MIT researchers say that soon all we’ll need to harvest our vast solar resource is grass and stabilizing powder. While Masdar and Suntech and other solar energy projects are laboring under expensive, high-tech materials in order to improve their energy-absorbing capability, MIT researchers in the United States are taking a different approach. They realized that […]
Oxygen aerators at Israel’s IDF Nevatim Air Force Base are purifying sewage water for irrigation use. Photo: Trlabarge/Wikipedia Many modern armies are now practicing clean technology by using equipment run on solar energy. This also holds true for the Israeli Defense Forces known as the IDF which aims to be greener. One of the prime issues […]
Making alcohol from sugars is easy; maybe the third oldest profession in the world. Making butanol from zebra droppings is another story. Processors have made ethanol from cornstarch and sugar for decades, but using food products to make biofuel raises demand for staple commodities like corn and seed oils with disastrous impact to the food […]
Crystal Lagoons has developed an alternative cooling and energy harvesting system for power plants that doesn’t require the use of seawater. Gulf countries that lack freshwater resources rely deeply on seawater desalination to meet their daily needs and cool down thermal generation plants. According to Gulf News, the United Arab Emirates alone uses four trillion litres […]
In just six hours, the deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind produces in a year, and Desertec is harnessing it. Right now hundreds of people are gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland making the same kind of noises about the security of our future as the suits at COP […]
Better Place Renault Fluence electric cars hit the road on way to customers After more than four years in the making, media reports and hype, visits to the Better Place Education and Test Drive Center and final delivery prices, Better Place Renault Fluence ZE electric cars are finally on their way to purchasers in Israel. […]
Ziad Tassabehji is one of the most influential men in the new green Middle East. Until now he’s kept pretty quiet about his involvement in Masdar. He came from the dot-com market with a boom and a bust, but in the Arab world. Ziad Tassabehji (pictured above with his son) has always been an entrepreneur […]
Greensoil, an investment firm from Canada will fund Israeli agritech companies with a reported $12 million. Cash from Canada will be funding clean technology companies in Israel. A new Canadian fund called Greensoil looks to build Israeli agritech companies with the launch of a $12 million CAN fund. Greensoil investors say they will invest in […]
We have listed 6 big and small solar-powered projects in the MENA region that have inspired us in the hopes that it will do the same for you. Big or small, solar-powered projects in the Middle East and North Africa are transforming our region. Not only do they hold promise of slowly improving air quality […]
Villagers gather around a kiosk in Afto, Ethiopia to charge their cell phones using solar power and to fill up their jerry cans with UV clean water Out in the middle of nowhere Ethiopia, fresh water and electricity are hard to come by. It is partly for this reason that the country’s Prime Minister Meles […]
With a 35 meter high sun-ray collection tower and about 50 mirrors positioned to direct the sun, Israel’s AORA is about to flip the switch on its latest solar power plant in Spain. The company created a huge buzz in Israel in 2009 when it was the first solar energy company to connect to the […]
Solar panels at the Kuraymat CSP planet in Egypt require precious water resources to stay clean but Masdar & Siemens aim to change that. When coated with layers of dust, solar panels lose their energy-absorbing efficiency and require a regular cleaning schedule. But spending this precious natural resource on energy when many people in the […]
Low tech water filters loaded with a nitrate-munching bacterium help clean up fertilizers and feces in water waste. Rainstorms wash away what nature can’t clean up, but this often comes at a severe environmental price. Water runoff from agricultural fertilizers, animal waste and human sewage are poisoning wells and aquifers with nitrates. These compounds cause […]
By being longer, Nanosolar’s solar panels are less costly to install Advances in solar energy panel technology is reaching a stage where it is now possible to purchase DIY home kits to create solar powered electricity on the roofs of your home. And solar array panels are even being installed on the roofs of chicken […]
Israel’s Eco Wave’s clappers get energy from the sea. Developers first looked to the ocean for offshore wind power, a conveniently windy and out-of-the way site for giant turbines. But increasingly, energy companies are realizing that sea water itself can be harnessed to generate electricity. Israel’s Eco Wave Power announced on Tuesday that its initial […]
Considered by some as the father of solar thermal electricity generation, Newton Becker, was the founding investor and Chairman of the Board of Luz International – the company that went on to become what BrightSource is today. He died Monday in LA at age 83. Back when, Luz became the largest solar company in the […]
2011 was a big year for the Middle East – not only politically but also environmentally. Step in to see 10 of our most popular stories. Much has been said about the great political upheavals that swept through the Middle East in 2011 – some for good and some for nought – but less attention […]
Free hot water from the sun. Cyprus now leads the way. Although China leads the world in the number of solar water heaters in use, and Israel was the pioneer and chief country-wide user of solar water heaters for 25 years, today the Republic of Cyprus has the distinction of being the world leader of […]
The EU plans to help fend off a growing water shortage in Gaza with a 10 million euro desalination plant. The European Union has pledged to build a €10 million desalination plant that will service Khan Yunis and Rafah in Gaza. This is a “medium-term” project designed to alleviate what is Gaza’s evolving water shortages. […]
Arabic is the fastest growing language on microblogging site Twitter, with a 2000 % increase in Arabic postings logged over the past 12 months. This week Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) announced a $300 million investment in social media site, Twitter. This isn’t radical corporate evolution: apparently the shares were […]
One day, giant algae biofuel farms like this prototype may help solve world fuel and food needs Interest in creating biofuels from algae is increasing. We’ve covered Isaac Berzin from GreenFuel who rejuvenated NASA’s original idea; then there is Iran creating biofuel from algae (they didn’t answer our emails though); and Seambotic an Israel company […]
The Green Palestine Investment Company aims to remove barriers to greening the local economy and society The Green Palestine Investment Company is making Palestine greener one solid waste, waste water, and renewable energy project at a time. Established in 2009, the firm aims to be the first company in Palestine to implement environmental activities that […]
California-based startup company Blueseed has plans to either build or retrofit a ship that will provide accommodation and office space for talented foreign innovators who don’t meet America’s stringent working visa regulations. Since the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, even the brightest would-be entrepreneurs have met serious legislative […]
Anyone who is interested to transition to a more sustainable way of life will benefit from Kibbutz Lotan’s comprehensive eco-guide app. Many socially and environmentally conscious citizens dream about leaving the grid for good and getting back in touch with nature, but the general lack of sustainable infrastructure and available information in the Middle East […]
Funds for mitigation projects and the Carbon Development Mechanism saved in “Hail Mary pass” at climate talks While many environmentalists are decrying the COP17 climate talks (# COP17FAIL: Climate Change is a One-Size-Fits-All Problem) as being imperfect, I see some real progress hidden in all that bureaucratese. For MENA (Middle East and North Africa) nations, the best […]
