Kettle Chips Tests Renewable Energy in Salem

       Kettle Brand currently has enough solar panels on the roof of its Salem plant to make 250,000 bags of Kettle Chips, even though this is applicable when the sun is available. A new smart-grid project is being launched today, whereas they persevere in testing the renewable energy stored in a room full of lithium-ion batteries to help aid the solar power plant in Salem. These batteries to be used are stored in a newly established facility, known as Salem Smart Power Center, which can store up to 5 megawatts (in other words, has the capacity to power 3,500 homes).
      "This is the first of its kind in the nation and in the industry," said Kevin Whitener, smart-grid project manager for Portland General Electric. "We're used to calling upon energy sources when we need them, but sun and wind aren't great for that. With this project, we can take that sun and wind energy and store it so it can be available when our customers want to use it."

Kettle Foods potato chip factory in Salem has 616 solar panels on its roof, but the amount of power they produce fluctuates with the availability of the sun 

3 Amazing Innovations in Solar technology

1. The SolarKindle
One product that grabbed much attention at this year's Consumer Electronics Show was a cover case with a solar panel for Amazon's Kindle E-reader, showcased by Solar Focus. From just one hour of stable sunlight, the SolarKindle collects enough power to your device for 3 consecutive days. What's more amazing is that the SolarKindle is advertised as being able to be powered 3 consecutive months under "normal" sunlight conditions.

2. Artificial Leaf
A researcher from MIT has developed a technology in what he calls an "Artificial Leaf", which is an energy storage technology that successfully mimics the process of photosynthesis. The so called "Artificial Leaf" is engineered to use solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, providing a fuel cell making off-grid lifestyle possible. It has been confirmed that Sun Catalystix will work on many products using only renewable energy, fueled with electricity for household items and tools. The product is soon to be advertised for commercial use.

3. The Lotus Position

What they call "Lotus", is a structure designed to charge up electric vehicles as well as lighting up the streets with LED lighting. An italian architect Giancarlo Zemo along with an architectural design company known as "Luminexece" has created a multi-function design. A small "Lotus" generates 500 watts of electricity and larger models generates 2.8 kilowatts. The structural design most definitely is envisioned as a solar powered charging station for electric vehicles for the future.

Solar Plane completes its 2nd quarter of it's cross-country flight

A solar-powered plane with its side by side propellers and the pilot named Andre Borsche along with Bertrand Piccard, the ones in charge of the project, took on a challenge of travelling cross-country  powered only by the sun. The plane had gotten airborne off the ground of California early May headed to  Phoenix, Arizona taking part in completing its 1st quarter of its travel. After it's take off from Phoenix, Arizona last Wednesday, the plane landed safely at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas finishing off it's 2nd trip cross country. After preparations, the plane is expected to take off from Texas to Washington, then crossing the finish line at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Each trip is measured to take about 20 hours with several of days for inspection at each of the cities.

Harvesting Electricity Directly from plants?

Researchers from the Universities of Georgia turned their heads towards the inspiration of nature. They are now developing a new technology in ways to generate electricity from plants. Plants are the most assured source for clean energy. Most of them operate at nearly 100 percent efficiency, providing the plant equal amount of electrons from every photons captured from the sun. If converting even a portion of this to electricity would greatly over power every solar panels being made with only 12-17 percent efficiency.

During the process of photosynthesis, plants convert the sunlight captured into water atoms that are split to hydrogen and oxygen which then produces electrons. The plants use these electrons to create natural sugars for in most part uses them much like food to advance towards reproduction and growth.

"We have developed a way to interrupt photosynthesis so that we can capture the electrons before the plant uses them to make these sugars," said Ramasamy, who is also a member of UGA's Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center.

In the near future, this technology can well be used in remote sensors or even portable electronics that require fewer power consumption.

"We have discovered something very promising here, and it is certainly worth exploring further," he said. "The electrical output we see now is modest, but only about 30 years ago, hydrogen fuel cells were in their infancy, and now they can power cars, buses and even buildings."

