The Alternative Energy blog – green renewable alternative energy


US billions to support alternative energy

Category: solar power,wind energy – Tags: , , – glenn333
As the White House considers curtailing subsidies to traditional domestic energy suppliers, its support of alternative energy has soared. A new report from the Department of Energy shows that subsidies to the solar and wind industries skyrocketed 626 and 946 percent, respectively, between 2007 and 2010. Total subsidies to these industries rose from $5.1 billion to $14.67 billion in that period, reports CNSNews.com. In April, President Barack Obama reiterated his call for an end to subsidies Read more [...]

PETE device could transform solar panel technology

A device out of Stanford University is promising to revolutionise solar panel technology by being able to harness the power of both light and heat. Scientists have always used both light and heat from the sun to produce energy, however, they hadn't yet discovered a way to efficiently utilize both simultaneously - until now! Most accountable renewable energy invokes the following: *Solar Radiation *Wind Power *Wave Power *Hydroelectricity *Biomass And only a fraction of the radiation gathered Read more [...]

UK Feed In Tariffs make solar panels and wind turbines a good investment

Installing solar panels or a wind turbine can be a very good investment in the UK thanks to the feed in tariffs which pay householders a tax-free, index linked income for the energy they produce, providing over a 10% annual return. The tariffs pay up to 41.3p for every 1kWh of electricity produced using solar panels and an extra 3p per unit on top for any surplus electricity sold back to the grid. The average cost of home solar panel installation is £14,000. From this outlay, Ownenergy, Read more [...]

Oil Baron JR Ewing advertises solar panels

JR Ewing, the worlds most ruthless oil baron, is now promoting solar power. He has turned his back on black gold and starring in an advert for solar panels. Almost 20 years after hanging up his trademark 10-gallon hat in the TV drama Dallas, actor Larry Hagman is reprising his most famous role in an advertisement for SolarWorld, a German-based manufacturer of solar panels. In the ad, JR Ewing says the oil industry has become  "too dirty", prompting a search for another money making opportunity. "In Read more [...]

Panasonic launches domestic solar power products

Panasonic is making a big move into the domestic solar panel business. Next month The Panasonic Group will launch in Japan its HIT(R) 215 Series* household solar power generation systems. Panasonic will be able to provide overall energy-saving systems for homes that will include rechargeable batteries, heating and air conditioning, security systems and Net-linking gadgets besides solar panels, which will all be hooked up to each other, he said. Homes will be able to save on utility costs Read more [...]

Green energy to power West USA

Category: solar power,wind energy,wind farms – glenn333
In less than seven years, solar and wind power will be able to meet over a third of the electricity demand of a large Western area of the USA According to a report by NREL, in 2017 solar and wind energy could meet in 2017, 35% of electricity demand in five states Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada Moreover this can be achieved without any further investment in new infrastructure. Specifically, wind turbines could satisfy 30% and solar power 5% of the demand, according Read more [...]

Paper solar cells breakthrough

Category: solar power – glenn333
Scientists have successfully coated paper with a solar cell. The technology breakthrough was made by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The printed solar cells, which were showed at a press conference  earlier this month are still in the research phase and are years from being commercialized. However, the technique, in which paper is coated with organic semiconductor material using a process similar to an inkjet printer, is a promising way to lower the weight of solar Read more [...]

UK home owners make money from solar panels

UK: From today British home owners can  earn money for the electricity solar PV produces under the feed-in tariff (also known as ‘clean energy cash-back’). The feed-in tariffs have been a long time coming but they have already increased demand and you can earn up to 8% return on investment. The tax free, index linked payments work on two levels: Generation tariff – depending on the size of panels, you are paid per kilowatt hour (kWh) of metered energy that panels generate, regardless Read more [...]

World’s largest solar panel boat launches

Category: solar panels,solar power – Tags: , , – glenn333
The largest solar-powered boat in the world is set to launch. The catamaran PlanetSolar enjoys stats are: weight: 60-ton, a 470-square-meter are covered by 38,000 solar cells to generate 103.4 kW of energy. 18 million euro ($24.4 million) was spent to adorn this beauty in environmentally friendly way. PlanetSolar runs on 38,000 black photovoltaic cells tprovided by SunPower Corporation.  The solar panels have a pretty decent conversion rate of 22%. PlanetSolar will launch this month Read more [...]

Solar panels do not need sun

Householders convinced that the UK does not have enough sunshine to effectively use solar panels are 'wrong', according to a domestic solar panel advisor. The UK energy advisor Heat my Home has explained that the panels operate on solar radiation not sun rays and the UK gets enough of this to run solar. Stuart Lovatt of Heat my Home said: "One unique selling point with solar is the longevity. A good quality system will easily last 30 years, so the long-term benefits of solar are obvious. "How Read more [...]