Joined: 16 Mar 2004 |Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:34 am Post
subject: Renewable Energy:Small Solution for Big Electricity
Problem A Small Solution For a Big Electricity Problem Rice
University faces an uphill battle trying to help the renewable
power generation industry take on one its toughest challenges.
The problem is not a lack of big ideas, but money. Scientists at
the Houston-based university are trying to create a new type of
wire made from carbon manipulated at the molecular level so that
it can carry massive amounts of electricity to populated areas
from windy and sunny areas. If successful, the new technology
could greatly enhance the U.S. power transmission system's
limited capacity, which hampers the expanded use of wind and
solar energy. Many experts see both wind and solar as the most
promising alternative-energy sources. But there aren't many
electrical transmission facilities connecting areas that can
produce massive solar-and-wind generated electricity with urban
centers. And even where there