Tag Archive for: solarpanels

University of Seville scientists have invented a solar-powered bus stop that can lower the temperature by 20C to keep pedestrians cool.

This solar-powered bus stop cools off pedestrians in extreme heat

University of Seville scientists have invented a solar-powered bus stop that can lower the temperature by 20C to keep pedestrians cool.

The innovative system has a top unit with solar panels that provide energy to pump water, an underground cistern that stores fresh water at night, a closed circuit that circulates water during the hottest times of day, and temperature sensors that also detect when pedestrians are present.

Here’s how the solar-powered bus stop works: When the sensors detect that a pedestrian has arrived at the bus stop, the pumping system activates. It draws water from the cistern and circulates it, and that lowers the temperature of the bus stop to between 20 and 24C (68 and 75F) by releasing cool air through small holes. The cooling process lasts for 10 to 20 minutes, then the water returns to the cistern. The water flows through the shelter’s roof at night to cool down.

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Source: electrek

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Vast arrays of floating solar panels near the equator could provide unlimited clean energy to countries in Southeast Asia and West Africa, according to new research.

Floating solar on the equator could provide ‘limitless’ energy

Engineering professors at Australian National University have published a new paper in which they explain how some regions on the equator would be ideal for floating solar because the waters there don’t have strong winds and large waves. Tropical storms rarely hit those regions.

The researchers assert that floating solar in those waters could generate up to a massive 1 million TWh per year. They note in an article in The Conversation that “that’s about five times more annual energy than is needed for a fully decarbonized global economy supporting 10 billion affluent people.”

The waters are categorized as calm if the waves are smaller than 6 meters and winds are weaker than 15 meters per second. The calmest waters are in and around Indonesia and equatorial West Africa, near Nigeria. So floating panels installed in those waters wouldn’t need strong, costly engineering defenses.

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Source: electrek

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Bright green vines snake upwards 20 feet (six meters) toward an umbrella of solar panels at Josef Wimmer’s farm in Bavaria.

Hops for beer flourish under solar panels. They’re not the only crop thriving in the shade.

Bright green vines snake upwards 20 feet (six meters) toward an umbrella of solar panels at Josef Wimmer’s farm in Bavaria.

He grows hops, used to make beer, and in recent years has also been generating electricity, with solar panels sprawled across 1.3 hectares (32 acres) of his land in the small hop-making town of Au in der Hallertau, an hour north of Munich in southern Germany.

The pilot project — a collaboration between Wimmer and local solar technology company Hallertauer Handelshaus — was set up in the fall of last year. The electricity made at this farm can power around 250 households, and the hops get shade they’ll need more often as climate change turbocharges summer heat.

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Source: MERCED SUN-STAR

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Researchers have come up with a new way to generate electricity with solar panel technology by harvesting the energy produced by raindrops.

Solar panel tech breakthrough generates electricity from rain

Researchers have come up with a new way to generate electricity with solar panel technology by harvesting the energy produced by raindrops.

The method, proposed by a team from Tsinghua University in China, involves a device called a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that creates electrification from liquid-solid contact.

These are typically used to harvest energy from waves, as droplet-based TENGs (D-TENGs) have previously faced technical limitations that prevented them from working at any significant scale.

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Source: INDEPENDENT

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With the improved outlook for solar panel supplies, analysts expect 19 GW & 27 GW of US utility-scale solar to be installed in 2023 & 2024, respectively.

US utility-scale solar outlook improves on easing supply chain limits: Morgan Stanley

The outlook for U.S. utility-scale solar has improved on easing supply chain problems, but near-term residential solar growth may be hurt by rising interest rates and changes to California’s net metering policy, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a report Monday.

The investment firm’s analysts said at the start of the year they were worried about the effects of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which resulted in shipments of imported solar panels being held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, leading to project delays.

Of the roughly $710 million worth of shipments detained last year, about 40% had been released as of early April, the analysts said. Also, it appears that panels made with non-Chinese polysilicon have continued to enter the U.S. without significant delays, they said.

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Source: Utility Dive

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Zero Waste Sonoma in California is working to help residents in the North Bay area recycle their used solar panels.

Zero waste groups kickstart solar panel recycling in California

Solar power is a great alternative, but recycling the large panels is a tall order. Now, a group in California is helping residents recycle their solar panels.

Zero Waste Sonoma is working to help residents in the North Bay area deal with their used solar panels. Residents were once confused on what to do with their materials, but Zero Waste Sonoma held a collection event, along with an e-waste drop-off, at the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa.

“Ultimately our goal is to recycle panels,” said Courtney Scott, Zero Waste Sonoma’s Household Hazardous Waste Program manager.

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Source: Waste 360

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By this time next year, nearly 3,000 solar panels will span the roof of Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, powering the flashy slot machines, air conditioned hotel rooms and golf course facilities.

Solar microgrid offers Soboba tribe independence, with model many users could adapt

By this time next year, nearly 3,000 solar panels will span the roof of Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, powering the flashy slot machines, air conditioned hotel rooms and golf course facilities that dot the tribe’s 474,000-square-foot resort.

Utility services for Native Americans can be problematic. Tribes across the United States report pricier electric bills, more frequent outages and a higher percentage of homes with no electricity at all than those figures for Americans who don’t live on tribal lands. So with a surge in federal funding available to help offset the costs of installing renewable energy projects, the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians has joined the growing number of tribes who are building out microgrids to help flip the switch on that dynamic.

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Source: The Sun

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A recent successful pilot project in Tenant Creek demonstrated the value of having solar panels installed. However, navigating the red tape to have the solar installed was a difficult process.

Rooftop solar trial for remote first nations people

In solar-rich areas of Australia (like the Outback of the sparsely populated Northern Territory) electricity supply is tenuous and expensive, often supplied by polluting diesel generators. I have wondered why solar is not installed on every rooftop. Here is a possible explanation.

“In remote First Nations communities in the Northern Territory, you don’t see solar on any rooftops. That’s a real problem. This part of Australia is dangerously hot in summer. And many people don’t have enough power to run vital appliances like the fridge and air conditioner. [If they have one]. Solar would be an ideal solution. Tennant Creek has over 300 days per year of sunshine with some of the clearest skies in the world, for instance.” The town is situated almost 1000 km south of Darwin (Northern Territory’s capital city) and has a population of 3000, half of them First Nations people.

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Source: Clean Technica

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California needs to think creatively and find ways to put more solar energy in already built-out places, including rooftops and parking lots.

Editorial: California needs a lot more solar. Why not put panels along highways and parking lots?

California is racing to build enough solar panels, wind turbines and battery storage to meet its carbon-cutting mandates and prepare its electrical grid for worsening heat waves and growing energy demand.

But increasing renewable energy by covering far-off, undeveloped areas with solar and wind farms raises its own environmental concerns. That’s why California needs to think creatively and find ways to put more solar energy in already built-out places, including rooftops and parking lots, canals and agricultural fields, so we can slow the climate crisis without harming sensitive land, like the habitat of threatened Joshua trees or Mojave Desert tortoises.

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Source: Los Angeles Times

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Agrivoltaics has other benefits besides dual land use and food security; it could also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make more efficient use of water.

Could growing crops under solar panels provide food and energy at the same time?

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Imagine growing greens in your back yard under a solar panel, and then juicing them in a blender powered by the same energy. A new University of Alberta project is working to make that a reality.

By growing spinach under different solar panels, two U of A researchers are measuring how the process affects both plant growth and the electrical output of the panels.

Known as agrivoltaics, the fairly new sustainable practice integrates solar panels with crops, making simultaneous use of land for both food and energy production.

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Source: University of Alberta

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