Renewable Energy

How off-grid solutions can tackle energy poverty

Lucy Stevens: If you’re going to generate power in one part of a country and take it to another part of the country, you need a lot of infrastructure like lines and poles. That means that the current cost of a mini grid, or the distributed systems that you can get now – rooftop solar, sometimes

2017-05-18T07:04:12-05:00Tags: |

4 Lessons for Entrepreneurs From Africa’s Solar Industry

In my opinion, the next hotbed of innovation is Africa, specifically the nations of South Africa, Rwanda and Kenya. Numerous industries are being disrupted at the moment, from the African mobile money market — the undisputed leader of which is Kenyan startup M-Pesa — to job hunting, by South Africa’s Giraffe, a mobile recruitment app for low-income

2017-05-09T08:21:49-05:00Tags: , |

India’s Energy Landscape Is Rapidly Changing

India’s energy landscape is changing so swiftly that researchers are having a tough time keeping up with it.

Prospects for the country’s coal sector continue to drop along with the falling price of renewable energy. Some situations seem to be developing in the time it takes to get a research paper out.

In July, for instance, the

2022-07-05T09:44:29-05:00Tags: |

Off-grid systems are smart way to power all Kenyans

Kenya’s rate of electrification is one of the fastest in the world. It is part of an audacious plan by the Government to provide universal access to energy by 2020 in the context of Vision 2030.

Much has been said about the Last Mile Connectivity Programme. But I believe Kenya will achieve its electrification goals in

2022-07-05T09:45:36-05:00Tags: , |

The 3 Stages of a Country Embracing Renewable Energy

The world is undergoing a transformation in how it gets its power. In Germany, we have a word for it: Energiewende. It means energy turning point. (We use the same word Wende to describe the fall of the Berlin Wall and all the dramatic changes that came with it.)

In this transformation, we are witnessing the decarbonization

2017-04-30T20:17:58-05:00Tags: |

The 3 Stages of a Country Embracing Renewable Energy

The world is undergoing a transformation in how it gets its power. In Germany, we have a word for it: Energiewende. It means energy turning point. (We use the same word Wende to describe the fall of the Berlin Wall and all the dramatic changes that came with it.)

In this transformation, we are witnessing the decarbonization

2017-04-24T08:48:07-05:00Tags: |

Solar ovens and sustained poverty for Africa

Solar technology in Africa, including my country of Uganda, would bring good news to millions of people who today must use firewood, charcoal and dung for cooking. Millions of Africans die from lung infections caused by breathing fumes from these fires, millions more from eating spoiled food, drinking contaminated water and having spoiled medicines, because

2022-07-05T09:31:13-05:00Tags: , |

Making batteries from waste glass bottles

Researchers have used waste glass bottles and a low-cost chemical process to create nanosilicon anodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The batteries will extend the range of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and provide more power with fewer charges to personal electronics like cell phones and laptops.

Read more at University of California

2017-04-23T07:18:31-05:00Tags: |

Sustainability train has left the station

Commercial activity in fossil fuels is increasingly at odds with global actions to reduce the threat of climate change. Burning coal, oil, and natural gas is responsible for two-thirds of humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases, and yet provides more than 20% of GDP in two dozen nation states. By Citicorp’s estimate, current commitments to reduce

2017-04-19T08:10:22-05:00Tags: |

American energy use, in one diagram

How much energy we use, what kind, and how much is wasted. Spring brings new growth, new possibilities, and, best of all, a new spaghetti diagram from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) at the Department of Energy. Every year, LLNL produces a new energy flow chart showing the sources of US energy, what it’s used

2017-04-16T14:05:26-05:00Tags: , |

Americans used more clean energy in 2016

Americans used more renewable energy in 2016 compared to the previous year, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Overall, energy consumption was nearly flat.

Each year, the Laboratory releases energy flow charts that illustrate the nation’s consumption and use of energy. Americans used 0.1 quads (quadrillion BTU), more

2017-04-11T09:45:41-05:00Tags: |

Self-healing smartphones with new material

SAN FRANCISCO, April 4, 2017 —Taking a cue from the Marvel Universe, researchers report that they have developed a self-healing polymeric material with an eye toward electronics and soft robotics that can repair themselves. The material is stretchable and transparent, conducts ions to generate current and could one day help your broken smartphone go back

2017-04-04T09:50:29-05:00Tags: |

From grass to grassoline

Scientists at the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Ghent University have developed a way to turn grass into biofuel. Will we soon drive on ‘grassoline’?

“Until now, grass has mainly served as feed for animals. We can get more out of grass: due to its vast abundance, it is an attractive source to produce

2017-04-02T07:58:45-05:00Tags: |

Origami ninja star inspires battery design

A new disposable battery that folds like an origami ninja star could power biosensors and other small devices for use in challenging field conditions, a Binghamton University engineer says.

Seokheun “Sean” Choi and two of his students developed the device, a microbial fuel cell that runs on the bacteria available in a few drops of dirty

2017-03-23T12:41:06-05:00Tags: |
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