Solar

Abigail Krich, founder and president of Boreas Renewables, discusses New England's impending energy market transition from natural gas domination to a greater proliferation of renewables.

3 Questions: New England’s wholesale electricity markets

Boreas Renewables' Abigail Krich discusses the incompatibility of New England’s electricity market structure with achieving carbon emissions reduction goals.

May 23, 2018

In January, Flux and the MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team went on a road-testing trip in Georgia.

Powered by the sun

Flux, built by the MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team, was recently unveiled at Johnson Rink in preparation for its participation in the American Solar Challenge.

May 16, 2018

A team of researchers at MIT and elsewhere has come up with a way to figure out the best type of solar panel for a given location and type of installation.

How to assess new solar technologies

MIT analysis shows when and where advanced photovoltaics would be economic to install.

April 30, 2018

“What this study shows is that rather than shut down nuclear plants, you can operate them in a way that makes room for renewables,” says MIT Energy Initiative researcher Jesse Jenkins. “It shows that flexible nuclear plants can play much better with variable renewables than many people think, which might lead to reevaluations of the role of these two resources together.”

Keeping the balance: How flexible nuclear operation can help add more wind and solar to the grid

Model finds operating nuclear plants flexibly can reduce electricity costs, increase revenue for nuclear plants, and cut carbon emissions in electric power systems.

April 25, 2018

Lithio Storage, a team from Tufts University and Northwestern University, won the top $100,000 MIT Clean Energy Prize (CEP) for developing an electrolyte that helps batteries withstand much broader temperature ranges, making them safer, more energy efficient, and cheaper to operate. Pictured is team member and inventor Anthony D’Angelo (right) with (from left) CEP co-managing directors Lisa Khan...

MIT Clean Energy Prize rewards student innovation

Robust batteries, solar refrigeration, UV membrane cleaner, and smart factory technologies take home $140,000 in prize money.

April 17, 2018

Daniel Kammen, professor of energy at the University of California at Berkeley, spoke on clean energy innovation and implementation in a talk at MIT.

3 Questions: Innovating for the clean energy economy

Daniel Kammen of the University of California at Berkeley discusses current efforts in clean energy innovation and implementation, and what's coming next.

March 28, 2018

Now in its 13th year, the MIT Energy Conference is run by the MIT Energy Club, a student-run organization that is the largest such club in the world, with about 5,000 members.

MIT Energy Conference speakers say transformation can happen fast

New technologies, systems, and business models are rapidly changing the energy landscape, experts attest.

March 6, 2018

Jennifer Rupp's current ceramics research applications range from battery-based storage for renewable energy, to energy-harvesting systems, to devices used to store data during computation.

Jennifer Rupp: Engineering practical ceramics

Assistant professor in EECS is developing materials with novel structures and useful applications, including renewable energy and information storage.

February 9, 2018

Carissa Skye a third-year physics major who interned at Shell in Hamburg, Germany, poses at the top of the Hamburg Planetarium.

Undergrads gain experience in energy sector with MITEI member companies

MISTI places MIT students in energy-focused internships abroad.

February 6, 2018

Professor William Tisdale (left), Rachel Gilmore PhD '17, and their colleagues are developing novel methods of synthesizing quantum dot materials for use in solar cells, LEDs, and more. Testing confirms that their new techniques enable them to control the nanoscale structure of their materials — the key to high performance in energy devices.

Novel methods of synthesizing quantum dot materials

MIT researchers are optimizing nanostructures for energy devices such as solar cells.

January 24, 2018

This experimental setup was used by the team to measure the electrical output of a sample of solar cell material, under controlled conditions of varying temperature and illumination. The data from those tests was then used as the basis for computer modeling using statistical methods to predict the overall performance of the material in real-world operating conditions.

New technique allows rapid screening for new types of solar cells

Approach could bypass the time-consuming steps currently needed to test new photovoltaic materials.

December 20, 2017

A team in the coastal town of Loíza, Puerto Rico, begins rolling out the first of 16 solar modules from MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Infinitum Humanitarian Systems (IHS). Left to right: Abdoun of the Boys and Girls Club; George Villec, president of GeoInnovation; Denisse Abdo, dietician and translator; Erik Limpaecher of Lincoln Laboratory; Alex Hatoum, IHS managing director; Eric Rasmussen, IHS CE...

Solar water purifier is serving 600 Puerto Ricans daily

An off-grid, battery-less system from MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Infinitum Humanitarian Systems will be run indefinitely by a local Boys and Girls Club.

December 4, 2017

A slight mismatch between the hexagonal structures of molybdenum disulfide and tungsten diselenide creates a strain that can be released by the formation of a "5|7 dislocation," in which two hexagons collapse to form a pentagon and a heptagon. Reactions with molybdenum disulfide in the environment cause the dislocation to move deeper into the tungsten diselenide, drawing a nanowire of molybdenum d...

New nanowires are just a few atoms thick

Subnanometer-scale channels in 2-D materials could point toward future electronics, solar cells.

December 4, 2017

MIT postdoc, Grace Han, handles a new chemical composite that could provide an alternative to fuel by functioning as a kind of thermal battery.

A new way to store thermal energy

MIT researchers create material for a chemical heat “battery” that could release its energy on demand.

November 16, 2017

With the right business model, solar panels and pumps could be a promising sustainable irrigation approach for smallholder farmers in India.

MIT researchers release evaluation of solar pumps for irrigation and salt mining in India

Study of solar pump technology use in India assesses technical performance and explores innovative business cases to increase user adoption.

November 13, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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