Category Archives: Alternative Energy
Wind turbines have been spotted offshore, far out in the sea, spinning to the beat of the wind and generating electricity. Solar panels looking up adoringly at the sun and soaking in the juice, offshore, isn’t so much of a common site though. Having floating solar panels in water bodies does seem to be a pretty practical idea indeed, given that solar collection fields take up quite a few valuable acres. Instead, the water surface provides for a better place to generate some clean and green electricity. Floating solar panels will soon dot the off-shore India, with Tata Power joining hands with Australian firm Sunergy to develop a floating solar energy plant or a Liquid Solar Array.
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Water can be used to create energy. We all know that by now. Turbines bolted on at strategic positions at dams aren’t so much on an uncommon site now. That isn’t the only way to create electricity from water though, and we’ve just figured that out! Working with Daniel Nocera, an MIT scientist and founder of SunCatalytix, the researchers at The Tata Group have stumbled upon a new way to create electricity from water. Using an artificial sheet of artificial cobalt- and phosphate-coated silicon, the researchers used solar power to split the hydrogen from the water. The process resulted in electricity creation, more efficient than the solar panels we prop up on our roofs today!
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Seems like these days just about everyone’s on a treasure hunt for new alternative energy sources. Now, technology is developed enough to generate energy from waves too! Underwater kites, designed by Swedish renewable energy company Minesto have turbines that turn with the waves. The kite each measure 8-14 meters with the turbine attached to its underbelly. The swooping motion of the kites increases the speed of water flowing into the turbine, increasing efficiency by ten times. And owing to its neutral buoyancy the kite does not sink with turning tides.
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Solar panels have always been known to occupy a load of space. This makes solar energy use somewhat painful, especially when faced with space crunches. Well, technology sure has overcome that too recently, and solar panels have gone compact and space-saving! Japanese company OS recently pulled the veil of its baby, the GSR-110B retractable projector screen-like solar panel. Using flexible solar cells developed by Fuji Electric Systems, this cleverly put together solar panel deploys in as less as 5 seconds, just the amount of time you’d require to retract it from its rolled-up casing. Weighing in at 3kgs, this portable solar panel can generate up to 40W off power in good sunshine.
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Geothermal energy will be the best way to power up over the next few years as research has showed up results stating that geothermal usage will double by 2020. The United States is currently upfront in geothermal energy with 3.1 gigawatts of installed geothermal systems while 88% of the world’s geothermal energy systems currently in operation are used in just 8 countries. Geothermal energy also happens to be the world’s least tapped alternative energy, brimming with opportunities. Forcasts show that geothermal energy will increase 134% to 25.1 gigawatts over the years, while the United States alone has the potential to power up 7 million lives with geothermal energy!
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It’s time now for Florida to proudly hold its head up high, with the unveiling of the world’s first hybrid solar energy plant. And it really isn’t surprising for a Sunshine State to take to solar energy, with all the abundant sunshine that keeps pouring in. the plant christened the Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, is located in Martin County and uses 190,000 solar thermal mirrors which track and harness the sun’s energy using hydraulic motors. Working hand-in-hand with a natural gas power plant, the 75 megawatt facility is spread over 500 acres of FPL-owned land and lightens up 11,000 Florida homes, creating 1,000 jobs too.
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If you reside in a windy place, perched on the top of an apartment block or probably in the middle of nowhere, here’s a great way to generate some green energy to charge up your smaller electronic devices like a mobile phone or other hand held devices. Designed by Lance Cassidy, the Aero E is a home-based wind turbine that you can hook on to the outsides of your window. The system generates electricity from the wind and transfers the energy wirelessly via induction to the charging pad. That’s not all.
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Artificial trees these days just keep getting better. We’ve seen the Treepod concept before, artificial trees that help clean the air. This time, artificial trees will generate electricity and collect fresh rainwater too! Designed by Anthony DiMari, these trees are meant to be placed in arrays, a little artificial forest of sorts and will make use of piezoelectricity to harvest energy. Called the Urban Field, the project will have the synthetic trees collect wind energy too. The energy collected will also be used to power on the LEDs that have these artificial trees glow bright at night.
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The winds will now be squeezed of juice like never before, thanks to MidAmerican that will soon have 2,909 megawatts of wind generation in operation, probably by the end of 2011. That sure is a hell lot of renewable energy being generated! That’s not all. The company, owned by Warren Buffet via his Berkshire Hathaway holding company, ranks right up there, the #1 wind energy generating utility in the United States! The company has put in a whopping $5.4 billion for wind energy generation, and is growing quicker than ever.
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Solar energy collecting fields aren’t new. Arrays of solar panels are systematically set up that soak in the sun through the day. Well, space crunches can at times make setting up solar energy collection areas a downright pain. Israeli based firm Solaris Synergy and French EDF Group had the sparkling bright idea of setting up floating solar arrays instead. Now the water surface of ponds and lakes stays calm at most times and is usually free except for the lone fisherman lazing in his little boat. So, the firms are busy developing panels that cost cheaper, float on water, and have no issues with over-heating given that they float on water with capabilities of generating up to 200kW of electricity.
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