Balloon Shaped Solar Collector

Balloon Is Solar Collector: Solar Technology to Power the Planet

Cool Earth Solar has developed a breakthrough solar technology that can ultimately produce enough clean energy to address the global energy crisis. This technology dramatically reduces the cost and time to develop power plants capable of generating massive amounts of clean, inexpensive energy. They’ve designed a breakthrough solar technology based on a two-pronged design philosophy:

* Use a minimum amount of materials

* Use materials that are inexpensive and abundant

CoolEarth has created an innovative way to harness the sun's energy. Instead of large expensive solar panels or costly concentrating mirrors, the company is using balloons made of metalized plastic films. Half of the balloon is transparent, letting the light in to be concentrated into a small high-efficiency solar panel by the concave interior. Each is 2 meters across and, depending on the source, estimates vary from 500 watt to 1 kilowatt. They are supported by cables, leaving the ground below clear and limiting environmental impact.

Read more at: http://www.coolearthsolar.com/technology

Charge your cell phone by plugging in your jeans: Fabric Batteries

Fabric Batteries for Clothes that Can Conduct Electricity

Breakthrough:
A carbon-nanotube dye that can turn fabrics into batteries to make clothes that conduct electricity. All you have to do is dip a piece of fabric in a solution infused with tiny tubes of carbon, and it turns into a battery. Simply coating a piece of cotton or polyester with the formulation transforms it into a high performance energy storage device that is a boost to the emerging field of wearable electronics.

The approach was first demonstrated by Stanford University in 2009 on plain copying paper, but now it has been applied to textiles for the first time. “Wearable electronics represent a developing new class of materials... which allow for many applications and designs previously impossible with traditional electronics technologies," the authors wrote in the journal Nano Letters. The research could pave the way to unobtrusive wearable electronics for use in health monitoring systems, the fashion and gaming industries, and for any application that requires computers.

A team led by Prof Yi Ciu incorporated single-walled carbon nanotubes - cylinders of carbon about a billionth of a meter across – into the textiles by a simple dying process. The dye is made by dispersing carbon nanotubes in water and using sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate as a surfactant. The material is dipped into the mixture and then dried in an oven at 120 degrees Celsius for ten minutes to remove water.

The conductivity of the material is increased by simple mechanical pressing and boosted still further by increases in the number of dipping and drying steps. The fabric maintains its properties when stretched and pulled and there is no decrease in conductivity - even when it is rinsed in water. Cotton proved to be up to 3 times better for energy storage than man-made fibers as its porous nature allowed for better ion transport.

Experts believe the technology could be commercialized in a short space of time, and that its uses will not be limited to just energy storage devices. According to Peidong Yang, a professor of chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley it has the potential to be a low-cost flexible electrode for any electrical device.The Stanford researchers say the next stages of their research are to use the approach with materials that can store more energy, and then demonstrate how to integrate the textile energy storage devices into clothes.

Read more at: http://www.tcetoday.com/tcetoday/newsdetail.aspx?nid=12465

IBM Reveals Five Innovations that Will Change Cities in the Next Five Years

IBM unveiled a list of innovations that have the potential to change how people live, work and play in cities around the globe over the next five to ten years:

· Cities will have healthier immune systems

· City buildings will sense and respond like living organisms

· Cars and city buses will run on empty

· Smarter systems will quench cities’ thirst for water and save energy

· Cities will respond to a crisis -- even before receiving an emergency phone call

An estimated 60 million people are moving to cities and urban areas each year - more than one million every week. The fourth-annual “IBM Next 5 in 5” focuses on cities because the world is experiencing unprecedented urbanization. Last year, our planet reached an important milestone - for the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population resided in cities.

IBM’s Next 5 in 5 is based on market and societal trends expected to transform cities, as well as emerging technologies from IBM’s labs around the world that have the potential to turn these predictions into reality.

