Solar

ESA spacecraft set for flyby of Steins asteroid

Posted by iansinkovits from Yahoo News!

AP - Scientists at the European Space Agency are preparing for the first fly-by of an asteroid by their deep-space explorer, Rosetta, on a mission to solve the mystery of the birth of the solar system.

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Energy Policy TV - Teleconference Preview of Clean Energy Summit

Posted by mediaman

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV); T. Boone Pickens, Energy Executive, Author of Pickens Plan; Daniel Weiss, Senior Fellow and Director of Climate Strategy, Center for American Progress

Reid, Pickens, and Weiss speak with reporters to preview the bipartisan National Clean Energy Summit to be held at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Organizers want the Summit to produce energy recommendations to Congress as well as the 2008 presidential candidates.

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Using Sun's Energy to Split Water Means Solar Power All Night

Posted by kimberlydelacruzodom from Slashdot

phorm writes "Reuters is carrying an article about a recent MIT development which may pave the way for solar-energy to be collected for use in low-input periods. According to Reuters, the discovery of the a new catalyst for separating hydrogen+oxygen from water requires only 10% of the electricity of current methods. This would allow storage-cells to function as a form of battery for other forms of energy-collection, such as solar panels. The new method is also much safer (and likely environmentally friendly) than current methods, which require the use of a dangerously caustic environment, and specialized storage containers." sanjosanjo points out "coverage of the process at EE Times, which features the MIT group's press release.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Solar future brightens as oil soars

Posted by Jeff from Guardian UK

Science & environment: World's biggest producer of panels doubles output as nearly half a million houses now fitted with them

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Solar powered refrigerator

Posted by Jeff from Environmental News Network

Getting away from it all doesn’t have to mean leaving your frosty cold-ones behind. These SunDanzer energy efficient DC refrigerators can keep your vitals cold while maintaining the off-the-grid status of your mountaintop yoga studio.

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Arizona's Solar Aspirations in Peril

Posted by Jeff from Feeds.feedburner

Faye Bowers writes for The Christian Science Monitor: "The sun shines 325 days a year in Arizona, on average, and some here see that as the state's biggest energy asset. But fledgling efforts to turn Arizona into the solar capital of the world depend on making the initial investment in new energy plants affordable - something that could become much more difficult, perhaps even impossible, if a federal tax credit for solar projects expires at the end of the year as scheduled."

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DOE Shines $14M on Solar Energy Research

Posted by Jeff from Slashdot

$14M seems like a sad joke. Billions daily to Iraq. Millions to energy independent technology investments: Eleven university solar research projects aimed at developing advanced solar photovoltaic (PV) technology manufacturing processes and products got a $14 million boost today from the Dept. of Energy. Photovoltaic-based solar cells convert sunlight directly into electricity, and are made of semiconductor materials similar to those used in computer chips. When sunlight is absorbed by these materials, the solar energy knocks electrons loose from their atoms, allowing the electrons to flow through the material to produce electricity.

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