Industry news

Sunlight is composed of many wavelengths of light. In a traditional solar panel, silicon atoms are struck by sunlight and the atoms’ outermost electrons absorb energy from some of these wavelengths of sunlight, causing the electrons to get excited. Once the excited electrons absorb enough energy to jump free from the silicon atoms, they can flow independently through the material

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The government of France recently launched a new 400 MW request for proposals for solar PV projects larger than 250kW in size, according to recent reports. Of this new 400 MW request, 50 MW is for solar projects in parking facilities, below 4.5 MW in size; 150 MW is for rooftop solar projects; and 200 MW is for ground-mounted solar

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The German carmaker plans to expand capacity at Deutsche ACCUmotive, the company’s battery-making division in Saxony becaus it expects “high and steadily-growing demand” for electric-car batteries. Deutsche ACCUmotive supplies batteries for the luxury Mercedes division’s hybrid S-Class, E-Class and C-Class models. Steps to increase battery output tie in with Daimler’s plans announced last month to phase out production of lithium-ion

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BMW recently unveiled a prototype plug-in hybrid electric version of its popular “3 Series” of production models. Utilizing a four-cylinder TwinPower Turbo gasoline engine (via the new Efficient Dynamics engine group) along with an electric motor, the prototype compares performance-wise with BMW’s 3 Series six-cylinder model — of course, that’s equal performance with far less fuel consumption and cost, something

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It’s still a tough job market for many people in many sectors. Politicians and policymakers speak of job creation, but if they are serious about that, they have to recognize the jobs and job-creation potential in the renewable energy sector. The renewable energy sector has helped to replace jobs lost when other manufacturing sectors and technical trades moved to other

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The US-based Tesla Motors has now fixed the official Australia launch of its already iconic electric vehicle for December 9 – in a development that might reshape the discussion about the clean energy future in the country. Tesla, which expects to sell 33,000 EVs this year and is building a $5 billion battery manufacturing plant in Nevada, has been planning

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As fiercely capable as well as independently thinking and acting as an electric Batmobile, or something Q provided for James Bond, the Tesla Model S P85D is the ultimate halo car. 691 horsepower, instant torque, semi-autonomous driving capabilities, a drive setting labeled “Insane,” and suave style — Bond would be so lucky. Of course, a halo car draws attention to

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We’ve been hearing a lot about fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) lately, thanks in large part to Toyota and its Mirai. But how does a FCEV really compare to a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) like the Tesla or a LEAF? I wanted to look at the economics between FCEVs and BEVs, and then also make some guesses about infrastructure costs. Have

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Microchip Technology Inc. has announced a new series of its low-cost, high-pin count 32-bit PIC32 microcontrollers (MCUs). By blending the key features of Microchip’s existing PICM32MX1/2 and PIC32MX5 MCU families, this latestPIC32MX1/2/5 MCU series delivers designers the benefits of a rich peripheral set for a wide range of cost-sensitive applications that require complex code and higher feature integration at a

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Harwin plc has launched a family of high-density power connectors that can handle currents up to 10A. Based on a 3mm pitch, the new M300 connectors are designed for rugged environments and withstand twice the number of operations as older generation products. M300 connectors feature a 4-fingered Beryllium Copper female contact which delivers superb electrical and mechanical performance. Devices suit

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