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The BlueTech Blog is an editorially independent, open forum for commentaries and news from the world of advanced water technology.
It's hosted by The Artemis Project, a San Francisco-based water-tech consultancy.
Energy Archive
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Desalitech Reduces Costs of Desalination
Posted on August 2, 2010 | View CommentsThe most common question I field when I mention desalination is, “Doesn’t that take a lot of energy?” The truth is, yes, it does. That’s why you’ll not hear me advocate for desalination without strongly insisting on complementary conservation. We must redouble our conservation efforts... -
Engineers Turn Water Contaminant into Fuel
Posted on July 28, 2010 | View CommentsResearchers in Delaware are worried by high levels of nitrates recently discovered in groundwater and drinking water. A recent study found 76% of domestic wells contained nitrates. 18% of the wells exceed federal standards for drinking water. Even some deep wells are affected, leading Delaware’s... -
MIT Natural Gas Report Glosses Over Environmental Issues
Posted on July 9, 2010 | View CommentsEditor’s note: The energy exploration industry is the first to demand advanced water technology for economic reasons: water efficiency during hydraulic fracturing means cost savings. Advances in on-site water treatment for energy exploration will drive down costs for the technology to a point where it can... -
Webinar: Managing Water Use in Energy Exploration
Posted on July 9, 2010 | View CommentsThere’s an increasing concensus that natural gas will be America’s half-way house as we kick our fossil fuel habit. The difficulties lie in managing water use while extracting the transitional fuel. Because of the near surety of a long-term natural gas industry, technologies devoted to... -
TaKaDu Finds a Partner in Schneider Electric
Posted on July 8, 2010 | View CommentsTaKaDu, who we've written about previously, recently announced they've partnered with Schneider Electric, a global energy management giant. The partnership exposes TaKaDu to Schneider Electric's customers in more than 100 countries, where TaKaDu will be deployed to identify inefficiencies in water management in an effort to reduce energy usage. -
Desalination Spending to Double
Posted on July 6, 2010 | View CommentsWorldwide desalting capacity is projected to increase by 50 million cubic meters per day over the next six years, according to a recent study by Pike Research. Meanwhile, annual spending on desalination will double by 2016, from $8.3b to $16.6 billion. Spending will total $87.8 billion during that time period. -
BlueTechs Await Permission to Deploy in Gulf, While Rome Burns
Posted on June 28, 2010 | View CommentsSeven weeks after the explosion on the Deepwater oil platform, oil slicks have inundated the shores of mainland United States. Traditional oil recovery methods have proved inept. -
Advanced Technology Reaches the Gulf
Posted on June 24, 2010 | View CommentsEcosphere Technologies signed a letter-of-intent with Mid-Gulf Recovery Services, LLC to deploy Ecosphere's Ozonix technology to clean up the "Gulf's marshes and inland waterways," according to Glen Smith, CEO of Mid-Gulf Recovery Services. -
Make Electricity, Not Sludge
Posted on June 15, 2010 | View CommentsTreating wastewater is expensive. Yet, 70% of the cost to run a wastewater treatment plant is in two elements: electricity to power the aeration blowers and residual sludge treatment. A new technology promises to eliminate those costs. -
It’s Time for the Smart Water Grid
Posted on June 2, 2010 | View CommentsIt’s been a great year for the Smart Grid. Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, analysts, journalists, and regulators can’t stop talking about it. Experts are competing to project greater market potential. Zpryme puts the Smart Appliance market alone at $15.2bn by 2015, Lux Research talks about $15.8bn, Cisco estimates theoverall opportunity at $100bn and Pike research uses a whopping $200bn figure. Giants like Cisco and IBM have set aside billions to fund Smart Grid activities. The US government has kept up, allocating hefty tax credits and incentives for Smart Grid development, with $3.4bn from the stimulus bill granted to 100 smart-grid initiatives last October. VCs are investing heavily, as these three lists show. But while we anticipate the first Smart Grid IPO (market-permitting) from Silver Spring Networks, we’ve got to wonder out loud: Why isn't water being served at this party?
