Tag Archives: future
Improving Solar Cells with Quantum-Dot Microscopy
Researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture—cathodoluminescence—to image nanoscale features. Combining the best features of optical and scanning electron microscopy, the fast, versatile, and high-resolution technique allows scientists to view surface [...]
The Electric Vehicle Market in 10 Years
While the electric car is commonly seen as a future technology, the late 19th to early 20th century saw peak popularity for this mode of powering engines. At the time, electricity was easier to use, and electric cars easier to maintain and operate, than the gasoline-powered cars of the era. Once advances were made in [...]
The Solar Robots are Coming!
They call the robotic panel installer Rover and they call the robotic panel cleaner Spot. Here’s how Alion Energy CEO Mark Kingsley said the automated project construction and maintenance system will work: After the ground is prepared, a mixing truck and concrete slip extruder fill pre-designed molds to form a non-penetrating, ballasted foundation rack that [...]
Buffet Bets Against Nuclear
MidAmerican Energy (MEH)a company whole owned by legendary investor Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway has cancelled plans towards a Gigawatt scale nuclear power plant in Iowa and refunded funds from the State of Iowa for preliminary studies. MEH continues working on studies for a 1,000 MW of wind energy to complement last months purchase of 579 [...]
The Bright Future for Renewables
Okay, the title is a bit of an overstatement. But when it comes to the economy, we don’t need a crystal ball to understand what is coming next. Rarely in history has there been a time when the greatest opportunity available has also been so obvious. People, groups and societies all wish to maintain and [...]
In Focus: The Fuel of the Future
The fastest growing plants in the world, microalgae are photosynthetic organisms which convert carbon dioxide, alongside sunlight and nutrients, into lipids. They produce more biomass per unit area than agricultural crops. Grown in ponds or translucent containers known as photobioreactors, cultivation does not take up arable land. For these reasons, algae are thought to be [...]
SolarCity Raises $500M
SolarCity (Nasdaq: SCTY), a provider of distributed energy, just announced a $500 million lease financing agreement with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). That translates to more than 100 megawatts of solar power. The combined lease is the largest of its kind for U.S. residential rooftops. SolarCity allows consumers to get electricity from grid-tied solar rooftops at [...]
In Focus: The Chemicals in Chicago’s Air
Scientists have found that Chicago’s air is infested with chemicals courtesy of airborne compounds that are traveling as far as the Arctic. The chemicals, called cyclic siloxanes, are toxic to aquatic life. Where do they come from? From chemicals in deodorants, lotions and conditioners. “These chemicals are just everywhere,” said Keri Hornbuckle, an engineering professor at the [...]
FUTUREWATCH: Cyborg Plants Harvesting Solar
Our star, the Sun, provides most of the energy on this planet. (Essentially, all the energy except for nuclear, comes directly or indirectly from it.) Our current methods of converting solar radiation into electricity (photovoltaics) are not very efficient in comparison with plants. Researchers at the University of Georgia looked to nature for inspiration, and [...]
Cooking Solar in a Microwave Oven?
University of Utah metallurgists created a “recipe” to produce solar cell material in a microwave oven. Using this kitchen appliance, a nanocrystal semiconductor suitable for photovoltaic applications can be manufactured rapidly from cheap abundant and less toxic metals than other semiconductors. Scientists hope that this new method will be used for more efficient photovoltaic solar [...]
New Battery Can Store Solar and Wind Energy
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have developed a relatively cheap, long-life “flow” battery that can be used to mitigate power fluctuations from solar and wind energy plants, therefore enabling them to become major suppliers to the electrical grid. The research, led by Yi Cui, a [...]
Graphene That Redefines Electric Current
A new joint innovation by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and the University of Cambridge could pave the way for redefining the ampere in terms of fundamental constants of physics. The world’s first graphene single-electron pump (SEP), described in Nature Nanotechnology, provides the speed of electron flow needed to create a new standard for electrical current [...]