'Waste heat' is a hot area of research as an alternative energy source. Providers say they can turn excess heat produced by machines in factories into clean electricity.
In one factory retrofit, the company Recycled Energy Development (RED) is projecting that they can produce 1/3rd of the power a West Virginia factory needs purely from the excess heat they are already generating.
Michael Kanellos writes, "The U.S. consumes around 100 quads (100 quadrillion BTUs) of energy a year, and 55 to 60 quads get dissipated as waste heat, according to [UC Berkeley professor] Arun Majumdar."
"Thus, there is a lot of waste heat out there and it could be cheaper than solar."
Read the full story: ‘Silicon + Heat = Cheap Energy’ Gets $1 Million
Texas City to Test Waste Heat-to-Water Generation System
The technology harnesses waste heat to produce clean drinking water.
Harnessing Waste Heat Through Thermoelectricity
Heat from industrial installations and buildings can be captured to create renewable electricity.
Swimming Pool Heated by Waste Heat from Cremations
Crematories produce a lot of waste heat. Is it sacrilegious to recycle that excess heat to warm a swimming pool, as is the plan in Redditch, England?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority