The technology needed to cut the world’s greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050 already exists, according to a joint statement by eleven of the world’s largest engineering organisations….
Check out this “World Energy Report” and my thoughts on some of the issues represented here…
With all the news about solar power lately, I thought it would be useful to go back to how PV solar panels work.
A research team led by pioneering clean energy technology developer and MIT professor Daniel Nocera has made a breakthrough that mimics photosynthesis by developing an ‘artificial leaf’ that, like its namesake, captures energy from sunlight and produces electricity that it then turns into chemical fuel — hydrogen and oxygen gas.
UK telecoms and IT provider Colt is well on its way toward building the world’s first zero-emissions data center, in all of four months. Being built for data center developer Verne Global, the plant will be built on a former NATO base in Keflavik, Iceland, where geothermal and hydroelectric power will supply all the electricity needed to power the 500-square meter data center’s servers and ambient cold air used to cool them.
The idea of parking solar panels in orbit and letting them rain energy down upon Earth has been explored both in science fiction and in research laboratories for decades. Kyoto University announced this week that it took the first step in actually creating such a satellite, in its billion-yen test facility at Uji Campus.
This week, the League of Conservation Voters released polling by the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies demonstrating very strong support for EPA efforts to reduce global warming pollution. They found:
National Solar Power has announced it will build the Southeast’s largest solar farm in Gadsden County, Florida. The planned 400-megawatt solar farm – a $1.5 billion investment – is expected to generate hundreds of new jobs in the renewable energy sector.
As far as innovation on the technology front, this one is a winner. In tabulating efficiency ratings, however, quantum cells don’t seem to perform as well as either silicon-based or CIGS solar cells. This may soon change. Nature Materials writes that a new efficiency record for wrapping colloidal quantum dot solar cells may represent a step towards narrowing the gap.
With potential laptops powered by typing and watches powered by moving one’s arm, energy harvesting is a growing field with a number of cool products. In Japan, Murata Manufacturing is firmly on board the trend with sensors to detect and convert vibration, temperature gradient, ambient heat, and light into small amounts of electricity. Their most recent offering uses a variety of their sensors in combination with a flexible plate to send several different signals without the need for batteries.
