Renewables
How large businesses can benefit from renewable energy
According to Apple, the large green spaces, wellness centre and 805,000 square-feet of solar panels at its second campus makes it the best office in the world. Here, Jonathan Wilkins, marketing director at obsolete industrial parts supplier, EU Automation, explains how large businesses can benefit from renewable energy. Apple Campus Two, also known as the Spaceship, generates all of the energy required to power the 175-acre campus with renew...
Researchers prove assumptions in solar cell production
Research led by the University of Luxembourg investigated the manufacturing process of solar cells. The researchers proved that assumptions on chemical processes that were common place among researchers and producers for the past 20 years are, in fact, inaccurate. The physicists published their findings in the renowned scientific journal Nature Communications.
Hydrogen dual fuel road sweeper introduced to Aberdeen City Council
ULEMCo has collaborated with Aberdeen City Council (ACC) to deliver the world’s first hydrogen dual fuel road sweeper. The vehicles will use hydrogen fuel for around a third of the energy used to drive and operate the vehicles, making valuable reductions in CO2 emissions.
Minimising yaw brake noise
Maintenance of wind turbine generators (WTGs) aims to sustain efficiency levels and ensure continued reliability, whilst also dealing with any other concerns that may be raised. One issue that is becoming more common is noise generated by the operation of the equipment in the nacelle, as opposed to any noise from the turbine blades. Svendborg Brakes has turned its expertise on yaw brake noise and developed a solution that can be applied to the ma...
Smart grid in London to supercharge electric delivery fleet
A UPS led consortium has deployed a radical new charging technology in London that overcomes the challenge of simultaneously recharging an entire fleet of EVs without the need for the expensive upgrade to the power supply grid. The breakthrough signals the beginning of the end of a reliance upon traditional combustion engine powered vehicles by allowing UPS to increase the number of EVs operating from its central London site from the current...
Expanding to globally enable connected vehicles and assets
The next wave of Iridium Certus service providers selected to deliver this next-generation satellite broadband solution for land-mobile applications has been announced by Iridium Communications. This group of six world-class service providers includes, Globalsat, IEC Telecom, Marlink, McQ, Pivotel and Tesam Argentina S.A. (‘Tesacom’). Together, these companies further expand the footprint for Iridium Certus land-mobile services.
A strategic push into solar-powered lighting
Philips Lighting has accelerated its strategic push into solar-powered lighting as it launches a new generation of solar-powered products and systems. These include an innovative all-in-one solar street light, Philips SunStay, which combines solar panel, battery and light in one housing, and Philips LifeLight, a solar lantern which comes with a replaceable battery.
Plant fibres help develop green options for transport industry
University of Portsmouth researchers and teams from around the world are at the forefront of a drive to develop greener composite materials from agricultural waste to be used in the automotive, marine and aerospace industries. A team from the University’s School of Engineering is designing and developing lightweight materials from renewable resources including agriculture biomass – a process that could provide significant environ...
Organic thin film achieves power conversion efficiency of 13%
Scientists from the Imperial College London, Monash University, CSIRO, and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have reported an organic thin film for solar cells with a non-fullerene small molecule acceptor that achieved a power conversion efficiency of just over 13%. By replacing phenylalkyl side chains in indacenodithieno[3,2-b]thiophene-based non-fullerene acceptor (ITIC) with simple linear chains to form C8-ITIC, they impr...
Finding the best way to deliver multifunctional solar car parks
A new guide created by BRE National Solar Centre and carport design and manufacturing company, FlexiSolar looks at the best way to deliver multifunctional solar car parks that combine renewable energy generation with energy storage and EV charging points.