Solar power in America is nothing new — Californians were heating water with it back in 1908 — we’ve just generally ignored it since WWII. Powering the Dream, by Alexis Madrigal explains how we managed to squander this energy for nearly 75 years. More »
For researchers at the University of Liverpool, wind turbines weren’t enough. They need to be solar powered wind turbines.
The design aims to fix one of the main issues with wind turbines: that they’re essentially useless when there’s no wind at all. By having photovoltaic solar cells included on the spinning blades as well, the turbines will also be able to generate power via the sun, thus making them more useful.
One unintended problem, though, based on computer simulations is that the moving solar cells produce bright beams of light. These could potentially be temporarily blinding for people nearby, which could be especially dangerous for pilots.
Currently the team is looking for a place to start testing the turbines, preferably outside of England where wind and sunlight aren’t available in large amounts. “We are confident we can transform the world’s renewable energy needs,” Dr. Joe King told Inhabitat. “Just think what our turbines could do in countries like Australia.”
A professor at MIT claims to have Mother Nature beat at her own game. Dr. Daniel Nocera says his invention is ten times more efficient at photosynthesis than a real-life leaf, and could help to bring affordable alternative energy to developing countries. Described as an “advanced solar cell the size of a poker card,” the device is made of silicon, electronics, and inexpensive catalysts made of nickel and cobalt. When placed in a gallon of water under direct sunlight, the catalysts break the H2O down into hydrogen and oxygen gases, which are then stored in a fuel cell — the energy produced is apparently enough to power a single house for a day. Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen scientists try to one-up nature, in fact, we’ve seen solar-powered leaves before, but this thing actually looks poised for the mass market — Nocera signed a deal with Tata in October. Full PR after the break.
MIT professor touts first ‘practical’ artificial leaf, signs deal with Tata to show up real plants originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Green Car Congress | 
American Chemical Society | Email this | Comments
This week Inhabitat showcased several groundbreaking feats of high-tech architecture – starting with plans to transform the United States’ tallest skyscraper into a soaring solar farm. We also saw a vision for a geodesic home of the future that is popping up in China this year, and we learned that scientists in Qatar are developing a series of solar-powered artificial clouds that will cool the country’s stadiums during the 2022 World Cup.
It was a big week for energy news as well as Germany and Italy announced plans to abandon nuclear power in the wake of the crisis in Japan. Tata & MIT also announced a breakthrough technology for generating power from water, and we saw solar energy reach new heights as Suntech set off to install the world’s tallest solar plant on the Tibetan Plateau. Speaking of soaring green designs, we watched a brand new electric vehicle take to the skies as the solar-powered Elektra One airplane successfully completed its maiden flight.
This week we also showcased several cutting-edge examples of wearable technology including an app that instantly transforms any drawing into a made-to-measure dress. We also learned that Virgin Atlantic now offers passengers bespoke shoes while they wait, and we took a look at a futuristic pregnancy belt that offers an inside look at the womb. Finally, we saw several amazing examples of recycled design – Chinese artist Wing Wah has created a set of scrap metal transformer robots that look just like the movies, and designer Mati Karmin has transformed defused land mines into an edgy set of interior furnishings.
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: LAVA’s geodesic home, solar skyscraper glass and fear of nuclear power originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 21:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
The Tibetan Plateau is the highest plateau in the world, with an average elevation of over 4,500 meters. And soon it will be home to the world’s most elevated solar power plant.
SunTech Power Holdings will be setting up a plant in the region, which will provide an estimated 20,000 mega watt hours (MWh) of energy to the surrounding region each year. Previously, the region relied mainly on hydroelectric energy to provide much of its power.
“With intense sunlight and cool temperatures, Tibet is extremely well suited for the utilisation of advanced photovoltaic technology,” explained SunTech CEO Dr Zhengrong Shi.
Once completed the plant will be located more than 4,000 meters above sea level. No word yet on when the completion date is expected to be.
