, and global climate change. Ethanol derived from cellulose-the complex sugar polymer that gives green plants their structure-has a smaller carbon footprint than other fuels and could be used to supplement or replace gasoline. But anything that requires cutting down trees while purporting to save the environment should attract a reasonable dose of skepticism.

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We all feel guilty at times buying books and paper products when we don't need them to be physical products or if we really want to save some dough and buy used textbooks for classes and cannot find them.

Well leave it to the internet and some innovation. iChapters is a an online book store that sells used textbooks, ebooks, and iChapters in an effort to solve those issues.

Plus now they are doing their part to help in a conservation effort. Everytime one of their customers buys a digital eBook or eChapter they plant a tree.

“Today’s youth are aware of the global environmental crisis and want to act. This partnership provides an exciting way for students to participate in the solution,” stated Dr. Sarah Otterstrom, Founder and Executive Director of PasoPacífico.org. “Trees are central to healthy life on earth. A single tree can provide a home to a multitude of species, filter water and provide fuel, shelter, and comfort for local people. Simply put, trees benefit people.”

You can see the tree planting effort in the slide show below.

Look up in the top right corner and you can see that I helped plant a tree. Yeah. Do it yourself today!

energy Tags: hybrid+cars" rel="tag">hybrid cars, wind+power" rel="tag">wind power

The idea of using vegetable oil as an alternate fuel source is as old as the diesel engine itself. Until recently, use of petroleum distillate to power diesel engines has been more economical than biodiesel.

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The sun comes to the southwestern US reliably for so many days every year that is is like a beacon to the rising number of solar energy companies around the world. Ausra was founded in Australia a couple years ago but last year they moved to Palo Alto in order to enter the US market. Ausra builds solar thermal technology that focuses sunlight onto pipes filled with water. The sunlight heats the water to steam which then drives turbines to create energy. Nothing too new there. However what Ausra is doing is using large mirrors that are focused on pipes overhead. They call it Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector technology. Here is what the mirrors look like.

And here is what the power schematic looks like for their plants.

On the drawing board to be built in the next two years is a 1 square mile solar thermal power plant capable of generating 175 mega watts of power. This is utility grade zero carbon power. Ausra has raised $40 million form VC sources for the development of this plant. The impact of this plant on the environment is negligible. You can hardly even see it from a distance unlike some of the solar thermal projects which rely on a tower construction.

I sat down and talked with their Chairman David Mills. He told me how it works and what they hope to accomplish.

Energy Tags: Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector, alternative

High-capacity plant to double worldwide output, create green collar jobs

LAS VEGAS—Dec. 13, 2007—Ausra Inc., the developer of utility-scale solar thermal power, announced today it is building the first U.S. manufacturing plant for solar thermal power systems in Las Vegas. The 130,000-square-foot, highly automated manufacturing and distribution center will produce the reflectors, towers, absorber tubes, and other key components of the company's solar thermal power plants.

Solar thermal power plants use fields of mirrors to capture the sun's power to produce electricity without pollution. Ausra's innovations in mirror systems have brought the price of solar power down to the level of gas-fired power today, and will soon reach prices associated with coal-fired generation. Solar thermal power plants can store energy as heat to continue power generation at night and during cloudy periods.

"Ausra can fill four square miles with solar collectors every year from this one factory, enough to provide market-priced zero-pollution power to 500,000 homes. Americans want clean power, and are tired of the market fluctuations, price increases, and pollution from fossil power plants. With market-priced solar power, we are entering the Solar Decade, in which massive construction of solar plants will take place. We are investing now in the systems and capacity to serve that need," said Bob Fishman, president and CEO of Ausra.

In November 2007, Ausra and California utility PG&E announced a power purchase agreement for a one-square-mile, 177-megawatt power plant, enough to power over 120,000 homes, to be built in central California http://ausra.com/news/releases/071105.html. Ausra's new Las Vegas facility will manufacture the solar field equipment for the PG&E project and for other power projects throughout the American Southwest. The factory, the first of its kind in the U.S., will be capable of making over 700 megawatts (electric) of solar collectors per year. The facility is expected to employ up to 50 highly skilled manufacturing workers in the Las Vegas area.

"We are proud that Ausra has chosen southern Nevada to build its U.S. manufacturing plant, bringing economic growth and new jobs to our state," said Somer Hollingsworth, president and CEO of the Nevada Development Authority (NDA). "The business-friendly environment we enjoy here provides Ausra and other companies a wealth of benefits. Ausra's decision to locate here points to Nevada becoming a leader in building and delivering clean power to our state, to our region, and to our country. Clean energy is growing our economy and helping America secure our energy future."

The plant will begin regular operation in April 2008. "We chose to locate in Nevada because it is the center of America's solar energy future. Nevada has massive solar resources, available land and a growing demand for clean energy, with huge markets next door in California and neighboring states projected to demand many thousands of megawatts over the coming years. Nevada's business-friendly climate, excellent transportation and workforce resources, and large-scale need for clean power made it the obvious choice," said Rob Morgan, Ausra executive vice president and chief development officer.

Ausra's Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector (CLFR) solar technology utilizes the heat from the sun's rays to create steam. Solar collectors boil water at high temperature to power steam turbine generators, in much the same way as traditional fossil-fuel power plants, but without use of fuels or emissions.

About Ausra Ausra, Inc. develops and deploys utility-scale solar thermal power technology to serve global electricity needs in a dependable, market-competitive, environmentally responsible manner. Located in Palo Alto, Calif., Ausra is a privately held company funded by Khosla Ventures and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. To learn more about Ausra and solar thermal power in general, visit www.ausra.com.

Energy Tags: alternative, solar energy