According to an upcoming report from IMS Research, Japan is forecast to become the leading market for wireless power technology this year, with enabled devices surpassing two million shipments by year’s end. The report points to mobile phone carrier support, in-box packaging, and deployment of wireless power infrastructure as the main reasons for the rapid […]
Power Electronic Tips
NIST measurement advance could speed innovation in solar devices
A new versatile measurement system devised by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) accurately and quickly measures the electric power output of solar energy devices, capabilities useful to researchers and manufacturers working to develop and make next-generation solar energy cells. Innovative devices that convert sunlight to electric power more efficiently and […]
IMS Research: Power semiconductor market to grow $9 billion over the next five years
The global power discrete and module market is forecast to grow by $9 billion to reach $26.2 billion in 2016, according to a new report from IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS). Following good growth in the first half of 2011, the market fell away in the second to finish with only […]
German National Academy of Sciences issues a critical statement on the use of bioenergy
In a statement on the chances and limits of using bioenergy, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has come to the conclusion that in quantitative terms, bioenergy plays a minor role in the transition to renewable, sustainable energy sources in Germany at the present time and probably in the future. Bioenergy requires more surface […]
New method to encourage virtual power plants for efficient renewable energy production
Researchers from the University of Southampton have devised a novel method for forming virtual power plants to provide renewable energy production in the UK. In the last decade, small and distributed energy resources (DERs), like wind farms and solar panels, have begun to appear in greater numbers in the electricity supply network (Grid). To ensure […]
New method to encourage virtual power plants for efficient renewable energy production
Researchers from the University of Southampton have devised a novel method for forming virtual power plants to provide renewable energy production in the UK. In the last decade, small and distributed energy resources (DERs), like wind farms and solar panels, have begun to appear in greater numbers in the electricity supply network (Grid). To ensure […]
Global PV inverter market to return to growth in 2012 and exceed $7 billion, according to new IMS research report
The global photovoltaic (PV) inverter market is predicted to grow by 23 percent in 2012 and hit almost 32 GW according to the 5th edition of IMS Research’s annual report on this industry. However, the report, The World Market for PV Inverters provided a much more sobering outlook for industry revenues which are forecast to […]
Printed photonic crystal mirrors shrink on-chip lasers down to size
MADISON – Electrical engineers at The University of Texas at Arlington and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have devised a new laser for on-chip optical connections that could give computers a huge boost in speed and energy efficiency. The team published its findings on July 22, 2012 in Nature Photonics. At just 2 micrometers in […]
Searching for 1,000 times the capacity of 4G wireless
NEW YORK, July 18, 2012 – Researchers at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) have assembled a powerful consortium of government and business support to advance beyond today’s fourth generation (4G) wireless technologies toward 5G cellular networks that could potentially increase cell phone capacity by more than 1,000 times. The National Science Foundation (NSF) […]
Innovation promises to cut massive power use at big data companies in a flash
Big data needs big power. The server farms that undergird the Internet run on a vast tide of electricity. Even companies that have invested in upgrades to minimize their eco-footprint use tremendous amounts: The New York Times estimates that Google, for example, uses enough electricity in its data centers to power about 200,000 homes. Now, […]