Solar powered picnic tables in Tennessee

Tennessee’s Maryville College has taken the green approach by installing solar powered picnic tables.

The energy from the rooftop solar panels can charge cellphones and laptops. This invention will conveniently cater to the students energy needs.

The company,EnerFusion, installed two Solar Doks on the college’s campus. Maryville College has become the first university or college in Tennessee to have solar  powered tables.

The Solar Doks have three 45 watt photovoltaics and one 100 watt panel.The table and the seat tops have been made from 100 percent recycled materials.

EnerFusion’s Doks are wireless and feature four 110 volt standard GFCI outlets, a 700 lumen LED lighting system and two USB power outlets. The lighting system can be activated by the push of a button.

After Maryville College decision to put these tables on their campus, we expect to see more colleges and universities with Solar Doks on their campuses.

Chinese farmer builds wind powered vehicle with 90mph speed

A Chinese farmer has built a wind powered vehicle that he says can travel at 90mph.

It looks little like a conventional car with a large fan in front and wings at the rear. What is really amazing is that the creator built the car from scratch with little outside help.Tang Zhengping is the name of the creator.

He loved electronics since he was a child and used his expertise to create this eco friendly car.The vehicle measures 3 meters in length and 1 meter in height, its colour is blue and its maximum speeds is about 90mph.

It took 3 months for Tang Zhengping to built this car. It isn’t just the wind that propels the car, but also solar energy was used for wings at the rear to support  electricity generation. He used two electric generators that enables it to travel at high speeds.

The generators and the batteries take turns charging while one works when the car moves.

The spinning fans help recharge the two batteries.Countries like China are at the forefront of wind energy.

Five years ago, China had no infrastructure for wind energy, but it’s now leading the world at this segment.

Raising the efficiency of solar cells with Luminescent LED

Solar cells have a limited capacity in getting  sunlight and convert it into electric energy.

This limit can now be extended, due to the research team from the University of California, Berkley.

Acording to the researchers solar cells should be made to work like LEDs that will perform the dual function of absorbing as well as emitting light. This way its efficiency will be better and it will produce higher voltage.

The study shows that there was indeed a mathematical connection between the efficiency of solar cells,their absorption and light emitting capacity.Of course you should
know exactly how this system works and what makes it more efficient.

The process begins when photons from the sun hit the electrons and the energy so produced knocks free the electrons to flow freely.Unconnected photons are produced  through a process called luminescence. These unconnected photons have to be released.

Emitting photons will give higher voltage and also greater efficiency. The researchers hope to achieve 30 percent efficiency for solar cells.

Clothes with solar power chargers

Researchers at Colorado State University have been putting their best efforts to design clothes with solar power chargers.

This team of researchers is making apparels using only UV treated natural fiber fabric such as cotton and linen that are durable and of course comfortable to wear.

These are the only apparels that mingle solar power with the natural fibers, without over adorning with solar panels.

It was also discovered that an appropriate choice of fabric and weave of the natural fabrics provides an outstanding shield from harmful UV rays. The outfits will provide a solar source of energy for the electronic devices such as MP3 devices, tablets, computers, laptops and smart phones, which can be charged with the help of the built in solar panels. Also the use of alkaline battery will be reduced.

The project will surely cater to the market needs and it is also take into consideration designs that could be adopted by the road construction workers.

A new jack-up vessel specially designed to install offshore wind turbines

A2SEA (owned 51 % by Dong Energy and 49 % by Siemens Wind Power) has signed has signed a contract with a Chinese company for the construction of a new jack-up vessel  specially designed to install offshore wind turbines.

The value of the contract is about US$ 155 million.

The vessel will be identical to “Sea Installer”, ordered in 2010, but extended by a longer crane able to lift up to 900 tons. The new vessel will be 132 m long and 39  m wide and its speed will be around 12 knots.

It will operate at water depths of up to 45 m, and is expected to be delivered in 2014.

