Put this one in the category of every cloud has a silver lining: E. coli, the bacteria notorious for contaminating food products from lettuce to  ground beef, could also play a key role in developing the next generation of biofuels. A team of scientists from Rutgers University is working with computer modeling to tweak the pesky little bug into overproduce fatty acids, which can then be processed into biodiesel.

If the research is successful, chalk up another win for producing biofuels from sustainable, non-food sources that can be grown without competing for land with food crops.  The growing list includes weedy plants, woody plants, algae and various microorganisms.

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Scientists from Saint Louis University in Missouri are reporting the development of a new class of biobased fuel cells, which could replace disposable batteries and their toxic components. The new biofuel cells could be used to power small electronic devices such as laptops and cell phones, and could be charged by sugar from common sources such as soda pop and vegetable oil.

Conventional batteries, even when rechargeable, have become an enormous logistical issue, not only for consumers but also in terms of providing portable power for military purposes and dealing with supply and disposal issues, especially at remote bases. The U.S. military has already begun to develop biobased fuel cells, so chances are that the consumer market won’t be far behind.

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A team of scientists from Australia and Germany has discovered what could be a new, previously unknown form of chlorophyll. As we all know chlorophyll is the green-pigmented substance that plants and certain forms of bacteria use to convert sunlight into energy. This new form appears to be a kind of “scavenger” that harvests part of the light spectrum that other forms of chlorophyll don’t absorb.

The discovery is significant because it could help push forward the development of new strains of algae that can use a larger part of the light spectrum to produce biofuel oils, which in turn would help to make renewable biofuel production cheaper and more competitive with fossil fuels.

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Now here’s a sustainable technology turnaround: scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are reporting that a common virus is good for more than just making people sick. They are using the virus to  develop more efficient lithium-ion batteries, particularly ones that could be integrated into fabric. The high efficiency battery-fabric could be use to manufacture clothing that could power portable electronic devices.

If you’re thinking of clothes that could double as power sources for cell phones and laptops, so is the U.S. military. Nowadays the typical soldier lugs around pounds of batteries, so the idea of high-performance combat uniforms that double as a power pack is very attractive.

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The newest eurostat report on energy production and usage in Europe shows that renewable energy production increased 8.3% and coal consumption dropped 16.3% last year. In total, renewable energy accounted for 18.4% of energy production and coal accounted for 9.6%.

As I reported earlier this year, the European Union (EU) is expected to exceed its target of producing 20% of its energy from renewable energy sources by 2020. These figures are a clear sign that they are on that path.

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According to a study unveiled today by Energy Secretary Chu and VP Joe Biden, the US is on-track to achieve the three major renewable energy  goals that the Energy Department set out to achieve with the $90 billion in Recovery Act investments in science, technology and innovation projects across the country.

1. Make solar power as cheap as dirty energy by 2015
2. Make electric vehicles as cheap as gas ones by 2015
3. Double US renewable energy generation and manufacturing by 2012

All three goals are on track.

The Recovery Act funding for renewable energy will probably go down in history as truly changing America. Only three Senate Republicans crossed the line to vote with the Democrats to pass it. Collins and Snowe survived the wrath of Republican voters – in 55% renewably powered Maine. Arlen Specter didn’t. He will be gone in January, but he has a lot to be proud of in standing up to the Party of No on renewable energy.

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If you’ve seen a big box store or an office building under construction, you’ve likely seen a deep hole in the ground, for the parking spaces that will be underground, etc. It is not unusual to dig a lot deeper than 5 feet when building office buildings: the magic spot for ground heat exchange geothermal power.

Yet, few of these projects incorporate geothermal (or ground heat exchange) pump technology. Yet low-carbon heating and cooling using the naturally mild and stable temperatures more than 5 feet down could cut energy costs by up to half.

IKEA is working with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado to change all that, and possibly make geothermal heat a common energy reduction technology used in more commercial buildings in the US.

To reduce energy use in all 415,000 square feet of their new two story IKEA store in Centennial, Colorado, they are drilling 130 5 ½-inch diameter holes 500 feet deep below two parking levels underneath to tap into the moderate temperatures below ground with a geothermal piping system.

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The French government announced a huge investment package for renewable energy last week, totaling €1.35 billion ($1.73 billion). The money is to be invested over the next 4 years.

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The French government announced a huge investment package for renewable energy last week, totaling €1.35 billion ($173 billion). The money is to be invested over the next 4 years.

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The world’s largest tidal turbine was unveiled last week in Invergordon, Scotland. The AK1000, as it is called, developed by Atlantis Resources Corporation, will be installed on the sea bed and connected to the grid later this summer.

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