Solarati

Delft University of the Netherlands won the World Solar Challenge in Australia with an innovative solar-powered car. The results of this competition have proven beyond any doubt that it is possible to cross 3000 kilometres of Australia on solar power alone.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A team of staff and students from University College London are competing in one of the world’s toughest engineering tests — the Panasonic World Solar Challenge. The biennial event sees teams build their own solar-powered cars and then race them over a gruelling 3000km course from Darwin to Adelaide.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

In the future everyone who is connected to the electricity grid will be able to upload and download packages of electricity to and from this network. At least, that is one of the transformations the electricity grid could undergo. Due to an increasing demand for electricity it is important to include all possible energy options (including coal and nuclear energy) in the scenario development.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

As Texas’ electric grid operator prepares to add power lines for carrying future wind-generated energy, an electrical engineer at is developing improved methods for determining the extent to which power from a wind farm can displace a conventional power plant, and how best to regulate varying wind power.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Chemists have built a new wire out of photosensitive materials that is hundreds of times smaller than a human hair. The wire not only carries electricity to be used in vanishingly small circuits, but generates power as well.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The University of Maryland Solar Decathlon Team capped its “silver” honors in the U.S. Department of Energy competition by winning the BP Solar People’s Choice Award on Saturday. Competing innovative homes run entirely with solar power. The Maryland LEAFHouse has one of the few technical innovations in the competition — a waterfall that incorporates design and function to reduce moisture and the energy needed for air conditioning, called a liquid desiccant system.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

The winner of the Solar Decathlon — a competition between 20 college and university teams to compete in 10 contests and design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered home — was the German University Technische Universität Darmstadt. The Solar Decathlon’s homes are zero-energy, yield zero carbon, and include the latest high-tech solutions and money-saving benefits to consumers, without sacrificing comfort, convenience, and aesthetics.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Experts warn that an unseemly race to report organic solar cells with world record efficiencies is leading to a significant number of published papers claiming unrealistic and scientifically questionable results and performances.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

For any passive solar home, the challenge is keeping the heat. The Solar7 team built a south-facing light wall made of 1-foot-thick square tiles. Each looks like a sandwich: Two opaque plastic squares are the “bread” for a filling of water and a layer of a thermal insulating gel spread on the inside of one of the tiles “slices.” The insulating gel transfers the sun’s heat from the outside, through the water, to the inside wall.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

A single solar cell produces a relatively low output — it’s a case of strength in numbers. Tiny strips of metal are used to link cells together. If the laser soldering temperature is too high, the solder joint may fracture. A new system provides automatic temperature regulation. Teamwork is what matters — even in the case of solar cells: To obtain sufficient power to operate a pocket calculator, parking ticket dispenser or photovoltaic module, sunlight has to be captured simultaneously by an array of cells.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites