Monday, September 14, 2009 at 4:14:40 PM - by Nate Lew

Researchers have been studying the potential of trees as an energy source, although they acknowledge that this is highly unlikely to ever replace more established solutions like solar power.

According to a recent University of Washington announcement, a small amount of energy, enough to power a single circuit, can be generated by placing electrodes into a tree and its surrounding soil.

The naturally occurring energy in a tree could theoretically be used to power sensors that gauge the health of area vegetation or which can detect forest fires. Another possible use is said to be providing a small amount of power for electronics that are in sleep mode.

"Normal electronics are not going to run on the types of voltages and currents that we get out of a tree. But the nanoscale is not just in size, but also in the energy and power consumption," researcher Babak Parviz was quoted as saying by the university.

While technologies like solar power and wind energy are far more promising electricity sources for the foreseeable future, the current research demonstrates that the future is likely to contain an increasingly wide variety of environmentally friendly technologies and solutions.