Alternative Energies
Family-sized Solar Car to Race in World Solar Challenge

Battery Technology | Electric Cars | Solar Power | TransportationSolar Team Great Britain has started a kickstarter page to help fund their design for entry in the 2017 World Solar Challenge. Founder Steven Heape leads a team of volunteers from many different disciplines, companies and universities working on a family-sized solar car to compete in the cruiser class. “Cruiser Class is about two or […]

Man Converts Toyota Prius into Motor Home

Hybrid Cars | TransportationIt’s Friday, so we figured it’s time for a little humour. James Lawler, a Landscaper from Torquay Australia, has built himself a mini-motorhome atop his Toyota Prius Hybrid. The project took just over a week to complete using scrap materials, and ended up costing him just under $150. What inspired this project? Lawler says “There’s […]

Floating Solar Panels: A Viable Solution?

Hydro Power | Photovoltaic Cells | Solar PowerSince 2011, French Company Ciel & Terre has been developing large-scale floating solar solutions. Their innovative Hydrelio Floating PV system allows standard PV panels to be installed on large bodies of water such as: drinking water reservoirs, quarry lakes, irrigation canals, remediation and tailing ponds, and hydro electric dam reservoirs. This simple and affordable alternative […]

Possible Dual Rotor Technology for Wind Turbines

Energy Inventions | Wind Power | Wind TurbinesIowa State Aerospace Engineers Anupam Sharma and Hui Hu are exploring the possibility of adding a smaller, secondary rotor to wind turbines. The engineers studied the base of existing turbines and found two major problems. First, they are big round structural pieces that don’t harvest any wind energy because they are not shaped like an […]

The Benefits of Solar Power (Infographic)

Environment and Sustainability | Photovoltaic Cells | Solar PowerHome Inspector Bill Barber recently created an excellent infographic that details how solar panels can power homes and help the environment at the same time. According to the infographic, “1 hour of Energy from the Sun = 1 Year of Power for the Global Population”. And as stated, solar power remains the 3rd most important […]

The Kymogen Wave Energy Generator

Energy Inventions | Hydro Power | Wave PowerMechanical Engineer David Hartmann and Craftsman Jason Ballash have designed a new wave power technology called the KymoGen, which has the potential to produce clean, low-cost energy using the constant power of waves. Key to the design is its simplicity. A portable 8’x8′ platform is tethered to a mooring on the sea floor. Inside the […]

Hydrogen-Powered Tram Developed in China

Fuel Cells | Hydrogen Fuel | Public Transit | TransportationIn an effort to reduce China’s harmful and plentiful greenhouse gas emissions, Chinese company Sifang (a subsidiary of China South Rail Corporation) has developed the world’s first hydrogen powered tram. The tram took two years of research and development to complete, and will be powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells. Since this is a tram […]