Month: May 2011

Illuminate your swimming pool with solar powered lights

There is no need to swim in the dark; you can illuminate your swimming pool perfectly well using solar energy instead.

These solar powered lights are very efficient, highly water resistant and they will keep your pool without an extensive electricity bill.

The solar powered lights have solar panels on the top that soak in the sun’s energy during the day time storing it all in internal rechargeable batteries.

During the dark hours the lights then glow, using the energy collected during the day.

These lights are using LED’s with 140 lumens capable of illuminating a space extending out to 1,000′ sq and also work as a thermometer for your pool, with an LCD on the top that shows the water temperature in the pool.

Easy to attach, this solar powered “solar pool light” is available for $180.

Switzerland stops nuclear power

We all know how dangerous nuclear power is after the disaster in Japan.

Many countries have begun protest to give up nuclear energy and Switzerland is one of them.

The last reactor in Switzerland will finally go offline in 2034 because the Swiss government just voted on Wednesday to abandon nuclear power in their country.

No reactors will be built and the last five reactors will slowly be phased out.

People’s confidence in the feasibility of nuclear energy has collapsed since the nuclear meltdown disaster in Japan.

Germany also decided to reject nuclear, and has accelerated the shuttering of a number of its aged reactors.

Over 20,000 people protested against nuclear power in Switzerland; the demonstration was the largest anti-nuclear power march since the eighties.

How to convert a pizza box into a solar-powered oven?

A good way to beat global warming is to give free rein to imagination and create ecological things.

Can you imagine combining a free pizza party with solar cooking?

A group of students from New York City have found an environmentally friendly way of cooking.

The group of students from Brooklyn’s James Madison and Edward R. Murrow high schools have designed a greener mode of making your own pizza not in an electric oven but in solar-powered pizza boxes.

These green ovens can heat up to 200-degrees on a hot day which is more than required to cook a pizza.

These pizza boxes are covered with tin foil and are completely safe for the food to get cooked evenly with no fear of getting burnt.

It is generally observed that young minds with their purchasing patterns, life-style choices and networks with schools, universities, clubs, and sports can influence a wider world and influence communities, companies and countries to a greater cause that needs immediate attention and significance.

A new trend: Solar powered handbag

The interactive design firm, Diffus created a new innovation of solar powered handbag.

The glittering solar powered handbag use as design elements solar panels attached to it.

With the help of Swiss embroidery company Forster Rohner and the Alexandra Institute, Diffus wired 100 tiny solar panels onto the bag’s exterior , enough to generate power for your cellphone or other mobile device.

When the bag is opened, the fiber optics are activated and illuminating it during dark hours, allowing you to pick out your keys from your bag at night without fidgeting around.

Google invest $55 million in Mojave Desert

The wind power industry of California received a boost when Google Inc. announced its decision to invest $55 million in a large Mojave Desert wind farm.

By this investment the state made an important step to regain its number one position in the world in field of wind power energy production.

Google is involved in many projects related to renewable energy because it needs huge amount of electricity to run its vast datacenters.

The internet search giant has taken up the above mentioned project in partnership with Citibank which is also investing an equal amount, i.e. $55 million.

The wind farm will produce 1.5 gigawatts which will power 450.000 homes.

This initiative will create green jobs in Kern County which is struggling with 17.5 percent unemployment.

A new record efficiency for solar cells

Always scientists around the world have been trying to create a low cost solar cell that is both efficient and easy to manufacture.

The purpose is to make solar energy affordable for the common people.

Swiss researchers from Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology’s (EMPA) Laboratory for Thin Film and Photovoltaics have established a new world record efficiency of 18.7% for flexible copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGGS) solar cells on plastics.

This new discovery has the potential to lower the cost of solar energy drastically because they are cheaper to produce and this latest breakthrough brings them closer to the highest efficiency levels achieved by crystalline silicon and rigid CIGS cells.

These highly efficient solar cells will drop the cost of solar energy and make them ideal for use in demanding applications such as solar facades and portable electronic devices.

Japan wants a solar powered nation

After all the disasters, Japan is still optimistic to achieve a nuclear free eco-system.

Japan has a new plan for a solar powered nation by 2030.

Japan is soon going to begin a universal solar panel initiative for all their structures in the time frame of 20 years.

There are plans to make solar panels for all residential and commercial buildings in the country.

We hope that Japan’s ambition to become reality.

Intersolar Europe 2011

Intersolar 2011 will take place in June 8-10 in Munich, Germany.

This year Intersolar Europe expects about 2.000 international exhibitors to fill the 165.000 square meter exhibition space.

The exhibition will span a total of 15 exhibition halls, three more than last year.

The organizers expect 2.500 participants.

Special Exhibition PV Energy World, a new feature, will address the possibilities of PV grid integration.

It will also present the German energy mix of the future and the role PV is expected to play in it.

The accompanying program will complement the variety of innovations on display in the areas of photovoltaic, PV production technology and solar thermal technology.

Professionals from industry, commerce and trade, suppliers and institutions expected a larger program with conferences, seminars, workshops and lectures on the latest industry trends and teaching of practical know-how.

Intersolar Europe as a world-leading makes this a specific, personal exchange of valuable information on products, markets and services.

Wind power could be stored in water under Germany’s mountains

Germany hopes to meet the country’s electricity demands only with renewable sources by 2050.

This ambitious dream reflects on their green investment particularly in the fields of solar and wind energy.

Germany plans to store energy generated by wind turbines in water pump storage facilities under the mountains.

This first project in the world is made after a Marko Schmidt study.

The study was to build a plant in the abandoned Wiemannsbucht mine shaft in Bad Grund, a town in the western Harz Mountains.

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity plants work by using power from solar or wind turbine sources to pump water from one tank to another above it.

When the sun goes in or the wind stops blowing and electricity is needed, the water from the top is released to the bottom tank – pushing through turbines as it goes and generating power.

Six of such large scale projects have been proposed for the West Harz region.

The first one will be in Bad Grund and will have the storage capacity of 400 megawatt hours, which is sufficient to allocate power to over 40,000 households per day.

This project has a lot of advantages because such plants can be constructed in abandoned mine-shafts and also the provision of additional green jobs.

Floating stadium in Qatar

The German architectural firm Stadium Concept has developed a new prototype for the FIFA World Cup 2022 the Floating Stadium.

This amazing construction was developed keeping in view the importance of maximizing the use of financial resources, and also it has an ecological balance.

This floating stadium can be relocated to seaside venues across the oceans.

Unlike traditional stadiums this one comes with highly efficient mechanism of renewable energy systems like the hydro-power, wind and solar energy systems, making it dependent on nature friendly processes to meet its energy requirements.

The floating stadium is structured on multi-levels and it has the base comprises of a floating disk.

The level above would have the stadium access, and will serve as the level of the sports pitch. Around the pitch level, would be the main structure of the stadium bowl, meant for housing the audience.

Above the stadium bowl, would be the stadium roof, which would act as the main cover for the whole structure.

This concept can be transported around the globe, which is a good choice for investors.