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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Delta Electronics, Inc. has introduced the E54SD12025,a high power density eighth-brick power converter. The footprint and pinout of the converters follow the DOSA industry standard (2.30″x0.9″x0.5″). The E54SD12025, a single 12V output, isolated dc-dc converter, provides up to 300W of output power. It operates from an input voltage of 42V to 60V. There is a built-in digital pwm controller in
Linear Technology Corporationintroduces the LTM4623 3A µModule (micromodule) step-down regulator in an ultrathin 1.8mm profile LGA package with only a 6.25mm x 6.25mm footprint. With solder paste, the package height is less than 2mm, meeting the height restrictions of many PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), Advanced Mezzanine Cards (AMC) for AdvancedTCA carrier cards in embedded computing systems. The small size