To lower costs during peak hours, Australian utility builds “first-of-its-kind” energy storage facility.

Request History

• Restore to current request
• posts/view/green-grass-walls-and-gardens
• posts/view/a-rooftop-garden-on-the-city-bus
• products/index/types:27
• products/index/group_id:57

Session

• Config
  • userAgentedebfa3e9a94305a9a95d8ed7fb0d578
  • time1728786583
  • timeout10
• _Tokena:5:{s:3:"key";s:40:"57d05b5d3d1726da9dcde01f4c60906b6dd4aeda";s:7:"expires";i:1728780583;s:18:"allowedControllers";a:0:{}s:14:"allowedActions";a:0:{}s:14:"disabledFields";a:0:{}}

Request

Cake Params

• controllerposts
• actionindex
• named
  • typenews
• pass(empty)
• plugin(null)
• langen
• url
  • exthtml
  • urlposts/index/type:news
• form(empty)
• isAjax(false)
• _Token
  • key57d05b5d3d1726da9dcde01f4c60906b6dd4aeda
  • expires1728780583
  • allowedControllers(empty)
  • allowedActions(empty)
  • disabledFields(empty)
• paging
  • Post
    • page1
    • current5
    • count37
    • prevPage(false)
    • nextPage(true)
    • pageCount8
    • defaults
      • limit5
      • step1
      • orderPost.created DESC
      • conditions
        • Post.typenews
    • options
      • page1
      • limit5
      • orderPost.created DESC
      • conditions
        • Post.typenews

$_GET

• urlposts/index/type:news

Cookie

To view Cookies, add CookieComponent to Controller

Current Route

• nameI18nRoute
• keys
  • 0controller
  • 1action
• options(empty)
• defaults
  • plugin(null)
  • actionindex
  • langen
• template/:controller/:action/*
• _greedy(true)
• _compiledRoute#^/(?:([^/]+))/(?:([^/]+))(?:/(?P<_args_>.*))?[/]*$#
• __headerMap
  • typecontent_type
  • methodrequest_method
  • serverserver_name

