New Transparent Aerogel “Sponge” Spikes The Solar Power Ball
It’s only a matter of time before concentrating solar power slips into the industrial process heat field, if a new aerogel pans out.
thermal energy
Energy, & How It Becomes Electric Power
Since the days when we humans learned to use fire and developed six simple machines, we have progressed a lot in our ability to harness external sources of energy. In fact, we have defined and redefined its use. But what is energy? Scientists define it as “the ability to do … [continued]
Top 10 Most Interesting Cleantech News Stories from July
This is the third monthly report of 10 of the most compelling clean energy and clean technology stories encountered over the last month. Over a thousand articles were reviewed across many energy platforms, including renewables, fuels, energy generation, energy conservation, and climate. Here are my “Top 10” that might have … [continued]
Thermal Energy Storage in US Likely to Triple by 2020
According to a recent report published by Pike Research, increasing interest in thermal storage systems (TES) could be seen in the coming years in the US. Currently, installed solar thermal capacity in the US is 2.7 GW, which is expected to increase up to 7.2 GW by 2020 (i.e. approximately, … [continued]
Hybrid Solar System to Go Online in Chiba
The prototype hybrid solar system will go online in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture this month. It’s supposed to have a rated power output of 2.4kW. Based on the results of the current test run […]
More than Half of U.S. Energy Goes to Waste – But Not for Long
Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimate that the U.S. loses more than half the energy it generates. That doesn’t include heating and cooling loss from buildings, just energy that vanishes into the atmosphere from machines, industrial processes and electronic equipment. In order to reclaim and recycle some of this energy,
Solar PV Firm Bets on Bioplastic
Shrink Nanotechnologies is one of several companies that is using bioplastics to find a new way of making devices that will minimize the use of increasingly-scarce rare metals. The company’s OptiSol Solar Concentrator is billed as a nanotechnology-based plastic solar concentrator and solar film. Traditional silicon solar cells absorb only … [continued]
