The future of wind energy is in Airborne high altitude wind turbines

According to the calculations, wind speed is three times higher at 2000m than at 30m of altitude. At the same time, wind power is thirty times higher at 2000m than at 30m of altitude. Concerning these calculations, the scientists agree that airborne high altitude wind turbines are the future of wind energy. Some attempts have been already made Alaska and other parts of the world. At high altitudes, constant strong winds can provide reliable energy sources.

The main concepts of airborne wind turbines include:



Balloon



Kite 



Kytoon 



Tethered autogen



Read more about airborne future technologies for wind turbines here ->



http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2014/07/02/wind-turbine-rises-high-altitude-future-wind-energy/

The future of solar power is in usage of Perovskites instead of Silicon in Photovoltaic solar cells

The photovoltaic solar cells that are currently used for harvesting of solar power are highly ineffective with power conversion rates that are lower than 15%. Therefore it is necessary to find the new materials for the solar cells. Silicone are widely used for solar cells, but many scientists are researching the materials that can replace silicon. Perovskites are special mineral structures, where calcium titanium trioxide is one of the most common forms. The researchers still need to solve the barriers that are caused by high costs of perovskites comparing to silicone. The first perovskite solar cells have already reached 16 percent efficiency and there are predictions that they will reach more than 50 percent efficiency in the future. 

Read more at:

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/perovskites-future-solar-power

In the Future Force Field Could Replace Windshield Wipers - first applications are in development

Windshield wipers are highly ineffective in many cases and they wear off with time. Therefore, the scientists have developed an advanced force field system that can effectively remove all the water, debris, snow or ice from the windshield, making it clear and increasing visibility. This technology was at first developed for fighter jets, but it can also be used for cars. An ultrasonic transducer sends waves of ultrasound that removes all of the debris from the windshield. 

This technology could significantly improve the traffic safety, especially during bad weather conditions. 

Read more at:  

http://news.discovery.com/autos/future-of-transportation/force-field-could-replace-windshield-wipers-131217.htm

Skin implants will replace passwords in the future - the first successful implementation of new technology

In the future a tiny implant the size of a grain of rice could replace all of your keys, passwords, id and other documents. The first successful usage of a tiny skin implant was recently tested in Cancun. The near field communication chip implanted in a hand could successfully replace the car keys, proximity cards, digital passwords and other electronic barriers. The tiny implant is equipped with a battery that is in a dormant state until it is used. This makes it possible to use the implant for a long period of time without a need for replacement of the battery. 

Several questions still arise about the safety of the implants and protection of the data that is stored in them. The high level encryption methods are necessary for their usage and protection of the data. However, this technology will certainly make the life easier by eliminating the need for passwords, keys and other documents.  

Read more at :

http://thirdcertainty.com/best-practices/skin-implants-arrive-replacement-passwords/

The Plasmonic Solar Cell Of The Future could replace the Photovoltaic solar cells

The plasmonic effect refers to the ability of certain metals to transform solar energy to electrical energy. Plasmonic or plasmo-electric effect has been present for centuries, for example in church glass and windows that contained metal particles for absorption of light and solar heat. The scientists are developing modern solar cells that will use plasmonic effect to directly convert solar energy to electricity while significantly increasing their effectiveness. Some new innovations, such as ultra-thin, flexible and light weight solar cells will find their way for usage in different applications. 

The nanotechnology with gold nanospheres is one of the perspective technology in plasmonic field. Although it might look expensive to use gold in solar cells, the nanotechnology offers an alternative by creating ultra-thin films of gold with high effectiveness for capture of solar energy. 

Source:

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/11/02/brace-comes-plasmonic-solar-cell-future/

In the Future, the Artificial Electronic Super Skin that is Powered By Stretchable Solar Cells will become reality

The scientist from Stanford are developing artificial electronic super skin that will be able to detect diseases and other threats to human body. The main idea is to develop the robots with artificial skin that could detect the diseases and other conditions in human body. The hyper sensitive electronic skin is able to detect bio-marker proteins that are characteristic to diseases. Some other options are also possible, such as testing for drunkenness level based on the content of the sweat. The drunkenness level testing would be especially useful in traffic control where the sensors could automatically prevent drunk driving. 

