26 Oct
2016
Iceland is drilling the “hottest hole on Earth” to harvest energy from magma
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | ICELAND
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Geothermal energy plants use the Earth’s own heat as a power source – and now Iceland is taking the technology several steps further by harvesting energy from liquid magma. The nation is drilling deep into the planet to tap temperatures from 400 to 1000 degrees Celsius, which could produce ten times more electricity than typical geothermal sources.Iceland already avoids the use of fossil fuels, but that isn’t stopping their pursuit of innovation. The Iceland…
25 Oct
2016
New Source solar panels pull clean drinking water from the air
Resource Recovery & Environment Management | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
A new kind of solar panel is being tested in water scarce regions of Ecuador, Jordan, and Mexico where the device, called Source, pulls moisture from the atmosphere to provide clean drinking water. Developed by the Arizona-based startup Zero Mass Water, the setup uses solar energy to produce potable water for a family of four or an entire hospital, depending on how many panels are in use. Last year, the company raised $7 million to back a series of pilot programs…
24 Oct
2016
Wind power could supply 20% of global electricity by 2030
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | CHINA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Although solar power gets more press, the wind power industry is growing nearly as fast. The (GWEC) released an historic report Tuesday in Beijing, saying 20 percent of the world’s total electricity could come from wind by as early as 2030. With last year’s Paris climate deal as a strong motivating factor, the group predicts the world’s total wind power capacity could grow by nearly five times over the next 14 years, reaching as much as 2,110 gigawatts (GW)…
22 Oct
2016
LEED Gold Hankook Tire R+D Centre harvests rainwater for cooling in Asia’s Silicon Valley
Green Building Materials, Construction & Design | KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Asia’s “Silicon Valley” in Daejeon, South Korea just welcomed its newest addition: the LEED Gold-certified Hankook Tire research and development center. Designed by Foster + Partners, the recently opened Hankook Technodome represents the company's brand vision while serving as a pleasant and environmentally friendly workplace. Sustainable design strategies are at the heart of the center’s architecture - from the natural light-filled offices to the rainwater…
20 Oct
2016
World’s first (nearly) unbreakable LED light bulb can be dropped off the side of a building and still work
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Drop it off a building, throw it down the stairs or carry it around in your bag with no padding. Lighting Science says that its new Durabulb can withstand all of that and more, making it the world's first (nearly) unbreakable LED light bulb. The lightweight bulb consumes about 80 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and slashes the packaging materials needed to ship it thanks to its ultra-rugged design. The game-changing bulb was even lauded recently…
19 Oct
2016
Ron Arad designs the modular Armadillo Tea Pavilion for indoor and outdoor use
Green Building Materials, Construction & Design | ISRAEL
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Israeli architect Ron Arad designed a delicate tea pavilion that, despite its seemingly simple construction, boasts a striking sculptural form. Named the Armadillo Tea Pavilion after its likeness to the animal’s body, the freestanding building features a modular timber shell rugged enough for outdoor or indoor use. The timber pavilion was created for Revolution Precrafted, a company that offers limited edition, prefabricated homes and pavilions designed by…
18 Oct
2016
Invisible Dyaqua solar cells look just like stone, concrete, and wood
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | ITALY
Published by : Eco Media Asia
If you have ever wanted to build your own solar-powered home without sporting a roof full of… well, solar panels, Dyaqua is here to help. The company’s Invisible Solar panels are meant to look just like concrete bricks, slate shingles, and even wooden boards, making renewable energy flow fluidly with classic architecture.These familiar styles help designers avoid what the company calls “visual damage” typically associated with clunky solar panels. Buildings…
17 Oct
2016
Egypt's first solar-powered village rises from the desert in Bahariya Oasis
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | EGYPT
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Egypt's first solar-powered village has risen from the desert. Located in Bahariya Oasis and powered by building-integrated solar panels, KarmBuild's Tayebat Workers Village currently provides shelter for 350 people. KarmBuild says it is "the only company in Egypt to integrate solar technology into a building's design", and its use of local, natural materials ensures a gentle environmental footprint.Principal architect Karim Kafrawi said in Egypt, solar panels…
14 Oct
2016
Antarctica’s only luxury camp is 100% powered by wind and solar energy
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | ANTARCTICA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
When planning a vacation, some people like to head to a tropical beach and others prefer mountain destinations. However, for the very few who are looking for a more extreme destination, this resort in Antarctica has to top the list. White Desert’s Camp Whichaway is the first and only luxury camp on the planet’s most desolate continent, and it is powered completely by wind and solar. Designed to have “zero impact” on the environment, Camp Whichaway nonetheless…
13 Oct
2016
Scotland region will be 100% powered by kites within a decade
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
In parts of Scotland, one response to the need for renewable energy is to go fly a kite. No, really. In just under 10 years, kites will generate power for an entire region of Scotland, thanks to efforts by a British company named Kite Power Solutions. Their “kytoons” (hybrid kite-balloon power systems) look like parachutes, and fly on the jet stream at 20,000 feet elevation, moving up and down in the wind currents to generate hundreds of megawatts of energy…
