17 Apr
2018
Whimsical park built of recycled materials pops up in Shanghai
Green Building Materials, Construction & Design | CHINA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Shanghai’s hip Anfu Road recently sprouted a whimsical urban intervention that shows how one man’s trash create a treasured public space. AIM Architecture and URBAN MATTERS designed the temporary urban park, called Urban Bloom, as an experimental exercise pairing reclaimed pallets with glowing tree-like sculptures. “Transformed into an ideal urban garden, and constructed entirely from artificial means, it is a project for a city that…
12 Apr
2018
Uravu’s zero-electricity Aqua Panels produce gallons of water from thin air
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | INDIA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Uravu, a startup based in Hyderabad, India, has created a device that can produce water from an unlikely source–the air itself. The company’s affordable, electricity-free Aqua Panels use solar thermalenergy to convert vapor into usable water – and they should be available to the public within two years. “There’s no need of any electricity or moving parts,” Uravu co-founder Swapnil Shrivastav told Quartz India. “It is just a passive device that you…
08 Apr
2018
104% of Portugal’s electricity consumption in March came from renewable energy
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | PORTUGAL
Published by : Eco Media Asia
March was a good month for renewable energy in Portugal. The country’s monthly clean energyproduction exceeded demand, according to a report from the Portuguese Renewable Energy Association (APREN) and the Sustainable Earth System Association (ZERO). And this likely won’t be the last time Portugal obtains so much power via clean sources; the report said, “Last month’s achievement is an example of what will happen…
20 Mar
2018
IE Expo 2018: Asia's Leading Trade Fair for Environmental Technology Solutions
Others | CHINA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
You're invited to attend the Asia’s leading environmental show on May 3-5, 2018 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre, ChinaAsia's leading environmental show, IE expo China 2018 offers an effective business and networking platform for Chinese and international professionals in the environmental sector and is accompanied by first-class technical-scientific conference program. It is the ideal platform for the professionals in the environmental industry to…
15 Mar
2018
Germany Sets New Solar Record By Meeting Nearly Half of Country’s Weekend Power Demand
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | GERMANY
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Germany fed a whopping 22 gigawatts of solar power per hour into the national grid last weekend, setting a new record by meeting nearly half of the country’s weekend power demand. After the Fukushima disaster, Japan opted to shut down all of its nuclear power stations and Germany followed suit after considerable public pressure. This seems to have paved the way for greater investment in solar energy projects. The Renewable Energy Industry (IWR) in…
12 Mar
2018
EvoWheel converts almost any bicycle into an electric bike in just 30 seconds
Green Transportation & Logistics | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Ready to give your old cruiser a swanky electric makeover? The innovative EvoWheel turns almost any old regular bike into a speedy e-bike in under 30 seconds. The brilliant design, which just launched a fund-raising campaign on Indiegogo, is an app-controlled wheel that gives regular bikes a speed boost up to 20 mph.The EvoWheel design is incredibly user-friendly in terms of installation. With just a wrench, bicyclists just have to replace…
24 Feb
2018
The E-Fan X jet heralds an electric passenger plane revolution
Green Transportation & Logistics | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
The E-Fan X is a hybrid-electric jet plane that may herald a new era of electric power in transportation. Designed by a consortium that includes Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens, the E-Fan X will offer partially electric powered flights that are cheaper, quieter, and more sustainable. “Aviation has been the last frontier in the electrification of transport, and slow to catch up,” said Rolls-Royce chief technology officer Paul Stein, according to the…
22 Feb
2018
New 1 km solar road opens in Jinan, China
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | CHINA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
China is getting in on the solar road-building action. A one-kilometer stretch of solar highway developed by Qilu Transportation Development Group just opened for testing near Jinan, the capital city of China’s Shandong Province. According to Quartz the expressway has three layers: the solar panels rest in the middle, with insulation below and transparent concrete on top.Solar panels sprawl across 5,875 square…
20 Feb
2018
2017 was the UK’s ‘greenest year’ for energy
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
The United Kingdom recently marked its greatest year ever for the use of clean energy, breaking 13 national renewable energy records in the process. According to a report by the National Grid, the UK generated more power from renewable sources than fossil fuels for the first time throughout the month of June. Great Britain also achieved its first full 24 hours of electric power without burning coal in April. These and other achievements…
18 Feb
2018
Dutch utility plans massive wind farm island
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
TenneT, the primary Dutch electric utility company, is planning to construct a “windfarm island” in the North Sea. This island would serve as an operational hub for a network of nearby offshore wind farms with a facility much larger than any existing centers. The plan, already in its advanced stages, proposes Dogger Bank, 125km (78 miles) off the East Yorkshire coast of England, as a potential location for the wind farm island. Once constructed,…
