Alternative Energy Info

MIT adding to solar cell efficiency

MB-BigB — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:59:00 +0000

A team of researchers at MIT have come up with a way to increase the efficiency of thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells by as much as 50%. What they done is to combine an antireflection coating on the front of the cell along with a multi-layered reflective coating and a tightly spaced diffraction grating to [...]

New York Times review of the Green Car of the Year - the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

MB-BigB — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:54:28 +0000

It’s not a plug-in, nor is it a regular hybrid, its a clean diesel. But the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI was just named the Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and its rated at 30 mpg in city driving and 41 mpg on the highway. Plus you can get [...]

2008 Los Angeles Auto Show opens

MB-BigB — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:50:50 +0000

Lots of news from Day 1 of the Los Angeles Auto Show. There’s not going to be any new model introductions from GM or Chrysler, but there’s some action from Ford - they introduced their new Hybrid Fusion. BMW Mini subsidiary introduced an all electric version of the Mini Cooper, and even Porsche is [...]

Greenfield Solar’s new concentrator solar generator could revolutionize industry

MB-BigB — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:04:10 +0000

Greenfield solar concentrator Greenfield Solar’s new concentrating solar generator tracks the sun, concentrates sunlight 900 times, and produces 1.5 kilowatts, plus they hope to sell it for about $6,000 installed. What makes the Greenfield Solar set up different than other panels is the computerized electro-mechanical sun tracking system and its unique 40 layer edge mounted [...]

T. Boone Pickens wind plan being delayed

MB-BigB — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:26:18 +0000

The Pickens Plan is being delayed. Due to falling natural gas prices and the tight credit market, T. Boone Pickens is being forced to temporarily delay his huge Texas wind project, known as the Pickens Plan, which he’s promoting to wean the US off of foreign oil by switching over to wind and natural [...]

Segway inventor turning his sights towards Stirling engine hybrid

MB-BigB — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:58:49 +0000

Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, has built what he says is the world’s first hybrid electic car using a Stirling engine. He’s built a two seat hatchback prototype , called the 2008 DEKA Revolt, using a recycled version of the Ford Think, which was an electric car that Ford last built in 2000. [...]

Prisons go green, using alternative energy and recycling to save energy and money

MB-BigB — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 18:53:10 +0000

The Associated Press has an interesting article describing the ways that prisons are using alternative energy and recycling to save money and energy. For example, at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Washington State, convicted murderer Robert Knowles has helped grow 8,000 pounds of organic vegetables this year. In Indiana, water boilers that run on [...]

New coating helps solar panels absorb more sunlight

MB-BigB — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:42:34 +0000

Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York have come up with a new coating for solar panels that absorbs almost all available sunlight from nearly every angle. This could greatly increase the efficiency of current solar panels. Current solar panels even with anti-reflective coatings, can only absorb about two-thirds of the sunlight that hits [...]

Blue Square Energy gets more efficient solar cells out of cheaper grade silicon

MB-BigB — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:24:04 +0000

Blue Square Energy announced today that they have developed silicon solar cells that hit 14.6 percent efficiency. While this might not sound like a big deal compared to other silicon photovoltaic solar cells, Blue Square Energy’s neat trick is that their cells use a lower grade (and therefore much cheaper) type of silicon. Their [...]

New efficiency record and improved stability for dye-sensitized solar cells

MB-BigB — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:02:09 +0000

Ressearchers from China and Switzerland have hit the highest efficiency level ever for dye-sensitized solar cells. The new dye-sensitized cells (also known as Gratzel cells) are made up of titanium dioxide and powerful light harvesting dyes. While cheaper to make than silicon based solar cells, they are not as efficient, and the dye-sensitized cells [...]