Indoor Solar Power
Indoor Solar Power to Replace Batteries The term “indoor solar power” is misleading. An indoor solar panel does not absorb energy through a window from the sun, but from incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, and light-emitting diodes (LEDS). And lately, there has been a growing interest in using indoor solar panels to run gadgets and appliances, instead of batteries or electrical … Read More
A New World Leader in Solar Power
No, it’s not in China. What’s your next guess, the United States? Nope. Saudi Arabia. Not only is it the country with the world’s largest supply of oil reserves, but it could be leading the world in solar energy production soon too. The country hopes to have 10% of its electricity come from the sun by the year 2020. Located … Read More
Wind Power Report: U.S. 2011
The answer, could perhaps, be blowing in the wind. Well, at least the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) may think so, as they released today their annual report on wind industry growth in the US for year 2011. A good year for wind, indeed! The U.S. wind industry installed 6,816 MW of capacity, 30% higher than 2010, which brings the … Read More
Floating Solar Panels
A huge disadvantage of solar power systems is that the power density of a single photovoltaic solar panel is very low. All solar panels have different efficiency ratings based on the quality of the panel and the solar rating of the location of the solar panel, but a good estimate is that one square foot of a photovoltaic solar panel … Read More
Liquid Metal Battery – Intermittent Energy
The Problem of Intermittent Energy with Renewable Energy Sources Electrical energy supply and demand should be in constant balance. And since energy demand consistently changes, for example during the changing of seasons or the time of day, the energy supply needs to shift levels to remain in harmony with demand. When supply and demand fall out of sync, extra costs … Read More
World’s Most Powerful Offshore Wind Turbine
The first ever 6 MW offshore wind turbine was installed 17 miles off the Belgian coast in the North Sea at depth levels ranging from 39 ft-89ft. This massive wind turbine inaugurates phase two, the second of three phases, of the Thornton Bank Wind Farm project. The wind turbine has a rated capacity output of 6.15 MW, a rotor diameter … Read More
The Evolution of Wind Turbines
1st century AD Heron of Alexandria is credited with the invention of the windmill. He harnessed the power of the wind to power an organ. The windmill blades were attached to an axle that drove a set of pistons up and down to provide power to the organ. 9th century AD The Persians built vertical axis windmills that were probably … Read More
Inflatable Wind Turbine
It’s called the Altaeros Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT). It was designed by a group of engineers from Harvard and MIT in Massachusetts who call themselves Altaeros Energies. Their companies main objective is to produce abundant, low-cost, renewable energy, and they are on the right track. The Altaeros airborne wind turbine is a three-blade horizontal axis wind turbine that is in-cased in … Read More
Zero Gravity Hydroelectricity
A quick disclaimer: I have done no actual mathematical research on the subject, this is just a fun idea I wanted to write about. Please chime in with some mathematical insight! So, hydroelectric power generation occurs when the mechanical energy of moving water is used to rotate a hydro-turbine generator, which generates electricity. Setting aside the size and design of … Read More
Coal is King of Asia
Asia Lives in the Reign of King Coal Asia has accounted for about two-thirds of the increase in global energy demand in the last two decades, and almost half of the entire global increase has been sustained by coal energy. Wind and solar electrical generation are not offering Asia affordable electricity on a big enough scale to compete with coal … Read More