The Challenging World Solar Challenge Race

Posted on November 6, 2011 by quest

The results of the 2011 Veolia World Solar Challenge, a prestigious international racing event that attracts the world’s best technical universities and colleges has been announced. Race officials reported,” As was stated at the awards ceremony, the near perfect weather experienced in the past three or four events lulled many experienced Solar Challengers into a false sense of security. This time there were those who were able to take on a few hours unexpected static charge while waiting for bushfire ravished roads to reopen. Others struggled under the thousands of square kilometres of smoke haze which drifted across the continent, often thick enough to blot out the sun altogether.” As reported here three US teams UC Berkeley, Stanford and the University of Michigan were strong contenders going into the World Solar Challenge. The competition aims to help discover new automotive technologies that rely on the power of the sun by engaging student teams to develop electric vehicles for a week-long, 1,877 mile vehicle endurance test across the Australian Outback from Darwin to Adelaide. In first place was Tokai University – Japan. Second place was Nuon Solar Team – The Netherlands. In third place was the University of Michigan – United States.

Teams not able to maintain a reasonable minimum speed are invited to maximise their experience in the event by running their solarcar for a few hours each day before moving their car forward in their truck or on their trailer. The rules surrounding this exercise allow a great deal of flexibility in their application to enable the particular circumstances and the conditions to be taken into consideration. The finalisation of the results was delayed mostly by the contention of one team who, so desperate to show their sponsors a clean finish, demanded recognition of a place the number of irregularities involved denied them.

A small number of teams questioned the number of solar kilometres attributed to them so the decision was taken to audit all the log books where these are recorded in the team log by the Observer (which the team manager should sign at the end of each day) and transmitted to Mission Control for incorporation into the overall results. Interesting errors such as trailered Km being substituted for Solar Km, and solar credits being given to Control Points instead of actual distance covered were discovered and the complications of this event outlined earlier led to some interesting arithmetic from some Observers! Some gained from the exercise, others not. The figures have now been checked and cross checked with the result that we are now able to verify the Official Record and present the final results.

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Dreamliner Solar Powered Plant Flying High

Posted on November 3, 2011 by quest

Boeing’s South Carolina 787 fabrication and assembly facility ranks 14th on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s (EPA’s) Fortune 500 list of the largest renewable power purchasers in its Green Power Partnership, according to the agency’s most recent ranking released Oct. 24. The North Charleston, S.C., site ranks 33rd overall among green energy consumers, including local, state and federal governments, and a growing number of colleges and universities.Boeing South Carolina purchases nearly 130 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable power annually from South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G), enough to meet 100 percent of the site’s energy needs. A percentage of that power will be generated onsite by a thin-film solar laminate installation on the roof of the Boeing South Carolina 787 Final Assembly building.

Flying on 787′s first flight to Japan

“This shows our commitment to drive environmental thinking into the way we operate our company,” said Mary Armstrong, Boeing vice president of Environment, Health and Safety. “Boeing South Carolina’s commitment to renewable energy, coupled with its zero waste to landfill program and LEED certification targets for all new construction, demonstrates that what’s good for the environment is also good for business.”The site’s solar generation system, owned and maintained by SCE&G, is the largest in the southeastern U.S. by production capacity and by itself could power approximately 250 residential homes.

“EPA’s Green Power Partners consistently raise the bar for using clean, renewable electricity,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, Gina McCarthy. “Boeing South Carolina’s commitment to using green power serves as an example of leadership for others to follow.”

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Solar Energy To Power Vertical Forrest In Milan

Posted on October 30, 2011 by quest

Bosco Verticale is a project for metropolitan reforestation that contributes to the regeneration of the environment and urban biodiversity without the implication of expanding the city upon the territory. Bosco Verticale is a model of vertical densification of nature within the city. It is a model that operates correlated to the policies for reforestation and naturalization of the large urban and metropolitan borders (Metrosbosco). Metrobosco and Bosco Verticale are devices for the environmental survival of contemporary European cities. Together they create two modes of building links between nature and city within the territory and within the cities of contemporary Europe.

The first example of a Bosco Verticale composed of two residential towers of 110 and 76 meters height, will be realized in the centre of Milan, on the edge of the Isola neighbourhood, and will host 900 trees (each measuring 3, 6 or 9 m tall) apart from a wide range of shrubs and floral plants. On flat land, each Bosco Verticale equals, in amount of trees, an area equal to 10.000 sqm of forest. In terms of urban densification the equivalent of an area of single family dwellings of nearly 50.000 sqm. The project is now underway.

The future of vertical farming in Italy

The Bosco Verticale is a system that optimizes, recuperates and produces energy. The Bosco Verticale aids in the creation of a microclimate and in filtering the dust particles contained in the urban environment. The diversity of the plants and their characteristics produce humidity, absorb CO2 and dust particles, producing oxygen and protect from radiation and acoustic pollution, improving the quality of living spaces and saving energy. Plant irrigation will be produced to great extent through the filtering and reuse of the grey waters produced by the building. Additionally Aeolian and photovoltaic energy systems will contribute, together with the aforementioned microclimate to increase the degree of energetic self sufficiency of the two towers. The management and maintenance of the Bosco Verticale’s vegetation will be centralised and entrusted to an agency with an office counter open to the public.

