Archive for category Solar Power

Graphene Solar Cells Reaching Record 8.6 Percent Efficiency

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on May 21, 2012

A new efficiency record for graphene solar cells has been established by University of Florida in Gainesville researchers. The new solar cell, made of graphene impurified with an organic dopant now reaches an efficiency of 8.6 percent, versus the 1.9% of the previous iterations. Sefaattin Tongay and Arthur F. Hebard, the two researchers who published [...]

Solar Powered Cement Production Technology Takes Off at George Washington University

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on May 18, 2012

Right now, cement production accounts for 5 to 6 percent of total man-made greenhouse gases. Producing lime, its key ingredient, uses an energy-intensive process that needs temperatures as high as 1,500 degrees Celsius, and that can only be obtained with fossil fuels. A new, rudimentary contraption at George Washington University does all that with solar [...]

California Leads in Green Energy Sector, Reduces Greenhouse Emissions

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Solar Power on May 18, 2012

When the independent nonprofit group Next 10 recently released the 2012 California Green Innovation Index put together by Collaborative Economics, they knew it was time to show off. And well, they did have the reasons: California leads the way in venture capital investment, patent registration of clean technology and how much green energy they produce. [...]

Strathclyde Scientists Design Small Satellites to Gather and Beam Solar Power to Earth

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Solar Power on May 17, 2012

Forget about silicon-based solar cells or other improvements in the solar energy area: researchers at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow have something better for us in store: space-harvested sunlight. That solves the issue of energy intermittence in solar power, since the satellites would see the Sun all the time and send the energy they collect [...]

Organic Solar Cells Market to Skyrocket in 10 Years, Report Says

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on May 16, 2012

If you are about to invest in silicon-based photovoltaics, please stop for a moment and read this. IDTechEx, a market research company, has published a report saying that the organic (not silicon) photovoltaic market is about to hit a value of $630 million in ten years. The growth will be stupendous: 1300% from today’s $4.6 [...]

IHS Unveils West Africa’s Largest Solar Powered Cellular Site

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Solar Power on May 4, 2012

Should someone have told you a few years ago that it would only take 2 years to reduce diesel consumption by up to 50% for the cellular communications towers in West Africa, you’d have raised an eyebrow. This not the case anymore: IHS Africa, a major telecommunications infrastructure provider, can from now count the largest [...]

47% Efficiency for Solar Cells With Microscopic Folds and Wrinkles

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Solar Power on April 30, 2012

Researchers have so far bent over backwards to find the best way to make solar cells as efficient as possible and just when you thought this is it – this one’s the best, here comes another one, claiming the exact same thing. So let’s hear the “microscopic folds” formula out, which reclaims an efficiency of [...]

USC’s Future Liquid Solar Cells Will Be Printed Like Newspapers

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on April 25, 2012

A new printable solar cell technology has been developed by University of Southern California (USC) researchers. It consists of an ink made from nanocrystals that can actually be printed on any surface. 250 billion of such solar nanocrystals can easily get along on the heat of a pin. The nanocrystals are made of the semiconductor [...]

Solar Cells Could Break 40% Efficiency With Photochemical Upconversion

Posted by Boniface Ndirangu in Solar Power on April 24, 2012

Researchers from the University of Sydney have developed what they term as a “photochemical upconversion” technique to increase the solar cells’ efficiency. This could potentially be up to a record breaking 40%. Even though there has been a continued improvement in the overall efficiency of conventional silicon solar cells in the past few years, and [...]

Heliatek Unveils Organic Window Solar Panels

Posted by Boniface Ndirangu in Solar Power on April 20, 2012

A brand new type of window solar panel has been developed in Germany by Heliatek. This new invention involves a technology utilizing small, organic molecules deposited on films of polyester. The mechanism behind this new product is very similar to what is generally used for OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays for flat screen TVs and [...]

Solar-Powered Clothing Researched at Colorado State University

Posted by Boniface Ndirangu in Solar Power on April 19, 2012

A very recent study at Colorado State University could bring a complete revolution to the traditional way solar panel charging systems are handled and utilized. Researchers and students affiliated to the university have shown that there is a possibility that natural clothing material could be incorporated with solar-powered chargers and be used to tap solar [...]

Family Business: Tesla Motors’ Batteries to Complete SolarCity’s Solar Power Products

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on April 18, 2012

An interesting cohesion between Tesla Motors and SolarCity is seemingly getting bigger as of lately. The first are known for their trustworthy car batteries and the latter for their solar panels. The two of them could revolutionize how home-based solar power is sold throughout the United States. Tesla is known for importing lithium ion batteries [...]

Australian and German Scientists Improve Solar Cell Efficiency to 40%

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Solar Power on April 18, 2012

What happens when two countries like Germany and Australia come together, united by the sole goal of coming up with the perfect solar cell? A photochemical upconversion happens, triggering an amazing 40% efficiency! The Energy&Environmental journal recently published the result of a collaboration between Professor Tim Schmidt from the University’s School of Chemistry (Australia) and [...]

World Tour Cyclist Helping Solar Power in Africa Gets Hit by Truck in Arkansas

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on April 13, 2012

Sean Conway, the man who wants to circle the globe only on his bike, in an effort to gather money for SolarAid – the charity work destined to bring clean energy to East Africa, was hit by a truck while cycling near Little Rock, AK. Conway’s target is London, the place where he departed from, [...]

Elektra One: Electric Airplane Doubles Range by Installing Solar Panels

Posted by Kasun Madushanka in Solar Power on April 13, 2012

Is it a big thing to produce an airplane that runs on solar power? The obvious answer is yes. It may cost more on the beginning but it will be very affective in the long run. Solar world and PC Aero have joined hands to take the lead in solar aviation. The child of this [...]

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