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Reporting on the Middle East, Science, and Education for February 17, 2010 - ג' אדר תש"ע
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ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2010) — Using arrays of long, thin silicon wires embedded in a polymer substrate, a team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has created a new type of flexible solar cell that enhances the absorption of sunlight and efficiently converts its photons into electrons. The solar cell does all this using only a fraction of the expensive semiconductor materials required by conventional solar cells.
“These solar cells have, for the first time, surpassed the conventional light-trapping limit for absorbing materials,” says Harry Atwater, Howard Hughes Professor, professor of applied physics and materials science, and director of Caltech’s Resnick Institute, which focuses on sustainability research.
The light-trapping limit of a material refers to how much sunlight it is able to absorb. The silicon-wire arrays absorb up to 96 percent of incident sunlight at a single wavelength and 85 percent of total collectible sunlight. “We’ve surpassed previous optical microstructures developed to trap light,” he says.
Atwater and his colleagues — including Nathan Lewis, the George L. Argyros Professor and professor of chemistry at Caltech, and graduate student Michael Kelzenberg — assessed the performance of these arrays in a paper appearing in the February 14 advance online edition of the journal Nature Materials.
Atwater notes that the solar cells’ enhanced absorption is “useful absorption.”
“Many materials can absorb light quite well but not generate electricity — like, for instance, black paint,” he explains. “What’s most important in a solar cell is whether that absorption leads to the creation of charge carriers.”
The silicon wire arrays created by Atwater and his colleagues are able to convert between 90 and 100 percent of the photons they absorb into electrons — in technical terms, the wires have a near-perfect internal quantum efficiency. “High absorption plus good conversion makes for a high-quality solar cell,” says Atwater. “It’s an important advance.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Recent Posts, Science, Solar Energy on February 17, 2010 - ג' אדר תש"ע at 7:33 am
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A Window That Washes Itself? New Nano-Material May Revolutionize Solar Panels and Batteries, Too
TAU’s nanosized “forest of peptides” can be used as the basis for self-cleaning windows and more efficient batteries.
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2009) — A coating on windows or solar panels that repels grime and dirt? Expanded battery storage capacities for the next electric car? New Tel Aviv University research, just published in Nature Nanotechnology, details a breakthrough in assembling peptides at the nano-scale level that could make these futuristic visions come true in just a few years.
Operating in the range of 100 nanometers (roughly one-billionth of a meter) and even smaller, graduate student Lihi Adler-Abramovich and a team working under Prof. Ehud Gazit in TAU’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology have found a novel way to control the atoms and molecules of peptides so that they “grow” to resemble small forests of grass. These “peptide forests” repel dust and water — a perfect self-cleaning coating for windows or solar panels which, when dirty, become far less efficient.
“This is beautiful and protean research,” says Adler-Abramovich, a Ph.D. candidate. “It began as an attempt to find a new cure for Alzheimer’s disease. To our surprise, it also had implications for electric cars, solar energy and construction.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Middle East Report, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on December 5, 2009 - י"ח כסלו תש"ע at 7:34 pm
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Posted By Maurice Picow On December 6, 2009 In Cleantech, Science & Technology |
A Seambiotic algae farm grows biofuel
Seambiotic’s been teaming up with NASA [1] to to create a biofuel suitable for sending astronauts into space (?), and now this company is once again making news in a new venture with the China Goudian utility company [2] to grow micro algae for use as a biodiesel fuel to power electrical power stations all over China.
Founded in 2003, Seambiotic [3] develops and produces marine microalgae for the nutraceuticals [4] and biofuel industries by using flue gas from electric power plants.
Seambiotic’s success in utilizing an organic substance that is found in abundance in the world’s oceans and in fresh water sources as well, may one day solve much of the world’s energy needs as well as provide food products for the earth’s continuing increasing population. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Biomass fuels, Climate Change, Middle East, Recent Posts, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on December 5, 2009 - י"ח כסלו תש"ע at 7:11 pm
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A recipe to save the Western world from the tyranny of oil and fossil fuels: Substitute alternative liquid fuels for oil, build electric and flex-fuel vehicles, produce domestic renewable energy sources and implement energy efficiency – but examine health risks assiduously before doing so.
Those were the conclusions of a distinguished panel of experts who addressed a crowd in Jerusalem on Sunday night at the American Jewish Committee building as part of a larger US initiative – the Jewish Response to the Energy Challenge (J-REC), which held a simultaneous conference in San Francisco. The event also marked the launch of the AJC’s Access program.
Though the solution seems simple enough when summarized in a paragraph, each one of the panelists advocated a different No. 1 priority for Israel and the US during a discussion of the “Israel-US Partnership for Clean and Secure Energy Solutions.”
Still, all agreed that Israel and the Jewish people were uniquely situated to have tremendous influence on policy, as well as the technological discoveries and their implementation.
