Author Archives: Nathan


About Nathan

For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity. - Ecclesiastes 3:19

Harvesting Electricity From Plants — Plant-Based Energy Generation

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Image Credit: Leaf via Wikimedia Commons

Harvesting electricity directly from the best solar power plants in the world (photosynthetic plants)? Sound too good to be true? Well it may be a possibility in the near future, thanks to new research from the University of Georgia. Researchers there have developed a way to “interrupt” photosynthesis and redirect the electrons before they are used to make sugars. If you’re wondering why this is a potentially importent discovery, it’s because photosynthetic plants function at … Read More

New Plasmonic Polymer Solar Cells Achieve Record Efficiency Of 8.92%

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Plasmonic polymer solar cell

A new polymer solar cells designed by researchers at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology has achieved a record for the highest efficiency of any plasmonic PSCs that utilize metal nanoparticles. The new record is not far off of the 10% conversion efficiency level that the researchers think will allow the technology to break through into the commercial market. For some background: Polymer solar cells (PSCs) are a type of thin-film solar cell … Read More

Seaweed To Biomass — New System Greatly Simplifies Removal Of Seaweed From Beaches & Conversion To Biomass

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Image Credit: Asociación RUVID

A new system has been created that greatly simplifies the process of removing dead seaweed from beaches and converting it to biomass. The system, created by researchers at the University of Alicante, is considerably cheaper and more efficient than the methods currently in use. And perhaps more importantly, the new system doesn’t degrade the beaches via the removal of large quantities of sand. As a result of the new system, more than 80% of the … Read More

Graphene/TMDC Combination For Next-Gen Solar Cells

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Image Credit: Manchester University

By combining the wonder material graphene with other one-atom-thick materials, such as TMDC, to make stacks/2D-crystals, it becomes possible to produce an enormous range of superlative properties, and likely to create the “next generation” of solar cells, according to researchers from the University of Manchester and the National University of Singapore. “Collectively, such 2D crystals demonstrate a vast range of superlative properties: from conductive to insulating, from opaque to transparent. Every new layer in these … Read More

Greatly Improved EV Charger Design Developed, Faster & Cheaper Charging

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"Model of the integrated motor drive and battery charger. The image shows a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, which also has a fuel tank and a combustion engine, but the technology system works equally well with a purely electric vehicle." Image Credit: Chalmers University of Technology

A new, greatly improved electric vehicle charger design has been developed by researchers at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The unique integrated motor drive and battery charger greatly shorten the charging time, from about 8 hours to 2, and reduce the cost by around $2000, as compared to currently used designs. The new research was undertaken with the aim of developing the “optimal” electric vehicle charger — which hasn’t yet been achieved, but … Read More

Scotland Well On Track To Reach 500 MW Community Renewable Energy Goal

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Image Credit: Wind alarm Scotland via Wikimedia Commons

Scotland’s goal of having 500 MW of community-owned renewable energy projects installed by 2020 is well on track, according to new figures released by the Energy Savings Trust (EST). As of right now, there are more than 200 MW of community, or locally owned, renewable energy generating capacity installed in the country. The figures were released to precede the unveiling, in the next few weeks, of a variety of different incentives designed to spur community … Read More

Germany #1 In Utility-Scale Solar, China Inches Away

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germany utility scale

This article originally appeared on Solar Love. New data released by the analysts at Wiki-Solar confirms what many would already guess — Germany is still the largest of the world’s top three utility-scale solar photovoltaic markets, running ahead of China and the US. Maybe somewhat surprisingly, though, China has worked its way up to a very close second. With regards to projects over 10 MWp, China is now at 2,806 MWp, compared to Germany’s 2,846 … Read More

Improved Concrete Via Use Of Sunflower Seed Husks

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Image Credit: Sunflower Seeds via Wikimedia Commons

An improved form of concrete, made by utilizing a waste material of the agricultural industry — sunflower seed husks — has been created by researchers at the Namik Kemal University in Turkey. The husks are a waste product of the vegetable oil and food industry, and are produced in enormous quantities, so any potential use for them would be a big plus with regards to waste reduction. The improvements are related to fact that through … Read More

Printable Solar Cell Encyclopedia To Be Released

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paper-solar1

In only a couple of months, an incredible resource will be released to the public, a comprehensive list of the top 20,000 organic compounds that are useful for the creation of cheap, printable, photovoltaic cells (PVCs). The list was created as part of Harvard’s Clean Energy Project. The project makes use of IBM’s World Community Grid — an initiative that makes use of the collective surplus computing power of the computers of volunteers all over … Read More