This High Concentration Photovoltaic Thermal System (HCPVT) can harness the energy of 2,000 suns and provide fresh water and air conditioning in remote locations. The prototype HCPVT system under development uses a large parabolic dish, made from a multitude of mirror facets, which is attached to a tracking system that determines the best angle based on the position of the sun. Once aligned, the sun’s rays reflect off the mirror onto several microchannel-liquid cooled receivers with triple junction photovoltaic chips — each 1x1 centimeter chip can convert 200-250 watts, on average, over a typical eight hour day in a sunny region. Read more: http://huff.to/11vTQGE

This High Concentration Photovoltaic Thermal System (HCPVT) can harness the energy of 2,000 suns and provide fresh water and air conditioning in remote locations. The prototype HCPVT system under development uses a large parabolic dish, made from a multitude of mirror facets, which is attached to a tracking system that determines the best angle based on the position of the sun. Once aligned, the sun’s rays reflect off the mirror onto several microchannel-liquid cooled receivers with triple junction photovoltaic chips — each 1x1 centimeter chip can convert 200-250 watts, on average, over a typical eight hour day in a sunny region.

Read more: http://huff.to/11vTQGE

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Harnessing Heat from City Roads | ThisBigCity The black asphalt roads of urban centres are notorious for soaking up the sun, often helping make cities uncomfortably hot during the summer. Special piping technology from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, however, is offering a way to trap this heat and use it elsewhere, potentially transforming urban streets into giant solar collectors. The idea is simple: the sun-warmed asphalt can be used to heat up water, which is pumped through tubes embedded a few centimetres below the road surface. This has the dual effect of cooling the asphalt, prolonging the lifespan of the road, and heating water which can be used either as is, or to produce electricity.

Harnessing Heat from City Roads | ThisBigCity

The black asphalt roads of urban centres are notorious for soaking up the sun, often helping make cities uncomfortably hot during the summer. Special piping technology from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, however, is offering a way to trap this heat and use it elsewhere, potentially transforming urban streets into giant solar collectors.

The idea is simple: the sun-warmed asphalt can be used to heat up water, which is pumped through tubes embedded a few centimetres below the road surface. This has the dual effect of cooling the asphalt, prolonging the lifespan of the road, and heating water which can be used either as is, or to produce electricity.

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A (Dimming) City of Light | Scientific American The French are taking a stand against light pollution. Starting this summer, most non-residential buildings in the country will have to shut off their lights at night in order to “reduce the print of artificial lighting on the nocturnal environment.” According to France’s environment minister, Delphine Batho, this shift will reduce total annual energy consumption by the equivalent of 750,000 households. But, the main motivation behind the new decree is public health. According to Ms. Batho’s statement, artificial light can cause “significant disruptions on ecosystems” by disturbing sleep and migration patterns.

A (Dimming) City of Light | Scientific American

The French are taking a stand against light pollution. Starting this summer, most non-residential buildings in the country will have to shut off their lights at night in order to “reduce the print of artificial lighting on the nocturnal environment.”

According to France’s environment minister, Delphine Batho, this shift will reduce total annual energy consumption by the equivalent of 750,000 households. But, the main motivation behind the new decree is public health. According to Ms. Batho’s statement, artificial light can cause “significant disruptions on ecosystems” by disturbing sleep and migration patterns.

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Start-up fights power thieves, pot growers | SmartPlanet Billions of dollars worth of electricity is stolen each year by folks tapping into power lines to bring free energy into their homes, businesses and increasingly, to their indoor pot growing operations. It’s an incessant global problem that’s expected to get worse as demand for power grows. Awesense, a Canadian start-up that has remained largely under the radar since its founding in 2009, has launched a service to help utilities curb power losses and recover revenue lost by theft, transformer overloads and other equipment failures.

Start-up fights power thieves, pot growers | SmartPlanet

Billions of dollars worth of electricity is stolen each year by folks tapping into power lines to bring free energy into their homes, businesses and increasingly, to their indoor pot growing operations. It’s an incessant global problem that’s expected to get worse as demand for power grows.

Awesense, a Canadian start-up that has remained largely under the radar since its founding in 2009, has launched a service to help utilities curb power losses and recover revenue lost by theft, transformer overloads and other equipment failures.

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Investment of about $1.2 trillion is required over the next 20 years across areas like transportation, energy and public security to build cities of tomorrow, IBM India Managing Director Shanker Annaswamy said today.

Speaking at the IBM Smarter Cities Forum, Annaswamy said quoting a McKinsey & Company report that it is estimated that USD 1.2 trillion capital investment is needed to meet projected demand in (Indian) cities to transform the cities going forward.

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$1.2 trillion investment required over 20 years for smart cities: IBM - Economic Times

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