Technology has reformed the way of thinking, gone are those days when everybody has to wait for a discovery to happen. With the advancement in technique, every day is a new day. It’s now possible to generate electricity by embedding a paper-thin generator in the sole of shoe.

Many futuristic scenarios has got alive because of milestone discovery by Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), to generate power by processing harmless viruses that convert mechanical energy into electricity.

The scientists have formed a generator that produces sufficient current to operate a small liquid-crystal display (LCD). It works by tapping a finger on a postage stamp-sized electrode coated with specially engineered viruses. The viruses convert the force of the tap into an electric charge. This is the first generator that produces power by harnessing the piezoelectric properties of a biological material.

Piezoelectricity is the condition in which the charge accumulates in a solid because of mechanical stress. The discovery has given a way to the scientists to fabricate tiny devices that can harvest energy form the everyday tasks, e.g. shutting a door or climbing stairs.

“Self-assembly is the much sought after goal in the finicky world of nanotechnology,” since the viruses can arrange themselves into an orderly film. This has inspired the scientists to develop microelectric devices, such as generator.

After the discovery of piezoelectric effect in 1880, it is found in crystals, ceramics, bone, proteins and DNA. The effect is  used in many applications such as cigarette lighters and scanning probe microscopes.

The Scientists applied an electrical field to a film of M13 viruses to study their behaviour. Helical proteins that coat the viruses twisted and turned in response, which is a sign of the piezoelectric effect.

Therefore, the scientists fabricated a virus-based piezoelectric energy generator and created the conditions for genetically engineered viruses to spontaneously organize into a multilayered film, which measures about one square centimetre. This film was then sandwiched between two gold-plated electrodes, which were connected by wires to a liquid-crystal display (LCD).

When pressure is applied to the generator, it produces up to six nanoamperes of current and 400 millivolts of potential, which is a quarter of the voltage of a triple A battery.

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The new electric version of RAV4 SUV from Toyota Motor Corp. will cost around $49,800 and will be for sale this summer. RAV4 will be eligible for $7,500 federal tax.  However the cost is more than double the commencing price for the gas version.

This electric SUV can go for 100 miles on a single charge. It takes six hours to recharge using a 240 -volt charger.

This Launch by Toyota has broadened the choice of electric vehicles for US buyers. Till now the only options available were for small cars like Nissan Leaf and sports cars from Tesla Motors. RAV4 is the first electric SUV. Tesla designed and build its battery by an agreement made two years ago.

Toyota expects to sell a modest 2600 RAV4 EVs over the next three years. It sold more than 1500 gas powered RAV4 in April. Toyota believes that it will attract the early techno savvy crowd who are appreciative of performance and are also concerned for the environment. It is eager to see how it is received by the market.

As vehicles will be available only in certain markets, sales will be limited. It will be available for sale in California, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The high cost of RAV4 EVs could harm sales. It is higher by $14,600 than Nissan Leaf and $10,000 higher than the cost of electric Ford Focus or the Chevrolet Volt.

Sales of electric vehicles have not taken flight as expected in the US due to the limited charging infrastructure.

IMS, the market research analyst firm forecasts an increase in PV (Photovoltaic) installations which will eventually help lessen the dependency and the usage of electricity and other fuels.

According to the latest reports of IMS, Global solar PV installations (not grids) will go up at least by 3.5 percent and up to 21 percent in 2012 despite of incentive cuts. But, Europe’s share of installations seems falling from 69 percent to 50 percent, the firm reveals.

IMS Research tracks Global solar PV installations in more than 60 countries. Based on the database, the research firm says that the number of countries installing PV have increased from just 17 in 2011 to about 23 this year.

Officials of IMS Research say that the geographic diversification is the pivotal key-factor in the increase in the installations of global PV this year as the market has become less dependent on just one or two markets, Germany still being the largest and most important. The officials also add that weakening of one single country’s policies will be beneficial for the market. The industry will become more stable and stronger in the long term as a result.

An increasing number of countries installing more and more PVs will eventually consume lesser amounts of electricity and other fuels, the prestigious research firm IMS reveals.

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India’s impending energy crisis is an urgent and growing concern as fuel inefficiency are greatly bearing down on homes and industries in most parts of the country. The country is struggling to provide round-the-clock power as around 50 power plants have just a few days of coal stock to fuel the power stations in the country. With the shortage of electricity reaching 21,000 megawatts, the energy crisis is expected to worsen this summer.

The situation which has been deteriorating with every passing year, is running out of options as Coal India Limited has faced a shortage of 142 million tonnes. The country cannot get enough fuel, primarily due to political corruption, lack of proper transportation facilities, poor management, incompetent policies and environmental concerns.

Coal India which controls 80 percent of the production of coal in India has been hit by government policies, which requires it to sell coal at 70 percent discount to market prices. India sits on one of the largest reserves of coal in the world, but CIL has been criticized for failing to invest in new mines and technologies. India cannot produce enough coal to meet the growing energy demands. Coal production is growing at an average of 5 percent every year, but demand is escalating between 10 to 15 percent per year.

A few of electricity producers have been importing coal from Indonesia but even that is not a very viable option as Indonesia has doubled the coal prices.

Lack of availability of coal is not just a daunting energy crisis that is unable to provide power to one third of India’s total population, but it is also slowing the country’s economic growth. GDP is expected to climb 7 percent this year from a 10 percent that was enjoyed in 2010.

Moreover, India has not exploited clear energy sources like solar or wind power to meet the growing need of energy. For a fast developing nation like India that is expected to attract foreign investments, power woes could have been easily addressed by the politicians. But political battles and corruption scandals have kept them distracted from the grave energy crisis faced by India today.

In March 2012, consumers purchased a record 52,000 gas-electric hybrids and all-electric cars compared to last year’s record of 34,000 in the same month.