Sql Logs

Logs

View Variables

• viewCount7524217
• title_for_layoutGreen business news
• posts
  • 0
    • Post
      • id126
      • titleThe ‘Solar Pocket Factory’-3D Print Solar Panel
      • slugthe-solar-pocket-factory-3d-print-solar-panel
      • summary<p> The factory is small enough to fit on a desktop and efficient enough to produce&nbsp;<span style="color: #34b6d1;">300k to one million panels per year</span>, up to one every 15 seconds.</p>
      • content<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/11curious/Solar_Pocket_Factory.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 197px;" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> <br /> Shawn Frayne and Alex Hornstein,&nbsp;two young inventors based in the Philippines, are taking their passion for clean free energy and developing a way to make it accessible and cheap for everyone. These guys are working tirelessly&nbsp;to provide a product that could be used by practically anyone to make homemade solar panels.</p> <p> <br /> The factory is small enough to fit on a desktop and efficient enough to produce&nbsp;300k to one million panels per year, up to one every 15 seconds. By cutting out much of the labor intensive process, which represents 50% of the total cost, this machine can dramatically reduce the price of solar. Their pocket solar panel producer can change the way the world&nbsp;views electricity.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> What type of applications can a homemade solar panel have? For starters it can replace the need for outlets in a home for smaller electronics such as phones, computers, lamps, etc.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> One of the more intriguing applications is the added versatility solar panels can provide. In short, with these panels you can use your electronics anywhere there&rsquo;s sunshine .</p> <p> Their&nbsp;initial Kickstarter campaign was quickly fully funded, but they are raising additional funds to redesign the CNC laser cutter with the intentions to open source the technology. Eventually&nbsp;they plan to power the solar panel maker using solar panels.</p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> The product is continuously being improved and the technology is open source which makes it free for anyone to copy or improve upon.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> <em><strong>Watch Videos</strong></em>:<br /> 1.) <a href="http://www.eco-foryou.com/videos/index/page:2">3D Print Solar Panel </a><br /> 2.) <a href="http://www.eco-foryou.com/videos/index/page:2">The &lsquo;Solar Pocket Factory&rsquo;</a><br /> &nbsp;</p>
      • typenews
      • filenameSolar_Pocket_Factory2.jpg
      • dir/home/ecof2o5t/public_html/app/webroot/uploads/post/filename
      • languageen
      • created2014-08-15 00:46:49
  • 1
    • Post
      • id118
      • titleFirst-of-its-kind energy storage facility in Australia
      • slugfirst-of-its-kind-energy-storage-facility-in-australia
      • summary<h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="headline"> To lower costs during peak hours, Australian utility builds &ldquo;first-of-its-kind&rdquo; energy storage facility.</h1>
      • content<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/news_curious/australia_2.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 230px;" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <ul> <li> A large Australian power grid operator, SP Ausnet, has commissioned a 1MW/1MWh battery storage facility. The technology could mean the introduction of a new approach to deal with peak demand, and avoid costly network upgrades.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;</li> <li> Peak demand is the highest point of electricity consumption during the day. This is usually around 5:30 pm, when there is a combination of office and domestic demand.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li> For utilities, peak demand can be a very expensive moment: To meet the significantly higher demand during peak hours, utilities may need to invest in extra power generating capacity and invest in (expensive) upgrades of power lines.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li> To reduce costs, and to include power from irregular sources such as solar and wind power, battery storage is expected to play an important role in Australia.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li> The country is considered to be a prime market for battery storage, because its networks have to cover such large distances.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li> For SP Ausnet (Melbourne based), ABB and Samsung will build what they call a hybrid Grid Energy Storage and Diesel Generation System. It will include battery storage (using lithium ion batteries) and a 1MW diesel generator.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li> This is said to be the first embedded grid-scale battery storage installation of its size in Australia.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li> The storage facility is a mobile device, which comes in seven containers so it can be deployed at different parts of the network.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li> The project is due to be completed in 2014.<br /> &nbsp;</li> </ul> <h3> Peak demand, explained in a graph:</h3> <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/news_curious/Hourly_electric_demand.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 279px;" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> &nbsp;</p>
      • typenews
      • filenameaustralia_logo.jpg
      • dir/home/ecof2o5t/public_html/app/webroot/uploads/post/filename
      • languageen
      • created2014-01-24 13:19:31
  • 2
    • Post
      • id117
      • titleProgressive cities forge path toward renewable future.
      • slugprogressive-cities-forge-path-toward-renewable-future
      • summary<p> <strong>Gland, Switzerland:</strong> Cities around the globe have received special recognition by WWF for impressive actions on climate change.<br /> <br /> Thirty-four finalists from 14 participating countries were selected from among the 163 entrants in this year&rsquo;s Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC). An expert jury will now review the actions and commitments reported by these cities and ultimately identify one sustainability leader per country for the National Earth Hour Capital Awards to be presented on 27 March in Vancouver, Canada.</p>