Cities must simultaneously address increasing populations and deteriorating infrastructure. IBM is already working with cities around the world to make them smarter so they can sustain growth.

Watch the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m7ticc7jnE

Read more at: http://www.physorg.com/news180296667.html

Visit: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/smartplanet/cities/index.shtml

Hydrogen based mobile charger

Taiwan unveils hydrogen-powered mobile phone chargers

Taiwanese researchers said Friday they have developed hydrogen-powered mobile phone chargers, in a development that could boost the island's efforts to become a player in green technologies.

The device can recharge a mobile phone battery in two hours without being plugged, according to scientists at the Industrial Technology Research Institute in north Taiwan's Hsinchu city.

"Hydrogen is a recyclable material. The device is energy-efficient and will help protect the environment," said Tsau Fanghei, a researcher at the institute. "We will continue to improve the invention. We hope the hydrogen-powered device can replace current cell phone recharge systems in 2012." Ma Hwong-wen, an environmental scientist at the National Taiwan University, said the invention appeared to be breaking new ground. "It is new," Ma said. "Hydrogen, in theory, will produce no hazard to the environment."

The charger will be key to the Taiwan government's endeavour of carving out a space for itself in future energy generation, according to Yeh Hui-ching, director of the economics ministry's Bureau of Energy.

"The government hopes to acquire a slot in the global green energy industry's production chain with the hydrogen fuel cell technologies," Yeh said, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.Taiwan is under pressure to develop new energy sources, as it imports about 98 percent of its energy.

Chocolate-Powered Race Car Made Out of Vegetables

The Edible Race Car
If it's impossible for a race car to be "good" for the environment, maybe it can at least be a little friendlier. Meet the WorldFirst F3 project, a Formula 3 race car developed at England's University of Warwick: it has carrot fibers in its steering wheel, potato starch in its side mirrors and cashew-nut shells in its brake pads. The whole thing runs on a biodiesel mix of chocolate and vegetable oil.

In a small effort to make the car even greener than it already is, the designers coated the radiator in a substance that converts ozone emissions into oxygen

Read more: http://www.lolacars.com/newsstory.asp?NewsId=53

The official website: http://www.worldfirstracing.co.uk/

Leaf Log

British inventor's green idea of using leaves to make fire logs
An inventor has come up with a new green fuel - logs made from leaves. With one million tonnes of leaves falling from British trees every year, Peter Morrison decided to harness the waste and turn it into energy. By collecting and compacting the dead matter, his company has turned them into environmentally-friendly ‘logs’ to burn in open fires and wood stoves.

The logs, said to be 70 per cent carbon neutral, are also being considered by bosses of a major power station to cut their carbon emissions. Each log, weighing 2lb 10oz, is made from about a binliner-full of leaves. It generates more heat than wood and burns for longer.

Now the company - BioFuels International Limited (BIFL) - has started supplying the 11in-long logs, which burn for about three hours, to shops such as B&Q. Mr Morrison says that as well as being cleaner and greener than burning wood or coal, the leaf logs are very efficient, creating 28,000 kilojoules of energy compared to 29,000 produced by the finest grade coal. The leaves come from parks across the Heart of England. After being harvested by the likes of Birmingham City Council, Walsall Borough Council, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and the University of Birmingham, BIFL collects the leaves and turn them into logs.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1226943/British-inventors-green-idea-using-leaves-make-logs.html#ixzz0XH5CBXL1

World's First solar-powered Flight

Pioneering Swiss solar-powered plane rolled out
An aircraft dubbed 'Solar Impulse', HB-SIA prototype, is rolled out of a hangar for an initial series of stationary tests involving engines and electromagnetic interference in Duebendorf aerodrome near Zurich.
All four sun-fuelled electric motors were switched on for the first time under open skies after the completed high-tech plane was pushed out of the hangar. "With its engines running at full power, it gave the impression of wanting to get off the ground straightaway... but it won't be long now before we release the brakes and let it roll its first few metres," said Andre Borschberg, co-founder and chief executive of Solar Impulse.

