Month: September 2012

Sharp unveils new semi-transparent solar panels

Sharp unveils new semi-transparent solar panels with 6.8% conversion efficiency.

See-through solar panels have been a long standing dream of many, and Sharp has just given the world its first taste of the revolutionary technology.

Designed specifically for use as balcony railings and skyscraper windows, these solar panels have a semi-transparent black finish with a solar power conversion efficiency of about 6.8%.

These panels pack a maximum output of 95 watts and measure in at 4.5-feet wide by 3.2-feet tall. Now the efficiency of these panels might not match up to those conventionally used, but replacing windows with these is bound to turn just about any building greener!

Also, Sharp has not revealed the pricing details and we hope as technology progresses, these transparent panels will turn a little more efficient!

Google Purchases 48 MW of Wind Power

Google Purchases 48 MW of Wind Power for Its Oklahoma Data Center.

That’s a very large amount of electricity, enough to power a small city.The recent announcement shows that with a forward-thinking approach, large companies can make significant contributions to the transition to a renewable energy economy.

“To power its Oklahoma data centre – one of the facilities responsible for bringing you your Gmail, Docs, and Google search results – Google faced a local electricity mix of over 50% coal power,” Greenpeace writes. “But as one of the major electricity customers in the state, Google worked with the local utility to secure a new supply of renewable wind energy.”

Google’s decision to source the electricity for its data center entirely from renewable energy should send a message to other large “internet companies and electric utilities around the world that renewable energy is not only possible, but is simply smart business in the 21st-century economy,” Greenpeace adds.

Eco Homes in South Korea

Environment friendly homes are getting popular with time. Known as Eco homes or green homes, they are best suited for protecting the environment in the best possible manner.

Solar energy is being generated for building these homes in South Korea. Natives of South Korea are mounting solar panels on their roofs so that they can cut on their electricity bills with ease. Along with this, solar power energy is considered the best source, which can help you on sustaining energy in the best possible manner.

Homeowners in South Korea are incorporating these methods so that they can renovate their homes in an environment friendly manner.

A group of architects from South Korea is the one who conceptualize this dream project of having green or eco homes.The architects of South Korea have shown their potential by designing and making a home, which is truly considered as eco home. More than 95 green technology aspects are taken into use for building the eco homes for perfect results.

The architects are stating that, in the near future, energy sources would be costly and at that point, of time, eco homes would be the best choice for all.

The technology plays a major role in having eco homes in South Korea. With time, use of eco homes will grow at a rapid pace, as the benefits, which are associated with it, are beneficial in the end.

New Air Liquide R&D laboratory for the solar industry inaugurated

Air Liquide inaugurated an R&D laboratory for the solar industry.

The Group is the first player in this market segment to roll out a pilot manufacturing line for solar cells using crystalline silicon technology.

Today, this technology accounts for 88% of total production worldwide.

This crystalline solar cell manufacturing line will be used to fully test and evaluate new molecules and processes adapted to the needs of each client. The research being undertaken seeks to improve the performance of solar cells while lowering the cost production per watt, with the aim of making solar energy more competitive.

A pool of scientists with experience in photovoltaic technologies will run the research effort carried out at the Air Liquide Group R&D center located on Plateau de Saclay, near Paris, France.

Drastic cuts for Bulgarian green electricity producers

In Bulgaria, the support for the production of electricity from renewable energy sources has been drastically reduced.

Seems that energy regulator DKEVR (english: SEWRC) has retroactively cut feed-in tariffs for electricity from PV and wind generation sources.

SEWRC based its decision from 14 September on requests from network operators to temporarily increase access prices to the transmission grid.

According to the energy regulator, expenditures of the electricity networks have massively increased due to the great number of new renewable energy sources feeding into the grid. In order to cover the costs, remuneration per kWh fed into the grid by renewable power sources had to be reduced.

Renewable electricity producers’ associations characterised the commission’s decision of September 14 as illegal and demanded its withdrawal. The reason would be that the cuts contradicted the renewable energy law, guaranteeing investors fixed prices over long time periods.

According to the Bulgarian Wind Energy Association (BGWEA), “The drastic cuts will push the majority of all existing renewable energy projects into bankruptcy, as with income losses of 10 % to 39 % most projects will not be able to make their loan repayments anymore. This means that several billion Leva worth of domestic and foreign investment along with hundreds of newly created jobs have been destroyed overnight.”

Moreover, due to the retroactive cuts the Bulgarian banking system would run the risk to end up with a massive amount of bad loans on its books.