Dr. Isaac Berzin, the keynote speaker, insisted that the key to ending Iran-sponsored terror by Hamas and Hizbullah was to end the world’s reliance on oil. Berzin, founding director of the Institute for Renewable Energy Policy and an expert in the use of algae to produce fuel, explained that Iran used Chinese money from its oil sales to send Hamas and Hizbullah shiploads of arms. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Science, Solar Energy on November 11, 2009 - כ"ד חשון תש"ע at 12:07 pm
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Andrew Donoghue, BusinessGreen 11 Sep 2009
A Ford car plant which was recently shut down as part of cost savings by the car maker is being converted into a facility for renewable energy companies.
The facility in Wixom, Michigan, which at the height of production had about 5,000 workers, closed in 2007 with the loss of 1,000 jobs. The site will now be converted into a business park for a series of renewable energy companies, which the backers claim could generate about 4,000 jobs.
Ford said it has been working with energy storage system provider Xtreme Power and solar panel maker Clairvoyant Energy, who will be the first companies to take up residency in the 320-acre site and its 4.7 million square feet of plant space. The two renewable energy providers have invested about $725m (£635m) to redevelop the site, with work expected to begin early next year and clean tech manufacturing expected to get underway in 2011. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Air & Water, Alternative Energy, Biomass fuels, Climate Change, Recent Posts, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on September 12, 2009 - כ"ג אלול תשס"ט at 11:19 am
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By Karin Kloosterman , Israel 21C, September 2, 2009
As it succeeds in bringing electricity to off-grid Palestinian communities, the Israeli COMET project sends a clear message that Israeli-Palestinian cooperation can work.Palestinians in the south Mount Hebron region of the West Bank endure a complicated political situation and a stark reality. In this exceptionally poor area, they also live with the irony of looking up to see power lines crisscrossing their view of the sky, while they lack electricity in their homes.
Elad Orian and Noam Dotan, two political activists from Israel who are also physicists, have started a solar energy and wind project to supply power to the people who were left in the dark. They say that they both felt the time had come to do something practical with their politics that would improve people’s lives.
On their website, they describe the mission of their homegrown project, COMET (Community, Energy and Technology in the Middle East) as facilitating “social and economic empowerment… The core of our activity is the provision of basic energy services for off-grid communities in a way that is both environmentally and socially sustainable.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Islam, Judaism, Middle East Report, Recent Posts, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on September 3, 2009 - י"ד אלול תשס"ט at 1:30 pm
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By Crystal McMorris, Midland Daily News, August 6, 2009
If you think roof-top windmills, solar-powered cottages and robust manufacturing in Michigan are the stuff of fairy tales, you weren’t at Wednesday’s Alternative Energy Forum.
Leaders in several alternative energy fields updated about 100 people on the growing demand and emerging technologies for energy from wind, sun and the earth itself, and how the state is poised to benefit from public and private investment in "green energy."
The forum, sponsored by the Sierra Club and Citizens Exploring Clean Energy, was arranged by University of Michigan senior Shawn Kinkema and held at Essexville Garber High School.
"I believe Michigan has the tools to reinvent itself," said Kinkema, an environmental studies major from Essexville.
Cedric G. Currin has been involved in this reinvention since the first time "alternative" energy was a hot topic in the 1970s. His company, Currin Corp., of Midland, makes solar panels which are used, mainly, to power to rural areas beyond the grid in national parks, for example, and isolated areas of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Currin said the solar power industry has grown about 40 percent per year for the past three years or so.
"You can’t think of a greener way of getting power," Currin said, holding up one of his company’s solar panels, about the size of a record album. "It makes no noise. Nothing is moving. It is virtually free of any maintenance. And it lasts for a long, long time — 50 to 100 years."
Solar power has its problems, however, Currin noted, which explains why so few homes in Michigan rely on solar power as their sole or primary energy source. Panels produce DC current, while our homes are set up for AC current, requiring conversion. Power needs to be stored, too, since the sun’s not always shining.
And a solar system costing $20,000 to install will save only about $200 a year in electrical costs.
But a growing desire to be energy independent — as a nation and individuals — is fueling the growth in demand for alternative energy, Currin noted. Concern for the environment is another driver, he said. Under the current energy system, each Michigan household causes five tons of carbon dioxide to be emitted from coal power plants, he said.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Air & Water, Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Recent Posts, Solar Energy on August 6, 2009 - ט"ז אב תשס"ט at 11:41 pm
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by Rochel Sylvetsky, Arutz Sheva, 25 June 09
(Israelnationalnews.com) It was an Israel lover’s dream come true: A new way of generating renewable energy using concentrated solar radiation was created at the Weizmann Institute, developed in cooperation with the AORA solar technology company located in the development town of Yavne, brought to fruition by Torah observant investors from abroad and launched in Kibbutz Samar 20 kilometers (13 miles) north of Eilat.
