Italy Adds 7 GW of Solar Power To The Grid, Incentives Helping
2010 saw the surge of Italy's interest for investing in the solar market, so much so that it drove the country to rank second on the new installations scale. Worries that government incentives were about to stop this year led consumers into frenzy. A prolongation of the program until June 2011 will make Italy own an impressive 7 GW of solar power attached to the grid.
Lubi – World's Most Efficient Solar Air Heater Available Commercially
Whether we are talking about a commercial, institutional or industrial facility, what is required from a solar air heater is, of course, to produce heat and also a quick return on its investment. Lubi, created by Enerconcept Technologies, is the most efficient solar air heater on the market.
TenKsolar's New Technology Makes Rooftop Solar Panels Shadow-Proof
As you may already know, solar panels are great, but they have one big drawback: if as little as one shadow covers one of the cells, the entire power output slumps. Not to mention that if one of the cells themselves brakes down, the whole system crashes. To hear of such sensitivity in a technology of the future is rather disappointing, but TenKsolar can take up the challenge and solve these issues.
Company Stores Megawatts of Energy In Gravel-Filled Tanks
In a couple of years, utilities will do just about anything to be able to store excess power coming from their future renewable sources, such as wind or solar. The good news is that lately several solutions have emerged from privately-funded startups. One of the solutions found that storing energy inside gravel-filled containers is a good idea, and Isentropic Energy, its creator, is really going to build a prototype.
Vestas to Deliver 100 MW of Wind Power in China This Year
If you say "wind power", you say Vestas, and if you say Vestas, you say China. Not as an owner, since Vestas is European, but as a long-time partner in China's quest to become a world leader in the clean energy industry. The newest proof of their "engagement" is the 100 MW order for wind turbines that was made to the company recently.
Evolutionary Theories Inspire Wind Turbine Placement to Maximize Space Efficiency
Building wind turbines surely is a challenging task for the engineers in charge with it. A recent study, followed by the development of a software could clear out all the issues of wind turbine placement, so they don't interfere with each other and still occupy as little space as possible. The new approach is based on evolutionary algorithms developed by Dr. Frank Neumann, from the University of Adelaide.
New Aluminum Alloy Helps Generate Clean Water and Cheap Electricity
A new aluminum alloy could soon clean out water and at the same time generate electricity for afflicted areas. Purdue University researchers Jerry Woodall and Go Choi have been working on the alloy of aluminum, gallium, indium and tin that could split polluted or salt water into hydrogen and oxygen and then reunite them to generate electricity and pure water.
Solar Thermoelectric Device Harnesses Sun's Heat, Transforms Directly Into Electricity
A new material that could one day change the efficiency of thermal solar panels has been invented by MIT and Boston College researchers, with collaborators from GMZ Energy. The thermoelectric device is at least eight times more efficient than what's currently available in labs.
U.S. Data Centers Set Example of Solar Powered Office Spaces
Several large data centers have opted for solar roofs this April, in an attempt to reduce their internal electricity consumption. It seems logical that they should do so, given the kind of roofs that they have. What so far didn't really make economic sense, right now seems to be the right thing to do.
Germany Sees Its First Offshore Commercial Wind Farm, Baltic 1
Germany was recently at a crossing point between 2 options: going ahead with nuclear energy or turning to green resources. Fortunately, the nation learned its lesson from the Fukushima disaster and chose to go green instead, forcing authorities to take notice.
