Industry News Category

Google.org mapping geothermal hotspots

Posted Saturday, September 6th, 2008

Google.org, the nonprofit charitable wing of online search engine giant Google.com, recently announced a major investment in enhanced geothermal systems research and development.

The organization will invest more than $10 million in the technology and mapping of geothermal hot spots.

Enhanced geothermal Systems consist of deep wells drilled miles into the Earth to access the globe’s natural heat. Water is then pumped into the holes, heated and pumped out to generate steam, which turns a turbine to create electricity.

Unlike the geothermal energy plants in Northern Nevada, the system does not require that the water already be under the Earth’s crust. That means it can be developed almost anywhere.

Like traditional geothermal power, the system can generate electricity 24/7.

The technology is under development in Australia and other places.

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No cards … only computers

Posted Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Can you play poker with no cards, no chips and no dealers?

Poker players at Excalibur are about to find out. When they wander in the casino’s poker room on Friday, they will find a fully automated poker room. Resort officials have decided to equip the casino’s poker room with electronic poker tables to boost interest in the game. North Carolina-based PokerTek is providing 12 of its PokerPro tables to the Excalibur for a six-month trial run. Read full story:

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Education, Funding and Experience Explain Disparities in Entrepreneurship Success

Posted Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Education, prior work experience and financial backing are crucial factors in the success of Kauffman Foundationentrepreneurs, according to a new book by Robert W. Fairlie and Alicia M. Robb and funded in part by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The book examines why Asian American-owned businesses do well in comparison to white-owned businesses, and African American-owned firms do poorly in relation to both. The book also explores the broader question of why some small businesses succeed and others fail. Read full story:

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Green can fatten Nevadans’ wallets, too

Posted Thursday, August 21st, 2008

The green in “green energy economy” is money as much as environmentalism. Image

That was the message Tuesday from academics, business leaders, governors and other politicians to more than 1,000 attendees at the National Clean Energy Summit at UNLV.

The tone was set in the morning by T. Boone Pickens, a Texan famous for making billions in the oil industry. He is spending $58 million of his own money touting a plan to use a 4,000-megawatt wind farm to free up natural gas for use by trucks and buses. Pickens said the country is “getting close to a disaster” by spending $700 billion a year on foreign oil. Read more:

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SUMMIT AT UNLV: Clinton touts clean energy

Posted Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Former President Bill Clinton challenged Americans Monday to make the United States a model of renewable energy use for the world to follow.

Clinton also called for a new system to transmit electrical power to urban areas from many of the remote places where it can be generated.

“Let’s face it,” Clinton said. “We’re not close, not even close, to where we need to be.”

To focus the nation on affordable energy free of greenhouse gas emissions, the federal government needs to offer tax credits for companies to invest in large-scale solar plants and wind farms complete with a more efficient transmission system.

Clinton called on industry and government to re-imagine the economics of clean energy, which requires a heavy front-end investment. When installing a solar power plant, 80 percent of the costs are up front, Clinton said. Read full story:

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