227% more Solar Energy

The U.S. generated 730 million kilowatt hours of solar electricity in the first two months of 2013, 227% more than the same period in 2012, according to new EIA data.
        We're also already 10% into the total amount generated for all of 2012 — and we're not even in the sunniest parts of the year.

Can Solar Energy Be An Option For You? Check Out These Helpful Ideas!

You should feel good about your decision to convert to solar energy.Solar power is an excellent way to save money on your bills and saving the environment. This article can give you solar energy tips.

How many panels you have in place and their efficiency will determine output. You will need to do a little math to calculate the number of panels you will need. You could actually save money by purchasing a small number of efficient panels.
Once your solar power system is installed, make sure to keep an eye on it. Check all displays regularly once a week to be sure your indicators are all in working order. You can have the company fix any problems right away.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle *

The most effective way to reduce waste is to not create it in the first place. Making a new product requires a lot of materials and energy: raw materials must be extracted from the earth, and the product must be fabricated and then transported to wherever it will be sold. As a result, reduction and reuse are the most effective ways you can save natural resources, protect the environment, and save money.
 
Benefits of Reducing and Reusing:
* Prevents pollution caused by reducing the need to harvest new raw materials;
* Saves energy;
* Reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change;
* Helps sustain the environment for future generations;
* Saves money;
* Reduces the amount of waste that will need to be recycled or sent to landfills and incinerators;
* Allows products to be used to their fullest extent.

Monitoring Water Pollution With Robotic Fish

Soon, the water in Gijon, a harbor in Northern Spain will be monitored by robotic, battery-powered fish. These mechanical, articulating sea creatures were designed and tested by the Robotics Department at the University of Essex. At a cost of $3.6 million, through a European Union grant, these fish will test the water for oxygen levels, detect oil slicks and other contaminants pumped into the water. This is the first monitoring program of it’s kind, and the retrieved data could be very important, with implications for global warming and the state of our water sources.

Researchers at Essex have been testing out their fish prototypes in a special tank at the London Aquarium since 2005. Visitors have been wowed by the incredible ability of the robots to move just like a fish does. As Rory Doyle, a researcher on the project, says, “The design of fish which nature has produced is a very energy-efficient one. The fish’s efficiency is created by hundreds of millions of years’ of evolution. Submarines come nowhere near it.” This efficiency in movement will allow the robot to have a longer battery life and collect more data.

Solar systems (water heaters) - design and performance

Thermosyphon systems design and performance
The passive or thermosyphon systems rely on the natural circulation of water between the collector and the tank, or the heat exchanger in the tank. As passive systems do not rely on pumps and controllers, they do not require an electrical supply. They naturally modulate the circulation flow rate in phase with the radiation level, and are more reliable and have a longer life than pumped systems. Passive systems can also be built with inherent freeze resistance so they can be used in areas that are subject to extended periods at freezing temperatures.
A thermosyphon system relies on the natural circulation of water between the collector and the tank or heat exchanger. To achieve circulation during the day and to limit reverse circulation at night, the tank must be above the collector. As water in the collector is heated, it rises naturally into the tank, while cooler water in the tank flows down to the bottom of the collector, causing circulation throughout the system. Thermosyphonsystems can be designed with freeze protection devices ranging from dump valves or heaters in the bottom collector header for mild freeze areas, to inherent freeze resistance by using a natural circulation antifreeze closed loop, between the collector and the tank. Typical collector configurations include flat-plates (Figure 1), evacuated tubes (Figure 2) and concentrating collectors (Figure 3).

A Plug-in Emission Monitor For Vehicles

Using the EMO device from Logica, drivers can reduce their vehicle emissions by up to 15 per cent simply by improving the way they drive. Apart from reduced emissions, they also benefit from fuel savings since better driving habits lead to improved vehicle mileage

JULY 2012: Pollution, in particular, vehicular pollution, is a major concern today. There are over 600 million passenger vehicles in the world accounting for thousands of tonnes of carbon emission every single day. However, most of the solutions to combat vehicle pollution, such as electric cars and bio-fuels, require either drastic changes in social infrastructure or major investment from vehicle owners. As a result, their adoption is slow.

