Category Archives: Alternative Energy
Cobra Energy plans to set up a $1billion, 250MW solar energy plant in Australia. This plant will have the capacity to generate energy using photovoltaic cells as well as solar thermal energy. It consists of mirrors arranged in concentric circles around a water tank kept on a tower. These mirrors are focused in such a way that the sunlight reflected off them falls on the water tank. As a result, the water starts boiling and is then used to generate energy. However, this project has a unique feature. It will use molten salts to store extra energy during the day which will be able to generate energy for at least 7.5 hours even after the sun goes down.
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Smart signboards integrated on roads are here. A company known as Solar Roadways has developed a prototype of what might soon find its place “in” our city streets. These signboards power themselves up using solar power. Structurally engineered solar panels, strong enough to be driven upon, juice up the system. It uses LED lights to “paint” instructions and lines on the road. Besides this, the system is also intelligent enough to sense wild-life or children crossing the street and display messages like “Slow Down”. These 12’ by 12’ solar panels have embedded heating elements that help melt snow and ice, preventing build ups.
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A solar powered electric vehicle charging point has been started in UK’s low carbon economic area, Gateshead due to the collaboration among companies like Romag, Tegrel and British Gas. The PowerPark , that is what this concept is called, is a parking lot in the civic centre in Gateshead, which has canopies coated with Powerglaze photovoltaic panels to park cars, can generate electricity. This electricity can then be used for charging the electric vehicles or if surplus, can be supplied to the country’s grid.
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The Oak Ridge National Laboratory stumbled upon an astonishing fact in 2005 and estimated that around 0.5% Co2 emissions are caused due to gas flaring. That’s not all; the energy produced during natural gas flaring is wasted. Jeff McDaniel, business development director for Velocys states that natural gas enough to actually power Germany is usually flared. However, companies like The Brazilian state oil company, Petrobras, are working on ways to utilize natural gas generated during offshore drilling. Natural gas unlike oil cannot be easily transported due to which it is flared instead. Compact GTL and Velocys are currently working on chemical reactors that will help turn gas into synthetic liquid fuel.
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While soaking up the sun’s energy, solar panels tend to release a whole load of heat energy, which is wasted. The guys at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology had a brainwave and came up with the Technique Solar Module, a device that uses this heat energy to heat water instead of letting it go waste. Combining a solar electricity system and a water heating system, these panels use a series of channels equipped with concentrating acrylic lens and reflective walls that help focus the sun’s rays on solar cell strips. These cells generate electricity while a heat exchanger placed below these cells heats circulating water stored in a tank.
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Its white, uses solar power to charge and is also a dynamo charger. The Thanko Hybrid Mobile Charger measuring just 70 × 70 × 29mm in width, height and diagonally respectively, this mobile phone charger sucks energy from the sun to charge up your mobile phone. It is portable and can be whipped out of your bag and put to use on the go! That’s not all. Just incase the sun refuses to shine and the clouds take over, this charger can still efficiently power up your phone using its dynamo charger. All you need to do is slip your finger in the little ring at its side and tug at the 18 cm pull type cable. The Thanko Hybrid Mobile Charger is also equipped with three LED lights on its side.
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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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