Monthly archives: June 2007

Everything's bright in the solar world

This entry was posted in Photovoltaics Solar Power solar Thermal on by

A few pieces of promising news from the world of solar power and heating.

The Worldwatch Institute estimates that the cost of photovoltaic cells may drop by as much as 40% in the next few years. One factor contributing to this is the increase of manufacturing of photovoltaics in China, such as the new facility announced by Suntech, a key supplier of building integrated solar products.

Bosch Solar Thermal Systems say they have seen a 60% increase in year to date sales over the same period last year and expect to sell 150,000 units this year.

Technorati tag: , , ,

Photovoltaic costs to drop sharply

This entry was posted in China photovoltaic on by

The Worldwatch Institute estimates that the cost of photovoltaic cells may drop by as much as 40% in the next few years. One factor contributing to this is the increase of manufacturing of photovoltaics in China, such as the new facility announced by Suntech, a key supplier of building integrated solar products.

Technorati tag: , ,

Boosting Prius performance

This entry was posted in Hybrid Solar Power transport on by

Lithium Technology Corporation has developed lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells which can greatly increase the fuel economy of hybrids. There are issues with safety, which mean Toyota are not yet ready to start using them.

Another way to increase a hybrid’s mileage is to get Solar Electric Vehicles’ fitted solar panel roofs.

Somewhere out there is the ideal combination of solar panelled garage and car, with high capacity batteries.

Technorati tag:

Solar hybrids

This entry was posted in Hybrid Car photovoltaic transport on by

Solar Electric Vehicles make roofs for hybrid cars that charge a supplemental battery and increase the cars’ fuel efficiency by as much as 29%. Prius owners have fitted solar panels to their vehicles before, but these convex panels won’t mess with the aerodynamics as much.

Solar Electric Vehicles website

Technorati tag: ,

Google Maps- Street View and a ghost ship in Manhattan

This entry was posted in Google map New York on by

Google has added another great time stealing feature to its maps. Street View has 360 degree street level photos of the area you’re looking at on the map, caught from a van with a turret of cameras on the roof. It’s a feature that has attracted some controversy and questions about invasion of privacy, but it’s also incredibly cool. The compositing of the photos gives cars and people, particularly when close to the camera, a ghostly, slightly transparent look.

There aren’t many cities mapped with Street Views yet. I took a wander around San Francisco and New York, trying to find views that were familiar from films and skating games. But then I went into satellite view and got distracted by these(if you want an even closer look find the “z=19” value in the URL and change it to “z=20”). Just offshore by Battery Park are two ghostly outlines of boats. Are they really there or are they the product of the way the satellite images have been processed? If you go South along the shoreline you can see another ghostly structure on the seam between one set of photos and another, but the ships don’t look like that.

Any Manhattanites want to tell me whether these boats are real, or go and check the area out for me. I may do it myself in September, if I remember, but I’m curious and impatient and I want an answer now.