Fast CoExist: Could Solar-Powered Drones Deliver Electricity to the Developing World?
Distributed energy systems are a good idea for homes that aren't hooked up to the grid. But distributing solar panels to remote areas in the developing world is hard. That's why Mobisol, a German installer, is testing whether drones could do some of the heavy lifting.
"The last mile can be a headache, and, since we have a couple of engineers who can develop drones, we thought maybe there's a leapfrog we can make in how we bring appliances and pieces of the kit to a customer," says Thomas Duveau, the company's business development manager.
Bloomberg: Statkraft, Credit Suisse Fund to Invest $1.2 Billion in Wind
Statkraft AS and partners including a Credit Suisse-backed fund will invest 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in wind power in central Norway, reviving a project after bringing down costs and boosting capacity.
Together with investment company Nordic Wind Power DA and utility Troenderenergi AS, Statkraft plans to build six wind farms in mid-Norway by 2020 with a combined capacity of 1,000 megawatts, the company said Tuesday in a statement. Statkraft will own 52.1 percent, while Nordic Wind, a company backed by Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners, will hold 40 percent.
Guardian: Bill Gates Thinks the World Will Deliver Energy Breakthrough in 15 Years
Bill Gates has predicted researchers will “discover a clean energy breakthrough that will save our planet and power our world” within the next 15 years.
In their annual open letter, Bill and Melinda Gates provide an update on their plans to stimulate innovation in technologies for tackling climate change, energy poverty, and gender inequality.
In Bill’s section of the letter, which is addressed to teenagers, the Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist argues it should be a development priority to deliver clean energy to the 1.3 billion people who do not have access to power.
Times-Union: President Obama Will Visit Battery Plant Supported by the Stimulus
President Barack Obama will come to Jacksonville this week for a tour of Saft, the high-tech battery manufacturing plant built on the Westside after landing a $95.5 million grant from a federal stimulus package aimed at jump-starting the recession-stalled economy in 2009.
The Saft plant also benefited from $20.2 million in local and state financial incentives approved during the administration of Mayor John Peyton, who helped woo the global company to pick Jacksonville for its $200 million plant.
PV-Tech: New Fraunhofer CPV Module Sets World Record in Efficiency
After announcing a new world record in solar-cell efficiency in 2014, Fraunhofer ISE reports that it has set a new benchmark for efficiency at the module level, using concentrating PV (CPV) technology.
According to the Freiburg-based research institute, a new CPV 'mini-module' consisting of four-junction solar cells reached a new world record efficiency of 43.3% efficiency.