16 Feb
2018
New double-pane quantum dot solar windows generate power with better efficiency
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Researchers at an American national laboratory have now employed quantum dots for double-pane solar windows that offer shading, insulation, and, of course, generate energy – with greater efficiency. The Los Alamos National Laboratory team drew on a new window architecture utilizing two layers of low-priced quantum dots, tuned to take in distinct parts of the solar spectrumThe double-pane windows were equipped…
14 Feb
2018
Wind power supplied 43.6% of Denmark’s energy in 2017
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | DENMARK
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Denmark set a new renewable energy record in 2017 by obtaining nearly half of its power from wind. The renewable source supplied 43.6 percent of electricity demand, beating the nation’s prior record of 42 percent in 2015. In just a few years, the country could obtain 50 percent of its power from wind.Denmark’s wind turbines were particularly active in 2017, generating 14,700 gigawatt-hours in 12 months for a new…
12 Feb
2018
London store recycles 60,000 plastic bottles for 3D-printed interior
Others | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
You can tell that Bottletop, a “sustainable luxury” brand that transforms castoff materials into chic carryalls, takes its zero-waste philosophy to heart. Case in point? Its new flagship store on London’s Regent Street, which boasts a 3D-printed interior derived almost entirely from recycled plastic bottles. Together with Krause Architects and Ai Build, Bottletop conscripted a troop of Kuka robots to print sections…
10 Feb
2018
Floating solar rig from Columbia University harvests hydrogen fuel from seawater
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Engineers at Columbia University have created a “solar fuels rig,” which floats on the ocean, captures solar energy, then uses that energy to extract hydrogen from seawater. Hydrogen is a clean source of energy, though methods to extract it have often proven too costly or energy intensive to be viable. A typical hydrogen extraction system uses water electrolysis, in which H2 and O2 are separated by sending an electric current through water and divided…
08 Feb
2018
Marco Casagrande’s Solar Powered Fishermen Attract Oysters in Taiwan
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | TAIWAN, ROC
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Located off the island of Xiamen near Kinmen, Taiwan, four soaring fishermen sculptures rise from the beach at low tide. Designed by Marco Casagrande, the public art installation becomes partially submerged at high tide, which will collect oysters growing on the fishermen’s “legs” over time. At night, the fishermen twinkle with solar powered LED lights. Guarding the trail that appears at low tide outside of Great Kinmen, two fishermen…
06 Feb
2018
Boston just officially banned single-use plastic bags
Others | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Boston just became Massachusetts’ 60th town to pass a ban on plastic bags. Mayor Martin Walsh recently signed the measure, which will go into effect next December – and a statewide ban is pending before the legislature.357 million single-use plastic bags will be used in Boston this year, according to Metro. Councilor Matt O’Malley, lead sponsor of the measure, said 20 tons of plastic bags are tossed into Boston’s…
04 Feb
2018
MIT’s winning solar-powered dome tree habitats for Mars mimic earthly forests
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
If humans start constructing cities on Mars, we have an opportunity to build sustainably from the start. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team designed an environmentally friendly city for the red planet that mimics a forest, with solar-powered dome tree habitats connected with roots, or tunnels. Their vision, called Redwood Forest, recently won first place in the Mars City Designcompetition’s architecture category.As…
02 Feb
2018
Gorgeous Belize eco-resort will offer 100% carbon neutral villas
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | BELIZE
Published by : Eco Media Asia
A new eco resort in Belize is pulling out all of the stops by offering an inventory of carbon-neutral luxury residences – a first for the Caribbean. Itz’ana Resort & Residences will feature a green building portfolio unprecedented in the area. The complex – designed by Boston-based architect Roberto de Oliveira Castro – will offer four- and five-bedroom villas that are carbon neutral, built with locally-sourced materials and…
31 Jan
2018
SunPower’s new solar shingles are 15% more efficient than conventional photovoltaics
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
SunPower has achieved a 15 percent efficiency increase in its panels in part by incorporating a novel design: solar shingles. For only $9 in additional costs from adding solar cells, the San Jose-based manufacturer’s P Series solar panels can be structured like shingles, maximizing direct sunlight exposure and raising efficiency. Many of the features incorporated into the P Series solar panels were created by Cogenra, a solar panel producer…
29 Jan
2018
Retractable solar sails to help power “world’s most eco-friendly cruise ship”
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | SPAIN
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Peace Boat has been sailing the world since 1983, laboring to build a culture of peace through education – and they just unveiled a new Ecoship that could take to the seas in 2020. A closed-loop water system, whale-inspired hydrodynamic hull, and retractable solar sails are among the features that make this vessel, according to Oliver Design, the “world’s most eco-friendly cruise ship.” Cruise ships aren’t typically known for sustainability.…