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Renewable Energy
"Avalanche effect" research promises greater solar cell efficiency
By Emily Clark
23:43 May 27, 2008 PDT
Research continues to improve efficiency in solar cells, whilst simultaneously finding ways to lower the costs of module production. The latest research from TU Delft and the FOM Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter surrounds the use of semiconducting nanocrystals (crystals with dimensions in the nanometer size range) to demonstrate a phenomenon called the “avalanche effect” which has the potential to significantly boost solar cell efficiency. Read More
StatoilHydro to build 2.3MW offshore floating wind turbine
By Emily Clark
00:35 May 27, 2008 PDT
The world desperately needs viable sources of renewable energy and wind power is among the most promising solutions, but one downside is that turbines can be considered a blight on otherwise picturesque landscapes. The solution seems obvious enough - move the towers far out to sea where not only are they out of sight, but where the wind is at its strongest and most consistent. We first encountered this idea back in 2006 when we examined the efforts of MIT researchers to integrate a turbine with a floating platform similar to those used by offshore oil rigs. Now news that Norwegian oil and gas company StatoilHydro plans to invest around US$80 million to build a full scale offshore floating wind turbine. Read More
Thin film solar manufacturing breakthrough
By Emily Clark
21:12 May 25, 2008 PDT
Germany is again making news in the solar field with the announcement of the industry’s first ever Gen 8.5 (5.7 meter square) silicon thin film solar PV module at Signet Solar’s new factory near Dresden. The accomplishment at the company's 200,000 square foot production facility and is another step towards lowering the cost of renewable solar energy through thin film technology. Read More
Thin film solar cell production breakthrough
By Emily Clark
20:59 May 14, 2008 PDT
May 15, 2008 Advancing a viable market for photovoltaic solar energy involves a balancing act between creating efficient solar cells and at the same time reducing the cost of the manufacturing process. Solar efficiency has been demonstrated to levels as high as 22% (a record set by SANYO last year), and although HelioVolt Corporation's latest announcements concern technology that is only delivering 12.2% conversion, the company has made great strides on the other side of the equation. Its proprietary FASST reactive transfer printing process has produced solar cells in a record setting six minutes, according to HelioVolt that's 10 to 100 times faster than current production of thin-film photovoltaics and could lead to manufacturing costs of less than $1 per watt. Read More
Giant solar lily pads
By Darren Quick
00:04 May 13, 2008 PDT
May 13, 2008 Peter Richardson from Scottish architecture firm ZM Architecture has proposed using Solar Lily Pads on Glasgow’s River Clyde to harness the sun’s rays and send electricity to the city's grid. The concept has taken first place in the International Design Awards, (IDA), ‘Land and Sea’ competition. The lilypads are designed to be moved and dismantled easily as they are simply tethered to the river bed, with integrated motors used to rotate the discs for maximum exposure to sunlight throughout the day. Read More
Californian housing estate gets solar as standard
By Emily Clark
17:05 April 23, 2008 PDT
A new housing estate, with solar power to be included as a standard feature in all homes, has been officially opened in San Bernardino County, California. Opened on Earth Day, ‘Harmony’ is a planned residential development and a collaboration between CenterStone Communities and Petersen-Dean Roofing Systems that will lower residents’ utility costs by up to 50%. Read More
eSolar announces funding boost for scaleable, pre-fabricated solar plants
By Emily Clark
00:02 April 22, 2008 PDT
April 22, 2008 eSolar has raised $130 million in funding for the deployment of its solar thermal power plants. The scaleable, pre-fabricated power plants are designed to cut construction costs and deliver renewable energy solutions tailored to the needs of particular communities. Read More
AeroVironment awarded patents for wind-power system
By Emily Clark
20:40 April 13, 2008 PDT
April 14, 2008 A name familiar to Gizmag readers through its achievements in the field of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, AeroVironment is also a developer of efficient electric energy systems, an area in which it has been awarded a series of patents relating to its "Architectural Wind® Building-Integrated Energy Generation System" - a system which takes a new approach to harnessing wind power using low-profile turbines designed to maximize electricity generation by taking advantage of the way wind flows over certain types of buildings. Read More
Solar cells created with inkjet technology
By Emily Clark
17:24 April 2, 2008 PDT
April 3, 2008 Using FUJIFILM’s cartridge-based Dimatix Materials Printer (DMP), Konarka Technologies has demonstrated the world's-first fabrication of highly efficient solar cells using of inkjet printing technology. Read More
BigBelly solar-powered garbage compactor
By Emily Clark
20:02 March 31, 2008 PDT
Able to compact gallons of rubbish with a single gulp, the BigBelly solar trash compactor cuts public garbage collection emissions by up to 80 percent and operates for an entire day on the equivalent energy it takes to make a piece of toast. The compactor is the only on-site solar-powered trash compactor currently available. Read More
Could paint be the next solar breakthrough?