      • content<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/news_curious/wlc_fb_launch_2_2_3333.jpg" style="width: 400px; height: 225px;" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> <a href="http://www.welovecities.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href, '', 'resizable=no,status=no,location=no,toolbar=no,menubar=no,fullscreen=no,scrollbars=yes,dependent=no'); return false;">wwf.panda.org</a></p> <p> Gland, Switzerland: Cities around the globe have received special recognition by WWF for impressive actions on climate change.<br /> <br /> Thirty-four finalists from 14 participating countries were selected from among the 163 entrants in this year&rsquo;s Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC). An expert jury will now review the actions and commitments reported by these cities and ultimately identify one sustainability leader per country for the National Earth Hour Capital Awards to be presented on 27 March in Vancouver, Canada.<br /> <br /> The EHCC project aims to mobilize action and support from cities in the global transition towards a sustainable future powered by renewable energy.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very inspiring to see the increasing number of cities striving to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and making great strides in the transition towards a renewable energy future&rdquo;, says Carina Borgstr&ouml;m-Hansson, PhD, Lead for WWF&rsquo;s Earth Hour City Challenge.<br /> <br /> &ldquo;Despite their commendable efforts, cities can&rsquo;t do it alone. If we are to protect the world from dangerous climate change while meeting human needs, a radical shift in investment must take place. In addition to local governments, national policy-makers, businesses and major financial institutions must be a part of this transition&rdquo;, says Borgstr&ouml;m-Hansson.<br /> <br /> WWF has worked closely with ICLEI &ndash; Local Governments for Sustainability, in mobilizing cities to join the challenge and enabling their reporting through carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR).<br /> <br /> &ldquo;As a Main Partner, ICLEI is proud to support WWF&rsquo;s Earth Hour City Challenge as it grows to become an essential global initiative for rewarding cities&rsquo; sustainability achievements through the active participation of our Member Cities, Regional Offices and through our global reporting platform, carbonn Cities Climate Registry,&rdquo; says Gino Van Begin, Secretary General of ICLEI.<br /> <br /> These 34 cities are considered contenders for the title Earth Hour Capital 2014 for having demonstrated a sincere commitment to the creation of sustainable cities:<br /> <br /> Belgium: Antwerp, Brussels Capital Region, Ghent<br /> Brazil: Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, S&atilde;o Paulo<br /> Canada: Edmonton, North Vancouver, Surrey<br /> Colombia: Medell&iacute;n, Monteria<br /> Denmark: Copenhagen<br /> Finland: Lappeenranta<br /> India: Cochin, Coimbatore, Hyderabad<br /> Indonesia: Semarang, Bogor<br /> Mexico: Mexico City, Municipality of Aguascalientes, Puebla<br /> South Africa: Cape Town, Durban<br /> South Korea: Seoul, Suwon<br /> Sweden: Eskilstuna, Stockholm, V&auml;xj&ouml;<br /> Thailand: Khunhan, Muangklang, Nongsamrong<br /> USA: Boulder, Chicago, Cleveland<br /> <br /> We Love Cities.<br /> WWF encourages people all over the world to show their support for the impressive efforts that cities are making towards sustainability, and to participate in the We Love Cities campaign, which goes live today. Web visitors are invited to vote for their favorites among the 34 finalist cities, and to share the favorite aspects of these cities via photos and videos. Visitors are also welcome to submit suggestions for how the cities can become even more sustainable.</p>
      • typenews
      • filenamewlc_fb_launch_2_2_3333.jpg
      • dir/home/ecof2o5t/public_html/app/webroot/uploads/post/filename
      • languageen
      • created2014-01-18 02:33:26
  • 3
    • Post
      • id112
      • titleNew generation of solar cells-More efficient.
      • slugnew-generation-of-solar-cells-more-efficient
      • summary<p> American innovators still have some cards to play when it comes to squeezing more efficiency and lower costs out of silicon, the workhorse of solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules worldwide.</p> <p> A recent breakthrough &mdash; the product of a partnership between manufacturer TetraSun and the Energy Department&#39;s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) &mdash; could spark U.S. solar manufacturing when the approach hits the assembly line next year. The innovative design, simple architecture, and elegant process flow for fabricating the cells make the technology a prime candidate for large-scale production.</p> <p> &nbsp;</p>
      • content<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/news_curious/s_cells.jpg" style="width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> Typically, silicon PV cell manufacturers add a grid of thin silver lines to the cell via a screen-printing process to form the front contacts.</p> <p> The TetraSun cell instead loads 50-micron-wide copper electrodes on its front contacts in a way that prevents diffusion of the metal &mdash; which can degrade performance. The new process exceeds the performance of traditional heterojunction cells without the need of any special equipment, complicated module assembly, or costly transparent conductive oxides. That adds up to a significant cost advantage when it comes to high-volume manufacturing.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> &quot;It&#39;s a potentially disruptive technology, and that&#39;s why we decided to work with TetraSun,&quot; said NREL&#39;s Martha Symko-Davies, who headed the Energy Department&#39;s SunShot Initiative PV Incubator program when TetraSun received a grant from it back in 2010. &quot;The Incubator program supports potentially disruptive innovations from small startups.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> &quot;This shows we still have innovation in the United States. People thought there was nothing left to be done in silicon, but there is something left to be done.&quot;<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> Symko-Davies was referring to the Shockley-Queisser limit, which postulates that the efficiency of silicon solar cells can&#39;t exceed 29 percent; that is, no more than 29% of the photons that hit the cell can be converted into electricity. Modern monocrystalline solar cells don&#39;t achieve much higher than 22 percent conversion efficiency due to practical considerations such as reflection off the cell and light blockage from the thin wires on its surface. That&#39;s why analysts are enthusiastic about the TetraSun cell, which comes in at 21 percent efficiency even as copper replaces silver to lower the cost.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> TetraSun had a unique idea, but NREL&#39;s measurements and characterization capabilities made it practical. &quot;As the margins go down with silicon, the cost of every component becomes significant, especially when you&#39;re talking about square miles of this material,&quot; said NREL Principal Scientist Mowafak Al-Jassim. &quot;We&#39;re trying to make enough of these solar panels to generate gigawatts of power. That&#39;s a lot of silver. We needed to replace silver with an equally good conductor, but one that was much cheaper.