The other idea is the implementation of super skin into wearable clothes. The implanted solar cells could be used to power the gadgets and sensors. The other possible uses are in cars, arches, building and lenses. The new technological developments will surely change our lives by implementing smart clothes and smart wearable sensors. 

Source: http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/artificial-electronic-super-skin/

Nano gold technology will give significant modernization to solar power

Canadian scientists have managed to improve performance of photovoltaic solar panels by 10% by adding gold nanoclusters. The promising new technology will offer significant improvements to solar power sector. According  to the research there are promising technologies in nano sector that will significantly improve the harvesting of solar power in the future. Although the 10% increase in effectiveness is not much at the moment, but the current researches are aiming to even double the output of solar panels. The increased effectiveness of solar panels will make them suitable for usage in mobile devices, with the ability to charge on the go. Many of the electronic devices require charging that is annoying. The future electronic devices will probably be directly charged by the highly effective solar cells that will completely eliminate the need to charge the devices by the traditional ways. 

More info in this article->





http://www.mining.com/canadian-researchers-modernize-solar-power-with-nano-gold-technology-11102/

How to overcome the wind power harvesting problems

Wind power harvesting often has problems that are related to fluctuations in wind speed, inability to store the energy in an economic way and high investment costs. There are many different methods that could be used to effectively increase wind power harvesting. The usage of modern technology and anemometers improves the tracking and prediction of wind speed during different seasons. Furthermore, the special software can be used to track the wind speed and adjust the wind turbines. 

Wind turbine blue sky

Storing energy in batteries is often not suitable for long term projects. Therefore, scientists propose the water accumulation lakes that could be filled with water that is pumped by the energy that is created by the wind turbines during the high seasons. The accumulated water could be used generate electricity during low seasons. There are also other solutions for ultra heavy duty batteries that are based on nanotechnology as well as usage of biotechnology for wind farms. 

Wind turbine dusk

The investment costs still pose a great problem for building of wind turbines. It is well know that the quantity of energy that is created by the turbines is directly proportional to the size of a turbine. The engineers are trying to create giant wind mills for off shore usage that will provide great amounts of energy. The careful planning of location and capacity of wind generators is a key economical factor that must be taken into account. We could surely expect that there will be many new projects that are related to wind energy harvesting in the future. 

Birds are incinerated and killed by solar power plants

The solar mega plant in middle of Mojave desert that is operating on a new solar focusing technology has proven to be deadly to a large a number of birds. According to the scientists, approximately two birds a minute of 28000 birds a year are killed by the focused solar rays that are are caused by the solar power plant. Birds' feathers are severely damaged by the solar rays from the plant and they fall to the ground. The influence of the solar power plant on the environment could prove disastrous and it is therefore needed to take the necessary measures to prevent the impact of bird population in the area. 

Several other power plants that are based on the same principle are in plan for construction and the engineers should solve the existing problem with bird populations. 

Read more at ->



http://www.weather.com/science/news/solar-plants-birds-20140818

The Future Toilets will Turn Waste into Energy

Many efforts have been made to relieve the energy crisis all over the world. Many new ideas have been made in order to convert human feces into energy. 

Here are the main principles of toilets of tomorrow:

Conversion of waste to methane gas - methane is released when the bacteria are breaking up the waste. Methane can later be used to heat the houses or it can be converted to electricity. 

Transforming human feces into charcoal - waste can be transformed into charcoal that can be used to generate energy. 

Turning feces into gas - highly combustible gas can be created from waste. 

Fuel cells - there have been many efforts to make fuel cells that can directly generate electricity from human waste. The toilets of tomorrow could directly produce enough energy for households. 

Hydrogen - could be produced from urine and feces and stored in fuel cells for further usage. 

Although the usage of waste for energy production is already available at large scale in waste treatment facilities, there is a need for new researches that will make this technology available for households. The promising results in this technology could significantly decrease the energy consumption of a household. 

Source:



http://www.fastcoexist.com/1678292/the-toilet-of-the-future-will-turn-poop-into-power