U.S. Air Force will Install New Solar Power Storage System

          In yet another demonstration of the U.S. military's transition to renewable energy, the Air Force Research Laboratory is eyeballing a computer center in Hawaii to demonstrate an advanced system for collecting, storing and using solar power. The aim is to show that solar power can contribute to a seamless energy management system for a sensitive, high-demand facility. If the pilot project is successful, it could be implemented at other Department of Defense facilities worldwide and make its way into the civilian sector as well.

Proposed AESM system

           Of all the 50 states, however, Hawaii is the most vulnerable when it comes to fossil fuel dependency and it is also the site of key Department of Defense facilities, notably Pearl Harbor, so the state's transition to locally harvested fuels is a vital national defense issue as well as a boost for consumers and businesses beset by high fossil fuel costs. In that context, it's little wonder that Hawaii was chosen as the shakedown site for the new Advanced Energy Storage and Management (AESM) system.
           AESM also dovetails with another solar project the computer center is pursuing, the Maui Solar Initiative. This will consist of a proposed 1.5-megawatt, 13-acre solar farm located nearby. Aside from reducing fossil fuel dependency in Hawaii, the project is expected to save big bucks for the Air Force, which according to hpcwire.com, currently foots the center's annual electricity bill of more than $3 million.

"Artificial Leaf" is able to use Dirty Water to Convert it to Clean Energy!

     Imagine one day you walk into a dollar store, buy a thin, flat device in the size of a playing card, dunk it in a quart of dirty bath water, and use it to generate 100 watts of electricity 24 hours a day, you can thank the Air Force. The Air Force Office of Scientific Research, along with other federal agencies,  have been constantly funding their latest project: the development of an "artificial leaf," a low-cost solar-powered device which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen for powering fuel cells.

     This "artificial leaf" concept actually occurred a few years ago when lead researcher Daniel Nocera had claimed it to being "the Holy Grails of science." The device, which is in a compact size (similar to the size of a playing card), is able to create energy from sunlight and water. This device is simply designed as a slim wafer of silicon coated with catalysts that break water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen cases, which then can be stored in tanks and used as fuel in hydrogen fuel cells.
     The initial research associated with the "artificial leaf" has had commercial potential but required purified water. Otherwise, naturally occurring bacteria creates a film on the wafer, which interferes with its efficiency and eventually prevents it from working together. However, in a convention of the American Chemical Society, Nocera has revealed a new iteration of the device that is capable of working perfectly fine chugging down contaminated water. The trick, he noted, was to "tweak" the catalyst so that it creates a rough surface, preventing biofilm from forming. While that involves making part of the catalyst fall apart, it also has the capability to heal and reassemble itself.
     However, don't be led astray: the artificial leaf is not to be developed to be an efficient device. Its aim, behind Nocera's research, was to develop a simple, durable device that could help provide affordable, renewable energy to the billions of people who currently do not have access to conventional energy and clean water. Aside from general quality of life improvement, low-cost devices such as the artificial leaf could help provide sustainable alternatives to the widespread use of primitive cookstoves, which cumulatively have a significant impact on the global climate with an increasing force of "black carbon" emissions and deforestation.