Recently in Technology
Technology:
We may be considerably closer to generating electrical power with the windows in our homes and offices.
Photovoltaic (PV):
A team in Australia has developed a way to create inexpensive solar cells using a standard industrial printer, offering the possibility of incredibly cheap photovoltaic cells -- but there are a couple of reasons not to declare the solar revolution over.
Wind:
It sounds like a flight of fantasy: mount wind turbine generators on gigantic kites, then fly them a thousand feet off the ground to generate power. But one company pushing this literal "blue sky" concept got a huge real-world vote of confidence recently: Google bought them.
Technology:
An East Coast firm has announced it's raised $15 million to develop affordable, scalable power storage for the grid using zinc-air battery technology.
Technology:
There are a lot of wild claims about renewable energy these days. How do we sort the truly promising from the empty promises?
Technology:
The notion of capturing waste heat from our technology and using it to generate electrical power isn't new. But a team of scientists at UCLA has come up with a new spin on the practice, using a branch of applied physics that didn't even exist 40 years ago.
Science:
"With this work, we are blurring the lines between what is a battery and what is a supercapacitor."
Wind:
Researchers in the Netherlands are developing a bladeless wind power generation technology. While there are some persistent issues to work out, the concept is potentially promising.
Technology:
One of the main obstacles to greater use of renewables is the fact that the cheapest forms of renewable energy, solar and wind, don't offer power 24/7. Without an effective way of storing surplus energy when the sun's out and the wind's blowing, those readily available renewables don't help much on windless nights.
A San Francisco-based company hopes to offer a practical way out of that problem by using high tech to fine-tune a technology we've used since the Stone Age: the flywheel.
Technology:
Add another item to the growing buzz about graphene, which ReWire has covered quite recently: in addition to being a promising candidate for electrical power storage, the single-atom thin sheet form of carbon may offer a way to squeeze a whole lot more power out of photovoltaic cells.
Technology:
Fast-charging, high-capacity lithium ion batteries could be available in two or three years, if a breakthrough made by USC engineers turns out to be commercially viable.
Technology:
A new, intriguing approach to rooftop solar power is getting some attention lately, but will the product live up to its developers' promises?
Technology:
It's an interesting idea, with obvious potential applications in California.
The Grid:
The California Energy Commission is plowing $1.8 million into UCSD's microgrid to help the University develop it as a model for the rest of the state.
Technology:
Did you open a package this week hoping for a nifty solar charger only to find out your gift was an ill-fitting sweater? In a few years, your gift might be both.
Technology:
Is it an emergency battery backup, or a "personal massager"? Wei Long's "Juice Can" is a creative approach to a slightly pedestrian need.
Photovoltaic (PV):
Nifty subatomic technology didn't save this Bay Area solar firm from melting down.
Biomass:
Four teenaged students in Nigeria got a lot of press around the world for building a "urine-powered generator." Sadly, the coverage misrepresents what these very bright kids have done.
Technology:
A team of researchers at Stanford University have found a way we might be able to use carbon to help solve the climate problem: by building photovoltaic cells with the stuff.
Technology:
The battery manufacturer responsible for Fisker electric cars catching on fire has filed for bankruptcy.
News and analysis about renewable energy in California. Blog host Chris Clarke is an environmental writer of two decades standing. He currently lives in Joshua Tree and can be contacted at: rewire@kcet.org.
- Wind Power
- PV and Solar Thermal
- Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI)
- Watts and Watt-Hours, Kilo and Mega
- 'Enough To Power X Thousand Homes'
- The Grid
- Distributed Generation
- Conservation and 'Negawatts'
- Grid Storage
- PACE Loans, Feed In Tariffs and Net Metering
- Base Load and Peaking Power
- Capacity Factor
- Renewable Portfolio Standards
- Biomass
- Transportation and Renewable Energy
- Geothermal
