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A company called GreenCore Air has released an air conditioner than can be powered by a single 170 watt solar panel. The GreenCore air conditioning unit can heat and cool a 600 square foot room. It runs on DC power, so there is no need to put an AC inverter between the solar panel and the air conditioner. This eliminates the power losses associated with converting AC to DC

A company called GreenCore Air has released an air conditioner than can be powered by a single 170 watt solar panel. The GreenCore air conditioning unit can heat and cool a 600 square foot room. It runs on DC power, so there is no need to put an AC inverter between the solar panel and the air conditioner. This eliminates the power losses associated with converting AC to DC. When the sun is not out the unit runs on the battery bank which is integrated within the unit. There two version of the air conditioner: a fixed one, and a mobile one that is mounted on wheels. GreenCore units are being tested by a McDonald's restaurant and the U.S. Navy.

In recent months, chains including Wal-Mart Stores, Kohl's, Safeway and Whole Foods Market have installed solar panels on roofs of their stores to generate electricity on a large scale. One reason they are racing is to beat a Dec. 31 deadline to gain tax advantages for these projects. So far, most chains have outfitted fewer than 10 percent of their stores. Over the long run, assuming Congress renews a favorable tax provision and more states offer incentives, the chains promise a solar construction program that would ultimately put panels atop almost every big store in the country. The trend, while not entirely new, is accelerating as the chains seize a chance to bolster their environmental credentials by cutting back on their use of electricity from coal.

Thin-film solar company Nanosolar has been sitting on a big secret for much of this year, it turns out: The company took a $300 million financing this March, and has remained mum ever since, only detailing it on the company's blog this morning after VentureWire reported the funding. While Nanosolar hasn't been entirely secretive about its technology, with chief executive Martin Rosencheisen showing off a rapid manufacturing technique early in summer, but apparently it didn't want details leaking on this giant-sized investment until necessary. Word slipped out in April about $50 million of the total, but at the time, Nanosolar didn't want to talk - and it's now clear why. The race for funds, and ever-larger production targets, is definitely on for thin film. Secretive thin-film silicon company Optisolar has raised over $200 million this year, and Nanosolar's thin-film CIGS competitor Miasole is trying to close on a similar amount. And while dozens of other startups are also on the hunt, large companies like Oerlikon Solar and Applied Materials are pouring money into ventures of their own. In many ways, it looks like an overheated sector. But on the other hand, Optisolar's recent deal with PG&E to provide 550 megawatts of electricity suggests that the potential for thin film panels is larger than previously expected, even when considering one analyst firm's prediction earlier this year that the sector will grow at 45 percent annually. That figure could now be much higher, especially for a few big winners - of which Nanosolar will likely be one. The company will be doing some utility-scale projects of its own, Rosencheisen tells us, with experienced partners. It also has a panel built specifically for use by utilities. And one of the backers of this funding, AES Corp., is also one of the world's biggest power companies. At the moment, Nanosolar is still working toward a gigawatt of annual manufacturing capacity, but it will grow be

First report about RF pollution of solar panels. In general, the energy transition increasingly uses the electromagnetic spectrum, and we can expect more issues in the future. The solution (and the copper dimension): increased redundancy of systems.

" The panel will seek to update the audience on the needs of industry, the capabilities of education programs, planning philosophies, and latest engineering and mathematical tools for transmission expansion."

"Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy Tweet this talk! (we'll add the headline and the URL) Post to: Share on Twitter Email This Favorite Download inShare Share on StumbleUpon Share on Reddit Share on Facebook TED Conversations Got an idea, question, or debate inspired by this talk? Start a TED Conversation, or join one of these: Green Home Energy=Hydrogen Generators-alternative sources Started by Kathleen Gilligan-Smith 1 Comment What is the real missing link in renewable energy? Started by Enrico Petrucco 8 Comments Comment on this Talk 60 total comments Sign in to add comments or Join (It's free and fast!) Sort By: smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Nice smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Good David Mackey 0 Reply 3 hours ago: Superb invention, but I would suggest one more standard mantra that they should move on from and that is the idea of power being supplied by a centralised grid. This technology seems to me to be much more beneficial on a local scale, what if every home had its own battery, then home power generation becomes economically more viable for everyone. If you could show that a system like this could pay for itself in say 5 years then every home would want one. Plus for this to be implemented on a large scale requires massive investment that could be decades away. Share the technology and lets get it in homes by next year. Great ted talk. Jon Senior 0 Reply 1 hour ago: I agree 100%. Localised energy production would also make energy consumers more conscious of their consumption and encourage efforts to reduce it. We can invent and invent all we want, but the fast solution to allowing renewable energies to take centre stage is to reduce the base energy draw. With lower baseline consumption, smaller "always on" generators are required to keep the grid operational. Town and house-l

"A short video on the creative development of a breakthrough new high-density fiber optic panel, project named: Iridium, which is now being released under the name 'Osmium'; highlighting the benefits of Design and Engineering departments working collaboratively to achieve technical innovations."