The branch is appealing against the decision in Brussels. The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) has expressed its protest in a letter to EU Energy Commissioner Günther Öttinger.

At the same time, renewable energy producers in Bulgaria plan to increase pressure on the government. The Bulgarian PV Association (BPVA) has published an appeal that calls upon the members of the branch to meet for a protest meeting in front of the DKEVR building in Sofia on Monday 24, September at 9.30 local time.

A new wind farm in Austria

Stephan Pernkopf, Lower Austria’s Secretary of the Environment, Agriculture, and Energy, officially opened the Dürnkrut-Götzendorf wind farm in Lower Austria.

Ten Vestas V90 turbines, each with a hub height of 105 m, rotor diameter of 90 m and a nominal capacity of 2.0 MW comprise the wind farm.

Stephan Pernkopf says that “Gänserndorf District is number one in wind power in Lower Austria. With the new wind farm, the district now has more than 100 windmills in operation. They generate twice as much power as is needed to supply 36,000 households.”

The Dürnkrut-Götzendorf wind farm alone is expected to supply environmentally friendly electricity to 15,000 households.

Currently, 377 wind turbines are in operation in Lower Austria, providing energy for 340,000 households. That is more than 11% of Lower Austria’s total electricity udemand.

More than half of all of the wind turbines in Austria are located in Lower Austria.

US photovoltaic market is growing up

In the second quarter of 2012, the PV market in the USA grew by 116% in comparison to the same period of the previous year.

In total, a photovoltaic output of 741.7 MW was newly connected to the grid – this is the second best value overall after 791.3 MW in Q4 2011 and 45% more than in the first quarter of this year (512 MW).

Solar power plants accounted for 477 MW of the new installations in the second quarter. Until the end of the year, 1.1 GW of new PV capacity could be installed, in total 3,400 MW are under development according to the study.

Also a strong growth is predicted in this market for 2013.

In the home photovoltaic sector, the prices were 5.84 $/W for privately financed facilities, while facilities installed by third parties on rented roofs were available for 5.64 $/W.

Dubai is going to build its first Eco-friendly mosque

People have resorted to minimize the consumption of electricity and maximize the growth of plants and trees around themselves.

Even religious institutions are being designed keeping the hazards of global warming in mind. An example of such an institution is a mosque which is about to be set-up in Dubai.

The project has been set to be completed in 18 months.

The mosque has been aimed to be completed by the closing of 2013 and is decided to be located behind the Al Rowad village near the Deira Clock Tower. It will cover an area of about 4180 square meters with the capacity of 3500 men praying inside it.

Photovoltaic panels are to be used to provide electricity for heating water for ablutions and other work. A highly efficient air-conditioning and a computerized system will be installed mainly to check the efficiency of the electrical equipment.

In the construction of the mosque, asbestos and polystyrene shall be avoided to add to the Eco-friendly environment.

The main front of the building will have a special coating on it to keep it cool in summers. The mosque will be placed in such a direction so as to get the maximum light, thus reducing the consumption of electricity. In addition, there will also be techniques to save water used in ablutions by reusing it for the purpose of flushing toilets and for irrigating the landscape filled with greenery.

The foundation aims at reducing the water consumption by 25% and electricity consumption by 20%.

SeaScraper helps filter ocean water and collect waste

Our oceans today are being ridden with waste, particularly plastic and non-degradable materials taking to the sea.

This in turn proves treacherous for the eco-system and marine life and destroys both gradually, having an adverse effect on the environment.

Behold the SeaScraper, an architectural brainchild designed to keep our water bodies clean.

Structured like icebergs, these are largely submerged beneath the surface of the sea and use three separate zones to collect waste including a dedicated waste collection unit, recycling and energy recovery facilities in the middle and housing/recreational estates above sea level.

An innovative way to clean up our oceans that could pretty much prove to be extremely practical if built sustainably, these SeaScrapers could do the eco-system a huge favor if they’re ever turned into a reality.

London’s first carbon neutral building

London has just welcomed home its first truly green and completely carbon neutral building.

This building located on the north bank of the Thames sports green roofs and solar panels. It uses  30% of the infrastructure from a former project on the same site in an attempt to reduce costs and building material.

This five-storey office makes use of timber and packs a total floor space of about 800,140 square feet.

Complete with a high-performance façade that makes optimal use of natural lighting and a lot of thought put into efficiency of water usage and electricity use, this swanky green building will pave the way for green architecture in the city of London.