Ramaraja Ramasamy, right, and Yogeswaran Umasankar work together to capture energy created during photosynthesis. Ramasamy is an assistant professor in the UGA College of Engineering and Umasankar is postdoctoral research associate working in his lab. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Georgia)

Solar Power Helps Pump Oil

      Built by GlassPoint Solar, a Fremont company that uses renewable power to squeeze oil from the ground, a new solar steam plant has been developed in the Middle East, specifically the Omani desert. GlassPoint Solar, raising approximately $32 million in venue capital, has a small pilot plant in Kern County that has been generating steam for two years. Known as the Oman plant, it is 27 times bigger than the relatively small pilot plant, producing a average of 50 tons of steam per day.
       "Oman doesn't have the massive oil reserves of some of its neighbors, and its production started declining more than 10 years ago," said John O'Donnell, GlassPoint's Vice President of Business Development. "Steam-flooding an old field can help boost production. Plus, Oman has heavy oil deposits that are hard to develop without steam." O'Donnell added, "most steam-flooding operations burn natural gas to generate the steam, but Oman doesn't have large gas reserves of its own. And the price of importing it is high, more than three times its current cost in the United States."
         GlassPoint's technology is a low-cost twist on the conventional display of solar power plants in the past. GlassPoint's mirrors are made from thin, lightweight and inexpensive aluminium sheets. A decent breeze could knock the mirrors out of alignment so GlassPoint has them inside of glass greenhouses. Most of the materials can be bought from shelves from many suppliers. "Solar will be, by far, the cheapest way of complying with the standard," O'Donnell said. "As that develops, obviously we'll be keenly interested. We're a California company."

GlassPoint Solar

Solar Chaser Toy Uses Sun to Play (for Cats!)

      Even little things in life can spark a joy in a cat's life, especially those laser toys or even a piece of string, but consider this new toy powered by the sun to let the cat have some fun. Known as the Solar Chaser, this device is essentially a cat toy on a wand that happens to stick on the window with suction cups. When it absorbs enough light, the toy, with an accompaniment of a string attached, will be able to  move, encouraging the cat to chase it.
      If you may want some time to relax, this Solar Chaser only costs $40 (solarchasers.com). Hey, it may come in handy sometimes when you want to sit back and relax in peace while the cat enjoys its new toy.

Elementary School Solar Power Field -- $1 Million?

      Located in Warren County, New Jersey, Pohatcong Township Elementary School's officials have been discussing and reviewing bids for a $1.05 million solar field that could possibly save the school more than $90,000 annually on electric costs. According to Superintendent Diane Mandry, the ground-mounted photovoltaic field will help provide nearly all of the school's electricity and result in approximately $96,000 in annual savings. "The Pohatcong School District is excited about being able to incorporate a solar field that will produce a significant portion of the district's electric needs for the next 25 years, thus saving a substantial amount in operating expenses," said Mandry.
      The district had went out to bid for the project last month and had received a total of eight proposals from contractors, with bids ranging as high as $1.72 million. The lowest bid, however, was of $1,048,434 from Flemington-based Advanced Solar Products, Inc., although the school board is still in the process of formally accepting the bid. "The project will be funded through the school's district's capital reserve fund," Mandry said.
      "The solar field would be constructed on 2 acres in a field just north of the school and would include 1,694 solar panels on ground-mounted arrays," said Mandry. According to Advanced Solar Products President Lyle Rawlings, those panels will generate approximately 625,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. "In addition to the electricity cost-savings, the district stands to gain additional money by selling solar energy certificates to electricity suppliers," Rawlings said. Such suppliers are required to secure a portion of their electricity from solar generators. However, they also have the option of buying certificates to use as credits towards those requirements.
        "The school will be able to sell them and get substantial revenue," Rawlings said. "In fact, the revenue it would generate probably would be on the same order of magnitude as the power itself." Mandry had also noted that based on the average value of those certificates  last year, this project would have generated about $57,000 in revenue.

