Futurist Thomas Frey: Having just returned from a trip to Alaska, it occurred to me that most of the 660,000 sq miles of this beautiful state will never be habitable until a more complete off-grid solution is found. In Alaska, they’ve already figured out how to turn every one of their 3 million lakes into a landing strip, so transportation is far less of an issue than power, heat, lights, water, and communications.
Continue reading… “Engineering the Secret Engines of Off-Grid Living”
Showing no signs of slowing, the global solar boom that began a decade ago could triple the generating capacity installed worldwide by 2020. Continue reading… “Global solar market could triple in the next 5 years”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian Cabinet recently approved increasing the country’s solar target five times to a goal of reaching 100 gigawatts, up from 20 GW, by 2022. Continue reading… “India raised solar goal five-fold, will install more solar than Germany”
Even as technology advances at a mind-boggling rate, batteries always seem to lag behind. It often hinders the development of novel devices and gadgets simply due to their bulky size or limited storage capacity. Continue reading… “3D, high-capacity soft batteries created using trees”
In the dusty khaki scrubland of South Africa’s inhospitable Northern Cape province, brightly polished mirrors flash light across the landscape as they rotate slowly to follow the sun, producing electricity for 80,000 homes. Continue reading… “The leapfrogging continent”
According to new estimates from the International Monetary Fund, which puts the cost of subsidizing fossil fuels at an enormous $5.3 trillion a year, or around $10 million a minute every day, global energy subsidies are quite a lot larger than most of us thought. Continue reading… “Fossil fuels subsidies cost the world $10 million a minute”
In a remote part of southern California the new Topaz Solar Farm sprawls over an area about a third of the size of Manhattan, and these solar plants are only getting bigger. Continue reading… “Forget solar farms in the desert, more than enough solar energy can be produced in cities”
A new artificial photosynthetic system has been invented by a team of scientists. This new system could one day reduce industry’s dependence on fossil fuel-derived energy by powering it with solar energy and bacteria. Continue reading… “Artificial photosynthesis for making fuels, plastics, and medicine”
Life today in Mueller—an innovative suburb of Austin, Tex., seems like something out of the distant future. New homes wired with the latest smart gadgets cluster together around shared park spaces. Blue-black panels that transform sunshine into electricity grace a majority of roofs. Electric cars or hybrids glide silently to rest in garages. Continue reading… “Is it possible for the U.S. to go all-electric?”
Fossil fuels have provided the vast, vast majority of the world’s energy for many decades. But cleaner sources, like wind and solar have been growing at an astonishingly rate in recent years. Continue reading… “Clean energy growing fast, but still behind in the race against fossil fuels”
Michigan State University researchers have developed a transparent solar cell capable of being used as a replacement for windows. Due to the fact traditional solar panels absorb light and convert it into energy, this concept was once deemed impossible as transparent surfaces are not capable of absorbing light. Continue reading… “Clear solar panel could turn windows into a power source”
The University of the West of England has developed a prototype toilet that can convert human urine into electricity. They hope this technology can be useful is refugee camps. Continue reading… “UK university unveils electricity generating toilet”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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