British company breaks record for solar power efficiency
Oxford PV sets new world record for the amount of the sun’s energy that can be converted into electricity by a single solar cell
21 December 2020 • 12:24pm
An Oxford-based lab has created a photovoltaic solar cell that it says has surpassed the efficiency that silicon can ever reach.
Oxford PV, a spin-off from the University, says it has set a new world record for the amount of the sun’s energy that can be converted into electricity by a single solar cell.
The cell can convert 29.52 per cent of solar energy into electricity. That compares to the average conversion rate of just 15-20 percent of most everyday solar panels.
The batteries that could make fossil fuels obsolete
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The twin smokestacks of the Moss Landing Power Plant tower over Monterey Bay. Visible for miles along this picturesque stretch of the north Californian coast, the 500-foot-tall (150m) pillars crown what was once California s largest electric power station – a behemoth natural gas-fired generator. Today, as California steadily moves to decarbonise its economy, those stacks are idle and the plant is largely mothballed. Instead, the site is about to begin a new life as the world s largest battery, storing excess energy when solar panels and wind farms are producing electricity and feeding it back into the grid when they re not.
Google Looks to Batteries as Replacement for Diesel Generators
The blinking lights of racks of Google servers glow in a darkened data hall in St. Ghislain, Belgium. (Image: Google)
Google will use large batteries to replace the diesel generators at one of its data centers in Belgium, describing the project as a first step towards using cleaner technologies to provide backup power for its millions of servers around the world.
“Our project in Belgium is a first step that we hope will lay the groundwork for a big vision: a world in which backup systems at data centers go from climate change problems to critical components in carbon-free energy systems,” said Joe Kava, Vice President for Data Centers at Google. “We’re aiming to demonstrate that a better, cleaner solution has advanced far enough to keep the internet up and running.”
U.S. Looks to Iceland as it Seeks to Boost Geothermal Energy Growth
U.S. Looks to Iceland as it Seeks to Boost Geothermal Energy Growth
Comments Off on U.S. Looks to Iceland as it Seeks to Boost Geothermal Energy Growth
Just beneath the surface of the Earth lies a tremendous untapped source of energy that could help the United States meet renewable energy targets and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Geothermal energy derived from the planet’s internal heat has to date been harnessed mainly in the west of the U.S. where molten rock is easy to access.
U.S. Looks to Iceland as it Seeks to Boost Geothermal Energy Growth
U.S. Looks to Iceland as it Seeks to Boost Geothermal Energy Growth
Comments Off on U.S. Looks to Iceland as it Seeks to Boost Geothermal Energy Growth
Just beneath the surface of the Earth lies a tremendous untapped source of energy that could help the United States meet renewable energy targets and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Geothermal energy derived from the planet’s internal heat has to date been harnessed mainly in the west of the U.S. where molten rock is easy to access.