Efficient things
Efficient things
The city of Durango will soon be powered by 100% renewable energy (we believe that wind power will be used). Green power currently constitutes about 10% of city power purchases. The extra the city pays for green energy will add about $120,000 a year to its electrical bill officials said. But the extra cost will […]
100% Renewable Power For Durango City, Colorado Read More »
We just reported on the breakthrough in solar dyes in New Zealand. Now, researchers in Italy have discovered that blueberries have natural pigments that absorb sunlight extremely well. Apparently, dark-colored berries outperform most other plant species when it comes to spectral absorption of sunlight. The blueberry pigment, called, anthocyanine, can be used to make dye-sensitized
Blueberries Used To Capture Solar Power Read More »
Last year’s trash could become next year’s model home, thanks to the invention of a new type of construction material made entirely from waste products. “Bitublocks,” created by engineer John Forth of the University of Leeds in England, are composed of recycled glass, sewage sludge, incinerator ash, the by-products of metal purification and pulverized fuel
Efficient Concrete Replacement: Blocks of Trash Read More »
Researchers from the Nanomaterials Research Centre at Massey University in New Zealand have developed synthetic dyes that can be used to generate electricity at one tenth of the cost of current silicon-based solar panels. These photosynthesis-like compounds work in low-light conditions and can be cheaply incorporated into window-panes and building materials, thereby turning them into
Innovative Solar Dyes: Inexpensive Liquid Solar Power Read More »
King Island is a small island off the Australian coast, near Tasmania. King Island isn’t connected to the mainland power grid, and apart from its own small wind farm it relied for a long time on diesel generators for its electricity. That changed in 2003 when the local utility company installed a mammoth rechargeable battery
Australian Island Using Flow Batteries To Store Wind Power Read More »
The KillaCycle, the world’s electric motorcycle, and the official world record holder in the ¼ mile drag, broke the world record again using its lithium-ion batteries. The official record for any electric vehicle worldwide in the ¼ mile is set now at an elapsed time of 8.16 seconds. Weighing just over 165 pounds, the A123Systems
0 to 60 MPH in Under 1.5 Seconds, Electric KillaCycle Sets New World Speed Record Read More »
Europe’s first concentrated tower open recently near the sunny southern Spanish city of Seville. The 11 megawatt plant took four years to build — it was created by a Spanish energy company, Solucar. The tower project is called “PS10” and it uses 624 large movable mirrors called heliostats. Each of the mirrors has a surface
11 MW Solar Tower Complex Opens in Spain Read More »
Wow, this school gets 60% of its power from solar energy. The Monterey Ridge Elementary school is the newest in a growing list of solar powered schools in San Diego Country. It has more than 20,000 square feet of solar panels blanketing the hillside behind the campus. Principal Rebecca Wardlow says the system is an
California School Goes 60% Solar Powered Read More »