Monday, December 4

Tag: Solar power

Wet summer grants big cities in hydro-powered Norway 2 days of free electricity
Science

Wet summer grants big cities in hydro-powered Norway 2 days of free electricity

Oslo — Electricity was free in Norway's two biggest cities on Monday, market data showed, the silver lining of a wet summer. With power almost exclusively produced from hydro in Norway, the more it rains or snows, the more the reservoirs fill up and the lower the electricity price. A particularly violent summer storm dubbed "Hans" that swept across Scandinavia in August, in addition to frequent rainfall this summer, have filled reservoirs in parts of Norway. Water flows over a dam at the Braskereidfoss Power plant in Norway, August 9, 2023. CORNELIUS POPPE/NTB/AFP/Getty As a result, the spot price of electricity before taxes and grid fees was expected to hover between 0 and ...
Why India may be “the only country that has something to show as progress at COP27,” despite its coal habit
Science

Why India may be “the only country that has something to show as progress at COP27,” despite its coal habit

A guard walks between photovoltaic panels at a solar farm in Pavagada, Karnataka, India, February 24, 2022. Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty New Delhi — When the COP27 United Nations climate conference kicks off this weekend in Egypt, India will likely approach the international gathering with a well-earned boast about its success in going green and an appeal for more help to continue down that path. But despite significant strides that one analyst says have made India the only nation with anything to brag about, it may find an international community with little appetite for generosity. Ahead of the climate summit, and clearly aiming to impress, India has set itself tougher t...
China tests technology that could beam solar power from space to Earth
Science

China tests technology that could beam solar power from space to Earth

Chinese researchers have successfully tested a full-system model of technology that could one day wirelessly transmit solar power from outer space to Earth. A model power station at Xidian University in Shaanxi province captures sunlight high above the ground and converts it into microwave beams. It then transmits through the air to a receiver station on the ground, where it can be converted back to electricity. While the model only sends the energy 55 meters through the air, the researchers hope the technology could one day be expanded to send power from orbiting solar panels to Earth. The research team behind it recently c...