Pohatcong Township Elementary School

Pierce Brosnan crazy about renewable energy

Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor, well known for his role as James bond in 007, is not joking around about saving the world. In the year 2008, he was honored into Environmental Hall of Fame as a "dedicated environmental activist." In 2010 Brosnan and his wife had donated more than $1 million onto environmental projects including saving marine life and pursuing clean air and water campaigns. He had also partnered with (NRDC), Natural Resources Defense Council, to inhibit the use of Navy Sonar systems being conducted for they are responsible for bringing already endangered seafaring creatures to extinction. For example, marine animals, such as whales and dolphins, use biosonar to locate their prey, but when intercepted with active sonar transmitter could confuse these animals with basic biological functions like feeding and mating. To top it off the Brosnan family lives in what may be the most eco-friendly houses in the US. The Malibu mansion’s features include:

• Amount of solar photovoltaics integrated is so great, that the Brosnans can actually sell the surplus electricity generated back to the grid.
• All water is recycled on site. Home also features a waste disposal system and a solar-powered revolving compost heap.
• $400,000 custom-built climate-controlled, energy-saving lighting system.
• Non-glare, insulated windows.
• Low-flow toilets, recycled wood flooring

Pierce Brosnan speaks out in support of whales at Global Green's June Award Ceremonies in Santa Monica. Photo courtesy Charley Gallay.

Verizon invests $100 million on solar energy project

     One of the largest telecommunication company, Verizon, has planned to invest $100 million of solar energy panels and fuel cells all across the rooftops of 19 different location nationwide. Two companies had joint hands alongside with Verizon, Clearedge power supplying the fuel cells and Sunpower for the the solar panels. The amount of energy produced from the project will be around 70 million kWh of electricity, enough to power about 6,000 homes in a year.
     Verizon had been part of the clean energy circle for quite some time, using small amounts of investments towards solar and fuel cell technology, but this project will carry on the company's largest commitment on going green, just as how Google had been making environmentally profound choices in all aspects of business.
     One of the locations that Verizon had chosen for the project to take place is the rooftops of a data center in New Jersey, as well as on the ground level near the data center. The investments from the project is expected to be returned in a period of 10 years.
     The deployment of solar panels and cell fuels had come to a growing trend for large telecommunications and network companies in the US. For example, Apple has planned on building it's own solar and fuel cell farms in North Carolina as well as Google recently working with Duke energy investing in a total of $1 billion in clean power.
   

Solar Flare of May 12 and May 13, 2013

      According to space weather experts, a hyperactive spot on surface of the sun has fired off two of the most powerful solar flares of the year in simply 24 hours, and is showing promising signs that it will unleash more solar storms over the course of the next several days. The active sunspot has actually went on overdrive on Mother's Day when it had erupted late Sunday night (May 12) with an X-class solar flare, which is the strongest type of solar storm possible, said NASA scientists in an update.

The sun had erupted with an X1.7-class solar flare on May 12, 2013. The flare had appeared as a bright point on the left of the sun in this full-disk view of NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory. It is a blend of two images of the sun recorded at different wavelengths of light

      This giant solar flare, which is categorized and registered as one of the largest eruptions the sun can unleash, had peaked Sunday night at 10:17pm EDT (02:17 GMT) and was captured on camera by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. It had sparked an hour-long high-frequency radio blackout, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Shortly after, on May 13, another eruption had followed midday on Monday by an even more powerful X2.8 solar flare, which is the third-strongest solar storm in reent years. A video of the huge solar flares seen together can be shown here.
       The Mother's Day solar flare had sent a super-hot wave of solar plasma, known as a coronal mass ejection, hurtling through space at about 2.6 million mph (4.3 million km/h). The second flare on Monday is known to send solar plasma streaking through space at a rate of 4.3 million mph (6.9 million km/h). However, the solar eruptions were not aimed at Earth so should not be posed as a threat to satellites and astronauts in orbit, claimed by NASA officials.

