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Solar
Scientists developing spray-on solar panels
By Paul Evans
18:24 February 6, 2009 PST
Researchers in Australia have started a three-year project to develop a spray-on coating for solar panels and more efficient cells that are less costly than today's PV. Australian National University (ANU) is working with new Australian solar company Spark Solar and Finnish materials company Braggone Oy on the method, which could be commercially available by 2011. Read More
Solar powered pleasure boat gets design overhaul
21:08 February 2, 2009 PST
The Loon is a well known North American water bird that appears on the Canadian one-dollar coin (hence the "Loonie") and it's also the name of a solar equipped pontoon boat from Ontario based Tamarack Lake Electric Boat Company that is in the process of receiving a major design overhaul courtesy of the team responsible for the radical teardrop shaped Aptera 2e electric car. The 22-foot long revamped Loon design can cover an estimate 35 miles a day at a maximum of around seven knots using solar energy and features a light-weight twin-hull composite construction with a flexible interior configuration and removable side-rails made from bamboo, natural fibers and recycled plastic. Read More
NASA two years away from full sun visualization
By Kyle Sherer
14:10 January 27, 2009 PST
NASA's two STEREO spacecraft, launched on October 25, 2006, will align on either side of the sun on February 6, 2011, allowing scientists to view the entire sun simultaneously for the first time in history. The Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory is currently providing scientists with a view of 75% of the sun. Read More
New solar cell efficiency record set
22:36 January 26, 2009 PST
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have set a new record for solar cell efficiency. Using concentrated sunlight on a specially constructed multi-junction solar cell, the research group lead by Frank Dimroth has achieved 41.1% efficiency for the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Read More
POLLI-Brick: turning plastic bottles into green architecture
By Emily Clark
03:01 January 12, 2009 PST
From the maker of the HYmini wind and solar portable charger comes a polymer architecture brick combining post-consumer materials with environmentally friendly function. The POLLI-Brick is made entirely of recycled materials and offers passive cooling, natural ventilation and even integrated solar/wind powered LED lighting. Read More
PowerFilm unveils USB+battery charger based on thin-flim solar technology
18:17 January 11, 2009 PST
PowerFilm demonstrated a very cool USB+2 AA battery flexible folding charger at CES 2009. We were lucky enough to snap a few pictures of the device and get a look at some samples of their amorphous silicon solar technology for printing cells onto fabric or other materials. Read More
Kinesis builds combination wind/solar recharger for mobile devices
17:43 January 11, 2009 PST
Kinesis' K2 device combines a wind turbine, solar panel and internal 3800mAh battery to create a smart charger for all your handheld gadgets The device can be left in a sunny or windy place during the day and can be charge the internal battery 20 hours via wind alone or 8 hours via solar (in direct sunlight) or presumably less than 8 hours by both simultaneously. Read More
Solar sunglasses: making the most out of the summer sun
By Emily Clark
21:05 December 18, 2008 PST
They may or may not set the fashion world alight, but these solar power-generating sunglasses designed by Hyun-Joong Kim and Kwang-Seok Jeong deserve top marks for ingenuity. As well as providing UV protection from the sun, the concept employs dye solar cells integrated into the lenses to power your portable electronic devices. Read More
RSi unveils semi-transparent solar window
By Emily Clark
18:26 December 14, 2008 PST
Incorporating sustainable technologies like solar directly into building design is the logical next step in clean energy development and we can expect many more announcements like this one from Rainbow Solar Inc. (RSi) as the industry matures. The company has released details of its semi-transparent, photovoltaic-glass window, a next generation of BIPV (building integrated photovoltaic) which promises to generate up to 250 watts of electricity as well as providing a 100% reduction in Ultraviolet and Infrared radiation. Read More
750kW CIGS thin film solar array goes online in Arizona
By Emily Clark
22:34 December 9, 2008 PST
Arizona is now home to the world’s largest solar array using Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells. The 750-kilowatt (kW) system, located at Global Solar’s manufacturing facility in Tuscon, is the first commercial-scale deployment of the company’s CIGS technology. Read More
The long, long way round (in a Solar Taxi)
By Paul Evans
04:33 December 8, 2008 PST
Swiss school teacher Louis Palmer last week became the first person to drive around the world on solar power. The 52,000km (32,000 mile) trip took 17-months at an average speed of 65kmh (40 mph). Mr Palmer said the car ran "like a Swiss clock," breaking down only twice during the grueling trip through 38 nations that started in Lucerne in July 2007. Read More
Californian wasteland becomes home to clean energy
By Kate Seamer
16:37 December 7, 2008 PST
California based Premier Power Renewable Energy Inc has reached the halfway point in completing the United States largest system of bi-directional solar trackers in Richmond near San Francisco. A solar tracker is a device onto which solar panels are fitted which tracks the motion of the sun across the sky - ensuring that the maximum amount of sunlight strikes the panels throughout the day. The beautiful thing about this project is that clean energy is being produced on previously unusable contaminated land. Read More
California's largest single solar installation powers-up
By Emily Clark
21:58 December 2, 2008 PST
In March this year Gizmag reported on Southern California Edison’s (SCE) plan to create the State’s largest single solar photovoltaic installation. The company has now announced that the first of its major commercial rooftop solar installations is complete, and powering homes in Southern California. Read More
Meraki Solar powered Wi-Fi
By Darren Quick
