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10
Sep 10

Breaking Solar Power News: Holy Quantum Dots Batman!

Breaking Solar Power News: Holy Quantum Dots Batman!

…. That’s more than doubling the efficiency, which amounts to a whole lot more energy.
According to Xiaoyang Zhu, professor of chemistry and director of the Center for Materials Chemistry, There are a few steps needed to create what I call this ‘ultimate solar cell,’ . First, the cooling rate of hot electrons needs to be slowed down. Second, we need to be able to grab those hot electrons and use them quickly before they lose all of their energy. This is where quantum dots come in, it has been shown that hot electrons can be slowed down in semiconductor nano crystals. So that’s the first step, for the second, how to take those hot electrons out, Zhu’s team has discovered that they can be transferred from photo-excited lead selenide nanocrystals to an electron conductor made of widely used titanium dioxide.
So in a nutshell the sunlight comes in and the higher energy hot electrons are grabbed and slowed down by lead selenide nanocrystals (quantum dots), and transferred to an electron conductor, which allows the…

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Breaking Solar Power News: Holy Quantum Dots Batman!

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9
Sep 10

Solar power done cheap

In a construction van winding through Los Angeles’ crowded streets one hot spring morning, 25-year old Tim Morris laid bare his contribution to changing America’s dirty, fossil fuel-based economy.

…Andrea Kreuzhage is proud of the way her panels look atop her Los Angles home.Morris is an installer for California-based SolarCity, one of a handful of companies pioneering an all-inclusive approach to solar, making it as easy and cheap for the consumer as possible.Under the company’s model, customers agree to a monthly lease and sign the rights to claim subsidies over to SolarCity. In return, homeowners get a solar array installed on their roof, maintained for the life of the lease. They’re hooked up to the electric grid, so when they need more power than the panels provide, there’s no disruption. And SolarCity guarantees the panels will produce a set amount of power, which the company says should offset the electric bill and more than compensate for the monthly fee.”Our goal is to get millions of homes to go solar, but the biggest barrier is the experience,” said Lyndon Rive, the company’s 33-year old CEO with major entrepreneurial connections. “Humans are lazy by nature. They want to do the right thing,…

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Solar power done cheap

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9
Sep 10

Scosche Solar Powered Backup Battery and Charger for iPod

Article by at 2010-06-30 10:21:41n Categorized in electronics,

…Use your existing USB cable to charge most USB devices, including iPhone 3G, iPhone, iPod, MP3, Blackberry and more. Internal lithium ion battery charges from the solar panels in approximately 8 hours. Includes mini USB to female USB type A adaptor.
(more )…

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Scosche Solar Powered Backup Battery and Charger for iPod

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9
Sep 10

Solar-Powered Bamboo Radio to Save Madagascar Economy

A design student form the University of Plymouth, Becky Barber, has come up with a radio design intended to spark up a cottage industry in Madagascar, an island that is equally as beautiful as it is rife with economic and ecological troubles.

…Physorg writes, “After meeting with aid organizations on her most recent trip earlier this year, Becky found that they were very receptive to her proposed project, as radios could enable agencies to communicate with remote villages to provide both important health updates and also act as education channels.”

WATCH VIDEO: Sustainable Skateboards - TreeHuggerTV gets on board with Comet Skateboards and learns that they are dedicated to making a positive impact on the community as well as the environment.

Bamboo is a favorite material among designers who focus on sustainability since it grows at an incredible pace. Solar cells are also a favorite, since it means gadgets can be freed from the electrical grid. The materials can be kept to a cost minimum, making starting up workshops for producing the radios a bit easier.

She’s developed two designs, one for a desktop and one that is portable, and she hopes that they can be sold in both Madagascar as well as in England.

As Barber’s project highlights,…

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Solar-Powered Bamboo Radio to Save Madagascar Economy

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8
Sep 10

Ten Beautiful Solar-Powered Homes

We’ve got everything here– modern and traditional architecture, large and tiny homes, from all over the U.S. and even Europe. They’re all proof that, besides making you look like a good environmental citizen, home solar panels can actually add to the beauty (and value) of your home.

