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How to make your home more green and super energy efficient.

While the use of solar cells is become increasingly widespread, the silicon technology used in many types is becoming obsolete. JP Casey looks at concentrated solar power, micro-trackers and perovskite compounds as innovations that could potentially improve solar efficiency.

The majority of power technology innovations and breakthroughs in 2013 occurred in the renewables sector. Power-technology.com lists some of 2013's major innovations and breakthroughs in energy technology. Ultra-efficient photovoltaic designs A four-junction solar cell, developed by Germany's Freiburg-based Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, Soitec and two other research organisations, achieved a record breaking 44.7% efficiency converting sunlight to electricity in September 2013.

Trianel Kohlekraftwerk Lünen (TKL) developed the 750MW hard coal-fired power plant at Lünen, Germany. With a net efficiency of approximately 46%, the plant is expected to be the most efficient and cleanest coal-fired power plant in Europe. Advanced Siemens SSP5-6000 reference power plant technology is applied at the power plant.

Gas turbine design has changed to account for the growing use of combined heat and power (CHP) plants.

Urban transport has increased risks associated with pollution and environmental damage. With the number of vehicles increasing every year, there is an immediate need to check the emission levels that can lead to a cleaner environment.

The coal industry was recently criticised for running a coal and climate event alongside UN emissions negotiations in Poland. The Warsaw Communiqué emphasised 'high-efficiency' coal power technologies as a way for the sector to contribute to climate change mitigation, but without carbon capture, are they enough?

The 1,600MW Eemshaven Power Station is being constructed near Eemshaven Port in Groningen, Netherlands. The coal-fired power station will have an option to be partially fired by biomass, generating an electrical efficiency of 46.2%.

A South Korean university has come one step closer to developing wireless power by improving both efficiency and transmission distance, a breakthorugh which its developers believe could lead to wireless energy becoming as popular as WiFi in the not to distant future.

Researchers in the US are using pioneering technology to create long-lasting, more efficient nuclear batteries. We talk to Patrick J Pinhero, Alan K Wertsching and Jae Wan Kwon of the University of Missouri about pushing the boundaries of betavoltaic electricity generation. The University of Missouri (MU) is pushing boundaries in betavoltaic electricity generation.

Scientists working on an international collaboration to mimic the process of photosynthesis have reached a significant milestone in the quest to develop an efficient and abundant alternative fuel. The results could bring us one step closer to matching plants in their ability to exploit the Sun's energy

In the battle to reduce energy poverty, the opportunities that satellite imaging data offers could be key to shining a light on wasteful inefficiencies. Andy Tunnicliffe speaks to E.ON to find out more about a project to use space-based technology to improve energy efficiency.

Concentrated solar power (CSP) with energy storage is an upcoming renewable technology that promises to provide cost-effective power generation with improved efficiency.