Government mandates are beginning to require the use of alternative energy sources like wind and solar. Integrating these unreliable sources into the grid is a challenge.
Companies that make ultrathin solar panels using a toxic compound are watching nervously as the European Union considers expanding a ban on such materials in electrical components.
The plan is intended to show that the European Union is taking the additional steps to cut greenhouse gases before a summit meeting in Copenhagen in December.
New tariffs on solar panels imported to the United States come as panel manufacturers are losing money, in part because of fierce competition from China.
Consider this T-shirt: It can monitor your heart rate and breathing, analyze your sweat and even cool you off on a hot summer's day. Or a solar-powered dress that can charge your MP3 player? This is not science fiction -- this is cotton in 2010.
Isolating the minute crystals of the PSI super complex from the pea plant, a biochemistry researcher suggests these crystals can be illuminated and used as small battery chargers or form the core of more efficient man-made solar cells.
Researchers have found a better way to trap light in photovoltaic cells through the use of vertical arrays of silicon nanowires. This could substantially cut the costs of solar electric power by reducing the quantity and quality of silicon needed for efficient solar panels.
In order to save energy, consumers need to be able to obtain up-to-date information at any time about the energy consumption of their appliances, and be able to control them while away from home. Scientists have developed two new applications that help consumers manage their power use.
Researchers are creating technology that will treat neighborhoods like a miniature power grid, sharing energy generated at each house according to need. Allied to a host of other developments, the concept promises huge energy savings.
Scientists in France have transformed the chemical energy generated by photosynthesis into electrical energy by developing a novel biofuel cell. The advance offers a new strategy to convert solar energy into electrical energy in an environmentally-friendly and renewable manner. In addition, the biofuel cell could have important medical applications.
Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, scientists have created a new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons. The solar cell does all this using only a fraction of the expensive semiconductor materials required by conventional solar cells.
Smart control units that learn householders' energy habits and provide immediate feedback on consumption could give home energy savings of up to 20 percent without compromising comfort.
Researchers suggest that policy makers examine greenhouse gas emissions implications for energy infrastructure as fossil fuel sources must be rapidly replaced by windmills, solar panels and other sources of renewable energy.
Material scientists have created a system, using nano-sized molecules of gold, that induces and projects electrical current across molecules, similar to that of photovoltaic solar cells.
