Almost a year ago, the National Ignition Facility (The "NIF") started down the path to create a sustained fusion reaction, a cold fusion reactor. Over 200 tons of laser glass distributed across 192 lasers are used in the core. The goal is to start a fusion chain reaction in hydrogen pellet fuel. The heat produced the fusion will boil water that turns turbines.

The issue so far is the amount of power the lasers consume. One test fire, which was for a fraction of a second, used more power than the whole of the United States (during that fraction). According to the BBC, NIF Director Ed Moses said that other fractional tests consumed more power than the entire world combined during that time period.

Another issue is the amount of hydrogen fuel the reaction will need. Approximately 10 pellets per second, or over a million a day. However, 1,300 pounds of fuel could provide as much electricity as 2 million metric tons of coal.

Moses said we all should see major developments at NIF over the next 10 years. See more informative videos in NIF's Youtube channel.

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Rooftops globally are millions of acres of under tapped surface area prime for solar conversion. The structures are, in most cases, connected to the grid's of their respective countries, so energy distribution is built in. Many large companies are making the installation a standard for their sunniest stores. A certain new partnership seeks to make long roofing panels with integrated solar elements an option to traditional materials.

One of the world's top 10 steel manufacturers Tata Steel Corporation has partnered with a leading supplier of 3rd generation solar technology, Dyesol, in creating the world's largest dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC)thin-film panel. The module measures over 3 meters in length and is 1 square meter in overall photovoltaic surface area. The innovative manufacturing process allows the Tata/Dyesol collaboration to print the solar cells directly to the steel. This allows for the manufacture of large volumes of cost effective cells to be made to exactly fit the shape of the structure. Tata Steel Operations Manager states that they have already "successfully produced hundreds of meters of printed steel and polymer film" used in the prototypes.

Dye-sensitized cell construction is printed in the following layers. The top layer, anode, is made of tin dioxide (SnO2:F) deposited on the back of glass. Below this is a layer of iodide electrolyte, sometime platinum, and is sealed with the next layer to prevent leaking. The next, and final, is a conducting layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2), dipped in a photosensitive dye, ruthenium-polypyridine.

The possibility for an electron to re-enter the dye after absorption is quite slow compared to the transfer from the platinum layer to the electrolyte. This differential is favorable allowing the cell to work in low light and cloudy day conditions. Even though DSSC panels have a 5%-12% efficiency rating the ability to charge for longer periods of time may make the cells more productive than their silicon counterparts (silicon cells rate at 12%-15%).

Tata/Dyesol finished the 3 year joint project in this June, 2011. 20 more people are needed for the team while they prepare for the pre-industrialization phase of the project. Like not recycling, the ease of the Tata/Dyesol panels make it almost a crime not to use rooftop solar collection. Great job Tata and Dyesol.

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Picture via Tata/Dysol

At the Florida Power & Light Co., 190,000 mirrors are used to concentrate the suns energy to heat synthetic oil to ~750 degrees. The oil is then used to boil water, creating steam to turn turbines. The $400 million dollar plant can generate 75 megawatts on peak days. This powers 11,000 homes. The plant in Indiantown, Florida, is the world first to combine solar thermal energy harvesting to a combined-cycle natural gas power station. The construction came in $75 million dollars under budget. The plant is not as ideal as it may sound. The plant needs 500 acres of land. Solar based systems always take up more land that its competitors. Despite being in the hurricane ally of the Gulf of Mexico, FPL claims their plant was tested and can withstand up to 130mph winds.

The team at Florida Power & Light Co. wants to build an additional 300 - 500 megawatt solar installation. Vice president of FPL, Eric Silagy said, "We believe that solar is a great addition to the fleet at FPL. We are the Sunshine State. We have proven that it works very well." That is an additional 73,000 homes powered. Still far shy of the 4.5 million customers FPL had, but it is a major step in the right direction.

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Nuclear power may not be clean enough to be included in some studies about the feasibility of renewable energy, but some countries are so determined to get off fossil fuels in favor of nuclear power that they are studying how they can place nuclear reactors on the ocean floor. The nuclear reactors are being developed by the French naval defense company DCNS, which have dubbed their innovation the Flexblue. Preliminary studies that lasted two years showed that it is possible for Flexblue to produce anywhere from 50 to 250 megawatts of nuclear energy on the ocean floor. According to a press release on DCNS's website, the Flexblue was designed for use in any nation that borders the sea, probably because it would be hard for landlocked country to find a large enough body of water to store the under-sea nuclear reactors. Each Flexblue includes a small nuclear reactor, steam turbine-alternator set, plus electrical equipment that allows the electricity to be carried to the coast. Added up, each one weighs about 12,000 tons. Unlike the wind turbines that some people don't like to see out of their windows, the Flexblue nuclear plants would be under water several miles out to sea. How far out each one can be placed is unclear, but they are designed to be under 180-300 feet of water. For more information please visit: http://www.dcnsgroup.com/

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