Solar Power brings 16Mbps Broadband to Towns without Electricity

     White space networks have yet to revolutionize Internet access but they still have hope in creating a drastic impact in countries that have lack the consistency of Internet access. A new project of the power of white space networks is arising in Kenya as a solar-powered network brings Internet to people who aren't connected to an electrical power grid.
      The previous month, Microsoft, along with Kenyan government officials, deployed the network in various areas in Kenya. It is currently serving a health clinic in Burguret, a primary and secondary school in Male, a secondary school in Gakawa, and a library in Laikipia. The network is planned to be expanded to 20 other locations in the next coming months.
       Director of technology policy at Microsoft, Paul Garnett recalls that "down in the valley, nobody has electricity." However, some areas did have mobile Internet access, but "it's so expensive that nobody ever uses it," says Garnett. Electricity is not completely unavailable but it is said that it is scarce. For example, a school has electricity going into the principal's office but it is unavailable anywhere else.
       This is where solar power comes in; specifically, 4.5 kilowatt hours of energy per day are derived from 7 square-meter panels. "During the day the solar panel is providing enough to run the network and provide some charging capability, and then in evenings there is this battery backup that can continue to provide broadband access, plus you have excess capacity for overnight charging," Garnett said. "Think of the school scenario where you've got a computer lab that the kids can use during of the day, and drain down the batteries in the tablets during the day. And then in the evening you have a charging station where all the tablets are plugged in and can recharge overnight."

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)