&quot;<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/news_curious/Solar_cell.png" style="width: 200px; height: 200px;" /></p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> <strong>Maximizing Savings More Essential Than Ever</strong></p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> The importance of squeezing every last penny of savings from a solar cell has grown rapidly the past five years, as manufacturers try to ramp up to gigawatt scale and as the Chinese industry has lowered costs and margins.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> Lately, companies almost always have had to increase costs to improve the efficiency of their solar cells. &quot;TetraSun was able to keep the costs down while improving efficiency by two absolute percentage points, which is very significant,&quot; Al-Jassim said.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> NREL&#39;s Harin Ullal, who managed the research with TetraSun, said achieving 21 percent efficiency in just 18 months is unusual &mdash; and indicative of the cell&#39;s disruptive technology. &quot;That compares to 17 percent to 19 percent efficiency for screen-printed silicon cells,&quot; he said.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> Ullal noted that the new technology, besides replacing expensive silver with abundant copper on the front contact grid, uses n-type silicon wafers, which have been doped with impurities that give them an excess of conductive electrons. (By contrast, p-type cells are doped to have more electron holes than electrons.) The n-type wafers can improve cell efficiency compared to the more common p-type wafers, which can suffer light-induced degradation. The innovations in the TetraSun cell structure design, corrosion resistance, and choice of n-type silicon material doping all added up to the efficiency gain of more than two absolute percent.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> &quot;By 2020, this technology could potentially reach the Energy Department&#39;s SunShot target of one dollar per watt for PV systems and about 6 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity generation,&quot; Ullal said.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> Leading the team for TetraSun were Oliver Schultz-Wittmann, Denis DeCeuster, Adrian Turner, and Doug Crafts. In addition to Al-Jassim, Symko-Davies, and Ullal, NREL&#39;s team included Peter Hacke, Chunsheng Jiang, and Richard Mitchell.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> First Solar built its worldwide reputation on cadmium telluride solar cells, which come from the second and sixth columns of the periodic tables. Those elements are costly by the pound, but require such thin layers that they can challenge silicon on price. But today, silicon continues to grab the lion&#39;s share of the solar market. With the acquisition of TetraSun, First Solar now is poised to have a presence in both thin films and silicon.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> First Solar Chief Executive Officer Jim Hughes said in April that his company acquired TetraSun because its crystalline silicon cells achieve high efficiency using a simpler design, require fewer process steps, and have wider tolerances than conventional multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Hughes noted that the TetraSun technology also saves costs with its large-format wafers and by eliminating the need for expensive silver and transparent conductive oxides.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> &quot;This breakthrough technology will unlock the half of the PV market that favors high-efficiency solutions, which has been unserved by First Solar to date,&quot; Hughes said at the time of the R&amp;D 100 Award announcement. He said that adding the TetraSun option to First Solar&#39;s market-leading cadmium telluride cells &quot;gives us a unique end-to-end suite of solutions&quot; to serve the spectrum of commercial applications.</p> <p> &quot;There has been tremendous focus in the solar industry on improving cell efficiency and cost,&quot; Ullal said, no.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p> ting that often technical advancements that offer efficiency improvements are more complex and costly. &quot;This technology is special because it offers improvements in both performance and production cost at the same time.&quot;</p> <p> &nbsp;</p>
      • typenews
      • filenameSolar_cell.png
      • dir/home/ecof2o5t/public_html/app/webroot/uploads/post/filename
      • languageen
      • created2013-11-15 16:51:20
  • 4
    • Post
      • id110
      • titleA rooftop Garden on the city bus.
      • sluga-rooftop-garden-on-the-city-bus
      • summary<p> An artistic and environmental project, driven by Marc Gra&ntilde;en, renowned landscape artist, aims to increase green areas in cities, reduce CO2 and promote the growth of wildlife and&nbsp; pollinators.</p> <p> Marc designed a garden with a large variety of plants: grasses, perennials and herbs, such as thyme or rosemary. And installed it on the roof of a city bus in&nbsp;Spain.</p>
      • content<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/news_curious/timthumb_php2.jpg" style="width: 300px; height: 160px;" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> An artistic and environmental project, driven by Marc Gra&ntilde;en, renowned landscape artist, aims to increase green areas in cities, reduce CO2 and promote the growth of wildlife and&nbsp; pollinators.</p> <p> Marc designed a garden with a large variety of plants: grasses, perennials and herbs, such as thyme or rosemary. And installed it on the roof of a city bus in&nbsp;Spain.</p> <p> Using special foams as a soil base, the project is able to save weight by 70% compared to traditional systems and store 30 times its weight in water. Development is under way to harness water from air conditioners to feed the irrigation system and so it will be completely self-sufficient.</p> <p> Initially installed on a single bus, the system future could be a solution to increase green spaces in large cities. Think mobile CO2 scrubbers.</p> <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/news_curious/bus_garden_44444.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 153px;" /></td> <td> <img alt="" src="user_uploads/news_curious/bus_roots_roof_garden2.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 188px;" /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p> &nbsp;</p>
      • typenews
      • filenamearticle_0_1B2775E7000005DC_62_634x401_480x330.jpg
      • dir/home/ecof2o5t/public_html/app/webroot/uploads/post/filename
      • languageen
      • created2013-11-11 14:27:15
• humanizedTypeNews
• typenews
• user(null)
• authLoginRedirect
  • x4(true)
  • actionindex
  • controllerpages
  • plugin(null)
• $this->data(empty)
• $this->validationErrors(empty)
• Loaded Helpers
  • 0jqueryEngine
  • 1js
  • 2paginator
  • 3simpleGraph
  • 4htmlToolbar
  • 5toolbar
  • 6time
  • 7link
  • 8tree
  • 9image
  • 10number
  • 11utils
  • 12editor
  • 13session
  • 14form
  • 15html