Solar cells currently used are mostly bulky and made from silicon and other non-recyclable materials, hence they’re not as green as they should be. Mimicking nature might be a solution to this problem. More exactly, North Carolina State University researchers have prototyped a water-based solar cell, mimicking the functioning of a leaf, to produce electricity.

This weekend, automobile maker Jaguar introduced it’s newest supercar at the Paris Motor Show. The new concept vehicle sets new standards for green vehicles and showcases technology for the future of electric motoring. The Jaguar C-X75 concept car is a first of it’s kind to sport both an electric powered engine in concert with a jet turbine engine, which tops out in at an impressive speed of 205 mph.

Designers have come up with a new portable wind turbine that is very easy to be transported and put into function by just one person. Dubbed the “Mobile Wind Turbine”, it includes a hybrid carrier that uses electricity harnessed from wind energy to run.

But a dimmer living room and risk of eye-strain may be the least of our worries. In the rush to get us using greener, more energy-efficient light bulbs, authorities here have forgotten to engage in any public information campaign about their health risks.

Designed by the Tokyo Institute of Technology and fine-tuned by researchers at MERSTech in partnership with the ONR's office in Tokyo, the Magnetic Energy Recovery Switch (MERS) harnesses and recycles residual magnetic power that is produced by electrical current. By using a device that controls the flow of electricity, light bulbs can now maximize their potential. The proposal for the expanded experiment is scheduled for completion in October.

Chris Huhne threatened to get heavy-handed with gas and electricity providers on Tuesday, warning that he would step in if the industry failed to tell customers about price rises.The energy secretary hit out at providers who “put up their prices without telling you for three months”.

According to the Pedegopress release , “The announced battery-fuel cell hybrid system is compatible with all existing Pedego bicycles and batteries. For every 1.5 lbs. of weight a rider carries, an additional 700 watt-hours of energy is available (compared to ~350 watt-hours for an ultra-high performance lithium-polymer battery at a weight of 7 lbs.).

Anywhere people are walking dogs -- and throwing away dog poop -- can be a source of heat and light by introducing a methane digester into the equation. The first-ever Park Spark project was installed in Cambridge, Mass., on Tudor Street, between Sidney Street and Brookline Street, a few blocks from MIT.

Advances in solar energy efficiencies have so far been made with irregular surfaces, thinner tabbing between cells, more optically perfect glass and even special coatings, but now Stanford engineers say the best efficiency is via ultra-thinpolymer films inside solar cells that allow more “bounce room.”

With a stalled Green energy movement that seems to have convinced few people that it can actually replace our dependence on fossil fuels, Tom Rand thinks it's time to move the goal posts. An engineer who is also a venture capitalist who puts his money where his mouth is, his challenge is simple: America can either pioneer green energy as an investment that will pay off for centuries to come, or wind up paying someone else for the same solutions down the road.

The inventor says his device can cut the energy use by 25%. Moreover, it can prove itself healthy for those who suffer from asthma, allergies, of whatever age or sex. CleanAir supposedly removes particles, viruses, ozone, bacteria, organic solvents, hydrocarbons and cigarette smoke from the air.

Governor Pat Quinn announced that Illinois residents now have a second chance to receive a discount on their purchase of ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances on Sept. 24, during the Illinois ENERGY STAR Replacement Appliance Rebate Program.

All new investments must undergo independent assessments and government reviews on whether they are energy-saving or not before being approved by regulators, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, said yesterday in a statement on its website.

Within two years, three White Sands Missile Range employees have saved more than 4,000 miles of use on their vehicles by riding their bicycles to and from work at least twice a week. Shane Cunico, Phil Simpson and Kurt Austin, who all work at Army Research Laboratory at WSMR, have been riding their bicycles together to work for the last 18 months.

Vertical axis wind turbines have recently been revived by a few innovations made to them by scientists all over the world. Sauer Energy is one of them, and their turbine has a high efficiency because it’s designed to maximize the drag, so the blades are moved more efficiently by the wind.

Engineering researchers from Tufts University, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard University have demonstrated the low-temperature efficacy of an atomically dispersed platinum catalyst, which could be suitable for on-board hydrogen production in fuel-cell-powered vehicles of the future.

A team of Ukranian and American scientists have discovered that by using structures called ferroelectric nanowires, they can generate electricity from a temperature difference. This concept is now new, but rather uses different approaches and materials. It can harvest energy by using the temperature difference between materials and/or ambients.

Adobe, the software giant, has installed 12 100-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cells, or Energy Servers, from Bloom Energy at the Adobe headquarters. The cumulative 1.2 megawatts of power that the fuel cells generate will provide Adobe with about one-third of the power it needs to run the building.

Last year, the Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) company has developed a tidal power generator that has now been connected to the energy grid at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii as part of the firm’s program with the US Navy to test wave energy technology, giving the US their the first-ever grid connection for a wave energy device.

The phase-out of incandescent light bulbs is part of the EU's strategy to cut greenhouse gases by 20% by 2020. Replacing the old lamps with more efficient models is expected to reduce energy consumption for lighting by 60% in the EU, equivalent to saving 30 million tons of CO2 pollution every year.

Ahead of the 2020 deadline for constituent parts of the UK to hit renewable power targets, Scotland has raised its ambitions for real-terms energy saving by switching to eco-friendly alternatives.

The two researchers tried to combine spintronics (electronics that use the spin of electrons to read/write data) with thermoelectricity, which transforms heat into electricity through the Seebeck effect. The spin-Seebeck effect (the conversion of heat to spin polarization) had been observed in action in 2008, but only on a metal rod, not on a semiconductor. They called their new heat-to-electron spin discovery “thermo-spintronics.”

The new nano-ceramics would be key components in the next generation of capacitors. Like batteries, capacitors store energy, but there the resemblance ends. Batteries are designed to collect energy over a relatively long period of time, then release it at a low, constant rate. Capacitors charge and release large amounts of power very quickly. The basic principle has been around since the 18th century, but until recently one roadblock has been how to reduce them down to an efficient size.

Light behaves differently in macro- and nano- scale environments, and this could be a starting point for those researchers who want to improve the solar cells’ efficiency. It was a starting point for some Stanford engineers, who found out that light ricocheting inside an ultra-thin polymer film solar cell behaves differently than if the film wasn’t so thin. The difference is enormous.

The two companies, in cooperation with PetersenDean Roofing and Solar Systems, announced a partnership earlier this year to pre-install solar panels at no additional cost to homebuyers at The Preserve new home community. Last Friday, September 17, Toll Brothers hosted the official ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the community to the public.

The UK environmental group Carbon Trust and Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory have jointly formed a new company called Eight19 concentrating on the development of new organic photovoltaic (PV) technology that could make the installation of solar cells cheaper and easier.