Scientists Discover How to Extract Hydrogen From Waste Vegetable Oils
Waste vegetable oils have previously been used to fuel older diesel engines, but until now nobody succeeded to extract the hydrogen in them and to sequester the carbon dioxide with cheap and affordable technologies. Leeds University scientists have broken the ice and discovered an energy efficient method of extracting both hydrogen and carbon dioxide from otherwise disposable vegetable oils.
India Plans to Generate 1,000 MW of Solar Power by 2013
Among the most important solar power harnessing nations like Spain, Japan or Germany, India decided to produce 1,000 MW of solar power by 2013.
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Organic Photovoltaic Solar Cells: A New Graphene-Based, Flexible Kind of Cell
A team of researchers from the University of Southern California has published a paper in the most recent journal ACS Nano, revealing a new approach to solar cells. Specifically, they combined graphene, one of the most recent and studied materials discovered, and organic (Graetzel) solar cells. Their project has produced organic photovoltaic cells (OPV).
Japanese Company Suggests Use of Organic Solar Cells in Low Power Gadgets
Photovoltaic solar cells are often used in centralized power harvesting installations, generating large amounts of energy for use in the grid. Rohm Co Ltd, on the other hand, proposes the usage of organic photovoltaic solar cells (dye-sensitized cells) in small appliances and healthcare devices.
Bumpy Nanoparticle Treatment of Solar Cells Making Them More Efficient
Yi Cui, a researcher from Stanford University, about whom we've been talking about many times lately, has discovered how nanoscale wires, pores, bumps and other material textures can improve the performance of solar cells dramatically. They could even serve as self-cleaning coatings, because of their highly hydrophobic properties.
Singapore to Have First Hydrogen-Electric Bus Powered by Fuel Cells and Batteries
Researchers at Beijing's Tsinghua University and NTU unveiled the first hydrogen-electric bus that will be from now on Singapore roads. Dubbed GreenLite, this eco-friendly bus only emits clean water and has zero carbon emission. Compared with other conventional buses, GreenLite does not run on fossil fuel and is powered by a combustion engine, which makes it very quiet.
Genetically Modified Enzyme Leads to Better Carbon Sequestration at Coal Powered Plants
Capturing the carbon dioxide that a coal-powered plant produces and sequestering it is not an easy task, and until now it rose the costs of the electricity produced by 80 percent. Due to researchers at Codexis, a Redwood, CA, company, genetically modified enzymes can make carbon dioxide capture much cheaper, increasing the cost of electricity by less than a third.
3,000 MW of Wind Power to Be Built Near Los Angeles by Next Year
Wind power is the best there is right now in terms of reliability and ease of deployment, at least in some areas of the world. The Californian government, for example, has set an objective to have 33% of their energy coming from renewable resources by 2020.
World's First Commercial Solar-Powered EV Charging Station Unveiled by SunPods
California-based company SunPods Inc. has recently unveiled at the Cleantech Open event in San Jose this Thursday, world's first factory-built, solar-powered electric-vehicle charging station. Dubbed â€Ã…“SP-300 Plug-N-Go,†this solar-powered EV charging station is able to charge two cars at the same time. The energy surplus can also be sold back to utility companies.
Archimede: World's First Concentrated Solar Power Plant That Uses Molten Salts as Energy Storage
First of all, Italy is one of the leading innovators in solar power. On July 15, their electricity company Enel has unveiled Archimede, their most innovative power plant using concentrated solar power (CSP) technology, where parabolic mirrors focus the Sun's light onto capturing surfaces which take the heat to the storage location. For the first time in the world, molten salts have been used as storage for the heat they captured from the Sun.
