Renewable energy is derived from natural sources that can be replenished. Due to climatic changes across the world and the ever-increasing cost of oil and fossil fuels, we can see varied types of advancement in the production and use of renewable energy. With increasing investments in the green energy sector, we can notice that renewable energy technologies are getting more cost-effective and efficient. Check out here some of the top technology advances that have been happening at various places.
Solar energy
Sun gives us unlimited energy. However, it has not been tapped effectively as yet. Now, we can notice some changes in the scenario through the decreasing costs of solar power generation and facility installation. The major technologies that have been playing a part in this include spherical solar cells, reflective dishes, and paint-on solar cells.
Clean Venture 21, a Japanese firm, has come up with spherical silicon solar cells. In comparison to rectangular cells, their solar arrays are able to absorb more sunlight from all possible angles. This leads to better flexibility, as well as higher efficiency while generating power from sunlight. Talking about reflective dishes, this idea was the thought of Ben Gurion University, Israel. Their team replaced silicon with gallium arsenide in solar cells. This reduced the cost while improving the capacity of energy generation.
New Jersey Institute of Technology started creating thinner solar cells that could be painted on plastic sheets. These cells contain carbon molecules and nanotubes to create such patterns that can improve the conduction of electricity. Thus, these cells can be a cheaper source of renewable energy.
Wind energy
Wind is another powerful and growing source of renewable energy. Leviathan Energy has done some great job in increasing the efficiency of turbines using a wind energizer. Through their technology, win energy output can be increased by about 30 percent. Another creative technique to raise the energy output has been designed by Advance Turbine System. Instead of increasing blade size, they targeted to raise the height of the turbine itself.
Biomass power and biofuels
The derivation of energy from algae has been a very special innovation done in the area of biomass power. Using this technology, the size of algae can be increased manifold with just the use of sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Similarly, biofuel generation from corn, jatropha oil, switch grass and sugarcane is another hopeful step toward cleaner energy.
There are several technologies in the area of solar, wind and biomass power that have started gaining ground toward more efficient renewable energy generation. With this, we can also notice hopeful developments in the areas of geothermal and tidal energy.
