Category Archives: Alternative Energy
NASA is developing excellent technologies from time to time for improving the quality of life and also to make the world a sustainable and a better place to live in. The hope for algae to be commercially viable source of energy is now becoming more and more real with NASA pitching in their efforts. Nano technology bases approaches for algae fuel extractions are NASA’s plan. NASA proposes to place large plastic bags filled with sewage in the ocean to grow the algae. These bags will have semi-permeable membranes that will help the algae grow and will allow fresh water to flow out.
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I know the title seems weird and animal lovers will be behind our backs because of this statement but these are not real snakes. A company called Checkmate is testing 200m long rubber devices which would be tethered to the sea bed and are designed in such a way that they swim against the current to produce up to 1MW of power each. These waves will cause a bulge to ripple down the length of the anacondas and power turbines at the tails. If this is successful you are talking about powering at least 50,000 UK homes in another 5 years time!
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Unlike the traditional turbine wind mills which need lots of space, the Optiwind Compact Wind Accelerating Turbine is the ideal wind energy mill for high density area with low winds. These turbines have a series of small, five-bladed fans which funnel in wind and accelerate it thereby increasing wind speeds to generate more power. It is six meters in diameter and the blades are much smaller than the traditional turbine blades. This is an excellent achievement as these can be used in schools, hospitals and hotels where not much space is available. But still the potential sites should have at least 3.5 acres of open land available to comply with local zoning laws.
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High Gain Solar (HGS) arrays, a solar concentrator that relies on more sheet metal and less silicon has been unveiled to cut costs by the Skyline Solar. Its arrays, expected to be available later this year, are targeted at commercial customers and utilities looking to generate from about 100 kilowatts to megawatts worth of electricity. The company has a 24-kilowatt demonstration facility at a plant in San Jose, California. Skyline Solar’s concentrator is built around a reflective metal trough that concentrates light onto strips of monocrystalline silicon cells. A tracking system follows the sun over the course of the day so that sunlight bounces onto the cells directly. By concentrating the light onto these cells, Skyline Solar says it can deliver 10 times more energy per gram of silicon compared with traditional flat solar panels. Time will tell if these will sell well and help reduce the depleting ozone layer.
[Cnet]
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Another DIY solar stove project for the forthcoming weekend. After the success of Kyoto Box, folks all over the world are keen to experiment with ‘why-didn’t-I-think of-this’ kind of solar powered projects. The latest is a solar powered stove made out of 100% recycled materials by an Instructable user, desertdog. Blending two vital green essentials, the solar power and the recycled material, the designer intended to churn out a make-it-yourself product that could be grid-free and cost-free too. All that is needed is a discarded 62 inch satellite dish, few used CDs and some other stuff that is otherwise lying in your garage or backyard.
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Apache Junction man Richard Gryzch has invented a solar powered motor bike. He has been working on for more than two years and believes it’s the first solar charged electric motorcycle in the world. He calls it The Solar Flyer named after the Radio Flyer, the popular red wagon from his childhood. The bike tops 90 mph and can travel up to 50 miles at a time and plans to take it up to 300 miles. To build this bike, he has sold his house and other motorcycles to finance the project.
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Aurora begins testing SunLight Eagle, the unmanned solar powered aircraft
2012 may be the end of the world, but people are not wasting time trying to get their lives accustomed to alternative energy. Aurora Flight Sciences will begin testing solar-powered unmanned aircraft within the national irspace. The tests will be conducted at Las Cruces, New Mexico, under the auspices of New Mexico State University (NMSU). The Aurora plane named SunLight Eagle has a wingspan of 114 feet. To convert it to fly on sunlight, its wings have been covered with solar cells.
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Current Cost has launched the ENVI which is an energy monitor that will help you keep a watch on the electricity usage at home. The company is known for producing products that improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. Using simple and easy to use plug-in monitors, the number of watts consumed and the cost for running an appliance is displayed. Identifying energy hungry appliances allows users to alter their use and habits when it comes to such devices, and the ability to track the decline in energy efficiency allows them to identify when it’s cost effective to replace the item.
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Sony has for years been creating useful, convenient and exquisite technological designs for mankind. So it took a small break from all the creating and allowed a few ID students from China to let their minds go crazy and create a few green ideas. The outcome was as follows. A Sony Bathman Shower music player created by the Peng Shi-Nan Dong Hwa University students who made a music system that mimics the flow of water from a showerhead which means an invigorating flow of water results in some hard rock music coming your way while a gentle shower plays some soft mellow music. Second is a Sony Conductor TV Remote by the Donghua University students. It is a wand-shaped remote that requires you to sway it from side to side to power it, change channels and play with the volume. It also feature a green LED light to indicate power levels.
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Designer Mae Yokoyama has conceived an interesting piece of green jewelry. Christened as Lux, it is a neck piece that succeeds in attesting that solar energy can utilized to dazzle up your glamour quotient too. Solar panels are threaded together to form a fashionable geeky necklace. When the sun shines bright during the day, these panels soak up enough sunlight to store energy. And when the sun retires for the day, these solar pieces juice up the LED bulbs on the attached string. It results in giving an impression of dazzling pearls without actually using authentic pearls. Just two hours of sun-feed will result in four hours of glowing pearls on your neckline. Lux demonstrates that solar panels are the newest raw material for glowing green jewelry. And certainly a reason to invest in green tech rather!
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