The ultralight single seater with the wingspan of an Airbus A380 airliner is being prepared for a maiden flight over the coming weeks when weather conditions allow. Solar Impulse staff said the slender craft, which only weighs as much as a medium-sized car (1,600 kilogrammes, 3,527 pounds), needs particularly clear conditions and less than a light breeze (three knots) for its first excursion in the air. It is due to make a few airborne hops down the runway at the Dubendorf airbase before December 20.

Borschberg said the aircraft was venturing into new flying territory. "Compared to its weight and size, it is lighter than the best performing gliders," he explained.

The prototype, which is slightly smaller than the craft that is expected to fly around the world, was first unveiled while it was being built in its hangar in June. It is primarily aimed at testing the cutting edge technology used to build and control the aircraft, and to fly through the night.

A first non-stop 36 hour flight through darkness is planned in Switzerland from spring 2010, with the prospect of a five stage flight around the world in 2012.

Mini gas-fired power plants in people's basements

Home power plants project unveiled in Germany
A technician of German automaker Volkswagen's adjusts a mini gas-fired power plant at the VW plant in the northern German city of Salzgitter. An ambitious project was unveiled in Germany on Wednesday to install mini gas-fired power plants in people's bas
The Hamburg-based renewable energy group Lichtblick and its automaker partner Volkswagen say the plants would produce not only heating and hot water but also electricity, with any excess power fed into the local grid. The two firms said the concept of "SchwarmStrom" (literally, "swarm power") would allow Germany to abandon nuclear and coal power stations sooner and help compensate for the volatility of renewables like wind and solar power.

The plants also reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions by up to 60 percent compared to conventional heat and electricity generation, they added in a joint statement. In the coming year the programme will install 100,000 of the mini plants, producing between them 2,000 megawatts of electricity, the same as two nuclear plants, Lichtblick and VW said.

"SchwarmStrom is revolutionising power production in Germany. It clears the way for more renewable energy and an exit from power from nuclear and coal," the statement added. "The home power plants together form a huge, invisible power station that doesn't make the countryside ugly or require additional infrastructure." The project "is thoroughly feasible if the project reaches the forecast size," Claudia Kemfert of the DIW research institute told AFP. She added by way of comparison that "just getting rid of incandescent light bulbs would be the same as shutting down one nuclear reactor."

Gas plants have an advantage over nuclear power stations in that the heat produced by the latter is wasted, the DIW energy expert said. But "the most ecological would be to feed these mini-plants with biogas" rather than natural gas, Kemfert noted.

Lichtblick said another advantage of its plan was that tens of thousands of generators could be mobilised to meet a surge in demand or if drought made it hard to cool nuclear plants or a calm spell idled wind turbines. VW will contribute to the project by providing a gas-powered engine similar to one used in its popular Golf model.

But LBBW auto analyst Stefan Sigrist told AFP: "This is mainly a marketing offensive. It is chic for VW to bask in a greener light." Although the generators are not a new concept, the project is novel in that Lichtblick would retain control over the plants after their installation. Households would pay around 5,000 euros (7,250 dollars) to have the generators set up along with an appropriate heating system.

But individuals would then pay a lower price for heating and receive a modest "rent" for hosting the generator, as well as a bonus at the end of the year calculated on electricity revenues that resulted from Lichtblick's sales.

Solar panel which looks like roof tile

Not your average solar panel: The SRS solar roof tile
Thanks to a system created by SRS Energy and offered exclusively as an upgrade option to customers of US Tile (the largest manufacturer of clay tile in the United States), those wishing to benefit from rooftop solar energy will no longer have to worry about any panels being stuck on the side of the roof and spoiling the aesthetics. The Solé Power Tile system is the first building-integrated photovoltaic roofing product designed to blend in with curved roof tiles commonly found in the Pacific West and Southwest of the United States.

