Loblaw, Canada’s largest supermarket chain has decided to opt for solar energy for its stores. It has decided to have solar panels installed on the roofs of four of its stores as a pilot project with an ultimate aim of installing such solar panels in more than 100 of its stores in Ontario. This move, though taken by Loblaw due a major economic reason (the feed-in-tariffs for solar power are very low) could really be a great help to the environment. A large amount of electricity would be saved in the summer alone when the air conditioning requirements go up.

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It is a known fact that if we can emulate the process of photosynthesis carried out by plants to convert solar energy into sugars, all our energy problems can be solved. Prof. Nathan Nelson and his research team at the Tel Aviv University's Department of Biochemistry are a step closer to achieving this goal. According to Professor Nelson, plants have an evolved nano-machinery to generate energy from the sun with the help of a PhotoSystem I complex. Professor Nelson and his research team have managed to extract this complex from pea leaves. By placing this complex on a gold plated surface, the team managed to produce about 10V of electric energy.

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The need to use renewable resources and save up on the depleting energy sources is being realized today. The spotlight today is now on the use of green energy sources. Generating electricity using renewable sources may seem ideal, however the question now arises as to how much power can a grid handle and distribute. Take Texas for an example. Just last week, wind power generation reached a record high of 6,242 MW. This may sound pleasant to our ears. Here’s the glitch though, officials had to curb wind power generation since it was too much for the electrical lines to handle and supply to urban areas like Dallas-Fort Worth.

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Plans to have a solar powered passenger terminal at the Page Field General Aviation Airport in Southwest Florida have received a nod of approval from the Lee County commissioners. The 22,613-square-foot passenger terminal powered entirely by solar energy is a part of a project with an estimated budget of around $16.1 million. This is the second airport going green after the Le Castellet International Airport in the South of France. The French have perhaps set a green environment friendly example to airport authorities all over the world, who are gradually taking up the steps required. The Le Castellet International Airport recently inaugurated the Solarquest power plant set up on the roof of the H5 hanger.

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We’ve heard of portable wind energy generators and hydroelectric power generators earlier. Now the Japanese are here with a portable solar power generator to help make your life easier and powered up on the go! The SolarFold and SolarFan are two devices that unfold into surface area utilizing solar power collectors. They’ll suck in enough juice from the sun to power up your iPhone for a 3 minute call after exposing it to the sun for 10 minutes. The SolarFold wraps up in a flat stack and unwraps like a folding screen to maximize energy accumulating surface area. The SolarFan on the other hand can open up like a Japanese fan when you need to generate energy and also includes a tripod that helps you to adjust its angle according to the time of the day and location.

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The main obstacle in wind energy being used as a sustainable source of energy has been the high space and financial requirements of setting up windmills. However, a concept recently designed, called the ‘Agro E. Sustentable’ might be just be the solution to these problems. The ‘Agro E. Sustentable’ is a portable wind generator. It has a trailer, which acts a storage device for the energy generated as well as a base when the generator is being used. Energy is generated by mounting the blades on a retractable tower. These blades are also foldable. When not in use, the tower, which is divided into four parts, can be retracted into the trailer by means of a chain and pulley mechanism.

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One of the major difficulties in using hydrogen as a commercial fuel was the problem of storing it. The conventional methods were either too risky or wasted a lot of energy along with being expensive. This problem however, may soon be resolved, due to the brilliance of Javad Rafiee, a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer. He used super material graphene made by mechanical grinding, plasma treatment and annealing it. These processes cause the graphene molecules to get arranged in a chain-link fence structure, thus maximizing the already high hydrogen storage capacity of graphene molecules.

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Up until now, the only way to harness solar energy was through the use of photovoltaic cells. However, Dan Nocera, a chemist from MIT and founder of the company Sun Catalytix, has developed a method to store energy like plants do using photosynthesis. Nocera, has developed a cobalt based catalyst that will enable to store energy in the same way as plants do - by splitting water molecules. This method can be used to generate cheap affordable energy which can be used as an alternative to conventional energy. And that’s not all. This method can also use impure puddle water for this process.

