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POPS0.3% of Saharan Sun Enough To Power Europe The visionary proposal comes as the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission released its strategic energy technology plan which highlighted photovoltaic cells as one of the eight technologies that need to be developed in the future. The plan also includes fuel cells, hydrogen, clean coal, second generation biofuels, nuclear fusion, wind and smart grids.
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POPSNew thin-film solar panels easy to install These new solar panels look and sound easy to install. No price info here but links are provided for more info, including dealers and possible financial incentives available. With electricity prices going ever higher and solar power technology (and hopefully prices) improving, I hope to be able to go solar soon.
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POPSSolar Will Beat Oil This article gives me some hope. A bit more: "Enough total solar energy shines on the earth during a 40-minute period of time to power the entire world economy for a year. We only need to harness a tiny portion of this sunshine to make a huge difference in the world: environmentally, politically and economically."
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POPSBeyond Zero-Energy: The World's 1st Positive Energy Building Generates more energy than it consumes. The building’s aggressive approach to sustainability enables it to offer the lowest energy consumption per square meter for its class. The complex will utilize sustainable materials and feature integrated wind turbines, outdoor air quality monitors. In addition to serving as the Masdar headquarters, the building will accommodate private residences and ‘early bird’ businesses starting up in the city. The Masdar development will be constructed over seven phases and is due to be completed by 2016.
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POPSHow Parking Lots Can Beat the Heat & Gain Energy On hot, sunny days when air conditioners threaten to overload the power grid, solar power generation makes a lot of sense. Parking lots in asphalt-rich cities have great solar potential because the panels can be oriented to optimize power production during summer afternoons when electricity is most valuable. Google, for example, has installed solar canopies on its parking lots to satisfy 30 percent of its headquarters' power demand. Because the parking lots for most commercial buildings are bigger than the buildings themselves, economies of scale for large installations can further reduce the cost of the solar panels. We shouldn't wait until the next heat wave to think about getting solar power from our parking lots.
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POPSJapan Plans Solar Station in Space The next step, expected around 2020, would be to launch and test a large flexible photovoltaic structure with 10 megawatt power capacity, to be followed by a 250 megawatt prototype. JAXA says the transmission technology would be safe but concedes it would have to convince the public, which may harbour images of laser beams shooting down from the sky, roasting birds or slicing up aircraft in mid-air.
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POPSRenewable Energy Wrecks Environment There isn't enough uranium to last. The way to go is to burn the radioactive waste in fast breeder reactors. It is estimated that all that waste could be burned up in 50 years. Why didn't fast-breeder technology catch on? It wasn't that the technology didn't work, it was that the price of uranium was so cheap that it rendered fast breeders uneconomic.
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POPSThe Dawn of the new Hydrogen economy Stanford Ovshinsky, President, Chief Scientist and Technologist of ECD Ovonics, based in Michigan USA, was awarded the 2005 Innovation Award for Energy and the Environment by The Economist for his pioneering work in and the development of the high-powered Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery technology. The Economist's Innovation Award celebrates the global achievements and innovations of individuals who have positively transformed global business.
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POPSSunPower announces 22 percent efficient solar panels I wonder how long till they get around 50%, or if that's even possible. Anyway, it's really awesome to see advances like this. The SPR-315 solar panel is based on the company's brand spankin' new Gen 2 solar cells, which have a rated power output of 315 watts and boast 22 percent photovoltaic (PV) efficiency -- that's opposed to the 7% to 17% common in most commercial PV systems.
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POPSMoore's Law and the Cost of Solar Energy Interesting. I like to see patterns emerging in technology trends. This one makes sense, but the fact is that there are many different types of solar panels, including solar thermal and solar hot water, that are already competitive.
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