A new generation of miniature biological robots is flexing its muscle. Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign demonstrated a class of walking “bio-bots” powered by muscle cells and controlled with electrical pulses, giving researchers unprecedented command over their function. The group published its work in the online early edition of Proceedings of the […]
Power Electronic Tips
NREL and General Motors announce R&D partnership to reduce cost of automotive fuel cells
The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and General Motors (GM) are partnering on a multiyear, multimillion dollar joint effort to accelerate the reduction of automotive fuel cell stack costs through fuel cell material and manufacturing research and development (R&D). Most major automakers, including GM, have made significant progress in the development of fuel […]
U.S. Gives Conditional Backing for Cape Wind Project
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday it has conditionally committed to a $150 million loan guarantee for Cape Wind’s proposed energy project off the coast of Cape Cod. Company President Jim Gordon said the announcement represents an “important endorsement” by the federal government as Cape Wind seeks to attract the remaining private capital needed […]
IKEA Expanding Solar Power System
IKEA has expanded its solar power system on top of its Perryville, Maryland, distribution center. The home furnishings retailer plugged in the solar array on Tuesday. Installation of the new solar panels began in the fall of 2013. The project has nearly doubled in size since then. The company says the amount of solar power […]
Lawsuit Filed Over Property Taxes on Solar Panels
Two solar companies are asking an Arizona court to overturn state tax officials’ decision that property taxes must be paid on leased rooftop panels that produce electricity. SolarCity Corp. and Sunrun Inc. filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the state Department of Revenue’s 2013 decision that leased panels don’t qualify for property-tax exemptions that apply to […]
Researchers Discover How Plastic Solar Panels Work
Researchers don’t fully understand how ‘plastic’ solar panels work, which complicates the improvement of their cost efficiency, thereby blocking the wider use of the technology. However, researchers at the University of Montreal, the Science and Technology Facilities Council, Imperial College London and the University of Cyprus have determined how light beams excite the chemicals in […]
Up in flames: Evidence confirms combustion theory
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) and the University of Hawaii have uncovered the first step in the process that transforms gas-phase molecules into solid particles like soot and other carbon-based compounds. The finding could help combustion chemists make more-efficient, less-polluting fuels and help materials scientists fine-tune their carbon […]
Membrane Developed to Separate Oil-Spill Residue
Whenever there is a major spill of oil into water, the two tend to mix into a suspension of tiny droplets, called an emulsion, that is extremely hard to separate — and that can cause severe damage to ecosystems. But MIT researchers have discovered a new, inexpensive way of getting the two fluids apart again. […]
Finland to lead the way in developing the storage of solar and wind energy
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has joined forces with Lappeenranta University of Technology and the Finland Futures Research Centre at the University of Turku in the launch of an extensive development project for a brand new energy system and its associated business sector in Finland. The NEO-CARBON ENERGY project, targeting the storage of solar […]
Waste Heat Could Be New Source of Clean Energy
About two-thirds of all the energy we use—in computers, in cars, in making products such as steel—is lost as heat. That energy does not do anything useful, and yet we are paying for it all the same. Assistant Professor Sanjiv Sinha, with the help of collaborators across campus, is making breakthroughs in finding efficient and […]