Belkin Offers ‘Smart’ Router For Smart Meters
September 30, 2010
“A router capable of offering real-time information and advice on home energy use via a Web interface”
Yacht Powered By Wind Even With Sails Lowered
September 30, 2010
And the team that built it, International Battery and Electric Marine Propulsion
South Africa Plans A Solar Power Park
September 29, 2010
The country needs to increase its energy production by 40,000 megawatts by 2020
Tracking Clouds To Predict Solar Bounty
September 29, 2010
Solar energy is clean and renewable, but what happens when there is plenty of clouds?
Urchin power!
September 29, 2010
Image: EMPA
Can you imagine using polystyrene spheres as a sort of scaffolding to create three-dimensional nanostructures of semiconducting zinc oxide on various substrates? Probably not! And that’s why you’ll never be a nanostructure researcher developing innovative ways to expand the surface area for solar panels.
Just kidding, nobody actually expects you to know what polystyrene spheres are, let alone how they could be applied to improve the potential for surfaces on photovoltaic panels. But as this extremely enthusiastic release from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) explains, the creation of a microscopic polystyrene balls with protruding zinc oxide nanowire “spines” could have important benefits for solar panels. In short, that means that rather than a solid sheet, the PV panel’s surface could become an interlocked series of balls, each of which would add a relatively larger amount of surface area. More surface area means a greater chance to absorb sunlight, which means more bang for your PV buck.
And our solar panels aren’t the only ones using their surface area to absorb sunlight. Across the country, there are distinct pockets of “photovoltaic potential” ranging from 800 kilowatt-hours to more than 1,400. Of course, the vast majority of our country isn’t covered in solar panels, but with lightweight technologies like polystyrene spheres coming down the pike, it won’t be long until we’re taking better advantage of our available solar energy.
A Push To Corral Methane Gas
September 29, 2010
Leaking gas pipelines, coal mines and animal wastes are some of the sources adding methane to the atmosphere
Scotland To Achieve 100% Renewable Electricity By 2025, Says Salmond
September 28, 2010
Study estimates that offshore renewables could produce as much as 68 GW
Full Story [Energy Efficiency News]
Short On Roof Space? Adobe Plants Fuel Cells
September 28, 2010
Adobe Systems adding more “green” to its operations
Engineers Foresee Big Changes For Electric Grid
September 28, 2010
Grid currently undergoing tests and is also ready for a technical facelift
Green iPhone 4 Case: The EcoShield+
September 27, 2010
One recycled plastic bottle is used per case, that’s what makes it green
