Energy and the Environment-A Coastal Perspective

I got home today and was leafing through a Popular Science magazine when I got really excited at their “Invention Awards” section. I was very happy to see: Invention Awards: A Fish-Friendly Tidal Turbine. An underwater energy extractor that doesn’t harm sea life. Can I just start out by saying that I was surprised to […]

Researchers in the Materials Sciences Division (MSD) of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, working on conjunction with Cornell University and Japan’s Ritsumeikan University, made a promising discovery concerning the band gaps associated with solar cells made of the semiconductor indium nitride is much lower than initially thought.  For those not aware, band gaps of semiconductors correspond […]

Through some additional research regarding potential wave energy technologies, I came across two particularly interesting developments. Both use a mechanism to harness the electric power of waves offshore, but what sets them apart from other devices is their ability to transport high pressure ocean water to shore for desalination processes. In our initial research, the […]

I’m sure it must have started at such a small scale; everyone thought that energy was worth one mountain. After all, it was just one mountain. And just look at all that coal, buried treasure under the hardwood forests and clear rivers. Look at all that potential under West Virginia and Virginia. One turned to […]

Welcome! This website highlights research projects completed by students in ENST 490: Energy and the Environment: A Coastal Perspective.  The goal of the research project was to assess the energy generating capacity, costs and potential environmental impacts of different offshore renewable energy generating technologies. If you are interested in learning more about  renewable energy solutions […]