Solar Cells Developed From Trees; Can Be Recycled Too!

To date, organic solar cells have been typically fabricated on glass or plastic. Neither is easily recyclable, and petroleum-based substrates are not very eco-friendly.

We have reported about a lot of innovations surrounding solar cells but this one will surely take you by surprise. Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University researchers have developed efficient solar cells using natural substrates derived from plants such as trees. What makes the news even more exciting is that the researchers have managed to recycle them in water by fabricating them on cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates. To date, organic solar cells have been typically fabricated on glass or plastic. Neither is easily recyclable, and petroleum-based substrates are not very eco-friendly.

Battery With 25kW ! -A Record

Source: EFY Magazine

Redox flow batteries offer an effective way to balance out fluctuations in the supply of renewable energy and thus guarantee its constant availability.
Researchers all over the world are working towards finding alternate sources of generating electricity such as solar and wind energy. It is important to have powerful electric energy storage devices to level out corresponding irregularities in the power supply. Fraunhofer scientists have recently made an important breakthrough with their development of a redox flow battery that reaches stack power up to 25 kW, with a cell size of 0.5 square meters. This is eight times larger than the previous A4-sized systems. The new battery will be presented for the first time at the Hannover Messe trade show from April 8–12.

 Redox flow batteries offer an effective way to balance out fluctuations in the supply of renewable energy and thus guarantee its constant availability. The batteries store electrical energy in chemical compounds, the liquid electrolytes. The electrolytes are charged and discharged in small reaction chambers. Several of these cells are lined up in stacks.

Solar-Powered Electric Aircraft

The sunlight absorption by solar cells is more at high altitudes than on the ground or earth stations. This makes solar systems suitable for powering small aircrafts

Elektra One—single-seat solar-powered aircraft by SolarWorld (Image courtesy: questpointsolarsolutions)

Single- and two-seater aircrafts are now flying in Germany, China and Switzerland. In fact, Germany and USA are planning a whole line of aircrafts powered by solar cells. For propulsion, these aircrafts rely on electric engines (brushless DC motors)

Zero Pollution Motors

Zero Pollution Motors is working on an "air car" for its entry in the X Prize competition. According to the group's Web site, the car is a six-seater that runs on "compressed air technology" developed by Motor Development International (MDI), a French company headed by inventor and Formula One race car engineer, Guy Negre.
The car currently gets a 106 mpg equivalent, reaches a maximum speed of 96 miles per hour, gets 75 horsepower, and has a range of 848 miles.

Which solar cell technology is the best?

While crystalline silicon still remains the premium technology for critical applications in remote areas, thin film will be a strong contender in the consumer market due to its lower price

Like with every new technology, solar energy is also facing hurdles in its initial stages of adoption in India. Yet, despite several pitfalls, players are betting big on it. Solar technologies have garnered interest from various segments in India including the government, and efforts are being made to propagate and make the use of solar energy a household practice. While time will decide the fate of solar energy in India, as the industry needs some time to build consumer confidence around the various solar technologies, let’s study the different cell technologies—their merits, demerits and suitability considering local climatic conditions.

Researchers Develop 20 Times Thinner, Cheaper Solar Cell

Solar cells are at a prime these days. Researchers all over the world are working towards improving the efficiency, size and cost factor of the technology. This is because it is a known fact that traditional sources of energy are fast depleting and the time is not far when the world will heavily rely on solar energy. The latest innovation comes from the University of Oslo. The researchers at the University have reportedly developed silicon solar cells that are twenty times thinner than the original solar cells.

Hydrokinetics: The Biggest Source of Renewable Energy You Never Heard Of

Hydrokinetics

Renewable energy has certainly made tremendous progress in the past decade. Indeed, most people would acknowledge that it has grown from being little more than a mascot, to a full-fledged member of the energy generation team.

