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Small-Scale Solar-Powered Desalination System for Villages

When graduate student Natasha Wright began her PhD program in mechanical engineering, she had no idea how to remove salt from groundwater to make it more palatable, nor had she ever been to India, where this is an ongoing need.

23 Jun 2015

Hanwha Q CELLS, ISM Group Begin Operation of 10 MW 'Alte Kaserne Bitterfeld-Wolfen' Solar Power Plant

Together with Hanwha Q CELLS and other partners, the ISM Group ceremoniously started up one of the largest solar power plants in the Bitterfeld Region on Friday, June 19, 2015. The "Alte Kaserne Bitterfeld-Wolfen" photovoltaic farm achieves a total output of 10 megawatts (MW) and thus generates enough power to supply around 2,500 regional households with clean energy.

22 Jun 2015

Global Warming Leads to Sea Level Rise in Northern Europe

Global warming leads to the ice sheets on land melting and flowing into the sea, which consequently rises. New calculations by researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute show that the sea level in Northern Europe may rise more than previously thought. There is a significant risk that the seas around Scandinavia, England, the Netherlands and northern Germany will rise by up to about 1½ meters in this century. The results are published in a special issue of the scientific journal Climate Research.

22 Jun 2015

New Research Reveals that Global Warming May Not Reduce Winter Deaths

In a study that contradicts the received wisdom on health impacts of climate change, scientists say that we shouldn't expect substantial reduction in winter deaths as a result of global warming. This new research is published today (Friday 19 June) in IOP Publishing's Environmental Research Letters journal.

22 Jun 2015

Donald Danforth Awarded $8 Million Grant to Accelerate Development of Bioenergy Sorghum

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced today it was awarded an $8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E TERRA program. Funds will be used for research to accelerate breeding and the commercial release of economically viable bioenergy sorghum hybrids. Todd Mockler, Ph.D., Geraldine and Robert Virgil Distinguished Investigator at the Danforth Center is the principal investigator of this multi-institutional project.

22 Jun 2015

Researchers Refine Estimates of Earth’s Deep Carbon Cycle

Over billions of years, the total carbon content of the outer part of the Earth — in its upper mantle, crust, oceans, and atmospheres — has gradually increased, scientists reported this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

22 Jun 2015

SunPower Starts Construction on 102MW Henrietta Solar Project in Kings County, California

SunPower Corp. today announced it has started construction on the 102-megawatt (AC) Henrietta Solar Project in Kings County, Calif. The system will generate power for Pacific Gas and Electric's customers under a long-term power purchase agreement. SunPower expects the plant to be operational by the end of 2016.

From SunPower Corporation 22 Jun 2015

Researchers Examine Alternative Switchgrass Breeding Methods to Increase Biofuel Production

Using switchgrass to produce biofuel is one way to decrease the United States’ dependence on oil, but growing it and making it profitable can be complicated.

22 Jun 2015

Silicon Ranch, Green Power EMC Announce Construction of 20MWAC Solar Project in Southeast Georgia

Nashville-based renewable energy provider Silicon Ranch Corporation and Green Power EMC, the renewable energy supplier for 38 Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), announce that construction is set to begin on Silicon Ranch's 20MWAC project in southeast Georgia.

22 Jun 2015

Canadian Solar Supplies 168,240 Solar Panels for 42.9MW Takataya Hibiki PV Plant

Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world's largest solar power companies, today announced that it served as the supplier of photovoltaic (PV) modules for the 42.9 MW Takataya Hibiki PV plant in Kitakyushu, Japan. In total, Canadian Solar provided 168,240 Canadian Solar CS6P-255P solar panels.

From Canadian Solar 19 Jun 2015

Addition of Two Chemicals Could Help Prevent Overheating and Fires in Lithium-Ion Batteries

In a study that could improve the safety of next-generation batteries, researchers discovered that adding two chemicals to the electrolyte of a lithium metal battery prevents the formation of dendrites – “fingers” of lithium that pierce the barrier between the battery’s halves, causing it to short out, overheat and sometimes burst into flame.

19 Jun 2015

USGBC Awards LEED Gold Rating to UVA Children’s Hospital Outpatient Facility

The Battle Building at the University of Virginia Health System has earned a Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

19 Jun 2015

Photo Battery with Titanium Nitride Photoanode Uses Light to Produce Power

To move the world toward sustainability, scientists are continuing to explore and improve ways to tap the vast power of sunlight to make fuels and generate electricity.

19 Jun 2015

Structure of Key Enzymes Isolated from Yeast Molds Can Help Cleaner Production of Hydrocarbons

Scientists at The University of Manchester have made an important discovery that forms the basis for the development of new applications in biofuels and the sustainable manufacturing of chemicals.

19 Jun 2015

Discovery of Mega-Lake in Australian Desert May Help Understand Past Climate Change

Geologists and archaeologists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany), La Trobe University (Australia) and the University of Wollongong (Australia) identify previously unrecognised evidence for a "mega-lake" in the Australian desert 24,000 years ago, at the site of Lake Mungo in south-eastern Australia.

19 Jun 2015