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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 37

Jul 4, 2024

Tesla Energy posts record 9.4 GWh of battery storage deployed in Q2 2024

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

Tesla Energy is no longer a sleeping giant. During the second quarter of 2024, Tesla Energy was able to deploy 9.4 GWh of energy storage products. This represents the highest quarter deployment of energy storage products in Tesla’s history to date.

Tesla Energy was already a standout in the company’s Q1 2024 Update Letter. In the document, Tesla highlighted that Q1’s energy deployments were a new record at 4.1 GWh. As could be seen in Tesla’s Q2 2024 production and delivery report, Q1’s already impressive 4.1 GWh of energy storage deployments grew an astounding 132% quarter-over-quarter and 157% year-over-year.

$TSLA BREAKING: Tesla distributed 9.4 GWh of energy storage in the second quarter of 2024.

Jul 4, 2024

Scientists discover new plants that could lead to ‘climate-proof’ chocolate

Posted by in categories: climatology, economics, sustainability

Scientists have found three new species that are close relatives to the plant from which chocolate is produced—a discovery that could pave the way for climate-proof chocolate. The team’s research has been published in the journal Kew Bulletin.

The , discovered in the rain forests of South America, are closely related to Theobroma cacao, the tree that bears which are of tremendous economic importance.

The research team comprising scientists from University College Cork (UCC), the University of São Paulo and New York Botanical Garden say their finding is significant as it indicates that there is much work still to be done in characterizing Earth’s biodiversity.

Jul 3, 2024

Finally, green concrete? New mixture sequesters CO2 while producing strong, durable concrete

Posted by in categories: materials, sustainability

New method captures CO2 while enhancing concrete strength.

Jul 2, 2024

Optoelectronics gain spin control from chiral perovskites and III–V semiconductors

Posted by in categories: computing, solar power, sustainability

A research effort led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has made advances that could enable a broader range of currently unimagined optoelectronic devices.

The researchers, whose previous innovation included incorporating a perovskite layer that allowed the creation of a new type of polarized (LED) that emits spin-controlled photons at room temperature without the use of magnetic fields or ferromagnetic contacts, now have gone a step further by integrating a III-V semiconductor optoelectronic structure with a chiral halide perovskite semiconductor.

That is, they transformed an existing commercialized LED into one that also controls the spin of electrons. The results provide a pathway toward transforming modern optoelectronics, a field that relies on the control of light and encompasses LEDs, solar cells, and telecommunications lasers, among other devices.

Jul 2, 2024

Giant Clams Are Models of Solar-Energy Efficiency

Posted by in categories: food, solar power, sustainability

A theoretical model for the illumination of photosynthesizing algae in giant clams suggests principles for high efficiency collection of sunlight.

Crops on a farm capture only about 3% of the available solar energy, much less than the 20%–25% captured by large solar arrays. Now a research team has used a theoretical model to explain efficiencies as high as 67% for photosynthesizing algae hosted by giant clams [1]. The researchers argue that clams achieve this performance with an optimized geometry. The mollusks may also adjust the algae clusters’ spacing according to changing light conditions. The researchers hope that an understanding of clams’ solar efficiency might help other scientists improve the efficiency of solar technology and explain aspects of the photosynthetic behavior of other ecosystems such as forests.

A photosynthetic cell can convert nearly every incoming photon to usable energy, says biophysicist Alison Sweeney of Yale University. But efficiency is much lower in larger systems such as agricultural fields. “Can we achieve near-perfect efficiencies over large land areas? This is an urgent question” as researchers try to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, Sweeney says.

Jul 2, 2024

Solar Power Investment Will Overtake Oil for the First Time Ever This Year

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, climatology, nuclear energy, sustainability

Year 2023 Basically solar will last several billion years and make type 0 civilization resources obsolete by making trillions of dollars in profits with nearly zero emissions.


Between the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ukraine conflict, inflation, and the renewables transition, the 2020s have been a volatile decade for energy. The pandemic reduced demand for electricity and oil all over the world, causing prices to plummet. Then the Ukraine invasion brought sanctions on Russian oil and gas, pushing energy prices up and leaving European countries scrambling (particularly for natural gas). High energy prices have since contributed to inflation, and in many places utility costs are far surpassing inflation. All the while, worry over climate change has continued to mount, with calls to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels growing ever louder.

In short, the energy situation in the US and around the world is a mess. But the International Energy Agency released some good news in its recent World Energy Investment report. The report is compiled annually, and the 2023 version came out at the end of May. For the first time ever, it found that investment in renewables—specifically solar power—will overtake spending on oil.

Continue reading “Solar Power Investment Will Overtake Oil for the First Time Ever This Year” »

Jul 2, 2024

Solar Power Generates Extreme Heat to Power Steel Furnace

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

Scientists in Switzerland used solar energy to heat an object to over 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit that could potentially replace fossil fuels.

Jul 2, 2024

Tesla seems to have opened an in-house Giga Berlin “rave cave”

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Tesla Gigafactory Berlin has probably become the most fun factory among the company’s facilities worldwide. While Giga Berlin plays a huge part in ramping Tesla’s output globally, the electric vehicle maker also seems determined to ensure that the facility’s employees are well supported. This means that if employees need to destress, they would not need to go too far.

With this in mind, it appears that Giga Berlin has launched an in-house “rave cave” of sorts. The facility’s teaser was posted by Tesla’s official Tesla Manufacturing account, which, strangely enough, shared its post with a hamster emoji. Amidst scenes of employees entering the apparent “rave cave” from a futuristic narrow tunnel, images of a cyber-hamster mascot could also be seen.

Jul 2, 2024

Tech company unveils tiny spheres that outperform solar panels using both sun and artificial light — and the company says they could hit 60 times the current capacity

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

19 D-shaped magnetic coils that will make up the core of ITER now arrived in France, to begin construction of the tokamak.

Jul 1, 2024

Scientists observe record-setting electron mobility in a new crystal film

Posted by in categories: physics, sustainability, transportation

A material with a high electron mobility is like a highway without traffic. Any electrons that flow into the material experience a commuter’s dream, breezing through without any obstacles or congestion to slow or scatter them off their path.

The higher a material’s electron mobility, the more efficient its , and the less energy is lost or wasted as electrons zip through. Advanced materials that exhibit high electron mobility will be essential for more efficient and sustainable electronic devices that can do more work with less power.

Now, physicists at MIT, the Army Research Lab, and elsewhere have achieved a record-setting level of electron mobility in a thin film of ternary tetradymite—a class of mineral that is naturally found in deep hydrothermal deposits of gold and quartz.

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