Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- "Reinventing the Toilet"

Bill, Melinda and William H. Gates Sr.

            The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a grant-making organization that promotes research and problem solving initiatives locally and globally. Recently, the foundation has announced a focus on their next project, which is to re-engineer the toilet with the help of Chinese researchers.

            The foundation had announced this on Thursday, which was actually a Seattle-originated project known as Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, to China, which seeks to help make toilets more environmental friendly, economical and effective. The China branch of the project is valued at $5 million, allocating anywhere near $100,000 to $500,000 to grant awardees who are selected to explore what the China Daily claims to be as the "poop power."  

            While China is particularly interested in this challenge, researchers at Pasadena-based California Institute of Technology have received a $100,000 first prize for their unique solar-powered toilet design, which helps transform waste product into hydrogen gas and electricity. 

             A report shown by Xinhua News Agency have relatively shown some light on the subject in how much of an impact this "toilet reinvention" would help revolutionize nations and their livelihood. According to the report, 40% of the world's population--roughly 2.5 billion--do not have proper sanitization or sewage facilities and perform open defecation.

Solar "Power" Couple Wins Award

        Dr. Jianhua Zhao and Aihua Wang were joint recipients for an Advance Global Australian Award for contributions to the field of clean technology. The award ceremony, organized in partnership with the Australian Government and the Australian Financial Review, was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney on March 21, 2013.
        The pair, who are the first Chinese-Australians ever to receive this award, also won a special Australia in the Asian Century Award for their contribution in the Asia region. Australia's Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, also made a video speech to them to endorsing the award. "Jianhua and Aihua were excellent students and staff members here at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and prolific researchers," says Scientia Professor Martin Green, Director of the AFC Photovoltaics Center of Excellence, and who nominated Dr. Zhao and Dr. Wang for the award. "They took us to the position where we can now make the most efficient cells in the world and nobody yet has been able to catch up. They are both well-respected internationally and have played an influential role in establishing China as a major producer of solar power and PV technology."
        In 1999, the pair developed the high efficiency crystallized Silicon PERL cell and set a new record, demonstrating 25% energy conversion efficiency, which remains the highest level achieved in the world so far.
       In 2004, Zhao co-founded the Chinese solar cell and manufacturing company China Sunergy, where he is now Chief Technology Officer and Director. Wang, who also completed her Ph.D. degree and worked at UNSW for more than a decade, is the company's Vice-President of research and development.
       The duo are now leading China Sunergy's participation in an 863 program, a National High Technology Research and Development Program in China that supports and encourages the development and commercialization of solar cells with a high efficiency rate (over 20%) and a low production cost.

Source : UNSW

Shopping for Solar Panels are easy!

      Are you interested in obtaining a solar panel onto your rooftop to save money on those utility bills that just never seems like it's going to end? Well, maybe this will help your matters: there is a new free online solar panel shopping service that can help you research and shop for solar power systems from solar power companies that will offer the best incentives for you.
      It is known as the Online Solar PV Marketplace, which Distributed Energy Research & Solutions, Inc. (EnergySage) had announced and released recently. It has been developed for the convenience of interested consumers, forming an open-market platform between potential customers and solar panel installers and for President Obama's Sunspot Initiative. The term "sunspot" has been formed as the President's call for a "Sputnik movement" to stimulate American innovation as the foundation for economic revival. It originally was developed in the year 2011 to make solar power as cheap and accessible as fossil fuels. Simply put, it tries to obtain information for potential solar consumers, which as said, Online Solar PV Marketplace offers.
     Because of this development which no longer barricades the opportunities between solar consumers and solar providers, EnergySage has been awarded $500,000 from the Department of Energy as a Sunshot startup investment. "EnergySage is thrilled to receive this Sunshot award," said Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage. He also claims "by making it easier for consumers to navigate the solar PV system purchase process, we are lowering customer acquisition costs, lowering prices, helping installers improve profitability and ultimately, expanding the market exponentially."
     As you may be curious in the shopping experience, it opens as you take an online survey to outline relevant details about your property. You are, then, able to list your property on the marketplace and EnergySage's preselected network of solar companies will start bidding on your job. Instead of having to compare different types of variables from different companies, you will receive all bids in clear, standard format for easy access to be able to decipher. EnergySage only participates in this relationship by obtaining a small commission fee from the solar companies, which you do not have to worry about because the marketplace is, once again, free for use to businesses, nonprofit organizations, or even residential buildings.
     Check the marketplace out here to start looking!