According to the Ward’s AutoInfoBank, the above categories when combined together give 3.64% of the total U.S. Sales, which are the highest monthly market share. This data has broken the previous record of 3.56% because of following the Cash for Clunkers program.

Most buyers getting attracted towards new models such as Toyota Prius C sub impact, the Prius V wagon and Camry hybrid. As a result of fluctuating gas prices near or above $4 per gallon, more buyers are approaching showrooms.

A Denver Software engineer, David Martin said that he saves at least $150 per month on gas with his Chevrolet Volt.

He said: “As the cost of gasoline rises, my future savings can only increase.”

As a result of increasing demand for electric cars such as the Volt and the Nissan Leaf, makers can take a relief.

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TAQA has been aggressively expanding in the energy sector over the last four years and its latest decision to move away from Tesla was not unexpected. Meanwhile TAQA has announced a 50 percent interest in a Kurdistan power plant, reassessing its interests to expand in the MENA region.

According to Frank Perez, TAQAs executive head of global power and water, Iraq has a great potential when it comes to significant need for power and water. Along with Iran & Kurdistan, power could also be exported to neighboring countries including southern Turkey and Western Iran.

TAQA is buying a 50 percent stake in 1,000 megawatt Mass Global Investment Company which has several assets under its authority. The Sulaymaniyah plant which has been operational since 2009 has a capacity of 750 megawatts with additional 250 megawatts under construction.

Iraq including Kurdistan currently faces a severe shortage of electricity. By 2015, power demand is expected to rise to 16,000MW, but supply is limited to 5,000MW at present. This has fostered investments by the Abu Dhabi company.

TAQA currently has interests in oil and gas drilling in western Canada and the North Sea and is a major shareholder in the Netherlands’ Bergermeer gas storage facility.

Image Credit: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication / www.taqaglobal.com

Eon Electric was initially known as Indo Asian Fusegear Ltd. The existing business of wiring accessories, wires and cables, luminaries and efficient light sources will continue. It will also venture into new business ventures.

AMTL will deal with business regarding to energy meters, energy management services, power generation and other related areas. An official statement claims that it will soon be on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.

Chairman & managing director of Eon Electronic said, “”Rebranding to Eon from Indo Asian represents dynamism of the organization to consistently evolve with changing times. The decision to demerge the metering and power business was also taken keeping in mind the same idea.”

Managing director and ATML chairman PK Ranade said, “The metering and power generation and energy management businesses require a totally different strategic approach. To capitalize on the tremendous potential in these business segments, the decision to demerge these verticals has been implemented.”

According to a deal signed between NRG Energy and the California Public Utilities Commission on 23rd of March 2012, the energy production firm has announced to invest about $1000 million to set up a network of electric vehicle charging stations over the next four years in California. The company has aimed to build around 200 publicly available fast-charging stations positioned in the Bay Area, in the San Joaquin Valley, in Los Angeles and in San Diego County.

The deal has paved a new way to sort out the litigation pertaining to a long-term electricity contract signed by a subsidiary of Dynergy over 10 years ago. After the deal, Dynergy has co-owned a set of power plants in California with NRG.

In order to reduce consumer electric bills, NGR has promised to pay $20 million to the California Public Utilities Commission.

The company said that the charging stations will be able to extend the range of EVs by 50 miles in less than 15 minutes of charging. However, there are less than five such quick-charge stations operating in California.

NGR will also extend wiring to 10,000 individual charging stations in homes, offices, schools, hospitals and other selected locations.

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Researchers in Washington have implanted a bio cell battery in a living cell. This enables production of electricity  over a period of time, that makes use of the physiologically produced glucose as a form of fuel.

As the snail is a living electrified being, it will continue to reproduce electricity after feeding and relaxation. The glucose produced is consumed by biocatalytic electrodes in the process.

The study was led by Evgeny Katz of Clarkson University. The study  revealed that the snail implanted with bio fuel cell will be able to generate electricity in natural surroundings. It will be empowered to produce sustainable electrical micropower for activating various bioelectronic devices.

Implantable biofuel cells for generating sustainable micro power in living organisms is not a novel concept. However, such are still rare, complex and difficult to design.

Katz along with other scientists are working on insect cyborgs.  This research is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

There have been very few reported cases of enzyme-based biofuel cells operating in living animals. Implantation of biocatalytic electrodes and then the extraction of electrical power from the living animals is still more difficult. This feat has not been achieved yet.

Conceptual drawing for EMOF molecular heat pump for climate control in electric vehicles. (Creative Commons / By PNNL - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

President Obama is aggressively promoting his plan of having 1 million electric cars on the road by 2015, by convincing the Congress to increase the tax credit to $10,000 next year. While Republicans scorn at the idea of increasing the tax credit from the present $7,500, the fact is electric cars are expensive to heat.

However,  researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, USA have devised a molecular heat pump that could make electric cars more affordable to operate. This technology will certainly help Obama’s target in making the vehicle more popular among the public.

Normally, internal combustion engines produce a lot of heat which is effective in heating the passenger cabin in winter. But the same when expected from battery operated vehicles that produce very little heat, would result in drastic reduction in the driving range, by as much as 40%. Researchers Pete McGrail and Praveen Thallapally from PNNL and chemists Mike Zaworotko and Shengqian Ma from University of South Florida will receive a grant of $800,000 to create a 5-pound molecular heat pump the size of a 2-liter bottle, called as electrical metal-organic framework, or EMOF. This molecular heat pump would handle the vehicle’s heating and cooling systems, effectively circulating the heat or cold as needed. Thus, the car would be able to travel longer distances before it needs to be recharged again.

If the project is successful, it would reduce the operating costs of the car by a third. In addition, it offers other advantages such as reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and dependance on foreign oil.