By Emily Clark
21:18 March 30, 2008 PDT
March 31, 2008 Researchers at Swansea University are developing a new way to integrate solar energy into building construction by applying a type of flexible solar-cell paint onto steel cladding. Read More
Record 65 million square foot solar panel installation for California
By Emily Clark
20:44 March 27, 2008 PDT
March 28, 2008 California’s biggest electricity utility, Southern California Edison (SCE), has launched a project which will account for the largest solar cell installation in the United States. A massive 250 megawatts of advanced photovoltaic generating technology will be placed over 65 million square feet of roofs of Southern California commercial buildings – enough power to serve around 162,000 homes. Read More
Largest wind power transmission project in U.S. underway
By Emily Clark
17:49 March 11, 2008 PDT
March 12, 2008 Generating power from clean energy sources is one thing, but green energy still needs to find its way to the consumer. In a boost for the State's wind power transmission infrastructure, California’s biggest electric utility Southern California Edison (SCE), has begun construction of the largest project of its type in the United States. Once complete, the project will have the capacity to transmit 4,500 megawatts of electricity from wind farms and other generating companies in the State. Read More
Report points to large-scale potential of solar thermal power
By Emily Clark
17:37 March 10, 2008 PDT
March 11, 2008 A new study published by solar technology developer Ausra argues that over 90 percent of the electric grid and car fleet in the US could be powered by solar thermal power, reducing overall US global warming pollution by 40 percent in the process. Read More
Raser Technologies announces two new geothermal energy projects
By Emily Clark
20:34 March 6, 2008 PST
March 7, 2008 Raser Technologies has committed to two new geothermal projects, bringing its total project count to seven and representing 70-75 megawatts (MW) of power projects initiated since April 2007. Read More
Bourne Energy's RiverStar: a fresh approach to hydropower
By Kyle Sherer
15:39 March 4, 2008 PST
March 5, 2008 Hydroelectric dams produce little-to-no emissions and draw energy from a renewable resource, but they are still plagued with the inherent problems of all large-scale power plants: they’re costly to build and maintain, land intensive, and have negative environmental consequences. That’s why Bourne Energy believes the future of hydropower, and the solution to global energy demand, is in small generators that harness power from river currents. The company's RiverStar power modules collect kinetic energy by passing the water through low RPM turbines that don’t harm aquaculture. The units can be cheaply mass-produced, and require no construction on river bottoms, allowing them to be installed quickly and inexpensively even in areas inhospitable to development. Read More
Paperpod’s cardboard play-house: recyclable and reusable
By Jude Garvey
17:35 February 12, 2008 PST
February 13, 2008, According to the EPA, if consumers bought more recycled environmentally-friendly products, not only would they help to make the recycling process a success, they would also put pressure on manufacturers to produce high-quality recycled products. Toy manufacturers are often among the worst offenders when it comes to excess packaging and plastic toys but now a UK company has developed a range of children’s toys which are not only made of recycled material but are also themselves recyclable. Read More
Corgi International announces H2GO fuel cell powered toy car
19:15 February 6, 2008 PST
February 7, 2008 The automotive market is set to undergo momentous change over the next decade as the impetus of low-emissions, alternative fuel designs that have recently dominated the Concept offerings from major auto manufacturers continues to grow and prototypes move towards commercialization. But at the other end of the scale - literally - the application of hydrogen fuel cell technology in particular is already making its mark. The latest example comes from toy-maker Corgi International, which has unveiled a new hydrogen fuel cell powered radio controlled toy car at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair in Germany. Called the H2GO, the new RC car uses a propulsion system based on Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies' pioneering H-Racer. Read More
