Solar Powered Drone Breaks Record
A Swiss team has broken an endurance record for unmanned aerial vehicles under 50 kilograms and for all low altitude long endurance (LALE) UAVs. Its featherweight drone, AtlantikSolar, flew continuously for more than 81 hours. Wired reports the feat was also the second longest flight by an unmanned aerial vehicle ever – the longest being […]
Butterflies Inspire More Solar Tech Biomimicry
The Cabbage White Butterfly (Pieris rapae), also known as the Cabbage Moth, is the bane of farmers and vegetable garden owners in Australia and elsewhere. However, some of its attributes may lead to more efficient solar panels in Australia. Cabbage Whites are able take flight before other butterflies on cloudy days – and it’s all […]
Facebook Unveils Massive Solar Powered Drone
Meet Aquila, Facebook’s solar powered answer to providing Internet connectivity to underserved communities and areas where access to the web isn’t available. Created by the social network’s Connectivity Lab, Aquila has the wingspan of a Boeing 737, but weighs less than a car. The monocoque wing is constructed from a cured carbon fiber that has […]
Third Party Owned Residential Solar In The USA
The rapid growth of residential solar in the USA last year has been largely attributed to the increasing availability and choice in financing solutions. According to GTM Research’s U.S. Residential Solar Financing 2015-2020, 72% of residential solar installations in 2014 were Third Party Owned (TPO). “The first wave of growth in the residential market, from […]
SkyPower To Gift 2,000,000 Home Solar Kits To Kenya
SkyPower has announced it will be giving away two million small home solar power kits to the people of Kenya. The kits will be distributed under the guidance of the Government of Kenya to households across the country that do not have access to electricity. SkyPower says each kit features a solar panel and inverter, […]
EU Wind Capacity Supplied 8% Of Electricity In 2014
A report out last week from the Joint Research Centre (JRC) shows the EU’s wind power capacity grew to a total 129 GW in 2014. Wind energy supplied eight per cent of European electricity requirements last year, equivalent to the annual consumption of Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece and Ireland. The European Commission’s JRC 2014 Wind […]
Israel’s Ketura Solar Farm Connected To Grid
One of Israel’s largest solar projects to date, the 40MW Ketura Solar facility, was connected to the nation’s mains grid yesterday. According to Globes, 140,343 solar panels are installed at the 134 acre facility, which cost more than USD $79 million to build. Located at Kibbutz Ketura, 50 km north of Eilat in Israel’s Arava […]
Coal For Poverty, Renewable Energy For Prosperity
While Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott may consider coal to be a “gift”, coal is a major threat in the fight against poverty and to our own economy says Oxfam Australia – renewable energy is the future. A new report, “Powering Up Against Poverty” looks into the massive and negative impacts of coal on communities […]
Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park Jobs Bonanza
A proposed wind and solar farm near Port Augusta in South Australia could create approximately 600 jobs during its construction phase. According to The Flinders News, the company behind the project, DP Energy, hopes to lodge an application for the project in September and for the South Australian government to have granted approval by next […]
Better, Smaller Solar Inverters On The Horizon?
Chips made from a material called silicon carbide (SiC) will result in super-efficient and smaller inverters according to GE. A solar inverter is a device that converts DC (direct current) electricity produced by solar panels into mains-type AC (alternating current); suitable for use in a home and for exporting to the mains grid. Today’s solar […]
