Annual U.S. solar PV installations saw a 30 percent increase in 2014 alone. (Click to enlarge.)
Source: GTM Research/SEIA

If you’re not excited about the promising potential of solar yet, you’re about to be.

According to a new report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), solar is growing faster than all other sources of energy in the United States.

In the report U.S. Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review, GTM and SEIA were able to establish that solar is continuing its upward trend in the U.S. with an increase of 30 percent more photovoltaic installations than in 2013.

Not convinced yet? The analysts also paired solar against also forms of energy in their report. When compared to other non-renewable energy sources such as coal and natural gas, it showed equally impressive results.

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Rodney Borup of the Los Alamos National Laboratory will be awarded the 2015 Energy Technology Division Research Award for his pioneering work in energy conversion and storage, specifically related to sustainability and fuel cells.

The prestigious award was established in 1992 to encourage excellence in energy related research.

Dr. Borup is widely recognized for his work in fuel cell transportation with such corporate and academic organizations such as General Motors and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). He joined LANL in 1994 as a post-doctoral researcher, where he would eventually move on to become the Program Manager for the Fuel Cells and Vehicle Technologies Program and Team Leader for Fuel Cells Program —titles which he currently holds.

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The results from this research show promise in the area of solar and biomass energy conversion.
Image: UW-Madison Chemistry Department

Two researchers are thinking outside of traditional research standards to develop a new approach to solar energy and biomass conversion.

Kyoung-Shin Choi, a professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his postdoctoral researcher Hyun Gil Cha are looking for a whole new way to harness natural energy, and their technique is showing promise for future endeavors.

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Synthesizing the material as a thin film instead of as a bulk powder opens up new possibilities for fuel cell technology.
Image: A. Gutiérrez-Llorente/Cornell University

Researchers from Cornell University have developed a way to synthesize a new thin-film catalyst to improve efficiency and effectiveness in fuel cells.

For the first time ever, researchers were able to explain the epitaxial thin-film growth of a fundamental electrode component of the fuel cell, which could result in a more effective cathode.

“Up to now, research on oxygen catalysts in thin film form for clean-energy applications has been focused on the perovskite-structured oxides and their structural derivatives,” said lead researcher Araceli Gutierrez-Llorente. “The much less studied cubic pyrochlore structure is an appealing alternative to perovskites for such applications as fuel cell cathodes.”

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This affordable form of pee-power has the potential to light camps in disaster zones.
Image: YouTube/University of West England

Researchers, social scientists, and advocates are constantly examining the issue of the global lack of adequate sanitation in hopes to find an economic and sustainable solution. From Britain’s poo-powered bio-bus to the Gates Foundation’s effort to turn waste into drinking water – you can see the innovative answers popping up almost everywhere.

ECS has also joined the fight with our first Science for Solving Society’s Problems Challenge by awarding $210,000 of seed funding to innovative research projects addressing critical technology gaps in water and sanitation.

Now, researchers out of the University of West England are turning the focus from poop to pee with their new development in what they have termed urine-tricity.

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ATHENA burned through the truck engine in a matter of seconds from more than a mile away.
Image: Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin has been making headlines recently in light of their development of novel compact fusion reactors. Now, the company is back in the spotlight due to their new high-powered laser.

They’re calling the laser ATHENA (Advanced Test High Energy Asset). In a recent test, the direct energy weapson was able to burn through a truck’s engine from a mile away in less than one minute.

“Fiber-optic lasers are revolutionizing directed energy systems,” said Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin chief technology officer. “We are investing in every component of the system – from the optics and beam control to the laser itself – to drive size, weight and power efficiencies. This test represents the next step to providing lightweight and rugged laser weapon systems for military aircraft, helicopters, ships and trucks.”

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A new breakthrough in energy harvesting could potentially power life on other habitable planets.

The new development out of Northumbria University incorporates an innovative technique to harvest energy from carbon dioxide.

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By combining green wall technology and solar panels, researchers have been able to generate renewable energy during both night and day.
Image: University of Cambridge

Researchers from Cambridge University have developed what is being considered “the greenest bus shelter” by combining solar power and plant power.

The scope of this project is much more vast than simply powering a bus shelter. Researchers are looking at this development as a possible answer to affordable power generation solutions for developing countries.

“To address the world’s energy needs, we need a portfolio of many different technologies, and it’s even better if these technologies work in synergy,” said Dr. Paolo Bombelli of Cambridge University’s Department of Biochemistry.

The bus shelter has the potential to power itself during both night and day times by harvesting the natural electron by-product of photosynthesis and metabolic activity, thus creating electrical current.

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Offshore wind farms in the United States have been met with a lot of resistance. While countries such as Europe have roughly 2,488 off shore wind turbines up and running, America has none.

Cape Wind – an initiative in offshore wind farms out of Massachusetts – has been attempting to establish their 130-turbine project for quite some time now, but have not been able to cut through the red tape.

While the outlook for the Cape Wind project appears to be grim, another initiative is rising in the ranks and is determined to get the United States on the offshore wind farm scoreboard.

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The sensors contain innovative distributive mechanisms, which enable online situation awareness and adaptive learning based on artificial intelligence.
Image: GENESI

If these walls could talk… actually, they can. A new project that goes by the acronym GENESI (Green sEnsor Networks for Structural monItoring) is working to give infrastructure the ability to tell us how it feels.

GENESI researchers are creating various sensor that fit inside buildings, tunnels, and bridges. This novel generation of green wireless sensor networks’ main aim is to allow structures to communicate their status.

The sensor device itself combines a low power node platform with a multi-source energy harvester, a small factor fuel cell, and an energy efficient radio. Each sensor has the ability to monitor vibrating strain, displacement, temperature, and soil moisture.

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