Emanuel Sachs, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, has found a way to improve the efficiency of a type of silicon solar cells while keeping manufacturing costs about the same.

1366 Technologies, founded in part by Sachs, claims that it has improved the efficiency of its new multicrystalline silicon solar cells by 27 percent, putting them on par with today’s standard cells made from single-crystal silicon. Read more »

Physicists at the University of Maryland have shown that graphene, a sheet of graphite a single atom thick, can conduct electricity at room temperature better than any other known material, including silicon.

Electrons can travel up to 100 times faster through graphene than silicon, making it perfect for the next generation of computer chips and sensors.

But it doesn’t end at that. Graphene also has a smaller resistivity than copper, providing 35% less opposition to the flow of electric current. That would make it the lowest resistivity material as well. However, impurities in graphene make copper better at transferring electrons at the moment. With some refinement, though, we could see graphene overtake copper.

It looks like graphene is just about set to replace silicon in computer chips. The only question left is: where will Graphene Valley be? [via Gizmodo]

Designers Shane Ellis and Terry Brown have come up with an interesting way to remind us when we’re not being green - a power outlet that glows red when plugged-in appliances are consuming power.

Many appliances and electronics continue to use power even when they are off, and this power outlet would be a great way of reminding us of that. The higher the power usage is, the brighter the built-in LED will glow, reminding you to unplug that toaster you won’t be using for another week.

Of course, if you get tired of the nagging simply press a little button on the outlet and it’ll stay white until you turn it back on.

This is a great idea that could help us all save a little power here and there. It would be interesting to see if this product would take off if someone began mass-manufacturing it. Another picture after the jump. Read more »

Sharp, partnering with battery specialist Eliiy Power, will soon start selling the world’s first storage battery for household electricity systems.

These new batteries will allow houses with solar panels to store the power generated by the sun overnight (a full day and a half if necessary), allowing them to operate independently of a power grid.

The companies involved hope that reducing the reliance on traditionally-generated power will help reduce Japan’s greenhouse emissions. Hopefully these batteries will make it to the States so we can do the same.

The price is expected to be around ¥500,000 (about $4,650) when the battery is released next year.

This new battery is expensive, but would pay for itself over time seeing as solar power is free after all of the equipment is installed. Besides, you’ll get that warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that you’re polluting less.

Polymer solar cells that are used today to convert sunlight to electricity degrade over time because of ultraviolet light. Scientists at UCLA have found a solution to that problem.

They suggested coating solar cells with a material that converts photons of ultraviolet light into ones of visible light. Such a material would increase the efficiency of the solar cells and reduce damage to them from sunlight, making them last longer.

The material could be made of a liquid, a gel, nanoparticles, or a solid, the researchers claim. They have already performed some experiments which have confirmed their ideas. A patent has, of course, already been filed.

This is another great step toward renewable energy. With innovations like this we can finally start lowering our dependence on fossil fuels and switch to better sources of energy.

A team of US researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated a material that generates electricity as it moves around. This nanowire fabric can be used in t-shirts and other clothes in the future to serve as a power-plant for our gadgets.

The fabric is created by coating kevlar strands with zinc oxide nanowires, protecting the bushy wires with a polymer, and adding gold to other fibers to act as a conductor. The piezoelectric power-generating action comes when the nanowires bend as two fibers rub together, creating electricity which flows along the gold fibers. Read more »

Scientists recently demonstrated a knee brace that generates enough electricity to power a cell phone conversation for 30 minutes from one minute of walking.

The system works similar to the regenerative breaking found in some hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius. At the end of a stride, the brace takes over the task of stopping your leg and generates power while it is doing that. The generator in the device then turns off so you don’t use any more energy taking the rest of your step.

This is a great new idea for yet another way to generate renewable electricity.  Unfortunately, we really don’t see this taking off.  Although practical, we don’t know anyone who would go outside wearing a device like this.
Photo: Greg Ehlers/Simon Fraser University

When you see this car, you probably think to yourself, “Man, I want one of those.” And then you find out that it’s electric. No, not hybrid. This baby uses no gas whatsoever. It can’t get much better than that, right? Wrong!

This beautiful car is promised to deliver 248 horsepower, a four second 0-60mph, and enough electricity to drive for 200 miles. And best of all, it only takes 3.5 hours to fully charge.

Watch out Ferrari  and Maserati, at $100,000 (expensive, but within reason), the Tesla Roadster will all but wipe you out.

Tesla has finally confirmed that it has received all regulatory approvals to import the first production Roadster, code-named P1, for sale. Production is slated to begin on March 17, with the first P1 going to the company chairman.

I can already see the 600,000 customers who have signed pre-orders for the car drooling excitedly. I can’t wait to finally see a Tesla car driving down the street - beautiful, fast, and efficient.