Four Audacious and Creative Solar Cells Innovation Ideas

          http://www.flickr.com/photos/aplumb/119962075

You think solar cells are somewhat boring like its black and the only place in your house that you can install it is on your roof? Well think again, as renewable energy development goes hand and hand with other gadgets like tablet and cellphone, solar cells are also evolving overtime.

Just like this four companies which are developing see-through solar window film which you can coat on your glass window cover and still leaving the glass window transparent.

1. New Energy Technologies

New Energy Technologies is refining its technology for retrofitting conventional glass windows with a flexible plastic film. Scientists at the company have successfully sprayed electricity generating coatings onto lightweight polyethylene terephthalate plastics in its laboratory.

A proprietary process that the company calls SolarWindow was used to create the plastic solar films - at room temperature and at low pressure. It says its surface preparation effectively eliminates manufacturing hurdles that have prevented similar technologies from entering the marketplace.

Windows retrofitted with the film would generate energy from the sun’s visible light as well as artificial illumination, such as the fluorescent lighting.

2. Chin Hua

Chin Hua solar window is a small, slightly foggy pane that delivers 2W of light. The glass can apparently be manufactured with more or less haze, delivering greater or lesser solar power efficiency. This means you could install the most efficient windows on the side of your house facing your nosy neighbors, making you feel better about the environment and better about not bothering to put on pants in the morning.

3. Pythagoras Solar

What do you get when you cross a solar panel, a window and a set of venetian blinds?Pythagoras Solar’s idea for a window that simultaneously generates power and cuts air-conditioning needs.

 Its photovoltaic cells have the dual responsibility of shading rooms from incoming light and then putting that blocked light to work producing electricity. Sandwiched horizontally between two panes of glass, the silicon PV cells’ power generation comes in at 13 watts per square foot.

4. EnSol AS

EnSol AS and University of Leicester are developing a thin-film-solar coating that might allow windows (and other building facades) to generate solar power. Their metal nano-particles will sit in a clear composite matrix, which is then applied to window glass.

The developers are aiming for the films to have an active sun ray capturing area of more than 16 square centimeters. The hope is the photovoltaic cells could reach 20 percent efficiency.

source: smartplanet.com

GE’s power plant combo pack: wind, solar and natural gas

                               smartplanet.com


Have you ever imagined integrating three renewable energy into a single power plant. This could practicaly happened in the Philippines especially that the government is in full support of the renewable energy development.


For the meantime this may happened first in Turkey according to this article from smartplanet.com where GE announces its plan of developing a plant that will house a solar thermal plant, natural gas and wind power.


A future scenario for electric power generation is that it will increasingly emerge from more varied sources of energy. General Electric seems to be taking this to heart with a new endeavor to combine wind, solar thermal and natural gas into one power plant.


A few weeks ago, Andrew Nusca described the company’s FlexEfficiency 50 design for a hybrid power plant that could more efficiently intertwine renewable energy sources with natural gas. Able to quickly boost or cut production as needed, their combined cycle natural gas plant would better adjust to uneven influxes of power coming in from solar or wind farms. According to GE, piggybacking on a traditional natural gas plant would also potentially smooth wind and solar’s integration to electricity grids and encourage their adoption worldwide.


Just such a power plant potpourri may materialize in Turkey in 2015.


On Tuesday, GE, Turkey’s MetCap Energy, and California’s eSolar announced plans for a plant that melds a natural gas facility with a 50-megawatt solar thermal plant and then links a 22-megawatt wind farm into a shared control system. The New York Times colorfully describes the plant as turning “a natural gas plant and a solar plant into conjoined twins; wind is more like a half-sibling.”


The twins in this case are not identical. The 458-megawatt natural gas sibling is definitely the chubbier of the two. Still, the steam—produced by the waste heat after burning natural gas and by boiling water via concentrated sunshine—merge to power a turbine. With 25,000 mirrors directing sunlight toward a tall tower, the set-up for the solar thermal component is similar to BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah plant slated for southern California.


According to their website, eSolar’s towers can heat steam at more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit. GE has other gas-solar hybrid plants, but they feature mirrored parabolic troughs that don’t reach as high of temperatures. With the solar tower and their new gas and steam turbine designs, GE pins a shiny almost 70-percent efficiency rating on the plant. This has raised some eyebrows since most natural gas plants achieve efficiencies around half of that.


The NY Times:


GE calculates the figure by counting the sun and wind at zero, as a kind of hamburger helper for the natural gas. The calculation ignores the wind and sun that does not get converted to electricity, but on the other hand, the wind and sun are inexhaustible.


The company says the 530-megawatt project in Turkey, where natural gas prices are higher and renewable incentives are steadier than in the U.S., could generate enough power for 600,000-plus European households. Construction could begin as early as this year.


source: smartplanet.com

Philippines Joining Solar Car Competition

        gmanews.tv

Watch out for this. The Philippines is set to join another car racing competition in Australia. But before you ask what car will the Philippines be sending to join this competition I'll tell you now, it's not just an ordinary car or to be specific it's not your gasoline fueled car.

This is a racing competition of pure solar powered vehicle and we should be proud that there are people that are very passionate when it comes to making the Philippines competitive on this activity.

Actually this is not the first time that the Philippines joined this competition, last 2007 the Philippines joined the race in Australia. That time the car was named as Sinag, now its Sikat 2.

