Showcase of Advanced Vehicles July 2nd & 4th

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will showcase advanced vehicles at two Colorado events in early July.

Representatives from NREL will be on hand to answer questions about the vehicles and provide information about renewable energy, alternative fuels, and advanced vehicles.

The vehicles on display are part of NREL’s advanced vehicle fleet, which serves as a technology showcase and a test bed for research and development. Vehicles in the fleet feature promising technologies designed to increase efficiency, reduce emissions, and use renewable resources without sacrificing safety or comfort. … Continue Reading

Electric Buses Get a Jump Start

Electric bus: Proterra’s buses, including the one shown here, are being used in small numbers by transit agencies. Credit: Proterra

(By Kevin Bullis – Technology Review) A GM-funded bus could reduce transit agencies’ fuel bills by 80 percent.

The electric-bus startup Proterra has raised $30 million in new funding, including $6 million from GM Ventures. The company uses relatively small battery packs to keep down costs, intending them to be recharged frequently at rapid-charging stations that can replenish them in less than 10 minutes.

Fuel-saving technology is important to transit agencies, especially now that diesel prices are high and volatile—a gallon of diesel costs a dollar more that it did a year ago. Proterra CEO Jeff Granato says each bus will save the transit agency $600,000 in fuel costs over the 12-year life of the vehicle, plus another $70,000 to $95,000 in maintenance costs. Electricity to charge the buses costs about 18 cents per mile, compared with about $1 a mile for diesel fuel.  Granato says these savings make the total cost of an electric bus comparable to that of a diesel bus over the life of the vehicle, even though the electric bus costs more up front. (The company won’t say how much the buses cost, but they do, apparently, need nearly $700,000 in fuel and maintenance savings to break even with diesel buses.) … Continue Reading

First Self-Powered Device With Wireless Data Transmission

The piezoelectric nanogenerator was invented by Georgia Tech’s Zhong Lin Wang and Jinhui Song

ScienceDaily (June 16, 2011) — Scientists are reporting development of the first self-powered nano-device that can transmit data wirelessly over long distances. In a study in ACS’s journal Nano Letters, they say it proves the feasibility of a futuristic genre of tiny implantable medical sensors, airborne and stationary surveillance cameras and sensors, wearable personal electronics, and other devices that operate independently without batteries on energy collected from the environment.

Zhong Lin Wang and colleagues explain that advances in electronics have opened the door to developing tiny devices that operate battery-free on minute amounts of electricity that can be harvested from the pulse of a blood vessel, a gentle breeze, or the motions of a person walking. “It is entirely possible to drive the devices by scavenging energy from sources in the environment such as gentle airflow, vibration, sonic wave, solar, chemical, and/or thermal energy,” the scientists explain. … Continue Reading

Interoperability Is Key to Smart Grid Success

NREL engineers provide leadership and support in the development of interoperability standards.

Ever wonder what makes it possible to withdraw money securely from another bank’s ATM, or call a friend with a different cell phone provider? The answer is “interoperability” and it refers to the capability of two or more networks, systems, devices, applications, or components to externally exchange and readily use information—securely and effectively. It’s what enables communication between banks to allow consumers to withdraw cash at any ATM worldwide and communications between telephone networks to allow consumers to make cell phone calls to anyone on any network.

And just as this two-way communication allows access to money and phone calls nationwide, the Smart Grid—an automated electric power system that monitors and controls grid activities—ensures the two-way flow of electricity and information between power plants and consumers. … Continue Reading

Renewable Energy On The Front Lines

In the war on energy waste and pollution, NREL is helping the military create new systems to power vehicles and base facilities with clean energy.

The NREL model integrates a solar photovoltaic canopy, plug-in electric vehicles and a renewable energy management unit.  … Continue Reading

Paint It Black: One-Step Etch Cuts Solar Cell Costs

The scientists responsible for developing NREL's game-changing black silicon. In the front row, left to right, are Anna Duda, Howard Branz, and Vern Yost. In the back row, left to right, are Matt Page, Scott Ward, and Hao-Chih Yuan.

NREL’s technique provides the solar cell manufacturing industry with a quicker, cheaper way to produce large volumes of high-performance PV devices.

Cost is a major obstacle for the photovoltaic (PV) industry on its path to utility-scale deployment because generally, when it comes to solar cells, higher efficiencies mean higher price tags. But a team of NREL scientists has defied this expectation with their “black silicon” nanocatalytic wet-chemical etch. Its name may be a mouthful, but this one-step process creates high-efficiency solar cells based on an innovative antireflection approach that promises to significantly reduce manufacturing costs, thereby helping propel PV toward cost-competitiveness. … Continue Reading

Google’s SolarCity Fund: $280 Million Invested In Solar Energy For Private Homes

Photo By: JONATHAN FAHEY

NEW YORK — Google is investing $280 million to help private homeowners put solar panels on their rooftops. It’s Google’s latest – and largest – investment in clean energy.

The money will allow installer SolarCity to offer solar systems to homeowners for no money up front. In exchange, customers agree to pay a set price for the power produced by the panels.

Google earns a return on its investment by charging SolarCity interest to use its money and reaping the benefits of federal and local renewable energy tax credits. … Continue Reading

Students’ Bright Ideas Shine at EnergyWhiz Olympics

COCOA, FL – Florida students have creative ideas for solving some of the world’s greatest energy challenges, and their solutions were demonstrated Saturday at the ninth-annual EnergyWhiz Olympics.

More than 900 students throughout Florida converged Saturday, May 7 at the University of Central Florida’s Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) in Cocoa to compete in the day-long competition showcasing student projects in alternative fuel technologies.

Events included the Bright House Solar Energy Cookoff, a solar cooker design and cooking contest; the Junior Solar Sprint, model-size solar car races; the High School Hydrogen Sprint and Hands-On-Hydrogen, model-size hydrogen-powered car races; and Energy Innovations, a full-scale solar electric design challenge. … Continue Reading