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Archive for the ‘solar power’ category: Page 50

Nov 27, 2021

Doing photon upconversion a solid: Crystals that convert light to more useful wavelengths

Posted by in categories: chemistry, solar power, sustainability

Solid-solution organic crystals have been brought into the quest for superior photon upconversion materials, which transform presently wasted long-wavelength light into more useful shorter wavelength light. Scientists from Tokyo Institute of Technology have revisited a materials approach previously deemed lackluster—using a molecule originally developed for organic LEDs—and have achieved outstanding performance and efficiency. Their findings pave the way for many novel photonic technologies, such as better solar cells and photocatalysts for hydrogen and hydrocarbon productions.

Light is a powerful source of energy that can, if leveraged correctly, be used to drive stubborn chemical reactions, generate electricity, and run optoelectronic devices. However, in most applications, not all the wavelengths of can be used. This is because the energy that each photon carries is inversely proportional to its wavelength, and chemical and are triggered by light only when the energy provided by individual photons exceeds a certain threshold.

This means that devices like solar cells cannot benefit from all the color contained in sunlight, as it comprises a mixture of photons with both high and low energies. Scientists worldwide are actively exploring materials to realize upconversion (PUC), by which photons with lower energies (longer wavelengths) are captured and re-emitted as photons with higher energies (shorter wavelengths). One promising way to realize this is through triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA). This process requires the combination of a sensitizer material and an annihilator material. The sensitizer absorbs low energy photons (long-wavelength light) and transfers its excited energy to the annihilator, which emits higher photons (light of shorter wavelength) as a result of TTA.

Nov 26, 2021

This solar-powered electric bicycle is making a 6,500-mile loop around US

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability, transportation

Sushil Reddy is no stranger to long-distance electric bicycles rides, having broken the Guinness World Record back in 2016 with a 7,424 km (4,613 mile) ride across India. Since then he’s set his sights on solar power, performing several more long-distance solar-powered electric bike rides. Now he’s halfway through a 10,460 km (6,500 mile) ride around the US on a custom-built solar-powered electric bike as part of the SunPedal Ride project.

As the SunPedal Ride project explained:

“The SunPedal Ride is an outreach project started by Sushil Reddy in 2016. The idea is to have conversations about clean energy and sustainable mobility via endurance journeys undertaken on zero tail-pipe emission vehicles. Each edition of The SunPedal Ride is a new challenge which is executed by a team and supported by a group of sponsors/partners to spread the message via public interactions. A medium of a zero tail-pipe emissions vehicle is used in each edition of The SunPedal Ride.”

Nov 22, 2021

China’s New Solar EVs Boast Up to 450 Miles of Range

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability, transportation

The auto industry is starting to get serious about solar.

Chinese automaker EdisonFuture, a subsidiary of renewable energy firm SPI Energy, revealed the EF1-T, its first electric pickup with a retractable solar panel roof last month.

Continue reading “China’s New Solar EVs Boast Up to 450 Miles of Range” »

Nov 19, 2021

What’s in a flame? The surprising mystery of how soot forms

Posted by in categories: biological, climatology, health, particle physics, solar power, sustainability

Soot is one of the world’s worst contributors to climate change. Its impact is similar to global methane emissions and is second only to carbon dioxide in its destructive potential. This is because soot particles absorb solar radiation, which heats the surrounding atmosphere, resulting in warmer global temperatures. Soot also causes several other environmental and health problems including making us more susceptible to respiratory viruses.

Soot only persists in the atmosphere for a few weeks, suggesting that if these emissions could be stopped then the air could rapidly clear. This has recently been demonstrated during recent lockdowns, with some major cities reporting clear skies after industrial emissions stopped.

But is also part of our future. Soot can be converted into the useful carbon black product through thermal treatment to remove any harmful components. Carbon blacks are critical ingredients in batteries, tires and paint. If these carbons are made small enough they can even be made to fluoresce and have been used for tagging , in catalysts and even in solar cells.

Nov 17, 2021

This Colorado ‘solar garden’ is literally a farm under solar panels

Posted by in categories: food, solar power, sustainability

The newly passed infrastructure bill could lead to a boom in solar production requiring a lot more land, including farmland. But research is showing solar panels might actually help grow some crops.

Nov 16, 2021

Could Solar Gardens Boost Traditional Farming with Renewable Energy?

Posted by in categories: food, solar power, sustainability

This solar farm in Colorado thinks so.

The farming industry is using way too much energy both for its own and the Earth’s sake. To put it in numbers, agriculture uses approximately 21 percent of food production energy, which equals 2.2 quadrillions of kilojoules of energy each year. What’s more, about 60 percent of the energy used in agriculture goes toward gasoline, diesel, electricity, and natural gas.

That’s where agrivoltaics come in. A system where solar panels are in… See more.

Nov 10, 2021

Researchers have unlocked the secret to pearls’ incredible symmetry

Posted by in categories: solar power, space travel, sustainability

Understanding the structural secrets of how mollusks form symmetrical pearls could inspire more optimal materials for solar panels and space travel.

Nov 10, 2021

The World’s Largest Floating Solar Power Farm Is Now Open In Thailand

Posted by in categories: climatology, solar power, sustainability

With 145,000 panels.

The world’s largest floating solar farm has now begun operations at the Sirindhorn Dam on the Lam Dom Noi River in Thailand. The dam has a capacity of generating 45MW of power using its solar panels, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) confirmed in a press release.

The news comes after the country started advancing its carbon neutrality goals by 15 years. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow, UK, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha pledged that his country would attain carbon neutrality by 2,050 much ahead of the earlier set target date of 2,065 local media reported. The announcement is a major move considering that two-thirds of Thailand’s current power generation is sourced from natural gas.

Nov 8, 2021

101 Gigawatt Hours of Solar Power From Noise Barriers Possible

Posted by in categories: climatology, solar power, space, sustainability

The noise barriers built in Switzerland can supply up to 101 gigawatt hours of solar electricity every year. The prerequisite is that all noise barriers are covered with solar installations, as far as this is possible and economical. This would be possible with a solar capacity of 111 megawatts. This is the result of a study commissioned by the Swiss Federal Council at the instigation of Bruno Storni, a member of parliament from the Swiss Social Democratic Party.

This potential is far below what is technically feasible. However, the authors of the study subtracted the potential that would hardly be economically feasible according to the current state of the art. In addition, they had to take into account site conditions such as shading of the walls or safety aspects.

101 gigawatt hours sounds a lot. But this is only 0.15 per cent of the usable solar potential on roofs and facades used for comparison in Switzerland. For the federal road administration Astra and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), however, it is nevertheless a major step towards climate neutrality. After all, solar installations on noise barriers near road tunnels alone cover eleven per cent of the potential on Astra’s total surfaces.

Nov 7, 2021

Artificial photosynthesis turns CO2 into sustainable fuel

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability, transportation

AArtificial photosynthesis turns CO2 into sustainable fuel: Carbon capture is the idea of taking CO2 from the air and storing it. Carbon conversion is taking that same CO2 and turning it into something useful. CO2 can be used for a number of products, but one of the most exciting is alternatives to fossil fuels.

If we look at what’s possible with batteries today, you can do a lot. You can electrify certain portions of aviation, but they’re just never gonna touch that jumbo jet full of a couple of hundred passengers going a thousand miles. And that’s where sustainable aviation fuels come in.

Jason Salfi, CEO of Dimensional Energy, a company using artificial photosynthesis to produce carbon-neutral alternatives to fossil fuels. Their first product, a carbon-neutral jet fuel.

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