And yet, despite the fact that people as reputable as the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have come out and said that renewables could provide 80 percent of our electricity by 2050, there are still plenty of naysayers who remain convinced that renewables will continue to play little more than a minor role in our energy future...

Renewable energy project monitor

Business issue Post.
September/October 2012: Our regular column, written by the Energy Industries Council, reports on project development in the renewable energy marketplace.

Some 104 projects across the global renewable energy sector were added to EICDataStream in September and October, indicating consistent new project activity in the sector compared to July and August. However, although project numbers have remained steady, the total potential investment value of US$35.9bn is down by US$26.2bn on the previous two months.

FCEVs!

Three of the world’s biggest car manufacturers – Ford, Nissan and Daimler, the company behind Mercedes Benz, have signed a three-way hydrogen fuel cell development agreement in an effort to bring affordable, mass market fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) to market by 2017.

The companies, which have already been separately working on the technology, plan to jointly develop a common hydrogen fuel cell system, which if successfully developed, they believe will significantly reduce the cost of zero-emission technology and make it more widely available and some countries, such as the UK, are actively developing fuel cell and hydrogen technology manufacturing and their related supply chains.

Green Power Projects Face 'clearance' Roadblock

All Credits: DC
source: DC-epaper

2-In-1 Green Mode Power Switches Boost Efficiency

Source: EFY Magazine

As today’s consumer electronics and home appliances become more sophisticated, they require better performance and reliability. Designers of these types of switch mode power supply (SMPS) systems need space-saving, cost-effective power supply solutions with high energy efficiency that meet strict energy regulations. In response, Fairchild Semiconductor’s new FSL1x series of FPS Green Mode Power switches helps designers address these challenges.

Solar Manufacturers Suffer As Price Of Solar Panel Drops

Source: EFY Magazine

India seems to be trying its best to make its people optimise the use of solar energy in the form of various sources. The country's energy ministry has also taken the initiative by drafting Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). But all efforts seem to be going waste. The impact of cheap solar panel being imported from China, US has given a huge blow to the fortune of domestic solar equipment manufacturers and now, these people are facing a hard time with the price of solar panels crashing in the global market.

Over the last six to 12 months, most of these developers have either stopped their operations or have scaled down to 15 to 30 per cent of their capacity. The country has installed 1,100 MW of solar power capacity in the last two years and out of this, Gujarat has close to 750 MW of solar power projects, which explains the reason for lack of overall growth of the solar sector in India.

World's First Peel-Off Solar Cells

By fabricating "peel-and-stick" solar cells, scientists make an attempt broaden the thin-film photovoltaic cells' uses.       
Researchers at Stanford University have created what they claim to be the first flexible, reusable decal-like solar panels that can attach to almost any surface. In other words, it is possible to attach these Thin-Film Solar Cells (TFSCs) to paper, plastic and glass without direct fabrication. The adhesive comes off with some room-temperature water.
Thin-film solar cells (TFSCs), such as hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), are generally made with rigid silicon and glass structures to maintain their form, according to a paper by lead investigator Chi Hwan Lee, a mechanical engineering doctoral candidate, and the study's contributors in the Dec. 20 issue of Scientific Reports.

Mistakes of Solar Installers

This piece originally ran on the blog of CleanEdison, a renewable energy training company based in New York. It is reprinted here.

Okay, so you've got some equipment, you’ve got some know-how and you are ready to get out there and become a solar installer. Sounds easy enough, I mean everyone is talking about it, right? Well yes, but before you start going onto people’s roofs and drawing high-voltage DC electricity from the sun, you should know the common mistakes that others (many others) have made before you. This is by no means a list of all the questions you will have, or problems you will run into, but it should help dispel some misconceptions you may have about solar energy.

Mistake #1

I learned that solar PV panels lose their efficiency as they get hotter, but I also know that solar thermal collectors use water heated by the sun for use in the home. I could just use the water to simultaneously cool the PV panels and then get heated for hot water use, I’m a genius!