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Do you remember Twin Creeks Technologies? The VC-funded startup was attempting to commercialize an ion-implant machine that would allow solar manufacturers to produce super-thin photovoltaic cells from crystalline silicon. It was a wildly ambitious bet, and the company went from unstealthing in early 2012 to having its assets purchased for approximately $10 million by GT Advanced Technologies in late 2012.

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It’s one of the recurring questions asked by electric-car skeptics: Yeah, but what about all those battery packs? Won’t they just end up in landfills? We know already that the 12-Volt lead-acid car battery appears to be the most-recycled consumer good in the world–though that’s largely for safety reasons, as lead is far more toxic than the materials in lithium-ion

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Starting a new car company isn’t easy. Given the complexity and cost of cars, buyers are often hesitant to try an unknown quantity. If a car gets even a hint of a reputation for unreliability, that task could turn impossible. Which is why news that a Tesla Model S electric car on long-term test by Edmunds had its drive unit

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Wind power in the UK is helping to fill the void left by the shuttering of four nuclear reactors. One reactor was found with a defect on its boiler spine, so EDF Energy decided to shut it down, along with three others. It is expected they will be offline for about two months. (EDF is a French utility responsible for

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The research team described their work at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The device works by detecting and responding to lactate, which is naturally present in sweat. Lactate is a very important indicator of how you are doing during exercise, explained Wenzhao Jia, Ph.D. In general, the more intense the exercise, the more

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Solar and wind energy sector has a bumper output in Spain last month as the two technologies fulfilled more than a third of the country’s total electricity demand. Low-carbon electricity sources generated more than 55% of the electricity consumed in Spain last month as power generated from wind energy increased substantially. Almost 30% of the total electricity consumed last month

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It is now generally recognized that rooftop solar has reached “socket parity” — meaning that it is comparable to or cheaper than grid prices — in many countries over the last few years. The big question for consumers and utilities is when socket parity will arrive for solar and battery storage. Some suggest it is many years away. Others, such

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In an unusual move, NRG Energy just acquired Goal Zero, a provider of portable solar and charging products. NRG is an energy giant. It’s the biggest independent power producer in the U.S., with 47,000 megawatts of generation capacity. It is also one of the larger solar developers (through dedicated unit NRG Solar) and one of the larger retail providers of

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Hanergy Holding Group Limited, the world’s leading thin-film solar company, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Alta Devices, whose thin film solar technology has a conversion efficiency of 30.8 percent, the highest among the solar energy technologies currently available in the world. Both companies’ R&D teams will join forces to further develop Alta Devices’ technology to serve

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