Green

Oyster wave power technology captures energy from ocean waves and converts it into clean sustainable electricity

Oyster is a simple mechanical hinged flap connected to the seabed at around 32 feet in depth. Each passing wave moves the flap, driving hydraulic pistons to deliver high pressure water via a pipeline to an onshore electrical turbine.Read More

IBM's solar-powered desalination plant to hydrate the Saudi desert for a city with 100,000 people

A new, energy-efficient desalination plant with an expected production capacity of 30,000 cubic meters per day will be built in the city of Al Khafji, Saudi Arabia, to serve its 100,000 people. Known more for its computers, IBM has joined forces with KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology) to build the plant that will be powered by ultra-high concentrator photovoltaic (UHCPV) technology - a system with a concentration greater than 1,500 suns.Read More

Solar Impulse plane has a wingspan the size of a Boeing 747

A solar-powered plane with a 200-foot wingspan completed its first test flight this morning, soaring to 5,500 feet in an 87-minute sortie that reached a top speed of 44 mph. Solar Impulse proved itself airworthy, taking off and landing under its own power, taking a series of turns, and performing well. According to pilot Marcus Scherdel, "Despite its immense size and feather weight, the aircraft's controllability matches our expectations."Read More

A powerful sunlight transport system that’s like putting a solar robot on your roof to pump sunlight indoors What if you could light your entire building using no electricity, or artificial lights – but just the natural light from the sun? Conventional sky-lights do this well in certain types of single-story spaces, but are not very adaptable, powerful, and often have problems with excessive solar heat gain and loss. Enter the Sundolier, a powerful sunlight transport system that’s like putting a solar robot on your roof to pump sunlight indoors, The manufacturer claims a single Sundolier unit can provide enough light to illuminate a 1000-2500 sq. ft. area without any other sources. Read More

Georgia Tech professor Zhong Lin Wang holds an improved nanogenerator containing 700 rows of nanowire arrays

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created the world's first self-powered sensors at the nanometric scale. Tiny generators embedding thousands of nanowires produce electricity whenever the wires are subjected to mechanical strain, and can be used to power microscopic sensors without the need for batteries.Read More

Sphelar solar cells from Kyosemi Corp. are solidified silicon drops that create a transparent solar cell window

Imagine if instead of looking out your window to see your solar-panel array, your windows were your solar panel array. Sphelar solar cells can be built into windows, whether they're flat or curved. Instead of chasing the sun, they'll capture the sun from all angles, then convert it to energy.Read More

New Robots Build Prototype Solar Cells in 30 Minutes, Then Evaluate Their Own Work

One multitasking robot can build semiconductors for solar cells on six-inch-square plates of glass, plastic or flexible metals in just over half an hour. Six of these tireless mechanical workers, chugging away at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado.Read More

The $172 million Strata Tower in London harnesses wind energy with its three built-in turbines

Structures with rooftop turbines may not be a purely new idea in the world of architecture, but the newly completed tower block in Elephant and Castle, London, is a unique skyscraper that is going to be the world’s first building with built-in wind turbines, generating about a tenth of its own energy through a trio of rooftop turbines.Read More

When methane and freezing cold water fuse under tremendous pressure, they create a substance as paradoxical as it coveted: burning ice. Earlier this year, a report from the National Research Council identified the combustible water, also known as methane hydrate, as a potential source of natural gas.Read More

Build a DIY $1000 Fusion Reactor in Your Basement

Most college freshmen fill their dorm rooms with clothes, books, and electronics. Thiago Olson also brought his fusion reactor. But Vanderbilt University drew the line: No do-it-yourself reactors in the dorm! Instead, his device was housed in a nearby laboratory.Read More