Water Decontamination With Solar Power And A Stick
A team from Carnegie Mellon University have proposed an interesting and very simple conceptual device for solar-assisted water sanitation. Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Venkat Viswanathan and fellow researchers believe simply placing a rod composed of tin oxide or titanium dioxide into a bucket of water that is then exposed to the sun may do […]
Solar Powered, Jumping Robots A Step Closer
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have constructed a locust-inspired robot that can jump double the height of existing robots of its type. The TAUB is just 13 cm long and weighs less than 28 grams, but can jump 3.35 metres high and cover a horizontal distance of 1.37 metres. Crucial to its development was the […]
New Dual-Junction Solar Cell Efficiency Record
A team of American and Swiss scientists have set a new world efficiency record in solar energy conversion for a dual-junction silicon solar cell. The record conversion level of 29.8 percent was achieved by stacking a top cell made of gallium indium phosphide (GaInP), developed by researchers at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), […]
Climate Change Threatens Electricity Generation Globally
The impact of climate change on water resources could affect electricity production associated with the majority of the world’s hydro and thermoelectric power stations in the not too distant future. A new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change looked at data from 24,515 hydropower and 1,427 thermoelectric power plants worldwide. Both types depend […]
Wind Power – SheerWind Invelox
SheerWind announced yesterday it had signed a licensing agreement to enable its novel Invelox wind power technology to be marketed and deployed in the Netherlands. The creators of the Invelox wind power system claim it has a cut-in wind speed of just over 3 kilometres an hour and under the right conditions, can generate electricity […]
Rooftop Solar Now Western Australia’s “Biggest Power Station”
It’s been reported Western Australia’s largest power station is represented by the many thousands of households and businesses with solar panels installed. In a great example of power to, by and for the people; research from Curtin University indicates 500 MW of installed solar capacity in Western Australia’s South West Interconnected System (SWIS), which incorporates […]
Increased Support For Rooftop Solar In India
India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs last week boosted the budget for grid connect rooftop solar by more than 8-fold. The Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, increased the budget from Rs. 600 crore (around AUD $124 million) to Rs. 5,000 crore (~ AUD $1.03 billion). The funding will support the installation of […]
Solar Power And Solvatten Saving Lives
It looks like a fairly ordinary plastic jerry can for water; but using the power of the sun and some clever but simple technology, Solvatten makes contaminated water safe to drink without the use of chemicals – and heats it as well. The Solvatten unit opens like a book into separate 5 litre containers. When […]
Scotland’s Solar Capacity Jumps 28% In 2015
The total installed capacity of solar panel systems in Scotland has reached 179 megawatts; an increase of 28% since last year. According to figures from Ofgem published by WWF Scotland and the Solar Trade Association Scotland, more than 40,000 Scottish homes and 850 commercial premises now have solar panels. The pace of solar uptake in […]
Australia’s Solar Supercharge 2016 Set To Sizzle
From the 13th to 15th of February 2016, solar experts and supporters from around the nation will gather in Brisbane for Solar Supercharge; a national action summit focused on Australia’s clean energy future. To be held at the Queensland University of Technology, the event will plan for the 2016 election and mark the start of […]