Technology Review: A Better Solar Collector

Here’s another screamingly cool addition to the panoply of   new solar innovations happening these days. A small  company based in Cambridge, Ma, Covalent Solar, is introducing its concept for dramatically increasing the efficiency of polysilicon photovoltaic power cells.  Specifically, their innovation places a sheet of chemically dyed glass (or plastic conceivably) over an existing PV panel. The dyed glass actually shunts a specfic wavelength of sunlight sideways..that’s right…at a 90 degree angle to the direction of travel, forcing it out the edges of the glass panel and into a PV panel waiting there. It concentrates the light and allows a much smaller PV panel to capture roughly as much as a full-sized standard PV panel. If you put this literally on top of an existin PV panel you could nearly double the efficiency of the panel alone.  Founded by researchers at MIT, Covalent Solar is a new startup and the technology is still developing, but I love the simple elegance of the idea. I can definitely see how this could work either stand alone or in conjunction with traditional PV panels.  Way effin cool.

Fuel Economy Leaders: 2008 Model Year

Rank Manufacturer/Model MPG city/highway
1 Toyota Prius (hybrid-electric) 48/45
2 Honda Civic Hybrid 40/45
3 Nissan Altima Hybrid 35/33
4 Ford Escape Hybrid FWD
Mazda Tribute Hybrid 2WD
Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD 34/30
5 Toyota Camry Hybrid 33/34
6 Toyota Yaris (manual) 29/36
7 Toyota Yaris (automatic) 29/35
8 Ford Escape Hybrid 4WD
Mercury Mariner Hybrid 4WD
Mazda Tribute Hybrid 4WD 29/27
9 Toyota Corolla (manual) 28/37
10 Honda Fit (manual) 28/34

Full story here: Fuel Economy Leaders: 2007 Model Year | Fuel Economy | US EPA

BBC NEWS | Americas | Gore challenges US to ditch oil
Gore challenges US to ditch oil in 10 years. A Mammoth Undertaking, but one worthy of the effort.

Here’s the full text of the speech:

Ladies and gentlemen:

There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more – if more should be required – the future of human civilization is at stake.

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Here’s an old site I recently remembered, and Lo! It’s still online.
If you’ve ever thought about trying those obscure foreign candy treats you find at small, mom and pop convenience stores or gas stations, especially if you’re near the US/Mexico border…don’t. The boys at Bad Candy have done the taste-testing for you and lived to write about it.

Cajetas, Bomvaso, Chaca Chaca, Indy Dedos, Dubbel Zout! …some of the many questionable (to an American palate anyway) treats that have been sampled, rejected and described in agonizing detail. If nothing else, the descripitions will make you laugh.

Here’s a cool idea for generating energy: Harness the power of one of Nature’s baddest mammajammas and use it to do good. Tornados: They suck, a knowledge gained firsthand by many a hapless trailer park inhabitant across the American midwest. Well, a Canadian engineer has decided to try to capitalize on cyclonic power to spin turbine engines and generate electricity. He thinks he’s found a way to basically create a tornadic vortex in a controlled environment for just such a purpose. Better yet, he figures he can do it using waste heat from existing power plants.

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Ok, in an idle moment I began wondering how much space it would take to provide all of humanity’s energy needs via solar electricity.

So I started grabbing some stats:

Total global energy consumption as of 2005 = 15TeraWatts (15,000,000,000,000 Watts)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_resources_and_consumption

Solar electricity generated per Sq. Mile = 130MW (130,000,000)
http://www.ecoworld.com/blog/2007/10/30/226/

Total US Surface area =
Surface Area: 3,537,441 square miles
http://open-site.org/Regional/North_America/United_States/

Total global surface area (land mass) = 57,491,000
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8o.html

So, some napkin math yields:

Total energy needed 115,000,000,000,000) / Solar energy per sq. mile (130,000,000) = 115,385 square miles are needed to meet global energy needs via Solar electricity. Let’s round up and say 120,000 Sq Miles

120,000 sq miles works out to roughly 3 percent of the US landmass or
.2 percent of the global land mass. 2 tenths of one percent is all that is needed to generate the globe’s power needs. Sure, that figure will grow as our energy use grows, but still…

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R. James Woolsey’s speech on need to move away from fossil fuels:
http://www.law.uh.edu/eelpj/symposium/symposium2007.html