A renewable energy boost for Puerto Rico, dissecting electric vehicle batteries, and SunPower installs a Solar Power System in Masdar.

Renwable Energy Boost for Puerto Rico

The Caribbean boasts some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and highest energy costs. Most of the islands are dependent on foreign oil because they cannot join electric grids of neighboring landmasses. Puerto Rico, for instance, has an electricity rate more than double the U.S. average of $.10-12. To solve the problem, the island, has passed legislation to ensure that 12 percent of their power is produced by renewable energy sources by 2015. That number increases to 15 percent by the end of the next decade and 20 percent by 2025. Today, renewable energy accounts for merely one percent of the island’s energy consumption. This past spring, two wind turbines were installed at the Bacardi rum plant on San Juan Bay. Puerto Rico is dependent on more projects like that one with a blend of U.S. federal incentives and local island innovations. The island has another 100-megawatt wind farm planned for its southern coast. Developers with WindMar Renewable Energy of Puerto Rico have received Planning Board approval for another 30-MW wind farm in Guayanilla. Such projects should boost the small island nation’s renewable portfolio in time to meet its energy goals.

Dissecting EV Battteries

Researchers at Ohio State University have been studying how electric vehicle batteries improve their power storage abilities. Since, over time, batteries lose their ability to store power, automakers have been attempting to solve this problem to make electric cars more attractive to consumers. Scientists at Ohio State have discovered that lithium ion batteries used in vehicles lose a fraction of the lithium when it combines with the anode material during charge transfers. This discovery is important because now, manufacturers can use this information to create a better battery that is resistant to the lithium loss.

SunPower Installs Solar Power System for Masdar City

SunPower Corp. has completed installing a 1-MW solar power system on the roof of the Masdar Institute Building in Masdar City bordering Abu Dhabi. The Masdar Institute building is amongst the first buildings completed in the city. The campus is meant to provide ample technology and sophisticated research facilities. “The Masdar Institute is the nucleus of research and development activities in Masdar City and has a key role in the development of the city,” said SunPower Managing Director Jorn Jurgens. “SunPower is pleased to be part of this groundbreaking project, helping Masdar City to achieve their renewable energy goals with SunPower E19 solar panels, which deliver record-breaking efficiency of at least 19.3 percent in standard conditions.” Masdar City aims to be among the world’s most sustainable urban centers run on renewable energy. It is a hub for research and development in the green industry.

National Meeting to Discuss Power Grid in D.C.

Washington DC will host a National Town Meeting for members of the smart gird and demand response community in July 2011. The event will be a nonprofit meeting featuring panel discussions to foster collaboration amongst company executives, consumer advocates, policymakers and environmental organizations. The theme of the 2011 National Town Meeting is how to “Overcome the Barriers” and identifying the obstructions to more demand response and smart grid. Topics that will be discussed by the panel include acceptance of smart metering and time-based rates, convergence of environmental peak-demand reduction goals, energy storage and more. This marks the eighth such National Town Meeting to be held.

Konarka Technologies Achieves Record Breaking Efficiency

Konarka Technologies have achieved record-breaking conversion efficiency for their organic-based photovoltaic solar cells. Though the 8.3 percent rating is significantly lower than the conversion efficiency achieved by inorganic solar cells (40 percent), that National Energy Renewable Laboratory still commended Konarka’s efforts. Konarka’s single-junction solar cell was responsible for the high conversion efficiency. The cell has a surface area of one square centimeter and is composed of multiple thin layers: a photo-reactive printed layer, a transparent electrode layer, a plastic substrate and a protective packaging layer.

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