Solar Energy


Swiss welcome at European Future Energy Forum

October 10, 2011 in Blog

Sometimes it's best to start with the end, and in the case of the European Future Energy Forum in Geneva, the end of the day began with some Alpine greatest hits and a large dollop of melted cheese.Read more

On a wing, a prayer and a ray of sunshine

May 13, 2011 in Blog

Anyone with an interest in solar energy and manned flight will be gripped by the unfolding story of SolarImpulse.Read more

Energy and the city: eco-building design

January 10, 2011 in Blog

Just how much heat can you pump out of the earth? That’s one of the more unusual sounding questions that Professor Tony Day, a contributor to the January Comment:Visions programme, 'Energy and the City', is addressing in his daily research.Read more

Programme: Harvesting the Sun

May 1, 2009 in Solar Energy

The sun has long fascinated scientists. It’s immense power keeps the globe alive and as long as there is a planet earth there will be solar energy.

Dr Eduardo Zarza Moya has been studying solar energy for more than 20 years and in this interview he delineates the technology involved in solar concentration and its potential. Using large scale mirrors to harness solar radiation in order to produce steam, which then drives electricity turbines, solar concentration is a clean process reliant on the sort of solar radiation apparent in the hottest parts of the planet. Dr Moya is currently involved in a project to build a solar energy plant in North Africa and while he admits transmitting the electricity produced is currently prohibitively expensive he remains positive about the future.

Discussion: Climate change and the world’s growing energy needs demand that we increase the use of alternative energies, but is it happening fast enough?

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Programme: Air conditioning from the sun

May 1, 2008 in Solar Energy

Renewable energy has been both praised and derided as an alternative source of power over the past two decades. To its detractors it is inefficient, unreliable and economically unsound. To its advocates it is free, clean, and unlimited in its potential. With global reliance on dwindling oil reserves an international political priority, attention continues to focus on renewable energy and its applications.

This month’s Comment Visions examines the developments in renewable energy by talking to a man whose work harnesses the power of the sun to produce cooling technology. Dr Ahmet Lokurlu is a Turkish engineer and scientist whose company produces air conditioning systems run by solar power. Generating energy from the sun and turning it into cold air in countries where fuel-hungry air conditioning accounts for more than 40% of totally energy use vividly demonstrates the innovative solutions renewable sources can provide.

Discussion: Renewable energy: can it ever replace fossil fuels, or do other sources have to be explored?

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