04:56 December 2, 2008 PST
Meraki, a company whose aim is to ‘bring affordable Internet access to the next billion people’, is hoping their solar-powered Wi-Fi unit will do just that. The Meraki Solar is designed to provide wireless coverage over large outdoor areas with a minimum of fuss by removing the need to run power cables. Each unit is self-contained and ready to mount on roofs, poles, or anywhere the sun shines and is designed to provide 24/7 uptime in most locations worldwide by running on its own solar charged battery. Read More
The solar powered submarine
23:10 November 23, 2008 PST
It's an idea we've seen applied to motoryachts, trimarans and even speedboats, but until now, using solar power as an energy source for submarines wasn't on our radar. Swiss energy company BKW has aims to make this scenario a reality with Project Goldfish, a tourist attraction planned for Lake Thun that would see a 20-30 meter long submarine carry groups of visitors on tours of the underwater landscape. Read More
European researchers achieve solar efficiency record
16:37 November 23, 2008 PST
Scientists from the EU funded FULLSPECTRUM project have developed solar cells which are able to convert 39.7 percent of the energy of sunlight into electricity. The result represents the highest percentage ever reached in Europe and is more than double the efficiency of most conventional silicon-based PVs in production today. Read More
New Solar Messenger Bag added to Eclipse range
By Emily Clark
23:06 November 20, 2008 PST
Every owner of a personal electronic device knows the frustration of running out of battery power when out and about. Solar bags offer a great solution and a growing number of shapes and sizes (even golf bags) are hitting the market. The new Fusion Messenger Bags by Eclipse Solar Gear further adds to the options. Read More
Hybrid yacht combines diesel, solar and wind power
By Emily Clark
23:12 November 2, 2008 PST
Island Pilot has used this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show to debut its new hybrid motoryacht - the DSe Hybrid12m. Combining diesel, solar and electric power (hence "DSe") and with wind-power to be added to the production model, the 40ft vessel can take advantage of a sunny day by cruising at speeds of up to six knots indefinitely using only solar power. Not only does this save fuel, it eliminates the rumble of diesel engines to bring one of pure-sailing's greatest attractions to the motoryacht format - silence. Read More
Solar Power Satellites could broadcast energy to Earth
By Kyle Sherer
15:03 October 29, 2008 PDT
Dusting off an old renewable energy proposal, president of the National Space Society Ben Bova recently published an article in The Washington Post calling for the next president of the United States to commission a US$1 billion solar power satellite from NASA before the end of their second term. The satellite would harness energy directly from the sun and broadcast it back to a receiver on Earth using microwave frequencies. Read More
Robot swarms could help colonize Mars
By Kyle Sherer
03:13 October 28, 2008 PDT
Hundreds of micro-robots will work together to carry out repairs inside machinery, explore deep-sea environments, and even colonize Mars according to predictions from the EU-funded I-SWARM project, which is developing centimeter-scale autonomous robots that co-operate like a colony of ants and therefore can compensate for the failure of individual members. Read More
Paris round-up: Nissan's compact future
By Darren Quick
23:44 October 26, 2008 PDT
In addition to the futuristic Nuvu concept car premiered in Paris, Nissan also provided a taste of what's in store for the more immediate future with the new Pixo - a five-door, four-seater that boasts very low fuel consumption and emissions - a revised version of the Note compact car and the introduction of an all-new combined satellite nav and infotainment system known as Nissan Connect. Read More
Cool Earth Solar: pursuing a viable alternative to fossil fuels
By Darren Quick
00:20 October 25, 2008 PDT
There is no doubt that mankind stands at a pivotal point in our history in relation to our consumption of global resources and the resultant impact on the planet on which we live. By far the biggest concern is our ever-growing appetite for energy to power the lifestyles we have grown not only accustomed to, but also dependent upon. Solar is one answer with great potential, but economics and the amount of power it can produce in comparison to fossil fuel power stations has held it back so far. Now new approaches like Cool Earth’s collectors are becoming advanced enough to effectively tackle these problems with technology that relies on inexpensive and free materials, is scalable, able to compete economically with fossil fuel power plants and is capable of delivering not just megawatts, but gigawatts of clean power. Read More
Solar-powered G-Shock Rose Gold Series watches launched
By Emily Clark
23:29 October 22, 2008 PDT
Casio has added to its well-known G-Shock collection with the introduction of its premium Rose Gold series. The new line of watches combine shock-resistance characteristics with self-adjusting atomic timekeeping technology and a mini solar panel for extended battery life. Read More
HP plots course for doubling renewable power use
By Emily Clark
21:00 October 20, 2008 PDT
HP has announced details of renewable energy initiatives within its facilities, research and products with the aim of doubling the company’s global purchase of renewable power by 2012. Currently using under 4% renewable energy, the global technology giant hopes to increase its use to 8% within the next four years. Read More
NASA launches Interstellar Boundary Explorer
By Kyle Sherer
16:41 October 20, 2008 PDT
NASA has launched the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, which will observe the edge of our solar system from a 200,000-mile Earth orbit and determine whether or not we’re... err, doomed. Over the next two years, the 23-inch high octagonal craft will study the area of space where solar wind hits the wider galaxy – hopefully it will also find out why the solar wind, which shields us from harmful cosmic rays, has decreased by 25% in the last ten years. Read More
windykites1
- November 24, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
