FUTURE WIND & SOLAR: BATTERIES

For Solar:

Chemists shed light on solar energy storage
December 8, 2006 (PhysOrg)
- Chemistry's role in bridging the gap between solar energy's limited present use and enormous future potential was the topic of a recent article by MIT Professor Daniel G. Nocera and a colleague…The sun's vast energy could be an ideal power source. More energy from sunlight strikes the Earth in one hour than is consumed by the planet in one year. Yet in 2001 solar energy accounted for less than 0.1 percent of total electricity.
- The major hurdle to overcome is developing a cost-effective method of storage. "We need energy when the sun doesn't shine," said Nocera, the W.M. Keck Professor of Energy and professor of chemistry.

- Nocera and Nathan S. Lewis of Caltech suggest that we borrow from nature and store solar energy in the form of chemical bonds, as plants do in photosynthesis. The mechanism would involve splitting water to generate oxygen and storable fuels such as methane or other hydrocarbons.
- In the October 24 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…They note, however, that advances in chemistry such as the development of suitable catalysts for water-splitting are crucial for solar energy to reach its full potential.
Source: MIT

For Wind:

Maxwell Technologies Gets Largest Order to Date for Ultracapacitors From Wind Energy Company
December 6, 2006 (AP via Yahoo Finance)

- Maxwell Technologies Inc., a maker of capacitors used to extend battery life in electronic devices, said Wednesday that a European wind energy company placed an order for 3 million ultracapacitors….the order, which will be filled over two years, is for double the quantity of its previous largest "D cell" order…The ultracapacitors are used for backup energy storage and power delivery in wind turbines…