Solar-Powered Space Ship Could Travel 100,000 MPH?
A spacecraft powered by photons from sunlight has been designed by the Planetary Society. They are also currently building the solar sailor, and hope to launch it at the end of 2010.
Clean Power
Homeowners Associations and and Solar Roof Laws Do Battle
The desire to avoid solar confrontations with neighbors could have an effect on architectural design. Here’s how one Southern California homeowner solved that on a new home in San Diego: he hid the panels behind a parapet. California has already had a law on the books for three decades: The … [continued]
Largest Working Hydro-Electric Wave Energy Device in the World Launched
The largest working hydro-electric wave energy device was launched by Queen’s University Belfast, Aquamarine Power Ltd. and the Scottish government recently, bringing the global wave energy industry one major move forward. The device is called Oyster. It is the only hydro-electric wave energy device producing power in the world, according … [continued]
California Solar Power Transmission Line Approved at Thanksgiving
On Friday the California Public Utilities Commission approved a new 500 Kilovolt transmission line from desert areas deep in southeastern California where numerous solar projects have been signed, to urban centers on the coast. As originally submitted the line was to have also carried electrons from sunny Arizona deserts too, … [continued]
German Company Unlocks Ancient Secrets of Amazon "Dark Soil"
The world’s first demonstration facility for the large scale production of Amazonian “dark soil” is under construction in Hengstbacherhof, Germany. Dark soil, also known as terra preta, is a manmade, ultra-fertile soil that was first developed thousands of years ago in Amazon communities. The buzz about terra preta is its … [continued]
Germany Runs Out of Solar Panels Due to Generous Feed-In Tariff
A burst of new business at the end of 2009 put Germany close to adding a record of solar power to the grid, according to the head of Germany’s BSW solar industry association, Carsten Koernig. He estimates that in this year alone; it will be very close to 3 Gigawatts. … [continued]
Scotttish Researchers Revolutionize Wind Turbine Engineering With Minor Tweak
A wind turbine efficiency breakthrough by Dr Markus Mueller and Dr Alasdair McDonald of the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Energy Systems has the potential to revolutionize the wind energy industry by making large turbines more failure-proof by cutting their weight in half. [social_buttons] It is expensive and hazardous sending … [continued]
Michigan Could Get 500-Job Solar Plant
The city of Saginaw is bidding to become home to a branch of the San Jose-based solar company GlobalWatt. If the Saginaw City Council approves a brownfield redevelopment plan, the company could receive ten million dollars in tax credits.
Solar Power Costs 50% Lower than Last Year
New research by leading alternative energy research firm New Energy Finance finds that solar power will cost less by about 50% at the end of 2009 compared to the end of 2008. The costs are pre-subsidy, so they could be much lower if you take better government subsidies into account. … [continued]
South Carolina To Lead US With $98 Million World-Class Wind Center
In its largest single award ever; Clemson University has received a $45 million grant from the Department of Energy (and an additional $53 million in matching funds) to construct and operate a large-scale facility that will test wind energy drive train components at the research campus. This places one of … [continued]
