This week’s round up of greentech news is out of this world ;o)
NASA are developing a solar panel satellite that could provide one third of the world’s electricity needs. Thousands of mirrors on the satellite would focus the sunlight onto PV panels which would then convert the sunlight to microwaves which could be beamed back to earth.
Using a satellite rather than earth based solar farms would benefit from stronger sunlight and would not be disrupted by poor weather read more (update – NASA website is currently unavailable due to the shut down of the US government
Back down on earth Siemens won a contract to supply 24 wind turbines for four wind farms in northern France more
In the UK a disused landfill site that was converted into a solar farm has turned out to be the perfect habitat for wild chamomile. Solar farms with their large areas of open space and relatively small amount of disturbance from humans allow wildlife to flourish more
Researchers at the University of Alberta have developed a way to manufacture printable solar panels using phosphorus and zinc. The discovery could lead to further falls in the price of PV panels as these elements are abundant in the earth’s crust more
