Dutch engineer students get ready to compete in the 2013 World Solar Challenge

Young engineer students from all over the world are busy getting ready for lift off for the 2013 World Solar Challenge that is to be held in Australia from Oct 6-13. The conditions for the competition influence teams to invent and build the most efficient and unique looking vehicles that stand out. As many of you know, the vehicles will require many solar panels for them to be operational on the road. Therefore, being able to compete with other teams will require some creativity involved while in the process of having it mechanically possible.

“The project started with the first ideas in March last year, we wondered why there was no car yet that is practical, comfortable and drives purely on solar energy,” Lex Hoefsloot, team manager Solar Team Eindhoven, told the News.

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 +.

Solar Day Pilipinas -- A Yearly Event From Now On

      During this extreme heatwave coming this summer in the Philippines, there lies potential for solar power to grow as our reliance on fossil fuels can be reduced or dimmed. The Philippine Solar Power Alliance (PSPA) and the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF) has, in fact, celebrated their very first Solar Day Pilipinas 2013 on April 26. PSPA President Dante Briones had described solar power as being a cutting-edge technology and a tool for improving national competitiveness, especially in the Philippines. "The country is actually one of the leading countries in Asia when it comes to solar energy," Briones said.
      Solar power is also estimated to produce 20-30% less emissions of harmful gases than coal power. "Why do we have to thoroughly dig the soil just to look for coal when all we need is to raise our heads to see the sun?" said Claire Marie Yvonne Lee, PSPA Vice President. According to Lee, she observed that many businesses and institutions have already begun to start using solar panels. Some of these, she points out, are Starbucks, the Asian Development Bank, the Makati Medical Center and the Department of Trade and Industry.
       Solar power, however, proves to be quite costly. As a matter of fact, the cost of acquiring one solar panel may exceed the initial savings generated from not connecting to the country's power grid. Though this may be so, PSPA and WWF believe that as costs decrease, solar panels will be economically efficient over time. In addition, solar technology usually is covered by a 25-year warranty. "A solar system is a good investment," said Lee. "Unlike a car or a cellphone, it's not a dead investment," she added.
       At Solar Day Pilipinas 2013, there were products of various solar power developers showcased for the public to view. The products consisted of a range of solar phone chargers to large-scale solar systems for residential areas and commercial establishments. Ten solar power developers present were included as follows: Renewables Made in Germany, MERALCO, Tritec, Transnational Uyeno Solar Corporation, GNB Exite, Maschinen and Technik Inc., Cagayan Electric Power, Sasonbisolar Inc., One Renewable Energy Enterprise Inc., Solutions Using Renewable Energy Inc., CEnAG, SunPower Inc., and Propmech. "Solar Day Pilipinas will be a yearly event from now on," said PSPA Founder and Chair Teresa Cruz-Capellan.

UPS, the delivery giant, gets involved with solar!

      

      Within these past few year, many companies have been getting involved with solar-powered technology as it is impacting the world on a global level. They have mostly been focusing on producing and installing solar panels to obtain electricity in a healthy cost-efficient way. One major corporation, known as the UPS, realized its benefits in this expanding time and has made it official by announcing its latest project, in installing solar energy installations in its locations in Parsippany and Secaucus, New Jersey.
      The project that was constructed in Parsippany, New Jersey, was a 1.2 megawatt installation that was completed last Fall in the year of 2012. The project in Secaucus is said to also produce a 1.2 megawatt installation that will be completed at the end of Spring this year. In a public statement, Steve Leffin, whom is the director of global sustainability at UPS, claimed that he and his team will be overseeing every aspect of the design and installations, which he believes to be extremely beneficial.
      "Federal and state government incentives and state government incentives encouraged our investments in solar energy sources," said Steve Leffin. "We develop, engineer, own and operate our solar capacity, which is a departure from contracted power-purchase agreements in which a company pays a solar power provider for a set price of electricity for 20 years. Under this arrangement, we not only benefit at UPS, but can also help community power grids by providing a hedge against possible energy price hikes during peak usage times."

Source : UPS pressroom

Solar storm can throw us back 100 years

     Michio Kaku, whom is an American theorist physicist, author and host of his show on the Syfy Channel, is featured in an interview with Fox News. He claims that there is to be a predicted solar storm hitting earth in this year. He claims that every 11 years, North and South Pole flip to release a burst of radiation and every 100 years or so, a monster tsunami from the sun emerges, which can cause trillions of dollars in property damage.
     In 1859, there was a gigantic solar storm that knocked out telegraph wires in the United States and Europe, causing widespread fires. If this storm was to happen, it would knock out satellites, power stations, and cause food riots because refrigerators would not function because there would be no power source.

Let's take a look at what Professor Michio Kaku says about this storm.

Even NASA has given a warning of the coming solar storm in 2013. Encaptured footage of a giant sun eruption in 2012 but predicts a larger coming storm this year.

More and more solar gadgets to look into in 2013

Are you tired of constantly trying to buy batteries for your keyboard because it just keeps on dying after a period of time? Well, problem solved with the new anticipated Logitech Wireless Solar-Powered Keyboard!