US$15 billion alternative energy investment for Masdar Initiative
By Emily Clark
17:48 February 4, 2008 PST
February 5, 2008 Following on from last year's announcement of plans to create the world’s first world’s first zero carbon, zero waste city as part of the Masdar Initiative, the Abu Dhabi government has committed a US$15 billion to help explore, develop and commercialize clean energy sources. Read More
Intel goes green with power purchase
By Emily Clark
19:21 January 29, 2008 PST
January 30, 2008 Technology giant Intel has announced it will purchase more than 1.3 billion kilowatt hours a year of renewable energy certificates, making it the single-largest corporate purchaser of green power in the US. The decision is part of a Intel's multi-faceted approach to reduce impact on the environment, and places the company at the top of the EPA's Green Power Partners latest Green Power Partners Top 25 list. Read More
Energy Island: unlocking the potential of the ocean as a renewable power source
By Kyle Sherer
15:23 January 28, 2008 PST
January 29, 2008 Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion uses the temperature difference between surface and deep-sea water to generate electricity – and though it has an efficiency of just 1-3% - researchers believe an OTEC power plant could deliver up to 250MW of clean power, equivalent to one eighth of a large nuclear power plant, or one quarter of an average fossil fuel power plant. Architect and engineer Dominic Michaelis and his son Alex, along with Trevor Cooper-Chadwick of Southampton University are developing the concept with plans of putting the theory to the test on an unprecedented scale by building a floating, hexagonal Energy Island that will harness energy from OTEC, as well as from winds, sea currents, waves, and the sun. Read More
Low cost, nano-based solar cell from GE
By Emily Clark
17:58 January 21, 2008 PST
January 22, 2008 GE Global Research, has demonstrated a scalable silicon nanowire-based solar cell, which has the potential to achieve up to 18% efficiency. The breakthrough by the lab’s Nano Photovoltaics (PV) team is a promising new development in making PV systems more economically viable for consumers than conventional solar options. Read More
Solar powered beer in the sunshine State
By Emily Clark
21:38 January 16, 2008 PST
January 17, 2008 The environmentally conscious Sierra Nevada Brewery in California is taking steps to become partially powered by the sun. A 1.3 megawatt solar system is being installed at the Chico plant in two phases and will provide 34% of the brewery’s power. Read More
Researchers developing solar technology that works at night
By Darren Quick
16:05 January 3, 2008 PST
January 4, 2008 Idaho National Laboratory (INL) reports that research conducted in conjunction with partners at Microcontinuum Inc. (Cambridge, MA) and Patrick Pinhero of the University of Missouri is promising a method for developing cheap solar energy technology that could be imprinted on flexible materials and still draw energy after the sun has set. The technology uses a special manufacturing process to stamp tiny square spirals, or “nanoantennas”, of conduction metal onto a sheet of plastic and the team estimates individual nanoantennas can absorb close to 80 percent of the available energy in comparison to current commercial solar panels which usually transform less that 20 percent of the usable energy that strikes them into electricity – this is even more impressive than the 30% conversion rate offered by the recently discussed development of nano flakes. Read More
Nano Flakes promise greater solar energy efficiency
By Emily Clark
19:53 December 19, 2007 PST
December 20, 2007 The inefficiency of solar cells in converting the sun’s rays into electricity is a key contributor to the high costs of solar energy, but new research into a novel shape of semiconductor nanostructures known as "nano flakes" may revolutionize the process and help improve the viability of clean energy derived from the sun. Read More
Freedom Glen
- November 25, 2009 @ 02:47 UTC
