ComEd's New Solar Energy Project for Chicago Homes Proposes Smarter Grid
ComEd, a Chicago-based utility company has come up with a new solar energy pilot that will outfit about 100 Chicago-area homes with solar panels and â€Ã…“at least 50 of those with battery backup, 'smart' meters, net metering and a grid-tied status that enables them to send unused electric energy from their solar energy systems back to the grid.â€
Bloom Energy Releases 100 KW Fuel Cell Module Working on Various Fuel Types
Bloom Energy has just brought to the market a new fuel cell system that is able to run on various fuels. While working on natural gas, it can decrease the CO2 emissions by half compared to conventional power sources.
France's Largest Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant to be Built In Abandoned NATO Site
The world's largest photovoltaic solar power plant will be built by the French energy giant EDF. The company hopes to open the plant by 2012, being located at an abandoned NATO air base (415 hectare site in Toul-Rosieres, near the eastern city of Metz).
Pentadyne Seeks Funding for Using Flywheels in Railway System to Save Power
Pentadyne Power, based in Los Angeles, is seeking $15 million in funding to launch a flywheel energy storage technology in electrified railroads, to save the energy consumed when the train leaves the station.
Google Improving Mirror Technology For Making Solar Concentrators 2x Cheaper
Besides its search engine activities, Google focused on producing alternative energy technologies, or improving the existing ones. So is the case now, when Google developed a new mirror technology that could help solar companies like eSolar or BrightSource make cheaper and better solar thermal plants.
Nanotube Ink-Treated Office Paper Could Make Batteries More Potent
Yi Cui, a researcher from Stanford and his team have succeeded making office paper into an electrode by dipping it into nanotube ink. The resulted dipped paper becomes a strong, flexible and highly conductive material that could be incorporated into lightweight batteries or serving as an electrode in high-energy ultracapacitors. The nanotube-treated paper can store much more energy than classic batteries.
MIESC's Printable Battery at International Rechargeable Battery Expo
Printable batteries have long been sought after, but only recently scientists have been able to figure out a way to make them in a viable technological process. Mie Industry Enterprise Support Center (MIESC) has built a prototype lithium storage battery in the form of a sheet, by using only printing technology.
PlanetSolar: The World's Biggest Solar-Powered Multi-Hull Vessel Released
The world's biggest vessel powered entirely by solar energy has been unveiled in Germany. Measuring about 31m in length, the new catamaran called PlanetSolar is able to achieve a top speed of about 25 km/h (15 knots) and can carry 50 people.
IBM's Efficient Thin Film Solar Cell Made of Cheap Materials
They managed to increase the efficiency with almost 40% of their solar cells, from 6,7 percent to 9,6 percent. To reduce even more the costs, these solar cells are build with an inexpensive ink-based process.
New Flexible Silicon Solar Cells Use 99 % Less Material With Same Efficiency
CalTech researchers discovered a new way to make silicon solar cells that not only use 1 percent of the material needed to make conventional cells, but which are also thin and flexible, making them suitable for a much larger palette of uses in all kinds of applications. And let's not mention the fact that the price will be considerably lower, respectively.
