Silver Bits Boost Solar Power

Banks, government cut funding for industry

(NEWSER) - After a bright 2008, things are looking gloomy for the solar power industry amid the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Banks have cut funds for some projects, and the government of Spain, the second-biggest solar power market, has shrunk subsidies. Solar-cell sales are expected to fall by some 20%, going for $2 per watt, compared to $3.95 last year. More»

Innovation could create unlimited solar power

(NEWSER) - Scientists building complex, designer viruses in the lab may sound sort of terrifying, but what if those viruses could potentially solve the world’s energy problems? A group of researchers at MIT has fabricated an artificial virus that can be fabricated into wire-like chains that can transport solar power and use it to break down water into its component parts—just like plants do during photosynthesis, Popular Science explains. More»

Would focus sun's energy to produce heat, steam

(NEWSER) - Google is working on new mirrors to make solar thermal power significantly cheaper, Reuters reports. If it works, the technology could reduce the cost of building a plant to draw power from the sun by 25% or more. “We've been looking at very unusual materials for the mirrors both for the reflective surface as well as the substrate that the mirror is mounted on,” says the Internet giant's green energy boss. Working prototypes should be ready in a few months. More»

(NEWSER) - Clean coal is a myth, and the companies selling it “have their heads stuck in the mine,” Thomas Kostigen writes on MarketWatch. Although Americans generate close to 50% of their energy from coal, the technology is so yesterday—and the industry is not poised to move forward. It “should be looking to invest in its own replacement,” Kostigen writes, “because someone somewhere is going to invent it, and then where will they be?” More»

Firms use green hype to build power lines that could carry electricity from coal

(NEWSER) - Plans to green the US power supply are in full swing, with the Obama administration working toward the goal of doubling the current supply of alternative energy over the next 3 years. But, some complain, power companies are using the popularity of green power to push through a needless—but highly profitable—expansion of the transmission grid, Katharine Mieszkowski writes for Salon. More»