According to SRS Energy: "triple-junction amorphous silicon thin-film technology incorporated within the Solé Power Tile" is manufactured by United Solar Ovonic and "allows the system to produce an estimated 8-20% more energy than incumbent crystalline silicon panels of the same rated power."

Any power generated by the system which is not used by the building (or stored in batteries if that option is chosen) is fed into the grid. Utility companies then give a credit for the amount of energy generated meaning financial benefits can be enjoyed from day one. Each system is monitored to provide feedback so that checks can be made against any credits made.

Details and installation photographs can be viewed on both SRS's website and US Tile's website.

Read more at: http://www.gizmag.com/srs-curved-solar-roof-tiles/12584/

World's first floating wind turbine

The world's first floating full-scale offshore wind turbine has been inaugurated in the North Sea off the coast of Norway, Norwegian energy giant StatoilHydro said Tuesday.

The turbine known as Hywind, which measures 65 metres (213 feet) tall and weighs 5,300 tonnes, lies some 10 kilometres (seven miles) off the island of Karmoey near the Scandinavian country's southwestern coastline, the company said. It rests upon a floating stand that is anchored to the seabed by three cables. Water and rocks are placed inside the stand to provide balast. Three powerful cables anchor the stand to the seafloor.

StatoilHydro plans to test Hywind over the next two years before it looks to set up any more floating wind turbines with international partners. StatoilHydro sees Japan, South Korea, California, the east coast of the United States and Spain as some of the potential markets to where this technology could be exported. Hywind can be used in waters from 120 metres to 700 metres deep allowing it to be placed much further away from the shore than static wind turbines already in operation. "It is not so easily seen from the coast, it can be placed in areas not used by others," she said.

"We could use such wind turbines in countries where coastal waters are very deep or where there is little space left for land-based turbines," Stroemmen Lycke added. A total of 400 million kroner (46 million euros, 66 million dollars) has been invested in the 2.3-megawatt floating turbine, making it a far more expensive option than its fixed counterpart. "Our goal is to bring down the price to the level of fixed wind turbines that are currently installed in waters some 60 metres deep," Stroemmen Lycke said.
Read more at: http://www.statoilhydro.com/en/TechnologyInnovation/NewEnergy/RenewablePowerProduction/Onshore/Pages/Karmoy.aspx
http://w1.siemens.com/press/en/pressrelease/?press=/en/pressrelease/2009/renewable_energy/ere200906064.htm

To see the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAyPpQ4gnjg

Solar Panel made of human hair

Solar Panel made of human hair!
A new type of solar panel using human hair could provide the world with cheap, green electricity, believes its teenage inventor.
Milan Karki, 18, who comes from a village in rural Nepal, believes he has found the solution to the developing world's energy needs.

The young inventor says hair is easy to use as a conductor in solar panels and could revolutionise renewable energy. 'First I wanted to provide electricity for my home, then my village. Now I am thinking for the whole world,' said Milan, who attends school in the capital, Kathmandu.

The hair replaces silicon, a pricey component typically used in solar panels, and means the panels can be produced at a low cost for those with no access to power, he explained. In Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, many rural areas lack access to electricity and even in areas connected to power lines, users face shortages of up to 16 hours a day.

Milan and four classmates initially made the solar panel as an experiment but the teens are convinced it has wide applicability and commercial viability.
'I'm trying to produce commercially and distribute to the districts. We've already sent a couple out to the districts to test for feasibility,' he said.
The solar panel, which produces 9 V (18 W) of energy, costs around £23 to make from raw materials.

But if they were mass-produced, Milan says they could be sold for less than half that price, which could make them a quarter of the price of those already on the market.
Melanin, a pigment that gives hair its colour, is light sensitive and also acts as a type of conductor. Because hair is far cheaper than silicon the appliance is less costly.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1212005/Teenager-invents-23-solar-panel-solution-developing-worlds-energy-needs-human-hair.html#ixzz0Qa6jfgS9