Solar Energy Articles
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The clouds are breaking: The financier’s perspective of thin film post-Solyndra
Peter Nieh, Managing Director of Lightspeed Ventures believes that the reaction to Solyndra’s bankruptcy was overblown – as their investment Stion goes from strength to strength. Amongst the doom and gloom of Solyndra’s collapse, a bright spot was seen in Mississippi earlier this month. Thin film start-up Stion cut the ribbon on its 100MW manufacturing factory in Hattiesburg ...
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CHP: Not the Brad and Jen of energy, but….
I hesitate to start this blog with the words “combined heat and power.” You might stop reading. Okay, so it’s not the Brad and Jen of energy. (That would be solar and wind.) But what it lacks in glamor, it makes up for in constancy and results. It’s an old guy, been around for about a century. And while its name might not sound green, it offers an extraordinarily ...
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Energy Efficiency and the Solydra Effect
Not so long ago the green energy movement celebrated because President Obama used words like ‘renewable energy’ and ‘climate change’ in his inaugural speech. It was a first for a US president. Now comes the downside of being a political darling. Opponents of green energy – or rather opponents of its proponents – are using the collapse of California solar ...
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Squinting toward retirement: A boon for the lighting industry
Americans report in surveys that they are likely to retire later than expected as a result of this economic downturn that doesn’t seem to want to quit. While that’s bad news for golf courses and Florida real estate, it helps one industry: energy efficient lighting. We are squinting, rather than sprinting toward retirement these days. As part of the post-50 crowd, I very much ...
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Water vapour permeation measurement for PV Solar Cell packaging
With fears of carbon dioxide causing global warming and diminishing supplies of fossil fuels, a looming energy crisis is affecting all countries. As a consequence, a great deal of world-wide effort is going into the development of alternative energy technologies. At present, wind, hydro and geothermal are becoming well established with more niche roles for tidal and solar. The latter technology ...
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Quantitative assessment of solar energy geo-policy risks
Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, gas, and wood, are the major part of contemporary energy mix. However, forecasts predict that solar energy will take up to 70% of global energy mix by year 2100. Solar energy has embedded risks, e.g., social, geopolitical, health-related, etc. These risks should be addressed in advance to prevent negative consequences but little research has addressed systemic ...
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Classification and comparison of interfacing schemes for connecting fuel cells to a single-phase utility line
Based on a systematic classification of dc source to utility interfacing schemes, this paper presents six major interfacing schemes for connecting fuel cells to a single-phase utility line using high-frequency transformer isolated power converters. The operation, advantages and disadvantages are discussed for each scheme with examples and operating waveforms. Several features e.g., utility line ...
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Design and digital implementation of non-iterative controller for improved performance of typical BLDC servo systems
BLDC motors find numerous applications in the position and speed control systems. Such motors are not able to meet the desired specifications since they respond slowly to the input owing to inherent parameters. Hence, a feasible and practically realisable controller is required to meet the desired specifications with improved performance. The proposed simple controller is implemented using a ...
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Energy Security
Renewable & Clean Energy Solutions to Secure Energy Independence from Foreign Oil. FOREIGN OIL: As imports grow and world prices rise, the amount of money we send to foreign nations every year is soaring. At current oil prices, we will send $700 billion dollars out of the country this year alone — that’s four times the annual cost of the Iraq war. Projected over the next 10 ...
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Efficiency is so in right now
In the movie The Social Network, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t want ads on an early version of his social network; he understands that first and foremost, his site has to be cool. And ads, he says, aren’t cool. Unlike Zuckerberg (well, at least in the beginning), the energy efficiency industry hasn’t quite grasped the value of being cool. It’s an industry that ...
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A CSP developer`s DNI dream
In an emerging CSP market such as South Africa, one of the many challenges developers face is siting the project based on acquiring accurate Direct Normal Irradiation data, as optimal siting of CSP plants is a key component to plant efficiency, and ultimate profitability. London, UK, August 24 2011 DNI plays a role because it is used to predict the output of concentrated solar power stations ...
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The photovoltaic boat for eco-tourism development in Koh Rattanakosin
Every year more than ten million foreign tourists visited Bangkok, Thailand and most of them visited the main historical attraction; Koh Rattanakosin. This research aimed to build a prototype of photovoltaic boat to serve tourists at Koh Rattanakosin, make low noise (70 dBA) and to support the eco-tourism policy. Four hundred twenty persons were surveyed using a questionnaire. Analysis indicated ...
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Pacific Control Systems implements eSight at their prestigious award winning head offices in Dubai
Pacific Control Systems provides total automation solutions globally. Headquartered in Dubai, Pacific Controls has been involved in successfully implementing integrated automation solutions in the Government and Private sectors. Platinum Rated Green Building Pacific Controls has built the Middle East‟s first-of-its-kind LEED Platinum rated "Green Building" which uses Solar for Lighting ...
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Examining the very latest updates on CSP Plants around the world
The CSP industry has seen several plants leaving the status of ‘planning’ or ‘under construction’ to operation in the last 12 months, most of them located in Spain and the US. In fact, between 2010 and 2011, Spain installed 410 MW and the USA 79MW. Invaluable data like this and more has been compiled as part of CSP Today’s latest report: The Concentrated Solar Power ...
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What if the light bulb produced more than light?
Talk about a light bulb moment. A professor of engineering at Edinburgh University recently demonstrated for the first time to a wide audience his technology that uses common every day lights to transmit data. Harald Haas streamed a video through a desk lamp at Ted Global 2011at Scotland’s Edinburgh International Conference Center in July. If commercialized, the technology not only ...
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Denver: From the brown cloud to the green light
When it comes to the green energy race, it’s not over until it’s over. Just look at the city of Denver. For years the Mile High City was notorious for its brown cloud, a dirty layer of pollution that not only marred the city’s pristine mountain image, but also caused serious health problems. Now Denver is the fifth greenest city among 27 rated in the recent US and Canada Green ...
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Determining performance characteristics crucial for CSP
As the development of large-scale CSP projects begins in the United States, the ability to accurately determine the performance characteristics in the efficiency, heat losses and overall power output of plants under operation is essential for generating widespread confidence in CSP technologies. After more than 10 years in hibernation, parabolic trough technology has been revived again with ...
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Determining performance characteristics crucial for CSP
Why is the performance testing of newly developed plants important for the future of large scale projects in the US? As the development of large-scale CSP projects begins in the United States, the ability to accurately determine the performance characteristics in the efficiency, heat losses and overall power output of plants under operation is essential for generating widespread confidence in ...
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The right mix: the Philippines achieving its renewable energy goals
The global energy system is undergoing a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. There are clear signs that the pace of change is accelerating. 2009 was the second year in a row that more money was invested worldwide in renewable electricity generation projects than in fossil fuel-powered plants, according to data published by the United Nations. Developing countries, especially in ...
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The ABCs of small hydro upgrade and automation
Abstract - Small hydroelectric is increasingly depended on to provide regional power capacity, as municipalities seek more sustainable sources of energy. Yet, hydroelectric or hydro power has some negative perceptions. Other sustainable sources of energy like wind and solar power are early in their equipment and technology life cycles. Hydroelectric facilities are typically older and operate with ...
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