According to the creator of this car, Sikat is much lighter at 180 kilograms compared to the 300 kilogram Sinag

In addition to the weight difference, the car creator said the design is much sleeker, "more aerodynamic and therefore consumes less energy plus using only its reserve battery power, the Sikat II is capable of running at a maximum of 80 kilometers per hour (kph) for about 5 hours. Sikat II could reach speeds of about 110 kph, enough to propel it toward gaining top accolades in the competition.

With this specification, the Philippines has a big advantage of beating its previous record of 12th place and possibly landing on top 5 fastest solar powered vehicle on the planet. That's renewable energy sources at work.

Two Amazing Vehicle Concept Design

         http://www.flickr.com/photos/miguelmichan/5698350303


Can't help but notice the similarity of Ajiro bike to Kenneth Cobonpue's concept car - the Phoenix. Similarity not mainly on the looks but on the materials that it is made of. Ajiro bike integrates bamboo on bike design while Phoenix is a combination of 2 materials which was bamboo and rattan.


The Phoenix caught the eye of those who have seen it when it was showcased at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile during the Milan Design Week last April. Visitors from Mercedes Benz was amazed by it and two car manufacturer expressed interest in a collaborative project with Kenneth.

        Phoenix


Ajiro bike is a finalist on  Australian Design Awards and Treehugger.com has this words for this beautiful bike.


"The velomobile concept provides a natural source of human power, bridging the gap between car and bicycle by providing on-board storage and canopy protection for the rider. Simplifying the package, the [Ajiro's] rear wheels act as the steering mechanism, with the front wheel providing power input. This removes complexity of many recumbent vehicles reliant on derailleur systems. For stability at the low speeds proposed for urban use, most of the rider weight is positioned over the rear wheels."

        Ajiro bike


In terms of energy, materials that needs to be manufactured required large amount of energy resulting to expensive product unlike if you grow the product which is very sustainable and only require a small amount of energy.

Pretty good design isn't it, no need to manufacture the materials but instead you have to grow it, it is renewable plus you don't worry for the parts to be dump anywhere when it will became unusable - it will just decompose.

source: yahoo.com, treehugger.com

More Than Any Energy

          http://www.flickr.com/photos/bombeador/4238718222


Renewable energy comes in different form, the most abundant of them all is solar energy. Then there's wind, hydro energy, geothermal and so on. Certainly life on earth wouldn't exist without the sun.  With this several sources of energy, it is the sun that allows most other types of energy to exist, it is impossible to live without the sun. It is the center of our solar system giving off heat, light, and radiation. The sun is actually a ball of glowing gases. It is hotter than anything we can imagine. It is so hot that we can feel its heat even though we are 93 million miles away from it.


For example, the sun allows plants to make food in a process called photosynthesis. Photosynthesis allows for almost all other living organism to survive.


Looking inside the sun, you would see four different layers: the core, the radiative zone, the convective zone, and the photosphere. More than that in the outer layer it is also composed of chromosphere, corona, sunspot, granules and on the outermost part the prominence.


The sun produces heat, light, and radiation through the process of fusion. Fusion occurs when a substance is so hot that atoms gain and lose particles, actually changing from one type of element to another.


Our sun is about 5 billion years old. It is nearly half way through its life. Five billion years from now the sun will run out of hydrogen gas. When that happens the sun will grow about one hundred times bigger than it is right now. And then it will start to become a white dwarf. Our sun will become a glowing hot ember, about the size of Earth and will eventually cool down.


source: iptv.org

TGI Solar Power Group Will Pursue Interest in the Philippines

         http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/3938631939


This is the first time that I have heard this TGI Solar Power Group, a US base public company. What caught my attention is that the Philippines was specifically mentioned by Henry Val the company's CEO which according to him "they have an interest to pursue". Anyway I have posted parts of the press release below. For the whole article click on this link.



"TGI Group management announces that the company will sell several of its non strategic assets. TGI expects that the sale will generate cash for TSPG and help the company to focus on its core business in renewable energy which currently receives many enquiries in the US and globally...


"Regarding the renewable energy, while we continue pursue our interests in Philippines, we want to share that we received enquiries from certain large South American country for cooperation. If we reach an agreement, we are looking at producing solar panels in the country with one of the largest silicon production capabilities on the planet."


Company's website states that its business are from consulting to solar module design, to manufacturing, to installation and then performance monitoring of its product after installation.


Looks like we are expecting another solar power company here in the Philippines which will add to the growth of the renewable energy sector and the nation as a whole.


source: marketwatch.com

Planned First Solar Power Plant in the Country Will be Build in Cavite

         http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/4196773347


I just read an interesting article from Manila Bulletin stating that a South Korean company is planning to put up a solar energy plant in Cavite, this is according to their provincial officials.


This multi-billion dollar solar plant, the first in the Philippines will be operational in the next few years. Negotiation of this expensive project is ongoing between Cavite's provincial administration and officials of Geomyung Solar Co. Ltd., one of the biggest manufacturers of solar-powered facilities in South Korea.


"The solar energy plant planned in Cavite is expensive, but it is very much beneficial for the province and the people in the long run." Stated by one of the provincial officials.


This is a huge renewable energy project coming from a country which has extensively invest here in the Philippines plus this will be a source of additional jobs. The fact that our economy are steadily developing and the constant increase of power needs makes this clean renewable energy a timely development.