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solar energy

12/06/2018 / By Edsel Cook

“Solar flow battery” soaks up sunlight and stores it as energy for on-demand use

A joint effort between American and Saudi Arabian researchers produced a gadget that combines the functions of a battery and a solar cell. They reported that their “solar flow battery” can absorb sunlight, convert it into chemical energy, and hold the energy until there is need for it. The Science Daily article explained that the […]

11/29/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Scientists: Solar-powered water splitting is a promising means of generating clean energy

Water is already a vital component of human life, but scientists have found yet another use for it — as a source of clean fuel. It comprises two oxygen atoms and a hydrogen atom — the latter, in particular, is an increasingly popular energy source because it is easily stored and holds a lot of energy. […]

08/29/2018 / By Edsel Cook

New technology enables scientists to generate energy from live bacteria

Researchers have come up with a new and natural way to harvest energy from the sun. Instead of creating a more efficient solar panel or photovoltaic material, they devised a means of getting electricity from photosynthetic cyanobacteria, an article in News Wise reported. This family of microorganisms is often found in lakes, seas, and other areas that […]

07/15/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Sandia National Laboratories receives $10m from DOE to design a cheaper and more efficient solar energy system

The U.S. Department of Natural Energy (DOE) has bestowed a $10.5 million grant on a New Mexico-based research and development laboratory. In return, the researchers will come up with a cheaper and better version of an existing utility-scale solar power system, an article in News Wise states. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) will be refining “concentrated […]

07/12/2018 / By David Williams

Polymer solar cells can’t compete with silicon but they will serve a different function

As the solar industry keeps growing bigger, the search for more efficient and more cost-effective solar panel construction materials goes on as well. There are a number of known alternatives available on the market, but none of them can quite come close to the standard material of choice – silicon. Still, there is a case […]

06/21/2018 / By Edsel Cook

New nanoscale coating for solar cells able to absorb 20 percent more sunlight

You may have heard of whispering galleries like the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building, where you can hear what’s being said on the other side of the half-dome. Maryland researchers created a nanoscale coating that traps light in a similar way, an article in Science Daily states. When applied on a solar cell, the […]

04/21/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Scientists have developed new semiconductors that are more environmentally friendly

Concerned with the prevalence of useful but toxic perovskites in photovoltaic cells, a group of Iowa-based researchers devised alternative materials. They reported creating cheaper and eco-friendly semiconductors with similar performance, according to a ScienceDaily article. Perovskites are light-gathering materials used as semiconductors in solar panels. While highly efficient – called “wonder materials” by the solar […]

04/07/2018 / By David Williams

Researchers discover a method to generate power from falling raindrops

Solar panels have proven to be highly effective sources of electricity, and they are shaping up to be the absolute best source of renewable energy now and in the future. A team of researchers wants to improve it even further, and now they’ve announced their latest innovation: Solar panels that can generate power from falling […]

03/22/2018 / By Lance D Johnson

Scientists have improved the efficiency of converting solar energy into hydrogen with a metal-free photocatalyst

Scientists from Tianjin University in China have discovered a more efficient way to convert solar energy into hydrogen, for more novel energy production in the absence of sunlight. The breakthrough discovery uses a metal-free photo-catalyst to convert solar energy into hydrogen. The discovery proves to be eleven times more efficient than previous energy generators that used […]

02/24/2018 / By David Williams

Engineers develop breakthrough method of combining solar panels and light-emitting devices

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. However, there are times when it simply makes sense to invent something, regardless of whether it’s really necessary at the moment or not. This might just be the case with the contraption made possible by a group of engineers that took perovskites and layered them on […]

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