Hasta La Gadget!

After JAXA’s announcement of space-based solar power for Japan, we’ve been keeping our eyes peeled for some news of similar projects Stateside. Lo and behold, California’s largest energy utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, has agreed to do just that, inking a deal with solar power startup Solaren Corp. The agreement calls for the utility to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity once the company starts beaming power down from Earth orbit beginning in 2016. A solar-power satellite would consist of mirror arrays — perhaps measuring up to several miles wide — which would focus sunlight onto photoelectric cells. From there, the electrical power is converted into a microwave beam that is directed downward toward Earth, where it’s converted back into electricity and then fed into the grid. According to the company, the system could generate roughly 1.2 to 4.8 gigawatts of power, at a price comparable to that of other renewable energy sources. When asked for a comment, legendary sci-fi jazz composer Sun Ra was more than enthusiastic. “Space is the place,” he said.

[Via Fresno Bee]

Filed under: Wireless, Science

Solaren Corp to supply California with space-based solar power originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Given that Florida has accurately been coined The Sunshine State, it’s not at all shocking to hear that America’s first “solar city” will be built in the state’s southwest corner. Or, at least that’s the plan. According to a new report, West Palm Beach-based Kitson & Partners is currently developing a new city near Charlotte County, which will get juiced by a massive 75-megawatt solar plant. Said plant will cost around $300 million to build and will be installed by Florida Power & Light; if all goes well, homes will begin construction on a sizable plot of land dubbed Babcock Ranch by 2011. If things don’t go so well, we’re told that the actual power plant will still be erected and fed into the larger grid. In other words, Florida’s gettin’ some solar power, with or without this newfangled concrete jungle.

[Via Fark]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

75-megawatt solar plant to power “first solar city” in Florida originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There has been plenty of interest in all-electric vehicles, but comparatively little attention paid to the infrastructure required to charge them. (Charging them every night in the garage is one thing, but what about long trips or heavy errand days?) Now Romag, a specialty photovoltaic cell manufacturer, has unveiled the PowerPark, a parking station with built-in solar cells
that can charge an electric vehicle on the go.

The company installed the first unit at its UK-based headquarters, and plans to install an unspecified number of them around the UK as well, according to Wired. “Interest has been received from supermarket chains, schools, airports,
train stations, hospitals [and] commercial office buildings in the
U.K., Middle East and Far East,” Kevin Webster, the company’s technical
director, said in the article. “The U.S.
would be an excellent market for the canopy.”

Romag claims that each parking space could generate about kilowatt hours of electricity annually, according to the report. Interestingly, the spaces are each linked to the
electric grid so energy “can be generated for use in the associated
buildings when cars are not being charged,” Webster said in the article. “No
electricity is wasted.”

MIT’s venerable Solar Electric Vehicle Team, the oldest solar energy group in the country, just unveiled the $243,000 Eleanor, a carbon-fiber race car that can hit 90 mph without a drop of gasoline, Autopia reports. The car will soon race in the tenth World Solar Challenge, a 2,000 mile, seven-day extravaganza in the Australian outback, under a new rule that states drivers must race sitting up and not lying flat—hence the slightly taller than usual design.

The entire car weighs less than 500 pounds. (For comparison purposes, a current-model Honda Civic weighs about 2,700 lbs.) “Eleanor features 580 silicon solar cells manufactured by Sun Power,” the report said. “They cover six square meters (about 64.5 square feet) and generate 1,200 watts—enough to run a hair dryer or a pair of desktop computers.” A 6-kilowatt-hour battery pack contains 693 lithium-ion cells and is good for a 200 mile trip by itself. A small 10 hp motor drives the rear wheel.

“It pushes the technology from the books to real life,” said Spencer Quong, senior vehicles analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, in the article. “It opens the industry’s eyes to how to build a more efficient vehicle.”

Solar chargers are a dime a dozen, but who honestly feels like carrying around rechargeable cells and a recharger? Guru Knut Karlsen has conjured up a far superior idea, and rather than just working up a few drawings and making us all feel dumb for not thinking of this first, he went out and proved that solar-charging batteries are definitely ready for production. In essence, he wrapped four C size NiMH rechargeable batteries with a few samples of flexible solar cells; by using a conductive silver pen and some flat wires from a broken Canon lens, he made a connection solid enough for trickle charging to occur. Moving forward, he’d like to install a capacity gauge as well as a method for faster charging, but we’d say this ain’t half bad for a first attempt.

[Via Inhabitat, thanks Sarvesh]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

SunCat batteries boast built-in solar charging wrappers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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