PKE is the new range of ECO Coils&Coolers branded air condensers launched by Luvata for commercial AC and refrigeration applications. It is the enhanced offspring of the PCE range (currently phasing out), with improved efficiency and optimized sound emission parameters. Like all ECO Coils&Coolers ventilated units, even the PKE range is available for CO2 applications. The PKE offers an improved hauling and fastening system, thanks to new features. Moreover, the side panels are removable allowing easy access to the units' internal compartments, which have been increased by 120 mm. In order to facilitate maintenance and service, the PKE range has also been equipped with special door holders with a hold open feature. For models with 4 and 5 fan motors, the number of doors has been reduced and the width has been increased, as to allow easy access to the internal components. Lastly, the base has been reinforced for particularly difficult installations. On the other hand, thanks to a compartment incorporated with the condenser to enclose the compressing and the electrical control units, called housing, the PKE range does not require long connection pipe-work, thus reducing the risk of possible leaks. The special internal surface of the compressor compartment has been designed so as to increase sound absorption, reveals the company's press release.

General Motors (GM) announced that it is adding the world's largest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation to its car assembly plant located in Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain. When the project is completed in fall 2008, the Zaragoza solar installation will cover about 2 million square feet of roof at the plant and include about 85,000 solar panels. When fully operational, the Zaragoza solar installation will generate about 12 megawatts of power at its highest output. The installation will generate about 15.1 million kWh of power annually, which is equivalent to the demand of 4,575 households with an average annual consumption of 3,300 kWh in Spain. "The Zaragoza project demonstrates proof that GM is actively accelerating our efforts to be part of the solution to the environmental issues and challenges facing our world," said Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of global manufacturing and labor relations. "We are proud to be a global leader in the usage of renewable energy."

This is good news for the solar industry, where cost has been a barrier to wider acceptance.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), a steel manufacturer based in New Deli, launched a clean technology venture capital fund to support ventures that have relevance for the carbon-intensive steel industry. The Fund has made its first investment of US$20 million in Miasolé, a California-based pioneer in the development of thin-film solar panels Miasolé has developed unique high volume manufacturing processes that enable efficient production of Copper Indium Gallium Selenium (CIGS) solar products on a flexible stainless steel substrate. This technology promises to dramatically lowers the installed cost of Photovoltaic (PV) systems and will enable renewable energy from the sun to replace carbon generating fossil fuels. Fund managers will be working with leading venture capital firms, including Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, to identify worthy cleantech ventures. ArcelorMittal also announced that it has created a new carbon fund in order to strategically engage in the carbon market and promote climate friendly solutions that are relevant for the steel industry. The fund, which has an initial investment commitment of €100 million (US$ 157 million) is currently looking at investment opportunities in renewable energy, energy efficiency, methane capture and greenhouse gas reducing technologies--all of which have the potential to generate carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol. ArcelorMittal intends to use the carbon credits received from these Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation projects for compliance in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Honda Motor Company (NYSE: HMC) may begin exporting solar modules after completing the planned expansion of it's solar manufacturing facility later this year, according to a Reuters report. The company intends to increase its annual capacity to 27.5 megawatts (MW). Honda's solar subsidiary Honda Soltec Co. began producing photovoltaic solar modules in October 2007. The solar modules incorporate copper, indium, gallium and selenium, as opposed to traditional panels produced from silicon. The company reportedly has sold 3-kilowatt systems domestically to about 100 households for 3 million yen--the equivalent of about US$18,200. Honda also intends to use solar cells in a U.S. test project for next-generation gas stations that would use solar power to produce hydrogen from water for powering fuel cell vehicles, such as Honda's FCX Clarity.

The renewable technology has become so popular that police in California are seeing a massive increase in stolen panels from around the more than 33,000 installations in the state.

Manufacturer joins pack of thin-film companies securing big bucks to take innovations to production stage. San Jose, Calif.-based Nanosolar has raised $300 million in equity to expand production of its thin-film panels for solar power plants, Nanosolar CEO Martin Röscheisen told the Cleantech Group today. The financing-a combination of supply deals, partnerships and funding-pushes Nanosolar to nearly half a billion dollars of capital, securing the six-year-old company's position as one of the leading thin-film producers.