Overseas guests, including dignitaries and businessmen from Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Chile and Australia, mingled with the smiling Israelis, including AORA chief executive officer Chaim Fried’s family from Har Bracha, government representatives and kibbutz members at the event on Wednesday.
Yehoshua Fried, founder of construction-management firm EDIG, of which AORA is a member, began his speech with the traditional blessing over something new and continued with a quote from the week’s Torah portion. He thanked American investor Meir Reiss and Canadian Director of Corporation and Consultant to Management, Zev Rosenzweig, who believed in his dream and made it into reality. Fried recalled how he pioneered in the field 15 years ago along with Chief Technology Officer Dr. Pinchas Doron, but had to abandon his plans until the need for clean, renewable solar power was recognized.
Rosenzweig spoke of the special feeling he and Reiss have, as committed Jews, in helping the Jewish State utilize its brain power, strengthening its economy, providing local jobs and benefiting the world in general. Udi Gat, Eilot Regional Council Chairman, expressed the hope that his region would become the “Sun Valley” of the clean energy world as California’s “Silicon Valley” is to the cyberworld. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Business and Commerce, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on June 26, 2009 - ד' תמוז תשס"ט at 5:22 pm
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by Maggie Koerth-Baker, Discover Magazine, June 17, 2009
Renewable energy has a critical role to play in reducing greenhouse gases and leading the United States toward energy independence. That role should soon be getting bigger: The U.S. government is pushing for a 100 percent increase in renewable energy by 2012. The two biggest sources are the wind and the sun. But the variable nature of wind and solar energy can cause problems with matching supply to demand—problems that would be greatly eased if only we had a really good way of storing electricity on an industrial scale. Currently there are several storage systems vying for dominance.
Compressed-Air Energy Storage
At night, when the strongest winds blow and customers are sleeping, unused wind-generated electricity can run giant compressors, forcing large amounts of air into sealed underground spaces. When demand rises during the day, the compressed air can be used to spin turbines, turning the energy back into electricity. Georgianne Peek, a mechanical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico, says this technology can provide a lot of power over long periods of time at a relatively low cost. The technology is also well established: Two compressed-air storage plants have been in operation for decades. The McIntosh Unit 1 plant in McIntosh, Alabama, went online in 1991; a similar plant in Germany has been running since the 1970s. McIntosh 1 can reliably put out 110 megawatts for 26 hours. (One megawatt is enough power to supply roughly 600 to 1,000 typical American homes.)
The compressed-air system does have its drawbacks. For one, it does not completely eliminate the need for fossil fuels, because the associated electric generators use natural gas to supplement the energy from the stored compressed air. Compressed-air storage systems also require an airtight underground space, limiting the locations where they can be installed. The two existing compressed-air plants use natural salt domes. Engineers flushed the domes with water to dissolve the salt, then pumped out the brine to create a nicely sealed cavern. But salt dome formations are not plentiful, so researchers are investigating other inexpensive ways to create storage chambers. A facility proposed for Norton, Ohio, would use an abandoned limestone mine. Another, in Iowa, would pump air into drained natural aquifers. Abandoned oil wells and depleted natural gas reservoirs might also work, Peek says, as long as they are not too remote to be hooked into the electrical grid. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Recent Posts, Science, Solar Energy on June 19, 2009 - כ"ז סיון תשס"ט at 7:07 am
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Published on Cleantech Group (http://www.cleantech.com/news)
Israel to get first solar thermal project
By Emma Ritch
Published 2009-03-05 08:18
Israel’s National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer gave the approval to issue a license for the country’s first solar thermal plant.
Yavne, Israel-based AORA [1], a subsidiary of the Edig Group [2], now plans to commission its 100-kilowatt solar thermal plant and connect it to the grid by the end of March.
The installation uses 30 heliostats to follow the sun and direct its rays to the top of a 30-meter tower housing a solar receiver that heats air to 1,000 degrees Celsius and directs the air to a gas turbine.
Edig received approval from the Public Utility Authority in January but was awaiting the final OK from Ben-Eliezer (see Israel allows first solar power plants [3]). AORA came out of stealth in February with its proprietary technology and the news it raised $5 million from EZKlein Partners [4] and L&Q Solar (see Israeli startup grabs $5M for distributed solar thermal [5]).
The commercial solar thermal gas-turbine power station is under construction at Kibbutz Samar in Israel’s southern Arava region. The plant is built with a hybrid system that can run the turbine using natural gas, biogas or biodiesel at night when no solar energy is produced in order to provide a round-the-clock power source.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Alternative Energy, Business and Commerce, Climate Change, Middle East Report, Recent Posts, Science and Technology, Solar Energy on March 6, 2009 - י' אדר תשס"ט at 6:30 pm
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