Generating heat and power from the sun doesn’t have to involve huge projects like the new 5 megawatt Kimberlina solar thermal power plant in Bakersfield. Conserval Engineering, which has offices in less-than sunny Buffalo and Paris, developed SolarWall panels decades ago which are made from simple corrugated and perforated galvanized steel. The panels are attached to the outside of the south-facing walls of industrial and commercial buildings and the sun-warmed air that is created in this cavity is vented up and into heating ducts. This simple technology generates six times the power of similarly-sized photovoltaic solar panels, but costs one-tenth the price.
A Twelve year-old boy has solved the earth’s energy crisis. William Yuan, a seventh-grader from Beaverton, Oregon, has developed a new 3D solar cell which provides 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells. Yuan’s design increases the efficiency of electron movement through carbon nanotubes and enables light absorption from visible to ultraviolet light. He was awarded a $25k scholarship from the Davidson Institute and got on local Portland TV.
That 60mpg you’re getting from your Prius just not good enough? Then slap some solar panels on it. SEV, a Southern California solar company has developed a system that improves the fuel economy of Toyota hybrids by up to 29% by putting high efficiency mono-crystalline photovoltaic cells on the roof of the car. The SEV system also qualifies for Federal renewable energy tax credits of up to $2,000.
