Solar
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White House offered solar array
Posted by admin2 on 07 Sep 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
Sungevity has offered the White House a free 17.85 kilowatt solar array.
Led by Sungevity, the “Globama” project is offering the White House a 102-panel, 17.85-kilowatt solar system that would reduce the White House’s electric bills 81 percent or $1,610 per month.
Minnesota State Fair showcases solar energy
Posted by admin2 on 01 Sep 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
Minnesota fair-goers are showing great interest in solar energy at the State Fair.
“People are very excited about solar power. Two years ago, they asked me if it really works in Minnesota because we have snow here. Last year they said, ‘All right, tell me how it works.’ This year everybody wants to know, ‘What would it take to put it on my house and how fast can you get there?’” said Rebecca Lundberg with Powerfully Green.
World’s largest solar plant nears approval in California
Posted by admin2 on 29 Aug 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
The Blythe Solar Power Project in southeastern California may soon receive final approval. The plant’s capacity of 1000 megawatts could power 800,000 homes.
“A 1,000-megawatt plant is a grand undertaking,” Schmidt said. “But the benefits are so positive. The Blythe facility will take some 2 million tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year. We will be doing our part [in] improving the overall environment of our planet.”
MIT develops solar-powered oil-sucking robots
Posted by admin2 on 28 Aug 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
MIT’s SENSEable City Lab has developed an oil-sucking robot that runs completely on solar energy.
Assaf Biderman, who oversaw the research team that developed the robots, described them to CNN as, “a carpet rolling on the surface of water.” The robots, which cost roughly $20,000 each, stand on a conveyor belt of sorts that floats and turns on the ocean’s surface. As it does, it propels the robot along. The robot, then, is able to lift oil out of the water using a nanomaterial that attracts only oil and not water. The robot can absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil.
Kikkoman adds solar system to California factory
Posted by admin2 on 27 Aug 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
Kikkoman Foods will intall a 106.6 kilowatt photovoltaic system in its Folsom, California plant.
The new solar electric system will begin operating in late September. It will be installed as a fixed carport over the employee and visitor parking lot. The solar modules will be manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics Inc. USA’s Photovoltaic Division in Cypress, Calif.
Goodbye toothpaste, hello solar power?
Posted by admin2 on 24 Aug 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
A University of Saskatchewan dentistry professor, Dr. Kunio Komiyama, has designed a toothpaste that uses solar power instead of toothpaste to clean teeth.
The Soladey-J3X houses a solar panel at the base of the brush that transmits electrons to the head of the toothbrush with a lead wire. When the electrons reach the head, they react with acid in the mouth, creating a chemical reaction that breaks down plaque cells and kills other bacteria in the mouth. The toothbrush uses about the same amount of power as a traditional solar-powered calculator.
Technology for Mars space flights could keep solar panels clean
Posted by admin2 on 23 Aug 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
Scientists presented a report at a meeting of the American Chemical Society that describes how a self-cleaning coating, developed for Mars missions, applied on the surface of solar panels could lower maintenance costs and increase the efficiency of electricity generation.
The self-cleaning technology involves deposition of a transparent, electrically sensitive material deposited on glass or a transparent plastic sheet covering the panels. Sensors monitor dust levels on the surface of the panel and energize the material when dust concentration reaches a critical level. The electric charge sends a dust-repelling wave cascading over the surface of the material, lifting away the dust and transporting it off of the screen’s edges.
Solar appliance provides inexpensive residential energy
Posted by admin2 on 20 Aug 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
For $799 to $4000, Clarian Technologies’ Sunfish solar appliance offers homeowners inexpensive solar energy.
Solar power company Clarian Technologies has developed a new concept in residential solar power: the solar appliance. Just like a refrigerator or microwave, a homeowner can buy the Sunfish solar power system, plug it into any outdoor outlet and start feeding solar power into their home.
California animal shelter first to go solar
Posted by admin2 on 17 Aug 2010 | Tagged as: Solar
The Humane Society Silicon Valley became the country’s first animal shelter to be powered by solar energy.
The 274 kW rooftop solar farm, owned and operated by Tioga Energy, is comprised of 1,335 solar panels that will generate an estimated 33 percent of all energy required by the new HSSV Animal Community Center. HSSV expects the solar array to save up to USD$50,000 in energy costs a year. Through a Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Tioga Energy, the organisation was able to install the solar power system without any capital outlay.
UK incentives create solar installer jobs
Posted by admin2 on 16 Aug 2010 | Tagged as: Jobs & Careers, Solar
Solar power installer jobs in the United Kingdom have increased 75% this year because government incentives have increased the demand for photovoltaic panels.
The combined number of employees for Solar Century, which builds solar systems for homebuilders Persimmon Plc and Barratt Developments Plc, and 11 companies it works with to install panels has risen to 350 from 200 at the beginning of the year, the London-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. There will be “well over 500 jobs by 2011,” it said.
“The vast bulk of the solar PV employment created in the regions is in skilled and semi skilled roofing and electrical jobs,” the company said.
