Environmental News, Eco-Friendly Gadgets - FreshAirTimes.eu

Eco Factor: Outdoor umbrella generates power for recharging portable devices.

Konarka Technologies, an innovator in development and commercialization of Power Plastic (a material that converts light to energy), is working to make sure that power for your portable devices is available anywhere. The firm entered into a technology partnership with SKYShades one year ago and lately, SKYShades received its first shipment of Konarka Power Plastic thin film. SKYShades is one of the global leaders in supplying shade and tension membrane structures. This lightweight thin film, which converts light to energy, will be used by SKYShades to create the Powerbrella, an innovative way to charge your laptop, cellphone or other portable devices outdoors.

Designed for use at outdoor venues such as cafés and restaurants, hotel and resort swimming pools and outdoor lounges, the Powerbrella incorporates the Power Plastic on the surface of SKYShades’ retractable and fixed architectural SKYbrella. Testing for the Powerbrella has been done in 2008 at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando. Physics students at Lake Highland checked the effectiveness of the Powerbrella to withstand the elements, its ability to generate clean green energy and the amount of resulting power that could be stored in batteries for reuse.

Other than generating energy from the solar panels, the Powerbrella will also offer people coverage from the sun. The Powerbrella is expected to go on sale by Q3 of 2009.

Via: Talk2MyShirt

Eco Factor: Cold storage facility powered by solar energy.

Perpetual Power has announced the completion of a 416KW DC solar installation on a Budweiser cold beer storage facility in Contra Costa County, California. The 2,240 panels, which cover about 60% of the 110K-aquare-foot building’s energy needs generate about 600,000KWh of energy which would result in an annual savings of approximately $100,000.

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Eco Factor: World’s largest solar energy plant planned for Australia.

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd has said in a statement that the government is ready to invest $1.05 million (USD) to build the world’s largest solar power plant with an output of 1000MW. The plant will have three times the generating capacity of the current biggest solar energy plant which is in California.

The project is intended to exploit Australia’s biggest natural resources, the Sun. The plant will help Australia become a leader in the renewable energy sector. The project should eventually lead to a network of solar-powered stations across the country. The government stated that the country doesn’t want to be a renewable energy follower but a renewable energy but a clean energy leader in the world. Tender details will be announced later this year and successful bidders will be named in the first half of 2010.

Image Credit: Flickr [Under a Creative Commons License]

Via: Reuters

Solar energy is one of the most impressive and easily available sources of green energy that has the potential to power everything from the PMPs we carry to the cars we drive. Toyota has already started exploring the potential of solar energy by announcing that it will use solar panels in its next-generation Prius hybrid car. While this car would just use the energy to run the car’s AC, some designers have shown the way cars could completely be powered by the energy falling from the sun. Check out ten such concepts one of which might just be your ride into the future.

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In the quest for developing alternate recyclable energy sources, perhaps the greatest potential lies in the development of commercially viable energy from the abundant sunshine our planet receives each day. The popular method of harvesting solar power lies with direct collection of the sun’s energy on huge solar-energy collectors. More than a hundred years ago, a French physicist Jacques Arsene d’Arsonoval proposed generating electricity from the ocean. The Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology is the method of running heat generators by using the temperature difference between the upper and lower levels of the sea to produce electricity
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For starters, I do not sell real estate and I have absolutely no personal motives involved in this. But when a green home needs a taker, then I’m more than willing to give it a little rub. That is exactly why we are discussing this wonderful home just a drive away from Ontario. It is a home of 24 X 28 with loft - cathedral ceiling which has been professionally built by Post & Beam Construction. The home looks beautiful and is obviously placed in a location that is game for photography of wildlife. (I do not like to promote ‘hunting’ as a sport or a pass time) (more…)

I recently came across this modern-day gadget, which is a Solar Powered Air Purifier-cum-Disinfector. Well, can you think of any such useful and environmentally safe gadget? I can’t. So, I feel this product is indeed contemporary and distinctive. The best attribute of this product is that it can be conveniently powered either by solar energy or by charging its lithium batteries. The product is handy (can fit well within 20 square meter of available space) and consumes less than 5W of power. With all the latest technology in place, such as Advance active carbon HEPA filter technology, Space capsule plasma purification technology and Nanometer light-accelerating air purification, it can effectively purify or disinfect surrounding air. Other additional features include refreshing the air by anions, effective ozone purification capabilities and a decent input voltage of 12/24V DC.
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Arizona is going to add the largest solar jewel to the eco friendly crown of the planet as it is all set to build, own and operate what would be the largest solar power plant in the world if operating today. Abengoa Solar, a subsidiary of a multi-billion-dollar international technology company, has signed a contract with Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), one of Arizona’s leading energy utilities to makes sure that this amazing project actually crosses all the hurdles and materializes in to reality. The moment it is operational it will produce 280-Megawatts of energy and the plant will sell around $4 billion in clean electricity over 30 years.

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It is well-known that coal, the state rock of Utah, is the source of heat and electricity to millions of business houses as well as personal homes in that state. According to reports from Western Resource Advocates, a charitable environmental law and policy organization, power plants that use coal as fuel, supply almost 95 percent of the total electricity in Utah.

While admitting the usefulness of coal as an energy source and the practicality of using it extensively, Ken Schreiner, a resident of Salt Lake City (along with his wife,Abbie), also sounds out a warning. Schreiner says:

On the surface, it makes a lot of sense to use this resource for energy and stay on the utility grid. The problem is, when coal burns it creates a lot of air pollution.

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If you don’t remember to charge your cell phone before leaving home and come to know about it when you have to make an important call and your cell starts to beep then this device is just made for you. Carrying your phone charger around is too much of a hassle and even if you remember to take it with you wherever you go, you might not have access to electricity everywhere.

Mini Solar Charger Cell Phone Strap from Strap-Ya comes to the rescue. To charge your cell-phone with it, you just need to attach the gadget to your phone. What’s better, this tool is completely eco-friendly as it runs on solar energy. That doesn’t mean, however, that it is any less in performance. It can be charged up to as many as 500 times! On cloudy days, three hours on an AC adapter will give you a backup battery anyway.

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