Wireless Power May Cut the Cord for Plug-In Devices, Including Cars

New technology that allows for wireless charging of electronic devices could make a rarity of cord jungles like the one in this image, captured this year at a power generation station in New York City during the blackout caused by Hurricane Sandy.

A mobile phone that charges in your pocket, a flat-screen TV that needs no power cord, a car fueled by a cordless panel in the floor: In a nondescript building just outside Boston, these and other applications of wireless electricity signal a future with fewer snaking cables.
WiTricity, a company spun off from research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), aims to redefine how people use energy, making it possible to power devices without ever plugging them into an outlet. In WiTricity's lab, various devices run on power transmitted via electric coils through the air.

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Devin Coldewey , NBC News Record set in solar cell efficiency - with the light of a thousand suns

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy have created a solar cell that can convert 44 percent of sunlight hitting it into electrical energy, setting a new record for solar cell efficiency. But it was only achieved by multiplying the power of the sun by nearly 1,000.

The ongoing research is being done at the III-V Multijunction Photovoltaics group at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where the previous record of 43.5 percent was set. So while it's not a huge leap in efficiency, it's still a record.

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The 2012 solar year in review and what lies ahead in 2013

During 2012, many PV manufacturers endured a long, uphill battle, staggering under steep price cuts, excess inventory, shrinking margins and political headwinds; and all the while, jostling for position with other technologies. However, those that have demonstrated the stamina to survive, and that can hold their ground in 2013, have a chance at remaining in top demand for years to come.

Read more: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/the-2012-solar-year-in-review-and-what-lies-ahead-in-2013_100009692/#ixzz2GMktXhOS

Manipulating Light to Double Solar Power Output

An ARPA-E project will use advanced, nanostructured materials to make solar cells that convert far more of the energy in sunlight into electricity.

• By Kevin Bullis on December 28, 2012

Why It Matters

Increasing the amount of electricity a solar panel produces is one of the most effective ways to reduce the cost of solar power.

Most solar panels convert less than 20 percent of the energy in the sunlight that falls on them into electricity. A new $2.4 million project funded by the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy aims to greatly increase the amount of sunlight that becomes electricity. Its goal is a conversion efficiency of more than 50 percent, which would more than double the amount of power generated by a solar panel of a given size. This would cut the number of solar panels needed in half and potentially make solar power more competitive with fossil fuels.

In the new research effort, Harry Atwater, a professor of applied physics and materials science at Caltech, plans to use precisely structured materials to sort sunlight into eight to 10 different colors and direct those to solar cells with semiconductors that are matched perfectly to each color. As a result, more of the solar spectrum will be absorbed, and the energy contained in each slice of the spectrum will be converted mostly to electricity, rather than heat.

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Lab building test centers for solar power across U.S.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- One of the National Security Administration's three national laboratories is building regional testing centers around the country to field-test hardware for solar companies before their multimillion-dollar solar systems are installed in buildings. 

The Sandia National Laboratory is building test centers in Albuquerque, Denver, Las Vegas, Orlando, Fla., and Burlington, Vt., the Albuquerque Journal reported.

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Wind, solar power paired with storage could be cost-effective way to power grid

Renewable energy could fully power a large electric grid 99.9 percent of the time by 2030 at costs comparable to today’s electricity expenses, according to new research ("Cost-minimized combinations of wind power, solar power and electrochemical storage, powering the grid up to 99.9% of the time") by the University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College.

A well-designed combination of wind power, solar power and storage in batteries and fuel cells would nearly always exceed electricity demands while keeping costs low, the scientists found.

Read more: http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/green/newsid=27965.php#ixzz2Egwwswm6
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High-Voltage DC Breakthrough Could Boost Renewable Energy

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/12/121206-high-voltage-dc-breakthrough/