On May 13, 2013, an X2.8-class flare had erupted from the sun, the strongest flare of 2013 to date. This NASA image shows a close-up of the flare as seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory in the 131 angstrom wavelength

Australia's Ring of Fire!

On Friday, May 10, while Americans were looking forward to getting gifts for Mother's day, Australia was able to witness an extraordinary sight. Australians were lucky enough to experience a second solar eclipse in a period of 6 months. The phenomenon is known as a "ring of fire eclipse", leaving only a small circle of light visible. The previous eclipse was a total complete blackout of the sun which is known as a "total solar eclipse". Australia had shared pictures through google+ and other social networks that day, having #solareclipse go into the top 5 most talked about topics on Google +.

Special Sunday we could all embrace

This goes out to all the moms or to anyone special that had been like their mothers.

Hyundai's 50 Acre rooftop covered with PV systems will be South Korea's largest

The South Korea's Automaker will mount their country's largest solar-panel system after the production of about 40,000 solar voltaic panels on the rooftops of its Asan plant later this year. The panels will supply approximately 11.5 million kilowatts per hour, or the corresponding power consumed by 3,200 households. As you might have not known, Hyundai produces the Sonata Hybrid at the plant advancing towards greener energy. Hyundai also had announced that the solar systems will eliminate about 5,600 tons of CO2 emissions. Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) purchases the electricity and redistributes all around the factory.

(credits to Danny King from Autobloggreen)

BoostSolar: $99 Solar Power Battery Backup System

Eton BoostSolar is a solar charger with a 5,000 mAh battery

      The Etón BoostSolar is a solar-powered smartphone and tablet (and pretty much any other electronic devices) charging solution that helps deliver power anywhere that has ample amounts of sunshine. This product also includes a battery capable of delivering two charges to the typical smartphone. Consumers looking in the market for mobile power solutions and emergency preparation products may recognize the Etón name as the manufacturer of several Red Cross branded emergency and outdoor  products.
        The Etón BoostSolar is a solar charger and battery pack that consumers can charge up with the sun or by a USB port. The 5,000 mAh battery has the capacity to charge a smartphone twice and can push enough power to charge power-demanding tablets, which tend to be strict about any power requirements.

        This product is able to charge the included 5,000 mAh battery in approximately 16 hours of sunlight or in about 5 hours over the USB port. Each battery includes a LED indicator light to show the battery life left. It also ensures that the solar panels will survive any outdoor activities due to its IPX-4 rating for water, which defines itself to be able to survive splashes and a little rain. The corners feature openings so consumers are able to clip the solar charger to a backpack while walking, for on-the-go charging. 

Switch between batteries to keep the power flowing

Graphene Paint Helps Solar Power Homes and Electronics

      Scientists from University of Manchester have discovered the potential of Graphene, which is a one-atom thick layer of graphite, with the combination of transition metal dichalcogenides, a material that is able to react in light, holds the capacity to create a product that can generate electricity from sunlight. They can form thin sheets of the product which can be placed on buildings to harvest sunlight and convert it into electricity.

       The product can give solar panels a run for their money, but the scientists don't plan to stop there. They intend to discover a way to use the technology to produce a paint that can be used for homes as well as other objects. However, Professor Kostya Novoselov, one of the scientists whom had discovered Graphene, stated that the development of the paint will not be established until much later on in the future.
       The Graphene paint can be used to power a variety of devices, establishing an emphasis on mobile cellular devices. The scientists also hold the belief that Graphene paint would bring in a "new generation" of mobile phones that are solar-powered and are ultra-thin. Not only can Graphene paint be used to power objects, but scientists believe that they will be able to make it change colors on-demand as well.
       The scientists are optimistic for the development of the Graphene paint as the material is harder than a diamond, able to conduct electricity and holds many possible opportunities for it. Professor Novoselov stated that they would be able to use Graphene to develop different types of products with a variety of properties other than producing solar powered energy. He states, "We have been trying to go beyond Graphene by combining with another one-atom thick materials. What we have been doing is putting different layers of these materials one on top of the other and what you get is a new type of material with a unique set of properties. It is like a book -- one page contains some information but together the book is so much more. The implementations would go much further than simple solar-powered cells."

