However researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimate that Indium's availability is likely to constrain the manufacturing of CIGS once production reaches the tens of gigawatts level, unless levels of recovery during extraction are increased.

When it comes to dysprosium and terbium, China is in a much better position, called a quasi-monopoly.

American Superconductor said this week that it will work with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and its National Wind Technology Center to look at the economics of building a 10-MW turbine. The Devens, Mass.-based company said it can get a bigger power punch but still keep the size and weight under control by using its high temperature superconductor wire, which it claims is lighter and more efficient than the copper wire traditionally used in wind turbines.

Conducts electricity better than copper, yet is nonmagnetic.

Would you recommend that I upgrade the wire ends? If I do nothing, do you think the aluminum wiring may be a deal breaker?

Aluminum wiring has been the cause of numerous house fires. This is because the wire connections at outlets, lights, switches and breakers can become loose, and these slack fittings are prone to overheating. The recommended upgrade for aluminum wire connections is to add copper wire ends, commonly known as pigtails, and to secure these to the aluminum wires with connectors that are specifically designed for this purpose.

The City Plan Commission gave its approval on Wednesday night to a new ordinance amendment on metal recycling in New Haven. The proposal, put forward by Alderwoman Jacqueline James (pictured), would require buyers and sellers of scrap metal to obtain a license from the city and to keep records of all scrap metal transactions.

On Feb. 6, 2009, Southwire Company and its partners mark the two-and-a-half year anniversary of an urban power distribution project using high-temperature superconductor— known as HTS Triax® Superconducting Cable systems.The installation in Groveport, OH used about 200 meters (600 feet) of Southwire’s HTS Triax Superconducting Cable to distribute electric power to 8,600 homes and businesses through American Electric Power’s Bixby substation. In addition to American Electric Power (AEP), project partners included American Superconductor, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Praxair.

Over the last year in many markets there has been increasing interest in copper-clad aluminium (CCA) wires as a possible way of reducing material costs in certain types of cable. Several Chinese companies have perceived a potential market opportunity and installed equipment for production of CCA wire. CCA consists of copper cladding surrounding an aluminium core. The most common grade of CCA is 10% CCA, meaning that it contains 10% copper by volume: only 5% of the radial thickness of this grade of CCA is copper and the rest is aluminium, though it contains approximately 43% copper by weight, since copper is a much denser metal than aluminium. 10% CCA has an overall conductivity of 65% IACS, i.e. 65% of the conductivity of an all copper conductor of the same cross-section, but its average density is only 37% of copper.

Companies like Sunnyvale, Calif-based PowerBeam use lasers to generate about 1.5 watts of power to an area around 10 metres. That’s not enough to power a laptop, but it is enough to power digital picture frame, speaker, or maybe even a mobile device. So in case you were worrying about battery life effecting your opportunity to reach your target audience, rejoice that one day mobile users won’t have to think twice about charging up their mobile phone. PowerBeam competitors Witricity and Powercast aren’t transmitting electricity as far as PowerBeam is trying to do. Other companies in the wireless electricity space include Powermat, eCoupled, WiPower and WildCharge. Expect one electrifiying experience at CES this year, as many of these companies are scheduled to show off their wireless electricity 1.0 accomplishments.

An electric motor converts electrical energy into kinetic energy. The reverse task, that of converting kinetic energy into electrical energy, is accomplished by a generator or dynamo. In many cases the two devices differ only in their application and minor construction details, and some applications use a single device to fill both roles. For example, traction motors used on locomotives often perform both tasks if the locomotive is equipped with dynamic brakes.

Designers looking to save power and size are turning to advanced technologies, and motors are no exception. With piezoelectric technology at the heart, a new type of motor is improving small-scale motion systems in a big way. Electronic access control enhances security, convenience, safety, and flexibility in a wide range of applications from building automation to automobiles. Today, system designers are adding "smallest size" to the requirements list for the electronic actuators at the core of access control systems.