Blogs
Israelis bring green power to West Bank village
October 9, 2009 5:41 am | CommentsResidents of a West Bank village with no electricity have been helped out of the darkness by unlikely benefactors - a group of Israelis who installed solar panels and wind turbines to illuminate the Palestinians' makeshift homes. The villagers of Susya live in tents and caves with power lines darting right above their dwellings
Climate watch: choosing Kyoto's successor
October 8, 2009 12:23 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsGlobal investments in renewable energy technology dipped 40% from 2008-09—this according to United Nations Industrial Development Organization Director, General Kandeh Yumkella. “Due to the current economic crisis we have seen almost a 40 percent decline in 2009 alone in these investments,” said Yumkella at a global conference on green energy in central Mexico.
EPA’s Energy Star Label Now Available for Four Types of Glass and Food Processing Plants
October 7, 2009 7:31 am | CommentsFrom strawberry jam jars to frozen french fries, the manufacturing plants that make several well-known container and food items in the United States can now earn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star for superior energy efficiency. The new Energy Performance Indicators (EPIs) for flat and container glass manufacturing plants
OLED Display Technology and Capabilities
October 6, 2009 10:20 am | by Oliver Nachbaur, Systems Engineering Manager – Display Power, Texas Instruments | CommentsThe organic light emitting diode (OLED) display is becoming more and more popular, especially for mobile phones, media player and small entry level TVs. Contrary to a standard liquid crystal display, the OLED pixel is driven by a current source. To understand how and why the OLED power supply impacts the display picture quality, it is key to understand the OLED display technology and power supply requirements.
Toshiba to release highly-efficient LED bulbs
October 6, 2009 6:42 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsToshiba will become a big player in optoelectronics—if their lighting division has its druthers. The company will release high-output LED light bulbs with a total flux equivalent to that of a 60 W incandescent lamp. The “natural white” type and the warm white type feature total fluxes of 810 lm and 600 lm, respectively.
Dow to Sell Solar Roof Shingles
October 6, 2009 5:14 am | by Matt Daily | CommentsDow Chemical Co said on Monday it would begin selling a new rooftop shingle next year that converts sunlight into electricity -- and could generate $5 billion in revenue by 2015 for the company. The new solar shingles can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingles, Dow said, and will be introduced in 2010 before a wider roll-out in 2011.
Is the US Outsourcing its future?
October 5, 2009 6:34 am | by by Gary P. Pisano | CommentsToday, many people are looking to high technology sectors — like alternative energy — to be the growth engine that revives the U.S. economy and gets it back on track. They're in for a shock. During the boom years, when all seemed well, capabilities that underpin innovation in a wide range of products were continuing to deteriorate.
Proposed bill targets “Cyberbullying”
October 1, 2009 11:51 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsRep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) has introduced a bill designed to combat cyberbullying.” And in a rare instance of bipartisan solidarity, the left and the right stand opposed. Make no bones about it—the proposed legislation is a serious assault on first amendment rights. Dubbed the “Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act,” the bill is a reaction to the 2006 suicide of 13-year-old Meier.
Ohio State University takes first place at 2009 EcoCAR competition
September 30, 2009 9:25 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsOSU has earned top honors at the 2009 finals of the Year One EcoCar competition. The OSU stable bested 16 other teams with their “Extended Range Electric Vehicle” design. The spiritual successor to Challenge X, EcoCar is a three-year collegiate advanced vehicle technology engineering competition
Company demonstrates world’s first nitride-silicon solar cell
September 30, 2009 5:39 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsRoseStreet Labs Energy (RSLE) has created what they assert to be the world’s first tandem nitride/silicon solar cell. RSLE combined a silicon solar cell with a Nitride Thin Film to create their hybrid photovoltaic cell. According to RSLE, this hybrid will achieve “practical efficiencies” of 25-30% (typical efficiencies range from 12-20%).
Japanese companies forced to subsidize national solar power program
September 28, 2009 7:52 am | by by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsJapanese companies are being forced to foot the bill for an ambitious new national solar power program. According to Alpha Solar, “the government will oblige all Japanese companies to purchase excessive amount of energy and pay the double price to help installing solar panels.” The total “obligation” equals 9 billion Yen, and this will filter down to the consumer.
Phillips recognized as first entrant in DOE lighting competition
September 25, 2009 10:36 am | CommentsPhillips has been recognized as the first entrant in the Department of Energy’s Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition. Intended to spur development of efficient LED replacements for incandescent bulbs, L Prize comes with a handsome reward--$10 million to the first group or individual to develop a 60 W replacement.
DOE's Solar Decathlon to Highlight Innovation, Future Green Jobs
September 25, 2009 4:47 am | CommentsThe U.S. Department of Energy today announced this year’s participants and dates for DOE’s 2009 Solar Decathlon, a competition that challenges students to design and develop houses that can provide their own energy from the sunlight – a clean, renewable source of energy. The twenty collegiate teams from the United States, Canada, Spain and Germany will each build a completely self-sufficient solar powered house
Fusion: the power source of the future
September 21, 2009 10:36 am | by by M. Simon, retired Aerospace electronics consultant | CommentsFusion is the power source of the future, goes the old saw. And for fifty years, it has always been "fifty years in the future." That may be changing with a number of new small fusion projects in the works or doing actual experiments. Let me mention first the ITER experiment (a tokamak design) which is the fusion project every one knows about.
Edison-socket LED Bulbs last up to 19 years
September 17, 2009 1:10 pm | by by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | CommentsPanasonic has released an LED bulb that purportedly lasts 19 years. The drawback? It’s only available in Japan (for now, anyway). Could the EverLed line jumpstart solid state lighting? According to Panasonic, the screw-in LED bulb lasts 40 times longer than equivalent incandescents. Obviously, independent testing is needed, but this is an impressive figure.
