In response to growing accusations from both conservationists and conservatives that renewable energy sources like solar and wind kill too many birds, U.S. News and World Report has compiled data on which energy industries are responsible for the most bird deaths every year. For each power source — wind, solar, oil and gas, nuclear, and […]
Category Archives: Energy News
David Letterman Goes to India to Learn about Solar
David Letterman India tour on to see how they are building solar for 300 million people. Also, Cicely Stong talking about the power companies against solar. Here’s the video.
Blockchain technology is coming to the solar panels on your roof
Where there’s a market with creaking infrastructure to be disrupted, blockchain technology will disrupt it. At least that’s what some proponents of blockchain tech, which shares many of the same principles underpinning bitcoin, are hoping to do with the energy sector. While blockchain tech has taken high-finance by storm, with advocates touting it for everything […]
Tesla powers a whole island with solar to show off its energy chops
Tesla completed its $2.6 billion acquisition of SolarCity this week, and, to celebrate, the company has announced a major solar energy project: wiring up the whole island of Ta’u in American Samoa. Previously, the island ran on diesel generators, but over the past year Tesla has installed a microgrid of solar energy panels and batteries that […]
Platio turns sidewalks into solar collectors
Platio is a new company from Hungary dedicated to putting solar panels just about everywhere. They’re starting with sidewalks. Founded by a team of engineers and architects the system uses solid solar panels overlaid on plastic backing that ensures the panels won’t break when stepped on or rolled over and that each panel connects with […]
Solar road tiles get their first public test
No, that’s not an elaborate new Lite-Brite kit– that’s the possible future of energy. After years of work (and some last-minute delays), Solar Roadways has installed its first public energy tiles in Sandpoint, Idaho as part of a test. On top of producing a light show, the panels will generate power for the fountain and restrooms […]
Spray-On Solar Cells: The Future of Solar Energy
This video will introduce a mineral called perovskite, and how it could replace silicon as a viable alternative to solid, structural solar panels. It’s pretty cool. Just imagine what we would be able to do if you could spray paint solar cells onto any surface. Put this on a back of a smartphone or laptop, […]
Solar dish sets steamy thermal energy efficiency record
In the hunt for ever more reliable and efficient green energy production, the Australian National University (ANU) has developed a solar dish with an incredibly high sunlight-to-steam conversion rate. That’s right, steam. Instead of photovolatic solar panels, which convert the sun’s rays directly into electricity, the so-called “Big Dish” reflects them back at a receiver, […]
New Battery Breakthrough Could Double Your Smartphone’s Life
The case against solar power, electric planes, and much progress is “you can’t beat physics. Batteries are too heavy” yet here is a breakthrough that could cut the weight of a battery in half. Now predicted for longer life smartphone batteries, the implication is that we really don’t know the limits to storing energy SolidEnergy […]
Improved Solar Energy Efficiency from New Software Forecasting Models
The new system, known as Sun4CastTM, has been in development for three years by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in collaboration with government labs, universities, utilities, and commercial firms across the country. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, the system greatly improves predictions of clouds and other atmospheric conditions that […]