New Frontiers in Energy

[wkmac]

In Hembrug, Netherlands, a crowd stood in a park and looked up into the evening sky, waiting for lights to shine. This month more than 300 LED lights were illuminated by the Dutch company Plant-e in a new energy project called “Starry Sky.” Although the bulbswere ordinary, the electricity running through them derived from a new process that harnesses the power of living plants.

“Starry Sky” and a similar project an hour’s drive away, near Plant-e’s Wageningen headquarters, are the two first commercial installations of the company’s emerging technology. Both power lighting, but the company also sells Wi-Fi hot spots, mobile chargers, and rooftop electricity modules, all fueled by the byproducts of living plants.

Dutch Company Powers Streetlights With Living Plants; Will Your Cell Phone Be Next?

 

[moreluck]

So people will pick up an asparagus spear and say , "hello" ??

 

[moreluck]

Verizon's new line...

 

[oldngray]

That article is from last year. No further updates or was it another one of those impractical pipe dreams?

Harvesting electricity from plants is no easy feat. Ramaraja Ramasamy, an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia College of Engineering, said that what Plant-e uses is called a “sediment microbial fuel cell.” He cautions readers that this technology is not advanced enough to compete with solar panels and wind turbines, which have been in development for years.

“It’s not making enough energy to have any reliable commercial product. That doesn’t mean that it will not be. We are too early in the research,” Ramasamy explained. “If I come to you and say, ‘Do you want to power that 100-watt bulb?’ You probably need an acre of land and dirt to get the electricity from. Is that feasible? No.”
http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/d...ith-living-plants-will-your-cellphone-be-next

 

[moreluck]

I remember Mr. Wizard having a potato with wires powering a clock........old stuff!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I recall an episode of "Modern Family" where Alex (the nerd) told Haley (the popular one) that she could charge her cellphone battery by rubbing it in her hair.

 

[moreluck]

President Obama's top science and technology adviser, John Holdren, said that, by 2050, "cars, trucks, and planes" will be powered by "electricity, biofuels, or hydrogen." Or, more likely, pulled by unicorns.
~Fred Thompson~