Tata’s new Electric Car is called Indica. This EV is scheduled to be launched in Norway in 2009 and India in 2010.

You can drive the car on the highway, the car is a four-seater, with enough room for luggage and the ability to go from 0 to 60 kilometers per hour (0 to 37 miles per hour) in less than 10 seconds. Toronto-based Electrovaya will provide batteries which are expected to go 120 miles on a single charge.

The Indica EV car will be manufactured in Norway by Miljø Innovasjon, using Tata’s design and Electrovaya’s lithium-ion batteries.

Source: Cleantech

Technorati : , Electric cars, Indica, TATA
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Company called Solyndra has invented circular photovoltaic panels. They are seems to be more efficient than traditional solar PV panels and they are easier and cheeper to install too.

We know that usually CIGS are not as efficient as photovoltaic systems based on silicon cells. But they are more and more popular, quite a few companies now invests into CIGS, because of reduced costs. Solyndra’s CIGS solar cells convert as much as 14 percent of the sunlight that hits them to electricity and, all told, Gronet expects that a Solyndra system will deliver twice as many kilowatt-hours of electricity from a given rooftop.

• Solyndra PV pannels can capture up to 20% more light than traditional solar panels.
• They don’t have to move to track the sun.
• They don’t need any cooling system
• They are certified for high winds (up to 208 km/H)
• Resistant - 25-year power warranty !!!

For typical conventional PV installations, a solar panel is approximately half the cost of a complete installation; the other half includes additional expenses such as labor mounts, cables and inverters. Solyndra provides a packaged system comprised of panels and mounting hardware required to assemble standard-sized arrays.

Even in areas with high winds, there is no need for roof-penetrating mounts or ballast to hold Solyndra panels in place. Solyndra’s panels have been tested and are certified for use in winds of up to 208km/h (130mph).

Source: ECOgeek and Solyndra

Technorati : CIGS, cheap CIGS, cheap solar system, efficiency CIGS, solar cels, solar systems
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MDI is going to sell their air powered cars in the US at the beginning 2010 as I wrote in one of my artisles in the past.

This time they came with slightly different concept. The urban city car of the future is called AirPod. What’s so weird about this car? This car is powered by compressed air stored in a tank. The compressed air is then slowly released to power an engine. The car can run up to 220 km with one refill…. pretty good.

This concept will be the first out at spring 2009.

Even if it looks quite weird, but when someone looks at the gasprices, you know what I mean. The cost per hundred kilometers is only about 50EuroCents !!!!! (just to fill it with air) ant to refill you spend only about 1.5 min.

Here are the technical specifications (translated from their website):

• Volume of the tank - 175 liters
• Weight empty - 220 Kg
• Maximum charge - 300 Kg
• Length - 2.07
• Wide - 1.60
• Time to refill - 1.5 minuts !!
• Maximum speed 70km/h

There is several version of the car in preparation. The Aipod Cargo - for little transporters. The AirPod Baby (2 places only, with a big trunk - 500 liters)

Source: MDI and ECOGeek

Technorati : MDI, aircar, eco cars, french aircar, nofuel car
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Konarka’s advanced photovoltaic technology started with the work of the late Dr. Sukant Tripathy, an internationally known polymer materials scientist, provost at UMASS Lowell and founder of the Plastic Innovation Center and Dr. Alan Heeger, Konarka’s chief scientist, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2000. The ground-breaking discoveries from both founding scientists led to Konarka’s underlying technology leadership, including a manufacturing process at relatively low temperatures, which enables the use of low-cost plastic substrate films. As a result of these pioneering innovations, the company has secured over $100 million from leading venture capital and private equity funds, as well as $18 million in government agency research grants from the U.S. and Europe.

In addition to acquiring the fully automated roll-to-roll manufacturing line, the company has also hired the leading technology and process engineering teams from Polaroid, with plans to hire over 100 additional employees as production increases toward capacity over the next two to three years. Via::Konarka press release.

I bring in some pictures from Paris Motor Show. The Chevrolet Volt - Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle - is exposed there.

The Volt is an electric vehicle that recharges its lithium ion batteries from an AC outlet or an onboard gas engine. The production version looks very different from the concept car that was shown in 2007, with a design intended to be more aerodynamic while providing seating for four. GM also released pictures of the cabin, giving us a look at the cars futuristic controls and LCDs

Enjoy.

Source photos: CNET

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There is a lot of ECO gadgets around these days. One of them is this little solar power generator.

This device generates both: solar and wind energy, as it uses a collection of six photovoltaic panels, crafted as a vertical turbine. While the panels generate solar power, the moving blades generate wind energy.

One never know how efficient is this device but if you want to have one with cool design like this, then it is a MUST HAVE….. -:)

A residential power generator that combines solar and wind energy to give you a clean and green energy source.

Source: Ecofriend

Technorati : solar power, wind power
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The Renewable Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC for short) has passed and as well, it’s been renewed until 2016. Also, they increased the caps on how much you can claim for the credit.

$2,500-$7,500 tax credit for people who buy plug-in electric vehicles. (That should make General Motors (GM) happy as it prepares to roll out its ever-increasingly expensive Volt plug-in electric hybrid.)

Homeowners also won an extension of a tax credit for installing solar panels and the $2,000 cap on such systems was lifted. Put in a small wind turbine or a geothermal heat pump and you can claim up to a $4,000 and $2,000 tax credit, respectively.

Technorati : ITC, solar industry, tax credit
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The Sunflower - pictured below - is a cd player and loudspeaker system that charges via sunlight. It’s a cool-looking way to have a renewably powered party on your patio.

Ricardo Baiáo is inventing some very cool concepts for products that utilize solar power and other alternate energy sources.

Some videos of Chevrolet Volt. Enjoy

Technorati : Chevy Volt, PHEV
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A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UV Light,” William Yuan invented a novel solar panel that enables light absorption from visible to ultraviolet light. He designed carbon nanotubes to overcome the barriers of electron movement, doubling the light-electricity conversion efficiency. William also developed a model for solar towers and a computer program to simulate and optimize the tower parameters. His optimized design provides 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and nine times more than the cutting-edge, three- dimensional solar cell

For two years, Yuan researched the other scientists’ work and came up with his own unique design that is supposed to work for visible and UV light. Other research focused on one or the other, but he combined the two and also, it appears, made them more efficient and powerful.

Here’s a quote from the Davidson Institute For Talent Development, which gave him the scholarship:

“In his project, ‘A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UV Light,’ William invented a novel solar panel that enables light absorption from visible to ultraviolet light. He designed carbon nanotubes to overcome the barriers of electron movement, doubling the light-electricity conversion efficiency. William also developed a model for solar towers and a computer program to simulate and optimize the tower parameters. His optimized design provides 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and nine times more than the cutting-edge, three dimensional solar cell.”

Technorati : 3D solar cells, High efficient solar cells
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