Jens Frederik Hansen,A2SEA says that:
“With the fast growing offshore market in Northern Europe, we can already today see that the demand for installation vessels will grow dramatically. With the new vessel  we take a big step continuing to shorten the time of installation and thereby bringing down the cost of energy from offshore wind energy.”

Green Yacht: wind & solar power

You can have wind turbines on a modern yacht that add a bit of power to its engine and that is exactly what the Zero 80 does, an electric yacht.

The green Yacht uses both solar and wind energy and it’s silent electric motors give a peaceful atmosphere during your cruise.

The luxury yacht is designed by a group of Italian architects. Zero 80 is 24 meters long and its speed is 13 knots.

Zero 80 has photovoltaic panels on its surfaces and gives you green power when you are away from shore.

Sleek, efficient and sporting green technologies, Zero 80 amalgamate comfort with eco consciousness.

New building totally covered in solar panels in Japan

Tokyo Institute of Technology has built a new building which is covered in solar panels.

Tokyo Institute of Technology is considered as a prestigious university the world over and in fact the best in Japan.The unveiling of its self sustaining building has enhanced its image for the eco conscious community.

The exterior of the Environment and Energy Innovation Building and also the roof is covered with 4500 panels. The capacity of those panels is about 650 kilowatts of  power.

The building has seven floors and two additional basement levels and because of the solar panels  it consumes half the power that a building of the same size would have consumed without solar installations.

Black solar cells can absorb 99.7 percent of all incident light

It is known that solar energy is the most popular form of energy compared to many other forms of alternate energy sources.

One of the most important step that will help in spreading this green energy source far more rapidly among the consumer world will represent an improved ability to convert sunlight into energy.

Scientists at Natcore Tech are well on their way to achieving this step with the first black solar cell that has a reflectance of 0.3  percent.

The black solar cells absorb light more effectively than any other solar cell model. The Black Solar Cell, it can pretty much absorb 99.7 percent of incident light  and only reflects away 0.3 percent of it.

This cells are special because of their ability to produce significantly higher energy on even cloudy days. It is not known the exact efficiency figures of these new  black solar cells but due to the new technology these cell will be for sure more efficient than old ones.

Mirrors can make solar power cheaper

Thermata has engineered a high-tech mirror.

Thermata is a new breed green technology that works on cutting down costs of sun tracking mirrors by supplementing it with digital technologies.

Thermata’s sun-tracking heliostat uses a high-definition camera and a wireless network to correct the angle in real time.

Its system uses a camera to detect the angle of heliostats and a mesh network of microprocessors to position each mirror with the ideal tilt.

Thermata’s system is designed to be smaller, lighter, and operate wirelessly.Each mirror is equipped with four small square mirrors raised above the
surface of the heliostat. A camera placed at a distance and out of the glare made by the heliostat takes pictures of the small square mirrors.

Having a smaller heliostat means lower costs.Mounting them will cost lesser, gears made from plastic and employing only two people per heliostat along
with simpler installation represent a plus for customers.

Thermata plans to start beta testing the heliostats this year with potential customers, which are concentrating solar power technology companies.

Brooklyn has the world’s largest rooftop greenhouse

It is not usual that people in big cities get to grow their own fresh vegetables and fruits.

But due to hydroponics and some innovative designs people can cultivate fruits and vegetables on rooftops.This represents one of the latest that helps both financial system and local produce.

This farm will be constructed on Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront. The greenhouse crops are not grown in the soil as is usually done in other farms,it is about  a new technology, according to which nutrients are taken up by the crops exactly from the water in which the plants are grown.

With this new technology new employment avenues will open up for people in Brooklyn and this will give a plus for the local economy.

This farm will provide the right amount of produce for the needs of  a number of people living in New York. The new development encourages a healthy living throughout the city.

This greenhouse farm by Bright Farms will be one of the biggest farms of the world and will provide up to a million pounds of local produce every year. The greenfarm will contribute to improve New York City’s food system. This means that the farm will bring a remarkable increase in the local food production and also a positive effect concerning a healthy life.