Via Inhabitat
How would you like to have a cellphone that never needed to be charged? That’s the promise of French company Wysips, which wants to turn your phone’s screen into a solar charger.
It works like this: a transparent photovoltaic film covers the screen of your device, and provides 250mW of power to trickle-charge the battery. The film is thin — just 100 microns or 0.1mm — and won’t dim the screen when incorporated into the LCD panel. Wysips says the film will typically add just a dollar to the cost of a phone, and hopes to have shipping units within a year.
The beauty of the design is that it scales. The bigger the screen of a device, the bigger the solar panel. A typical phone will be fully charged in six hours, and the second-gen version will give you a half-hour’s worth of power with just one hour of charging.
The real winner here will be ebooks. These typically sip power anyway, and have pretty big screens. While you may still have to plug in an iPad to charge it at night, a Kindle with Wysips’ tech in its screen would likely never, ever need to be charged, especially as you can only read it when there’s enough light to do so.
Wysips product page (Wysips)
No More Chargers! Wysips Breakthrough Turns Phone Screens into Solar Panels [Laptop Mag]
Video: Laptop Mag
See Also:
While the US military is developing solar powered tents, the UK is instead focusing on solar powered uniforms for soldiers.
By including photovoltaic solar cells in the uniform itself, it will eliminate the need for soldiers to carry around heavy batteries. In fact, the solar cells could be up to 50 percent lighter, creating a dramatic shift in weight. This increased lightness, combined with the fact that soldiers will no longer have to return to base to recharge equipment, will allow for increased mobility.
Researchers are also attempting to include thermoelectric chargers in the uniforms, which would allow them to continue to produce energy even when the sun goes down.
The high-tech gear could be ready within the next two years.
Via Inhabitat
It was a big week for alternative energy as Inhabitat showcased a range of green fuel innovations that cut costs while bringing clean energy to the forefront. We looked at hydrogen ‘Micro Beads’ that could fuel cars for $1.50 per gallon, and we saw Michigan State University unveil a new shock wave engine that could triple fuel the efficiency of hybrid vehicles. XL Hybrids also got in on the action by releasing an add-on kit that can transform any gas-guzzler into a hybrid, and Google made waves by announcing their investment in biofuels startup CoolPlanetBiofuels and adding EV charging stations to Google Maps. Finally, to round out or green automotive news this week we also have to give a special shout out to Artega, who introduced their hot new SE Electric Sports Car – we can already hear the honks and catcalls!
Off the road and out into the ocean, we showcased a design for underwater kite turbines that harvest energy from ocean waves, and we were wowed by Kinetura’s shape-shifting Kinetower. In other architecture news, construction finally commenced on MVRDV’s massive Amanora Vertical City Apartments in Pune, India — a mixed use development totaling over 4.3 million square feet.
We also saw several new developments on the solar power front – scientists in the United Kingdom are working on a solar-powered kit that could lighten the load of soldiers-and, more important, increase their mobility-by up to 50 percent. That seems like the perfect complement to OS’ amazing GSR 110B – a retractable solar power system that delivers 40 watts on the spot with a combined solar and battery backup. Lightweight and easy to pack, the solar unit is easily deployed in emergency situations as long as the weather permits.
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: shifting towers, hydrogen beads, and the shockwave engine for fuel efficiency originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Why settle for a simple solar-powered table when you can have a table that’s solar-powered and a wireless charger? While you can’t get one just yet, Panasonic will apparently be selling this stylish bit of tech-laden furniture by the end of this year or early next year (in Japan, at least), which will let you charge your Qi-compliant devices simply by placing them on the table. It’ll also be supplying the requisite battery packs for some of its phones at the same time, though there’s few other specifics to be had at the moment. Of course, even if it does actually hit the market it’ll still no doubt be out or reach for most — there is always the DIY route for particularly industrious individuals out there, though.
Panasonic shows off solar-powered wireless charging table originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Mar 2011 11:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
