Tag Archives: technology
Heliostat Technology from BrightSource
The Ivanpah Solar project just celebrated installation of the 100,000th heliostat, but what, you may ask, is a heliostat? The word ‘heliostat’ comes from the Greek words helios (sun) and stat (stationary), meaning a device that tracks the sun from a stationary point. In order to harness the energy of the sun, we must first [...]
Future Technology: Will Intel Be Inside?
Intel derived its name from Integrated Electronics Corporation which was incorporated on July 18, 1968, by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California and enjoys being the world’s largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. Intel is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors which is [...]
NSG Group’s Coated Panel Glass Solution
When someone describes how much of a solar power plant site is covered with photovoltaic modules, the term “under glass” is often used. The reason for this is obvious: the first thing you notice about the panels is the flat piece of thin glass, about eight square feet in size, that makes up the front [...]
Behavioral Science Can Increase Energy Efficiency Adoption
Utility operations are being forced to evolve as customer expectations shift, technological change continues and new players enter adjacent markets. As utilities chart their course in areas such as energy efficiency, smart grid, and distributed generation, they find themselves in unfamiliar positions. The second in our four-part series (See Part I by my colleague, Mat [...]
FUTUREWATCH: What Comes After MEMS?
Over the last 50 years computing power has migrated from the mainframe, to the desktop, to the laptop, and now, with almost-equivalent computing capability, onto mobile devices, tablets, and smart phones. And tomorrow? If you were in Scottsdale, AZ in November for the now semi-annual MEMS Executive Congress, you would have heard about the latest [...]
Solar Power 101
The question “What is Solar Power” tends to mean different things depending on who’s asking. This article is going to attempt to answer the question from every perspective and level of education. Whether you want to know about the physics of the sun’s energy, interested in how this energy gets converted into useable electricity and [...]
Natcore: Building Prototype Machine for Next-Gen Black Silicon
Natcore Technology has commissioned a second-generation machine to build its famed black silicon cells. Black silicon has an etched surface that prevents the cell from reflecting light and offers more surface area for light absorption so traditional solar cells can produce more power with a minimal financial investment. The new machine is one of the [...]
In Focus: Floating Solar Panels
Japan is one of the few bright lights for the solar industry this year, with its new aggressive feed-in law. With developers rushing in, there’s room for innovation rather than the scrimping we’re seeing elsewhere. One of the more interesting concepts are floating solar plants. A domestic home developer, West Holdings, plans to build 10 floating solar [...]
Next Generation LED Wafers
A recent article published at this site discussed the prospectus for lowering the cost of LED lighting by the transition to less-expensive wafers such as silicon (Si). This follow-up article discusses some of the technical issues surrounding this thrust in technology. Gallium nitride (GaN) is one of the top thin-film epitaxial layers used for high-brightness LEDs but it has required relatively [...]