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PGE (Portland General Electric), which is one of the major players in the field of commercializing renewable energy and already has a solar energy capacity of more than 9 megawatts, is planning another 2.4 megawatt roof-top project along with partners U.S. Bank and ProLogis. This is supposed to be the largest roof-top project in the Pacific-Northwest, spread over 900,000 square-feet. This new project will use UNI-SOLAR innovative “thin-film” solar panels which have a higher efficiency in generating electricity. PGE, which ranks 8th in the United States for its total solar energy capacity, is one of the few companies which are taking actual steps towards the proper commercialization of the usage of solar energy In everyday life.

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The animals in Abu Dhabi's deserts will finally breathe a sigh of relief and have access to cleaner salt-free watering holes soon. Around thirty desalinization plants will be set up over the next 15 months that will be powered by solar energy. Water purified by these plants will be used in watering holes to provide water for animals. Currently two plants are already being used for desalting brackish water from underground aquifers and converting it into fresh sparkling water. These remotely operated plants will use solar panels spread over 300 square meters at each site that will generate 45 kilowatts of electricity per hour. These plants will function for six to eight hours everyday and the brine and waste water collected will be pumped to an evaporation lake that will be fenced up to keep away animals.

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All of us aware of the benefits of using wind energy to generate electricity. However, due the specific location and large space required, windmills aren’t widely used to generate electricity. The recently designed Secret Energy Turbine (SET) might soon change this situation. The SET windmills have all the advantages of regular windmills minus the hassles. It looks like a vertical chimney stack which consists of vertically mounted blades under the influence of two opposing magnets. When the wind hits the blades of the turbine it starts to rotate giving rise to an aerofoil, thus generating electricity. The SET stands true on its name by generating energy in a very efficient and silent manner. This device can be easily installed in houses and can generate 50 to 250 watts of power.

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Using wave energy to generate power seems to be the “in” thing nowadays. This newest technology in the generation of power from wave energy will indeed grab the heart the ocean soon. Designed by Zhang Yakun, He Siqian, Zhu Ningning, Chen Chen & Mu Zhiwei, the Wavelight concept design basically converts the mechanical energy produced by waves into electric power that will be used to juice up LED lights that will be used for mid-ocean rescue operations. Each of these lights are connected to each other and anchored on to the base of the ocean. They will together form a lighted chain that will guide passing ships to stay clear of rescue work. The only setbacks maybe the length of the anchor and the fact that the LED’s need to be powerful enough to lighten up even in the darkest waters.

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Maybe the alchemists failed in their efforts to make gold, but researches today have learnt the ways to produce energy using gold. Shining light on gold nanoparticles, researches at the Nano/Bio Interface Center at the University of Pennsylvania discovered that solar energy could be created. This will change the value of gold in future, making each little nanoparticle of this precious metal, a powerhouse in itself. The guys who brainstormed this research first packed a bunch of light-sensitive gold nanoparticles together on a glass substrate and had them exposed to optical radiation. Electrons freed from the gold particles move along the surface to create surface plasmons which induces electric currents.

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Now here’s a street lamp we’d love to sit under or walk across. Eco-friendly technology is gaining impetus day by day giving rise to awesome innovations like these that will help change the way we live in future. The Sustainable City Lights concept will use solar power and wind energy to power them up instead of sucking in energy from the grid to lighten up our side walks and streets. The lights will glow only in the presence of people and will save up on energy by emitting a soft light when no ones around. They will use LED lighting technology instead of bulbs. That’s not all. These lights also mimic the action of flower buds and open and close their petal like fittings while harvesting solar and wind energy depending on the environment. Surplus energy will be sent back to the grid.

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America will get its first wave park soon. And this isn’t some water park, if that’s what you’re thinking. A wave park is a group of energy harvesting devices that use the energy of waves. Off the coast of Reedsport, Oregon, Ocean Power Technologies is building the wave park that will compromise around 10 PowerBuoys that will each generate 150 kilowatts. This will help power up around 375 homes. These PowerBuoys stand 150 feet tall and are mostly submerged below the ocean. The buoy moves up and down with the motion of the wave and drives a piston in a similar motion generating electricity. Waves ranging from 5 feet to around 23 feet high can be used to generate power. Underground cables connect this wind farm to the grid.

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