SOLAR ENERGY NEWS
1) A Spectrolab solar cell recently set a world record by converting more energy from the sun into electricity than any other ground-based solar cell without solar concentration.The cell converted 37.8 percent of solar energy using a new class of high-efficiency multi-junction solar cell, created from two or more materials and leveraging Boeing technology that makes semiconductor materials more reliable. The record was set without concentration, the common practice of having lenses or mirrors focus solar rays on the cells. "We expect this solar cell technology will have significant benefits for space, ground-based, and sensor applications," said Troy Dawson, president of Spectrolab.
Spectrolab believes this solar cell technology can attain higher levels of efficiency, "possibly more than 45 percent even under low concentrations," according to Nasser Karam, the company’s vice president for advanced technology.
HARNESSING WIND ENERGY
A. Wind farms
- In London, England, 175 Siemens wind turbines each with a capacity of 3.6 MW, the
massive energy project has been under construction since March 2011. A
peak output it is expected to generate 630MW, finally putting Britain’s
notoriously bad weather to good use. Located
nearly 18 miles offshore on the outer Thames Estuary, the London Array’s 175
turbines are spread across 90 square miles.
Building an array of this size on
the open seas was no small feat. Even setting aside its sheer scale, the Array
had to be built in the notoriously rough winters of the English Channel, which
while wonderful for powering a wind farm, but not so much for building one.
This is the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm and is capable of generating enough energy to power nearly half a million homes and reduce harmful CO2 emissions by over 900,000 tonnes a year. It plans to expand the Array to produce 870MW.
B. Other major wind farms:
While the London Array may be the world’s largest wind farm today, several projects are under development to create offshore wind farms in the UK,Sweden and Japan that will eclipse the capacity of the London Array. Chief among these projects is the Bleking Offshore wind farm being considered by Sweden’s environmental court. If approved, the Swedish wind farm could one day generate 2.5GW from the winds of the Baltic Sea.
C. Non-spinning blade generators: 
instead of blades with a disc-like system
D. No moving parts
Dutch researchers have developed the EWICON, a bladeless windmill with no moving parts, that produces electricity by pushing charged water droplets into the wind.
Wave Glider Ocean Robots
Liquid Robotics is revolutionizing our understanding of the oceans with its unmanned sensor with advanced capabilities such as a hybrid propulsion system.
The new model can use solar power for propulsion. The earlier models used wave energy for propulsion and solar power for sensors and communications. The new solar cells for the robot are 50 percent more efficient, allowing them to power the propulsion system. Liquid Robotics gained a spot in history when it announced in December that Papa Mau, one of its data-collecting second-generation Wave Gliders, had floated more than 9,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean. Wave Gliders can collect data on weather in remote locations. They can be used to monitor hurricanes, predict tsunamis, and monitor rare marine life. Wave Gliders collect data on temperature, winds, humidity, wind gusts, water temperature, water color, and water composition. They can also take pictures. These robots are gathering a lot of observational data about climate change, ocean acidification, fisheries management, hurricane and tsunami warnings, and exploration — but in a green way.
Does your golf game need help?
"FORE!! Three - Two - One - Fire!" called Doug Frost, inventor of
Rocketry Golf and Manager of the Rocketry Golf Organization. Then he
launched his ball (on the nosecone of a model rocket) from the tee of
the par-five 433-yard first hole at the Ridge Golf Club in Auburn,
California. Not fazed by the uphill approach shot to the green, he
placed his tee shot...err...launch... only 23 feet from the hole. Unfortunately, Doug isn't much of a regular golfer, and two-putted in for a birdie. Frost's rocketry golf replaces your golf clubs with a selection of rockets and a putter. The rockets are used to launch the ball onto the green, where the traditional putter comes back into play.
Check this new way of "golfing" GizMag,com.
Top 10 Speeds Clocked on the Autobahn*
#1) 268.8 miles per hour (432.59 kilometers per hour): Mercedes-Benz W125
#2) 268.432 miles per hour (432 kilometers per hour): V-16 Auto Union
#3) 236 miles per hour (381 kilometers per hour): Porsche 9ff GTurbo850
#4) 219 miles per hour (353 kilometers per hour): Bugatti Veyron
#5) 208.7 miles per hour (335.87 kilometers per hour): Ruf R Turbo (Porsche) .
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