Energy Matters Video News – Episode 14 – November 4, 2010

In this episode, Virginia covers the Port Philip Business Excellence Awards, wind power desalination with a twist, Austrade promoting Australian clean technology in the USA, India hosting an international renewable energy conference and Energy Matters rebrands for the solar power revolution..

Solar Scientist Shoots For Payback

Reducing ‘payback time’ – that is, the time it takes for a solar panel to produce enough power to offset the energy used in its manufacture – is driving Sue Carter, professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to develop cheaper and more efficient solar cells.

Solar Power Grid Parity On The Horizon?

Solar panel sourced power could supply 5% of global electricity demand by 2020, up to 9% by 2030 and up to 20% by 2050, according to a study from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and Greenpeace International. 

MIT’s Solar Power Thermo-Chemical Breakthrough

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), say they may have perfected a way to control the capture and release of solar energy through thermo-chemical technology, a method of harnessing solar power which was explored in the 1970s but abandoned as too expensive and impractical.

Energy Matters Video News – Episode 13 – November 1, 2010

In this episode, Virginia covers from super soaker to super solar power, solar panel roads coming soon, Australia falling behind on carbon pollution pricing, Obama, Mythbusters and Archimedes’ solar death ray and renewable energy avoids UK austerity measures.

Thomas Edison – Solar Power Visionary

Thomas Edison, one of the world’s most prolific inventors and whose contributions changed modern life, understood the importance of solar power in the world’s future energy mix and the danger of an over reliance on fossil fuels – and he had this understanding nearly 80 years ago.