Tag: industry news

Linear Technology Corporation introduces the LTC2933 programmable voltage supervisor with built-in EEPROM for simultaneous, accurate monitoring of up to six voltage rails from 0.2V to 13.9V. Requiring no external resistors to set thresholds, the LTC2933 provides an I²C/SMBus interface to access onboard EEPROM, so users can quickly configure the device and review faults or violation history through the easy-to-use LTpowerPlay™

Read more

Engineering researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new type of rechargeable lithium battery with components made entirely of carbon. Unlike the lithium-ion batteries currently sold around the world to power smart phones, laptops, and countless other devices, this new battery is made without the toxic metal cobalt. The new technology, detailed in a research paper published this week

Read more

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) reported first-quarter revenue of $2.98 billion, net income of $487 million and earnings per share (EPS) of 44 cents. Those results represent a 3% increase in revenue from $2.88 billion in the first-quarter of 2013, an increase of 35% in net income from $362 million in Q1 of 2013 and an increase of 38% in EPS

Read more

WATT Fuel Cell Corp. announced its purchase of tubular SOFC developer Pittsburgh Electric Engines, Inc. (PEEI). The acquisition makes PEEI a wholly-owned subsidiary of WATT and facilitates combining both companies’ fuel cell technologies and personnel into a single entity. WATT is a developer of SOFC systems that will operate on many readily available hydrocarbon fuels such as natural gas, propane,

Read more

A new conversion efficiency record for 9 millimeter-squared solar cells made of gallium arsenide was recently achieved by engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas. The new record — 14% efficiency — was achieved via the utilization of a new approach using a thin layer of zinc oxide. With the new higher efficiency, a small array (9-12) of these cufflink-sized

Read more

Yingli Solar — the biggest vertically integrated photovoltaic module manufacturer on the planet — recently announced that it’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Yingli Energy Company Limited, has entered into a framework agreement with United PV for the purchase of a number of solar PV plants that are to be developed and built by Yingli Green Energy. As per the agreement, United PV

Read more

Just over a week ago we reported on the anticipated moves by network operators in Western Australia and Queensland to ditch their reliance on poles and wires in favour of new technologies that would supply and store energy locally. In Australia’s remote and distant outback, the development of micro and mini-grids – based around solar and battery storage – seems

Read more

Mayors often say they’re “where the rubber meets the road” between government policy and actual action, and it looks like that saying’s especially true when it comes to emissions reductions and climate resilience across America. More than two-thirds of U.S. cities that have pledged to cut carbon dioxide emissions are reporting quantifiable reductions as a result of their action in

Read more

Driven by an explosion in photovoltaics, the U.S. solar sector has emerged “from a relatively small contributor to the nation’s total electric capacity into a one of comparative significance,” the Energy Information Administration reported this week in its latest Electricity Monthly Update. Since 2010, EIA said, U.S. solar capacity increased 418 percent from 2,326 megawatts, accounting for 0.2 percent of

Read more

I’ve written about UK solar schools initiatives for years (see some links on bottom of page). Some have made quite notable progress. However, there are still a lot more British schools without solar power than with it. Now, Abundance Generation has launched a project that allows people to not only donate to solar panels for their local schoolhouses but to

Read more