Efficiency

Progress On Groundbreaking Energy Bill: Creating Jobs And Advancing Clean Energy

Americas, Efficiency, Energy, Head Lines

United States: Exelon Generation and ComEd have commended the House Energy Committee’s passage of a streamlined version of the Future Energy Jobs Bill that will maintain Illinois’ competitive electric rates, whilst preserving and creating thousands of jobs and expanding clean energy. The 10 to 1 vote from the Committee approves the measure. The legislation jumpstarts clean energy development by expanding aid and job training to low-income residents and supporting high-paying jobs. The bill has broad support from more than 200 business, labour, environmental and other groups.

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NREL Scientists Discover How Bacterium Uses CO2 And Cellulose To Make Biofuels

Americas, Biomass, Efficiency, Energy, Head Lines

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) made the surprise discovery that a metabolic pathway to take up CO2 exists and functions in a microorganism capable of breaking down and fermenting cellulosic biomass to produce biofuels including hydrogen and hydrocarbons. “Our findings pave the way for future engineering of the bacterium as a way to improve carbon efficiency and to reduce the amount of CO2 released into the environment,” said Katherine Chou, staff scientist at the NREL.

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Trina Solar Sets New World Record For PV Solar Module Efficiency

Asia Pacific, Efficiency, Head Lines

Trina Solar Limited has announced that its PV Laboratory has set a new world record of 19.86% aperture efficiency for its high-efficiency “Honey Plus” multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar module, which contains 120 pieces of P-type mc-Si solar cells (156 x 78mm2). The result has been independently verified by the Fraunhofer Lab in Germany. Following the previous record of 19.14% announced in April 2015, Trina achieved the new efficiency of 19.86%, approximately 3.8% higher, within 18 months.

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UK’s National Grid Maintains Energy Flow With Innovation, And Renewables

Efficiency, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Head Lines

The fast-changing energy landscape and increasing amount of renewable generation on the system that results in frequency volatility have required National Grid to develop new and innovative ways to manage frequency to ensure that energy keeps flowing to where it is needed. A new, enhanced ability to control variations in frequency almost immediately will result in reduced costs of approximately 200 million pounds and streamline services to make them as efficient as possible meaning reduced costs for the end consumer.

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Australia Sets World Record For Solar Thermal Efficiency With 97% Conversion

Asia Pacific, Carbon, Efficiency, Solar

Scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) have set a world record for efficiency for a solar thermal dish generating steam that could be used for power stations. The team designed and built a new receiver for the solar concentrator dish at ANU, halving losses and achieving a 97 percent conversion of sunlight into steam. The breakthrough could lead to the generation of cheaper base-load electricity from renewable energy and help lower carbon emissions which cause global warming.

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Smart Meters Becoming Popular, Gaining Traction, Impacting On Usage Habits

Efficiency, Europe/Middle East/Africa

Research published today is showing that in the UK, Smart Meters are becoming popular and having an impact on energy usage habits. Smart Energy Outlook, published by Smart Energy GB, has found that nearly eight in ten (79%) of the people who already have smart meters would recommend them to others, and a similar proportion (80%) are taking steps to reduce their energy use.

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UBM Focuses On Indonesia: Launches New Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Show

Asia Pacific, Biomass, Efficiency, Energy, Policy

UBM has launched a major Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency trade show in Indonesia; with an emphasis on optimizing the potential of renewable energy. It also has a strong focus on supporting the sector and contributing to national energy security. Tri Mumpuni – CEO of Institute of Public Business and Economic (IBEKA), attending the press launch of Renewable

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Holu Energy Harnessing The Power Of Microgrids

Asia Pacific, Efficiency

Microgrids are smaller power grids within a community, such as a neighborhood or a university, that exist to serve the specific needs of that smaller area. Because they have a narrower focus, micro-grids are often more reliable, more efficient, and more affordable for consumers.

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Record Crowds Attend Intersolar and ees North America 2016

Americas, Efficiency, Solar

Intersolar North America, the most-attended solar industry event in North America, drew a record crowd of more than 18,000 from over 80 countries to its ninth annual exhibition and conference in San Francisco last week. Attendance was boosted by the co-located ees North America, an exhibition and conference dedicated to the energy storage market. ees added significantly to the event’s exhibitor base, with 41 percent growth over the previous year.

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Efficiency Breakthrough In Conversion Of Solar Heat Into Usable Light

Americas, Efficiency, Head Lines, Solar

Since 1961, the Shockley-Queisser Limit has represented an absolute theoretical limit in identifying the efficiency of traditional solar cells in the conversion of energy. A single-layer cell made of silicon, used in the vast majority of today’s solar panels, has an upper limit of about 32 percent. Studies under way to identify whether multiple layers of cells lead to increased overall efficiency by a method known as solar thermophotovoltaics (STPV). In principle, this method of pairing conventional solar cells with added layers of high-tech materials would lead to doubling the theoretical limit of efficiency and double the power from panels.

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