US OK's First Offshore Wind Farms

Ken Salazar, President Obama's Secretary of the interior, has given the go-ahead for the US Government to begin leasing four large areas off the mid-atlantic coast to energy companies to build offshore wind farms.

What 'wood' you use?

It may come as a surprise that environmentalists are increasingly turning to wood as a renewable, alternative energy source. Find out why it's environmentally-friendly and how it could reduce your household energy bill in this week's show.

World's First Zero-Carbon Office Building Debuts in Seoul

South Korea is showing off what it says is the world's first totally eco-friendly business building. It's a structure that emits zero carbon and uses only renewable energy. The project is designed to underline the government's drive to reduce greenhouse gases.

Afghan Green Energy

It's a green energy dream. The sun shines all day and the wind blows constantly. But alternative energy is the last thing you might expect, here in Afghanistan's war-torn Panjshir Valley. Yet after three decades of violence tragedy and destruction, this is where Afghanistan could be going green.

"Trash" Boat Sets Sail in Taiwan

A trimaran built in Taiwan from plastic bottles and other recycled materials sets sail for the first time. Its mission is to promote oceanic environment awareness on World Ocean Day.

Named the Polli-Boat, this trimaran is made of recycled materials bound together by a wood-plastic composite.

The main flotation system, Polli-bricks, is made of plastic bottles with strengthened polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common plastic in use today.

Its unique hexagonal shape allows the bricks to interlock strongly enough to withstand the pressure of sailing.

Waste advertising banners are used for the trimaran's sail.

[Arthur Huang, Founder and Managing Director, Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd.]:
"The concept of a polli-boat is using hundred percent trash, basically we are using this new material we are developing, it's basic organic fiber mixes trash polymer. The other is another structural material we design which are called polli-brick, using recycle PET blown into these interlocking brick, so we are using the interlocking brick as a major floatation pontoon."

Eight hundred four of these bricks were used to support the boat.

The Polli-Boat also utilizes wind and solar power, which are interchangeable in different weather conditions.

[Arthur Huang, Founder and Managing Director, Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd.]:
"It's been propelled, one by renewable resources, obviously sailing that's using wind, the other is using solar energy with we have six modules of soft solar panels and each panel is capable of generating 72 watts, and 72 watts is able to power an electric motor that powered the boat up and down the non-windy area. So the whole idea is the propel, the power system is also going to be renewable energy."

The trimaran is 23 feet long. Huang says its mission, as it sails across Taiwan, will be to promote sustainable energy and environmental awareness.

The boat-launching ceremony was accompanied by an eco-friendly creative boat competition held by the dock.

Sponsored by the National Geographic Channel in Taiwan, ten designs were selected out of almost 200 entries to compete for the most innovative boats using recycled materials.

One of these boats was shaped like the endangered black-faced spoonbill to promote wetland protection.

Another was designed to look like a floating city in an effort to raise awareness of rising sea levels and global warming.

Growing the next 'green' fuel

Will algae fuel the car of tomorrow? Harrison Dillon, CTO of Solazyme is growing strains of algae to produce various kinds of renewable oils. He hopes that over the next few years, people will start consuming algae derived products like gasoline, household cleaners, and makeup without ever realizing it.

Smart Grid

We explore how a smart grid will connect renewable energy resources to our existing power grid, and help us
share that power more efficiently.  Sid Suryanarayanan and his research group at the Colorado School of Mines study electric power systems. By developing ways to make sure we have a reliable stream of electricity and control systems that regulate energy use, the team is making our power grid smarter.

Graduate student Hilary Brown looks at what changes we can make to our existing grid and explores a new
concept called “distributed generation.” Fellow student Josune Armas writes computer programs to improve
how and when we use electricity at home. Since electricity is cheaper at “off-peak” times, this means we
can save a little cash too.

At the University of Texas at Austin, Ted Song designs, builds and tests a device that regulates and converts electricity from different renewable sources that we’ll be able to use in our homes.

Smart Grid will change where our power comes from and how we all use it so we can keep turning on the electronics we need and love.