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Bright future for solar power from space
Solar power gathered in space could be set to provide the renewable energy of the future thanks to innovative research.
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Americans support national clean-energy standard
The average US citizen is willing to pay 13 percent more for electricity in support of a national clean-energy standard, according to new research.
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Optimal planning of solar power plants
The photovoltaics industry is booming, and the market for solar farms is growing quickly all over the world. Yet, the task of planning PV power plants to make them as effi cient as possible is far from trivial. Researchers have now developed software that simplifies conceptual design.
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Secrets of the first practical artificial leaf
A detailed description of development of the first practical artificial leaf -- a milestone in the drive for sustainable energy that mimics the process, photosynthesis, that green plants use to convert water and sunlight into energy -- has just been published. The article notes that unlike earlier devices, which used costly ingredients, the new device is made from inexpensive materials and employs low-cost engineering and manufacturing processes.
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Use of public and private dollars for scaling up clean energy needs a reality check, say scholars
In a post-Solyndra, budget-constrained world, the transition to a decarbonized energy system faces great hurdles. Overcoming these hurdles will require smarter and more focused policies. Two writers outline their visions in a pair of high-profile analyses.
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Night-warming effect found over large wind farms in Texas
Large wind farms in certain areas in the United States appear to affect local land surface temperatures, according to a new article.
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New harvesting approach boosts energy output from bacteria
A novel energy system increases the amount of energy harvested from microbial fuel cells by more than 70 times.
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Solar cell that also shines: Luminescent 'LED-type' design breaks efficiency record
To produce the maximum amount of energy, solar cells are designed to absorb as much light from the sun as possible. Now researchers have suggested -- and demonstrated -- a counter-intuitive concept: solar cells should be designed to be more like LEDs, able to emit light as well as absorb it.
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Analysis raises atmospheric, ecologic and economic doubts about forest bioenergy
A large, global move to produce more energy from forest biomass may be possible and already is beginning in some places, but scientists say in a new analysis that such large-scale bioenergy production from forest biomass is unsustainable and will increase greenhouse gas emissions.
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Rivers flowing into the sea offer vast potential as electricity source
A new genre of electric power-generating stations could supply electricity for more than a half billion people by tapping just one-tenth of the global potential of a little-known energy source that exists where rivers flow into the ocean, a new analysis has concluded. The process requires no fuel, is sustainable and releases no carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas).