Solar power tagged posts

While sustainable solar energy can potentially meet our global power needs, it has one major flaw. When sunlight disappears, solar panels stop generating electricity. The problem is that while they do an excellent job of converting light into power, they are not so good at storing the energy they collect.

One solution is to use materials known to capture heat and release it later, such as phase change materials (PCMs)...

Solar energy is now so cost-effective that, in the sunniest countries, it costs as little as £0.02 to produce one unit of power, making it cheaper than electricity generated from coal, gas or wind, according to a new study from the University of Surrey.

In a study accepted for publication in Energy and Environment Materials, researchers from Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) argue that solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is now the key driver of the world’s transition to clean, renewable power.

Professor Ravi Silva, co-author of the study and Director of the ATI at the University of Surrey, said, “Even here in the U.K., a country that sits 50 degrees north of the equator, solar is the cheapest option for large-scale energy generation.

Australia on Wednesday approved plans for a massive solar and battery farm that would export energy to Singapore, a project it calls the “largest solar precinct in the world”.

Authorities announced environmental approvals for SunCable’s US$24 billion project in Australia’s remote north that is slated to power 3million homes.

The project, which will include an array of panels, batteries and, eventually, a cable linking Australia with Singapore, is backed by tech billionaire and green activist Mike Cannon-Brookes.

“It will be the largest solar precinct in the world –- and heralds Austral...

A professor is reporting on a new type of solar energy harvesting that breaks the efficiency record of all existing technologies. And no less important, it clears the way to use solar power 24/7. Thomas Edison once said, “So long as the sun shines, man will be able to develop power in abundance.”

They’ve done an amazing job with photovoltaic cells which convert sunlight directly into energy. And still, with all the research, history and science behind it, there are limits to how much solar power can be harvested and used — as its generation is restricted only to the daytime.

A University of Houston professor is continuing the historic quest, repo...