…3 Malibu 5 Modern Beach House, Kanner Architects

This home is a good example of the fact that solar panels don’t necessarily have to be visible. The roof holds both home solar panels (PV) and solar hot water collectors. Set into a hillside in Malibu, California, the house has several other environmentally-friendly features: it’s made from green and recycled materials, and is designed to naturally heat and cool itself. Windows let in natural light and breezes. The house uses so little power that it contributes energy to the grid. Image: Kanner Architects….

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Ten Beautiful Solar-Powered Homes

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30
Aug 10

Solar Power- A business of the future?

Solar Power- A business of the future?

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Solar Power- A business of the future?

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30
Aug 10

How to collect solar power

How to guide for creating solar power

…I am sure that almost everyone understands the vast amount of damage that we are currently doing to our worldwide environment, you simply need to read the news one night to discover one story after the next. Likewise, at some point I am certain you will likely have also seen the various for advertisements out there for domestic green energy systems. Well, I will discuss today a cheaper way for the normal household to obtain green energy through building DIY solar energy panels and wind turbines. I am aware, it sounds a tad farfetched at first, however, read on and all shall be explained.This is now the new craze if you’d prefer. Increasingly families are turning to creating their very own solar panel sets and wind turbines primarily in order to save money I feel, however, many are now also doing it to do their bit to save the environment. Companies have now realised that there is a market for the DIY green energy guide and have therefore leapt on that opportunity. These guides allow for green DIY products to…

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How to collect solar power

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27
Aug 10

New Portal 2 Wheatley Footage (Video)

New Portal 2 video introduces British comedian Stephen Merchant (Extras, The Office) as the voice of Wheatley.

…Thank god we have REAL professionals here to tell us if the voice acting sucks. I mean, a normal person like myself might not be able to tell the caliber of a character voice from a scant 3 minute clip, but we are clearly in the presence of those who can. Someday I hope to be as discerning. Were I to type such to-the-point and well calculated comments, I’d probably just appear glib and dismissive. So I guess congratulations are in order for being more vastly more relevant and important than strangers! I eagerly await your credentials, gentlemen….

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New Portal 2 Wheatley Footage (Video)

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25
Aug 10

World’s First Hybrid Solar-Coal Power Plant Opens in Colo.

Preheating water with a new solar parabolic trough array will reduce coal consumption by 3 to 5 percent at a Colorado coal-fired power plant.

…In a traditional coal-fired power plant, coal that has been pulverized into a fine dust is burned to heat water until it becomes steam. The steam then turns the blades of a large turbine, which turns the generator and produces electricity. But if the fresh water is heated before it enters the boiler, less coal is needed in order to make the steam — and that is the principal behind Xcel Energy’s brand new solar-coal hybrid power plant in western Colorado.
The $4.5 million Colorado Integrated Solar Project connects thermal energy from a new parabolic-trough-concentrating solar plant built by Abengoa Solar with the steam cycle of Unit 2 at Xcel Energy’s (NYSE:XEL) existing coal-fired Cameo Generating Station on the Colorado River near Grand Junction, Colorado. Xcel officials say it is the first actual demonstration of the concept using parabolic-trough solar technology anywhere in the world.
If this project works as we expect it to,” says Marty Smith director of environmental policy at Xcel, “it would be…

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World’s First Hybrid Solar-Coal Power Plant Opens in Colo.

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7
Aug 10

Half Moon Bay Solar Companies California Residential Home In

Half Moon Bay solar companies residential California electric home panels electrical roof contractor ca photovoltaic installation company installs residential panel Half Moon Bay companies energy rebates installers solar panels installation cost contractors install power

…Contact us today. Expert consulting starts with the determination of your requirements at your home - or at the site where your new home is to be built. Schedule an initial solar evaluation
that includes federal tax incentives and California utility rebates. We will have one of our companies certified installation technicians call you to see if solar, for your Half Moon Bay home or business, is right for you.
We hope you will go solar. It will benefit you and benefit the planet. We’ll work hard to go the extra mile for you. Together with a passion for
green technology, we can help build
sustainability.
Solar Photovoltaic Energy is …
… Tapping into the
most direct sources of power…
The
natural thing to do… Helping the planet…
Reducing pollution from fossil
fuel… A clean source of energy that will never run out…
The satisfaction of
doing the right thing…
A wise investment in a sustainable USA future
… A step away from energy dependence and the unpredictable high…

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Half Moon Bay Solar Companies California Residential Home In

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