Home: Renewable Energy News: October 2008

Renewable Energy News

OCTOBER 2008 | View archive list |

Friday 31 October, 2008

Emissions Trading To Cost Australian Households A Dollar A Day
Australia's Low Pollution Future: The Economics of Climate Change Mitigation was released by the Australian government yesterday and based on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, the bottom line for households is an expectation of an increase of an average of $4 - $5 extra per week on electricity and $2 extra per week on gas and other household fuels.

Thursday 30 October, 2008

Solar Power From Car Parks
Have you ever stopped and thought about how much of this planet's surface is dedicated to roads and open air car parks? This transport infrastructure takes up so much land and does nothing else except to service our vehicles. But what if we started converting roads and car parks to solar power farms? It's already happening, albeit it on a small scale

Wednesday 29 October, 2008

Solar Panel Efficiency Breakthrough - With Balloons
A group of scientist and researchers claim to be able to generate the same amount of electricity as traditional flat solar panel systems while using up to 300 to 400 times less solar cell material; through the use of balloons as a concentrator.

Tuesday 28 October, 2008

Wong Refuses To Guarantee Australian Solar Power Rebate
Rumours have been floating around the Australian solar industry recently that the $8,000 solar power rebate may end soon. These rumours were given a little more credibility recently when the Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, refused to guarantee that the rebate has a solid future.

Monday 27 October, 2008

Australian Solar Power Development Unveiled in California
Late last week, Ausra, Inc. and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled California's first solar thermal plant in 2 decades. The technology was developed in Australia, by Australian Dr. David Mills. Professor Mills left Australia in February last year after failing to attract support from the Howard government for his solar thermal technology.

Friday 24 October, 2008

Avoiding Geen Electricity Scams
Buying green power directly from a utility has been the popular choice for some people as over the short term it's a good deal cheaper than having a solar power system installed on a home; even with generous renewable energy rebates available; but there are many traps and pitfalls to watch for.

Thursday 23 October, 2008

Solar Powered Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
In many households, the most energy intensive applications are those dealing with the heating of water, refrigeration and air conditioning. These three activities can add considerable expense to the overall cost of a solar power system.

Wednesday 22 October, 2008

UK Leading The World In Offshore Wind Power
The recent go ahead from the British government on a new offshore wind farm will further widen the lead the UK recently achieved in offshore wind power generation.

Tuesday 21 October, 2008

Solar panel arrays in space?
Once the stuff of science fiction, the idea of placing large arrays of solar panels in Earth's orbit and using microwave transmissions to beam the electricity generated to receptor antenna stations here on Terra Firma may become reality in the not too distant future.

Monday 20 October, 2008

Australian Renewable Energy Atlas Launched
Australia's first interactive atlas designed to map all of Australia's renewable energy resources has been launched. Funded by the Australian Federal Government, the Renewable Energy Atlas is a user-friendly online tool showing highly detailed, nationwide information on all forms of renewable energy and also includes data such as energy infrastructure and climate information.

Friday 17 October, 2008

Ultra Efficient Solar Panels - Black Silicon
While solar power technology has come a long way, the best solar panels on the general market only convert around 15 - 20% of the sun's rays into electricity. Eric Mazur, a physicist at Harvard University, believes an ultra-sensitive form of silicon called black silicon could approach the theoretical limit of converting around 30% of sunlight into electricity.

Thursday 16 October, 2008

Germany's Solar Innovation - Renting Rooftops
While Germany has less than ideal weather conditions for solar powered electricity generation; it hasn't stopped the country from becoming a world leader in the uptake of grid connect solar power

Wednesday 15 October, 2008

Queensland's Lagging Solar Power Uptake
Despite being known as the Sunshine State, Queensland appears to have the second lowest adoption rate of home solar power in Australia.

Tuesday 14 October, 2008

India Unveils Solar Powered Rickshaw
The Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in India has developed the "soleckshaw," a cycle rickshaw powered by a 36-volt solar battery.

Monday 13 October, 2008

World's Largest Solar Powered Winery
Constellation Wines, the largest wine company in the world, will soon boast the largest solar array of any winery in the world at its Gonzales, California winery.

Friday 10 October, 2008

Cylindrical Solar Modules Unveiled
Californian PV manufacturer Solyndra, Inc., recently unveiled a new solar photovoltaic system design targeted towards the commercial low-slope rooftop market that will generate significantly more electricity than current flat solar panel technologies.

Thursday 09 October, 2008

The Solar Pope
The Vatican, home of the Pope and the Catholic capital, is the smallest state in the world and soon may also become the first zero emissions state. Pope Benedict XVI has become the first pontiff to harness solar power to provide clean energy for the Vatican.

Wednesday 08 October, 2008

Renewable Energy Technology - Solar Updraft Towers
Solar power comes in all sorts of forms, and not just solar panels, flat plate/evacuated tube collectors and heat pumps. A technology that was first floated at the beginning of the 20th century is now gaining renewed interest - solar updraft towers.

Tuesday 07 October, 2008

Energy Matters Switches on Super Spring Solar Savings
To help brush those Wall Street blues away, Australia's leading provider of renewable energy equipment and installation services is making it even cheaper for the nation's householders to make the switch to residential solar power with two great new discount programs.

Monday 06 October, 2008

Wall Street And The Renewable Energy Industry
The fallout from Wall Street's recent and ongoing crisis has certainly not been confined to the USA, with countries around the world reeling from its effects. But what does this mean for the renewable energy sector?

Friday 03 October, 2008

Solar Panel Security Guide Released
The problem of solar panel theft has become so bad in some places in America that solar panel owners are arming themselves to try to deter thieves. To help people protect their investment, Energy Matters has released a guide with simple tips and strategies for deterring would-be thieves from making off with panels.

Thursday 02 October, 2008

Solar Buyers Groups Save Big
By collaborating with friends, neighbours or work associates within a local area, a solar buyers group wields increased buying power. Through bulk ordering, members of a solar buyers group can have a residential grid connect system installed at well below market prices.

Wednesday 01 October, 2008

NSW Opposition Commits To Solar Feed In Tariff
The NSW Liberals/Nationals announced today that if in power, would commit to a renewable energy buyback scheme, also known as a feed in tariff.

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