Oh, and did I mention there's one in black too?

This keyboard is compatible with mobile devices such as tablets and phones accessed through the bluetooth function. Don't worry about buying batteries for this one because it's charged through the solar cells on top as shown. Full charged capacity can obtain functionality up to three hours.


Next off, do you have a kindle? If you do, this is maybe something you ought to consider getting for your Kindle.

Solar Focus had created a leather case over for the screen and they also inserted a flap on the top right hand of the case to charge the case from the sun. Not only this but there is a LED reading light built in to read outdoors and indoors.


Battery-powered flashlights can get lost in luggage easily and anything battery powered can only last for a period of time. Battery-powered lanterns can eat up all those D-size batteries in only a few days but, here's an invention that is worth keeping.

Featuring the Woods Solar Powered Tent, it is a tent with solar-powered LED lighting inside. This tent has many LED lights strung, all of them which are connected to a panel on its outside that can charge from the sun in 6 hours. At night, you can access lighting for 2-4 hours.

So, when you decide to go camping with a few of your friends or family members, don't hesitate to buy and pack this invention for it'll save the hassle!

When you go somewhere for a vacation and there is just that one thing that always slips your mind in forgetting to pack? Well, mobile chargers are usually forgetful when traveling somewhere but, that's where the Goal Zero Sherpa 120 Kit comes in!

This kit runs at a high-efficiency rate, in which it has enough power to charge an iPhone for 133 hours, an iPod for 400 hours or even a laptop for 5 hours. It actually is not heavy as expected (6.5 lbs) when it carries a panel, cables and a power pack. When the pack reaches its full charging capacity, it can hold 120Wh, which is enough to charge the average laptop twice or more.

For people who enjoy decorative lights or even gardening, consider this: Mohzy Petal Solar Light.

This solar light can be a cute and fun way of decorating your garden for it can absorb sunlight through the small solar panel featured on the left and illuminate the garden outdoors at night. 

5 Green Tech Trends in 2013

1. Solar Power Technology
The solar industry is facing a decline in price by 2016 when federal investment tax credit for solar installations from 30% to 10%. Though 4 years may seem a lengthy time, it is the same amount of time for a large solar power plant to be permitted, financed and constructed. Thus, as this new year kicks off, be sure to be on a lookout for there will be new discoveries to finance solar power installations, whether it will be residential installed solar panels or solar power plants in remote areas. An example of this could possibly be solar securitization, whereas the leases for residential solar power installations are bundled and sold to investors. Another example is known as crowdsourcing, where investors help finance projects and they would be shareholders of the company by buying a piece of the pie.

2. Watch Out For Solar Energy in California
BrightSource Energy's 370-megawatt Ivanpah "power tower" plant is going online in 2013 and it's the first big solar thermal facility in the U.S. that has been planned to be built more than 20 years. Solar thermal power plant uses mirrors to focus on the sun while it is on top of a liquid-filled boiler to generate more electricity. Though this may be exciting to experiment with, many developers tend to stick with the traditional, inexpensive way of producing solar panels; however, if this power plant is to produce interesting results, it may change these perspectives of solar panels.

BrightSource Energy's 370-megawatt Ivanpah "power tower" plant and its mirrors

3. Tesla Motors is getting ahead in the competition
With the production of the Model S, which is a high-performance electric sports sedan, Tesla Motors is getting ahead of the game in terms of the electric car market because of Silicon Valley company's network of Superchargers. For anyone who have no prior knowledge of this Supercharger network, it is a network of solar-powered chargers that will refill your Tesla Motors Model S free of charge. Not only that but the Model S charges 4-5x the rate of a high-capacity home charger, meaning you can get as far as 150 miles in half an hour. Great car, Tesla; props to you.

Tesla Motors Model S

This is Silicon Valley company's Supercharger; CEO Elon Musk has revealed to the audience the Supercharger, which has already been set up in six locations in California.

4. Biofuels are Advancing
Not only is solar technology advancing but there is a struggling revival of biofuels in place. The Sapphire Energy's algae biofuel demonstration plant in New Mexico desert is producing green crude, which is renewable crude oil made from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and algae to make green oils that can be converted into fuel. SG Biofuels of San Diego are also breeding new branches of jatropha, which is an inedible plant in South America and Africa, to help boost oil yields. 

Sapphire Energy is producing a 100-acre algae field in Southern New Mexico. 

5. China is, of course, winning in this battle of Solar Energy
While many U.S. startups on solar energy are declining, Chinese solar powered manufacturers are supported intensely by their government in that they receive enormous subsidies. In a recent news article, it is discovered that the Chinese is expanding more faster than expected - a Chinese firm had bought an American solar startup. MiaSolé has been expected to stand firm in this competition but in Beijing, it has been announced that Hanergy Holding Group of China, specialized in building hydroelectric dams, completed the purchase of the company and its technology for a fraction of what the investors had put in. 

John Carrington, chief of MiaSolé, is seen with Zhou Jiesan, an executive of Hanergy Holding Group, at the conference in Beijing

(Credit : Forbes Magazine)

Happy Lunar New Years!

I wish you guys a New Years blessing for 2013!