Archive for the ‘solar power’ category: Page 98
Jan 31, 2019
Window Blinds Double as Solar Panels
Posted by Victoria Generao in categories: solar power, sustainability
Beat the heat while generating electricity with solar panel blinds
Jan 30, 2019
All-in-one transparent transistors
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: computing, solar power, sustainability
Small tweaks in component ratios generate electronically different layers from the same material to create transparent transistors.
Worldwide demand is growing for transparent conducting oxides for use in solar cells, flat panel displays, smart windows and semiconductor-based consumer electronics. KAUST researchers have engineered a zinc-oxide-based transparent material that displays tunable electronic properties depending on the tweaking of a new type of dopant.
Transparent electronics rely on indium tin oxide, a transparent and electrically conductive material that has an exorbitant cost due to the scarcity of indium. Zinc-oxide-based materials, such as hafnium-doped zinc-oxide materials, are expected to offer affordable, green and abundant alternatives to indium tin oxide. However, hafnium-doped zinc-oxide materials typically require high deposition temperatures and display inadequate performance for real-life device applications.
Jan 30, 2019
Light-filled, sustainable office in the Netherlands produces all of its own energy
Posted by Quinn Sena in categories: solar power, sustainability
This green office in the Netherlands produces its own energy thanks to solar panels. See the other sustainable design features, like a green roof and more.
Jan 26, 2019
Scientists Create Liquid Fuel That Can Store The Sun’s Energy For Up to 18 Years
Posted by Victoria Generao in categories: solar power, sustainability
No matter how abundant or renewable, solar power has a thorn in its side. There is still no cheap and efficient long-term storage for the energy that it generates.
The solar industry has been snagged on this branch for a while, but in the past year alone, a series of four papers has ushered in an intriguing new solution.
Scientists in Sweden have developed a specialised fluid, called a solar thermal fuel, that can store energy from the sun for well over a decade.
Jan 25, 2019
Self-assembling nanomaterial offers pathway to more efficient, affordable harnessing of solar power
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: nanotechnology, solar power, sustainability
Solar rays are a plentiful, clean source of energy that is becoming increasingly important as the world works to shift away from power sources that contribute to global warming. But current methods of harvesting solar charges are expensive and inefficient—with a theoretical efficiency limit of 33 percent. New nanomaterials developed by researchers at the Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at The Graduate Center of The City University of New York (CUNY) could provide a pathway to more efficient and potentially affordable harvesting of solar energy.
Jan 16, 2019
Say ‘bye bye’ to faulty mobile phones and solar cells
Posted by James Christian Smith in categories: mobile phones, solar power, sustainability
Jan 8, 2019
These $2,000 solar panels pull clean drinking water out of the air, and they might be a solution to the global water crisis
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: solar power, sustainability
Zero Mass Water produces solar panels that pull water out of the air, filter it, and deliver it to your home faucet.
Jan 7, 2019
Why the Future of Solar Power Is from Space
Posted by James Christian Smith in categories: solar power, space, sustainability
Over seven decades ago in 1941, Isaac Asimov wrote a short story, “Reason” (PDF), in which energy captured from the sun was transmitted via microwave beams to nearby planets from a space station. Flash forward to today, scientists are looking to make that very science fiction dream a reality for Earth.
There has been tremendous research on space-based solar power (SBSP) or space solar power (SSP) since the mid 20th century. Here is a great timeline of the various international studies and projects related to SBSP.
Continue reading “Why the Future of Solar Power Is from Space” »
Dec 22, 2018
China Has Built a Giant Floating Solar Power Plant
Posted by Nicholi Avery in categories: solar power, sustainability
We can barely believe our eyes – this solar power plant floats in a man-made lake… over what was once a filthy coal mine. (via World Economic Forum)