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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Solar Energy to 7 Billion People

By exploiting the powers of nanotechnology and taking advantage of nontoxic, Earth-abundant materials, Berkeley Lab's Cyrus Wadia has fabricated new solar cell devices that have the potential to be several orders of magnitude less expensive than conventional solar cells. And, by mastering the chemistry of these materials�and the economics of solar energy�he envisions bringing electricity to the 1.2 billion people now living without it. Series: Science at the Theater [9/2009] [Science] [Show ID: 16917]]]>http://youtube.com/?v=a4XSB7CPl_MSolar Energy to 7 Billion Peoplesolar, cell, nanotechnology, energy, cyrus, wadiaUCtelevisionHow It's Made - Solar PanelsRead More... [Source: YouTube Videos tagged with solar energy]

40 MPG Is New Norm for Small Cars

Is the line between gas-electric hybrids and small internal-combustion-only cars starting to blur?

On Monday, Ford announced that the 2011 Ford Fiesta equipped with the 6-speed automatic transmission will be rated at 40 miles per gallon on the highway. It�"s not official yet, but the Chevrolet Cruze Eco is also expected to join the 40-mpg club when later this year. Look Ma, No hybrid! And still delivering better than 40 miles per gallon on the highway.

Ford�"s advertising tag line for the Fiesta brags: "The Fiesta gets 40 highway miles per gallon. That's more than 21 hybrids." Ford�"s spinmeisters are correct that most hybrids, including expensive models from BMW, Lexus and Mercedes, as well as the mid-market Toyota Camry Hybrid, don�"t reach 40 mpg on the highway. What Ford omits is that all five of Ford�"s own hybrids don�"t hit the 40-mpg mark on the highway.

Ford's ad campaign for the Fiesta boasts that it beats 21 hybrids on highway mileage.

Ford also don�"t highlight the city numbers for the Fiesta�29 mpg for the automatic version. That�"s a far cry from the Fusion Hybrid�"s 41-mpg rating in the city or the Toyota Prius�"s 51 miles to the gallon. Of course, the comparison between the Fiesta and Prius on mileage is not entirely fair. The Fiesta, starting about $14,000, costs half as much as the Prius. The more apropos comparison is other compacts. On the highway, the Fiesta is 5 miles a gallon better than Honda Fit and 4 miles a gallon better than Toyota Yaris.

An Emerging Trend

To get a better handle on the new trend of 40-mpg small gas-engine cars, we reached out to John German, who was Honda�"s manager of Environmental and Energy Analyses for more than a decade and is now a senior fellow and program director for the International Council for Clean Transportation.

make solar panel | solar energy | make wind

DiscoverTheSecret.net Instructions to make solar panel and wind turbine at home. guide to make a power producing solar panels and reduce your electricity bill. And a guide to finding solar energy information. Here's TOP rated solar energy tips and more! More information: DiscoverTheSecret.net
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Calgary's Solar car hits the streets

The University of Calgary's solar car team is hitting the streets on a five-day mini tour of Alberta. The students who designed and built the solar car say its faster, lighter, and more energy efficient than previous models. In this video by Gavin Young and Rick Donkers, the Schulich Axiom team hits the highway to encourage schoolkids, while at the same time work any last minute bugs out.
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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Top Five Insights from Our First Drive of Chevy Volt

General Motors yesterday gave electric car enthusiasts and a handful of journalists an opportunity to spin the Chevy Volt around a parking lot next to San Francisco�"s AT&T Park. HybridCars.com had its first two or three minutes behind the wheel, spoke with the Volt team, and came away with these insights.

1The EV miles are the easy ones. Charge sustaining mode is the tough part.

Tony Posawatz, Volt vehicle line director

The most widely known fact about the Volt is that it can travel for up to 40 miles using only electricity, before the engine comes on to maintain the battery pack�"s state of charge. During those first 40 miles, the Volt behaves just like a pure electric car. There�"s simply not much more to say about the driving experience and handling than it drives like an electric car: speedy, smooth, and whisper-quiet. (It will take some more time behind the wheel to determine if we like the dashboard instrumentation, which at first blush seemed slightly overwhelming.)

So, the unique proposition, and technical challenge, of the Volt is what happens after those 40 electric miles. �SThe EV mode was the easy thing,⬝ said Tony Posawatz, vehicle line director for the Chevy Volt. The hard part, according to Posawatz, was using the vehicle�"s sophisticated software to �Sblend and smooth out⬝ how and when the engine is employed to extend the driving range.

�SAt low speeds, the engine almost never comes on in charge sustaining mode. At high speeds, we take advantage of running the RPMs a little bit higher, but never to a point where it affects the pleasability of the car. The engine is never roaring.⬝

Next Generation of Cheap Solar Cells

****Since all the comments seem to be either 100% positive or 100% negative about this solar technology i would like to clear up some some misconceptions. First of all I'd imagine that takes years to set up the the precision equipment for 2 of the largest solar panel manufacturing plants in the world and be able to print solar photo cells as fast as newspaper. After the plant was completed in 2007 the first focus was on commercial uses and their first costumers where municipal utility companies. This sounds to me like a good business tactic to help you establish a successful business from the start. Next they started offering it to electrical contractors as part of a beta testing process so they can work out the kinks that arise from scaling down their panels from large commercial ones to the ones that you can use on your house. That is where were at today. After the beta testing they will start offering them to the general public. Their website even has a place to enter your email address to be notified when this technology will be available to you the home owner. Its a process and that apparently some people out there believe happens over night. This company immediately got more financial backing then needed. Google is one of the biggest investors so I believe its all legitimate. There are two benefits from the use of alternative energy. It will save you money but also it means that energy produced is done so with out creating pollution. This is good for everybody. Even ...
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Renewable Energy Solution of the Month - Wind

If you can't view the video because of copyright issues in Europe, go here www.greenmanstudio.com That there is power in the wind is not a new discovery, man has been using it for thousands of years. What most people don't realize is how much experimentation has been going on in this century. There is no shortage of energy... 20% wind by 2030 www1.eere.energy.gov Shifting to Renewable by 2030 news.stanford.edu www.scientificamerican.com China takes lead in Wind Development www.youtube.com Oil spill animation blog.al.com Wind History part1 www.youtube.com Wind History part 2 www.youtube.com National Academy - Bird and Environmental impacts books.nap.edu storage plants in the US www.industcards.com Wind lowers electricity prices in Europe www.bloomberg.com reuters _ "Loss of Wind" event www.reuters.com Why the Texas event raises no concern about wind www.energypulse.net ERCOT study of "loss of wind" event interchange.puc.state.tx.us Denmark: Best for Doing Business_2 years in a row www.forbes.com New York Times - a Sea of Untapped Energy www.nytimes.com Nordpool implements negative price www.nordpoolspot.com Denmark: Happiest people in the world www.visitdenmark.com
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