Presented by Energy Matters team member Virginia, we take a look at some of the stories from Australia and around the world recently added to our renewable energy news section.
This week, Virginia reports on an Australian designed solar light making a difference in developing countries, a solar power enabled transportable office made from from a shipping container, an NRG and Bill Clinton initiative bringing solar to Haiti and the Seiko Astron, a solar powered watch with GPS.
In this episode:
– An Australian designed solar light is changing lives in developing nations, including the 80,000 refugees of Pakistan’s 2010 floods. The Melbourne inventor of the light, Shane Thatcher said that it was created for the billion people globally who live off the grid and survive on less than a dollar a day. Read more.
– Texas based Harvest Moon Development Company has constructed a shipping container office called SPACE – Solar Powered Adaptive Container for Everyone. Capable of supporting up to 5 kilowatts of solar panels, SPACE also includes a solar inverter, a deep cycle battery bank, plus a petrol generator. The interior of SPACE is decked out with a high efficiency mini split air conditioner, CFL and LED lighting and multiple power outlets as standard. Read more.
– A partnership between NRG Energy and the Clinton Global Initiative, founded by former US President Bill Clinton, has brought solar power to Haiti. NRG CEO David Crane says that solar power makes sense for Haiti, as it suffers from low electrification rates, high dependency on fossil fuels and high supply prices. Read more.
– Seiko has developed an energy-sipping GPS receiver and incorporated it into a solar powered watch that can identify time zone. The Seiko Astron automatically receives the time signal by connecting to GPS satellites that orbit Earth, allowing it to pin point its position. Read more.