07 Oct
2016
First farm to grow veg in a desert using only sun and seawater
Green Building Materials, Construction & Design | AUSTRALIA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Sunshine and seawater. That’s all a new, futuristic-looking greenhouse needs to produce 17,000 tonnes of tomatoes per year in the South Australian desert.It’s the first agricultural system of its kind in the world and uses no soil, pesticides, fossil fuels or groundwater. As the demand for fresh water and energy continues to rise, this might be the face of farming in the future.An international team of scientists have spent the last six years fine-tuning the…
05 Oct
2016
New Zealand company offers small earthquake-resilient starter homes
Green Building Materials, Construction & Design | NEW ZEALAND
Published by : Eco Media Asia
According to surveys, the average New Zealand resident makes just over $41,000 annually but spends 160 percent of their income. Add that statistic to the difficult housing market after the Christchurch earthquakes, and out emerges a situation where few can afford to buy their first home. Galvanized by these obstacles, builder Paul Hennessy started Park Homes, a company that designs small, earthquake-resilient starter homes.Hennessy’s first house, Papa #1,…
29 Sep
2016
World’s first typhoon turbine could power all of Japan for 50 years
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | JAPAN
Published by : Eco Media Asia
An engineer in Japan is looking for a silver lining in the destructive typhoons that regularly drench the island nation. Atsushi Shimizu has invented the world’s first typhoon wind turbine, an egg beater-like contraption designed to harness the immense energy of storms as a unique renewable energy source. Shimizu believes that the energy from just one typhoon could power Japan for half a century.The amount of kinetic energy generated by a typhoon is enormous.…
27 Sep
2016
Blackbody’s luminous LED “FIRE RING” turns heads at London Design 2016
Others | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
There is a lot to soak in at the London Design Festival, yet the sparkling FIRE RING display by Blackbody catches the eye immediately. Luminous OLED lights of varying colors hang delicately from overhead, mimicking the dance between warm and cool hues seen in a flickering flame.Blackbody has impressed us before with its dazzling installations at the Milan Furniture Fair and ICFF in 2013, as well as at Wanted Design 2014. They do not disappoint with their latest…
26 Sep
2016
New solar panel integrates battery storage, inverter, and smart software into a single unit
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
This startup is reinventing the solar panel, and aims to cut the cost of integrating clean power and energy storage to homes by half.Home solar has the potential to reduce, and even eliminate, electricity costs for many people, but even with the rapid advancements we're seeing in solar technology, there are still weak points that can be addressed and overcome, such as energy storage and 'smart' home integration. But a newcomer to the residential solar scene…
23 Sep
2016
Germany Unveils World’s First Zero-emissions Hydrogen-powered Passenger Train
Green Transportation & Logistics | GERMANY
Published by : Eco Media Asia
French company Alstom unveiled the first-ever passenger train powered completely by hydrogen at this week’s Berlin InnoTrans trade show. The hydrogen train or “hydrail” will be put into service on Germany’s Buxtehude-Bremervörde-Bremerhaven-Cuxhaven line in Lower Saxony by December 2017. After two years in development, the “Coradia iLint” train offers a zero-emissions alternative to Germany’s existing fleet of diesel trains, thanks to a roof-mounted tank of…
22 Sep
2016
Ocean Plastic Upcycled into Elegant "Ocean Terrazzo" table
Resource Recovery & Environment Management | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
The level of plastic pollution in our oceans is increasing at an alarming rate -- by some conservative estimates, the world puts out 8 million metric tons of plastic waste into the oceans, per year. This is a mind-boggling amount of plastic that's clogging up marine ecosystems and ending up into the food chain, and no one is totally sure of how to clean it up, short of deploying some mile-long ocean cleanup array.Designers, for their part, could consider using…
21 Sep
2016
Tesla to install world’s largest backup battery for the city of Los Angeles
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
In the latest development to solidify Tesla’s position as more than just a luxury electric car maker, the California-based company has been chosen to produce a lithium ion battery solution to power the city of Los Angeles during peak energy times. Following the massive methane leak near L.A. last year that caused more environmental damage than the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, authorities demanded a peak time solution that would not carry such enormous health…
20 Sep
2016
The Growroom is a spherical farm pod that brings agriculture to city streets
Green Building Materials, Construction & Design | DENMARK
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Space10 and Danish architects Mads-Ulrik Husum & Sine Lindholm created an innovative, beautiful urban farm dome that shows how we can bring nature and food farming back to our cities. With a rapidly increasing population, food demands are skyrocketing, but current factory farming methods are hardly sustainable. Space10 wants to address that problem with brilliant solutions like The Growroom.The Growroom was exhibited first at the CHART ART FAIR in Copenhagen,…
15 Sep
2016
Norway’s most stunning hydropower plant is now a tourist destination
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | NORWAY
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Even though Norway is already powered almost entirely by renewable sources, the country is continuing to build more power plants to further increase production of clean energy. Some of those new additions are a boon not only to the nation’s energy plan, but also in terms of curb appeal. The Øvre Forsland power station is one example of how the country is pairing stunningly attractive architecture with clean, green energy plants to benefit generations of future…