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Yearly Archives: 2010
USAF Solar Project to Generate up to 500MW of Green Electricity
The partnership that took place a few days ago between United States Air Force and Fotowatio Renewable Ventures of San Francisco could lead to the construction of United State's largest solar project that will be able to produce 500MW of green electricity.
Highly Mismatched Alloys – Solution for Really Efficient Thermoelectrics
Thermoelectric devices convert heat into electricity, and are of great use in recovering wasted heat from thermal engines and transforming it into electricity, thus increasing the engine's overall efficiency, mostly when used in hybrid cars, who have high capacity onboard batteries.
Algae Biofuel Production Emits More CO2 Than Algae Absorb, Says Study
Biofuels do their job as a carbon-saver only if they swallow more carbon than they emit. Choosing biofuels with a positive carbon output looks to me like wasted money.
Scientists Hack Tobacco Plants to Grow Synthetic Photovoltaic Cells
A group of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a way to produce artificial photovoltaic and photochemical cells by infecting the tobacco plants with a genetically engineered virus. Unlike traditional methods of making solar cells, this new technique is more environmentally friendly (because the cells are biodegradable) and cheap.
Weidlinger's Hybrid Roof Solar Panels Delivering Both Electricity and Heat
Usually, heat and light cannot be separated, because heat is a also a form of energy that we can't ignore. Weidlinger Associates, a NY-based company, received a $150,000 grant this week to develop better, more durable hybrid solar roof panels.
Lowering Antarctic Ozone Layer Hole Could Increase Melting of Glaciers
The much-feared ozone layer hole over the Antarctic is slowly but steadily closing, but scientists realized that while it had been open, it kept the carbon-induced heat from melting the Antarctic glaciers.
A New $6 Billion Renewable Power Plant Complex Built by Samsung and Kepco
Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and Samsung C&T have signed a contract to build a new $6 billion renewable power plant complex in a small village near Toronto in southern Ontario.
Superconductors to get a low temperature boost (-180°C) from Laser-based refrigerator
University of New Mexico researchers have surpassed themselves in a laser-based cooling project. Professor Mansoor Sheik-Bahae (et al.) and other researchers from the University of Pisa, Italy and the Los Alamos Institute created the world's first all-solid-state cryocooler, that can be used from cooling infrared sensors to superconductors.
Beam-Down Solar Concentrator Dramatically Reduces Costs at Price of Efficiency
By seeking to cut costs with the production of energy and building the necessary infrastructure, scientists from the Masdar Institute along with their colleagues from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Cosmo Oil (?) are studying how to convert old, expensive solar concentrator technology to a new and more flexible one: The Beam Down Project.
Solar Shingles Built by Dow Chemical to Be The Cheapest Solution for Home Use
Dow Chemical, a leading U.S. chemical manufacturer, has profiled on the solar panel industry lately. Moreover, they began to produce solar shingles that are to be more efficient and easy to install. They even say an electrician is only required in the last phase of the installation, when they all get connected into the grid system.