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Electric Vehicles A History of Moving Americans Reborn

Posted on October 29, 2011 by quest

The popularity of mass-produced electric or hybrid cars is recent, but the idea behind using electricity as a power source for cars is more than 100 years old. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will explore the history of the electric car from the early 20th century to the present in a new display as part of the “America on the Move” exhibition opening Oct. 27 through January 2012. “Electrifying Cars” showcases two cars—a 1904 Columbia electric runabout, the best-selling car in the United States at the turn of the century and a 1913 Ford Model T touring car, a gasoline car equipped with an early type of electric starter and electric headlights. The cars, along with a battery charger for General Motors’ EV1 and images of additional electric models, car owners and power sources, follow the historical, cultural and physical development of the electric car.

A look at electric vehicles in history

“Electricity has always been a popular feature of cars,” said Roger White, associate curator of Road Transportation. “By the 1920s manufacturers used batteries not to propel cars but to apply the conveniences of electric cars to gasoline-powered cars.” He added that in recent years a market has developed for all-electric cars and hybrid cars with gasoline and electric propulsion because they reduce energy costs and air pollution. “These cars can draw energy from a variety of sources including fossil fuels, regenerative braking and renewable sources such as solar panels and wind power,” he said.

In the early 20th century, Americans could choose electric, steam or gasoline cars. Wealthy city residents, particularly women, bought electric cars because they were easier to operate. By the 1920s, gasoline-powered cars were the vehicle of choice because they could be driven much farther than electric cars between fill-ups, and gasoline pumps, unlike electric power stations, could be readily located anywhere. Since the 1960s, smog, greenhouse gases, global warming and strained oil supplies have prompted researchers, government and the public to take a new look at electric hybrid and all-electric cars. In the 1990s GM and other manufacturers worked to put electric cars on the market. GM’s EV1, Honda’s EV+, Ford’s Ranger EV and Toyota’s RAV4 EV were leased. But by 2003, the manufacturers determined that the electric car was not commercially viable and ended the leases. By 2010, the market led to the reintroduction of electric cars, and for the first time in almost 100 years consumers could purchase all-electric or new types of hybrid cars.

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Nasa Set To Launch Climate Change Observing Satellite

Posted on October 22, 2011 by quest

NASA is planning an Oct. 27 launch of the first Earth-observing satellite to measure both global climate changes and key weather variables. The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) is the first mission designed to collect critical data to improve weather forecasts in the short-term and increase our understanding of long-term climate change. NPP continues observations of Earth from space that NASA has pioneered for more than 40 years.
NPP’s five science instruments, including four new state-of-the-art sensors, will provide scientists with data to extend more than 30 key long-term datasets. These records, which range from the ozone layer and land cover to atmospheric temperatures and ice cover, are critical for global change science. “NPP’s observations of a wide range of interconnected Earth properties and processes will give us the big picture of how our planet changes,” said Jim Gleason, NPP project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. “That will help us improve our computer models that predict future environmental conditions. Better predictions will let us make better decisions, whether it is as simple as taking an umbrella to work today or as complex as responding to a changing climate.”

“The timing of the NPP launch could hardly be more appropriate,” said Louis W. Uccellini, director of NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction in Camp Springs, Md. “With the many billion dollar weather disasters in 2011, NPP data is critical for accurate weather forecasts into the future.”A Delta II rocket will carry NPP into an orbit 512 miles above Earth’s surface. Roughly the size of a mini-van, the spacecraft will orbit Earth’s poles about 14 times a day. It will transmit data once each orbit to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, and to direct broadcast receivers around the world. NPP is set to launch from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Oct. 27. The launch window extends from 5:48 a.m. to 5:57 a.m. EDT

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SunPower Donates Solar Training To Greenpeace Africa

Posted on September 16, 2011 by quest

The SunPower Foundation, today announced the donation of high efficiency SunPower photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to Greenpeace Africa. The panels will be installed in September by 30 local youth during a two week solar training course in Durban, South Africa, led by Greenpeace. They will learn more about solar PV and other renewable energy technologies as well as complete course modules covering social entrepreneurship and Greenpeace’s Energy (R)evolution report. “Greenpeace Africa is thrilled that the SunPower Foundation has offered to solarize our headquarters and mobile solar showcase units for the upcoming UN climate talks in Durban, both benefitting the people of South Africa,” said Olivia Langhoff, campaigns director for Greenpeace Africa. “This donation provides an impetus for investment and is a demonstration that renewable energy solutions are feasible.”

Once installed, the four high efficiency SunPower solar panels will generate clean energy for two Greenpeace Africa mobile solar showcase units to be displayed at the 17th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNGCCC), being held in Durban, South Africa from November 28 through December 9, 2011. Each unit will utilize solar-powered multi-media technology devices, including televisions, laptops and sound systems, to communicate the growing need for renewable energy solutions while staffers share their knowledge and experience with solar PV.

“With this donation, the SunPower Foundation remains true to its mission – to empower the world’s next generation of solar leaders,” said Doug Richards, SunPower Foundation chairman. “We hope that the Greenpeace Solar Training course will inspire local youth to explore solar technology and create renewable solutions for energy needs in this part of the world and beyond.”Furthering the relationship, the SunPower Foundation has also agreed to solarize the Greenpeace Africa Johannesburg headquarters with a high efficiency SunPower rooftop system later this year.