First U.S. Restaurant's Roof Made Entirely of Solar Panels

      Down in St. Louis, Missouri, there is a restaurant made entirely from solar panels. It's not composed of solar shingles or other roofing materials that help harvest power from the sun; rather, the roof is only made from solar panels. The marvelous restaurant that features this brilliant idea is known as "The New Moon Room," a new bar and dining space at the Moonrise Hotel on the University City Loop.
      This canopy roof over the space doesn't only collect energy from the sunlight, but it also helps bring the light in. Contractor Microgrid Solar had used "translucent, frameless solar panels," which were originally manufactured by Colorado-based company Lumos, that helps allow the light "to peek through," according to CEO Rick Hunter. "

        This rooftop also harvests a useful amount of energy, in which this 25.6 kilowatt array has the capacity to produce approximately 33,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year. According to Microgrid President and Principal Engineer Marc Lopata, this doesn't only help power the New Moon Room itself, but it also aids in powering the hotel's top two floors. The New Moon Room will be opening to the public next week so enjoy and revel in the creativity of solar power manufacturers and contractors.

A Solar Power Plant at an Airport

      A unit of a Japanese refiner, Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K. (5002), and Development Bank of Japan will be constructing a solar power station with New Kansai International Airport Co. The station at Kansai International Airport near Osaka in western Japan is claimed to have 11.6 megawatts in capacity and is expected to start running early next year, the companies stated in an announcement on April 23, 2013.
       This is the first project of a venture between Showa Shell's Solar Frontier K.K. and DBJ, set up in January to invest in solar projects in Japan, according to the statement. "Solar Frontier will be supplying solar panels and operation and maintenance services while DBJ will be supporting financial structuring for the project," the companies had said. Airport land and buildings for the project will be provided by New Kansai.

Visual mock-up of KIX MegaSolar

For more details, visit here.

South Korean Firm Installs Solar Power Plant in Pakistan

      Pakistan's largest province, Baluchistan, by area, is rich in mineral resources, but while it is highly strategically located near Iran and the rest of Pakistan, it remains quite underdeveloped. Over the past few years, foreign companies have forged partnerships with the provincial government for extraction of valuable minerals from the area. Presently now a South Korean company plans to develop a solar power plant, which will help bring prosperity and growth to the region.
       CK Solar Korea has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Baluchistan government to set up a 300 megawatt solar power project near the province's largest city, Quetta. The project is expected to require a total investment of $900 million and is to be completed by 2016. This project is to aid and bring relief to the province, which like the rest of the country, is suffering from extreme power shortages.
       Provincial Secretary of Energy, Fuad Hashim Rabbani, claims that "this project will help overcome the shortfall of electricity in Baluchistan. The project will provide green energy particularly in areas where there is no conventional electricity option." He also adds, "Currently, the local population of targeted areas are using kerosene lanterns, which is hazardous to the health and non-economical due to the intermittent price hike." He also notes that electricity to medical facilities such as hospitals, Basic Health Units and installation of solar street lights were amongst the major benefits of the project.
       In addition, the project will help the province increase in self-reliance in terms of the energy industry. While the province is the gateway to Pakistan's much needed energy supplies from the neighboring country Iran, it lags behind most parts of the country in economic development. Despite being very rich in natural resources and being the largest province in the country, Baluchistan's contribution to Pakistan's gross domestic product has been less than 5% between years 1973 and 2000.