Solar PV efficiency new record hit : 44%

To Treehugger : “ The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and their industry partner Solar Junction, have just set the bar even higher in the race for ultra-high-effiency PV cells by achieving another world record of 44% efficiency. “ But wait, there is more as to another article solar PV panels could soon be 50 […]

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The Carbon tax works : the Irish example

We have seen quite a few times that a carbon tax makes a lot of sense as it could literally help solve our most pressing problems : our warming climate and our broken economy. Well, it already does in Ireland. As the New York Times reports – who else could get such great news ?

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The triple crisis, an update of the situation

Here is my first Cleantechies post of 2013. It is about how 2012 was interesting in terms of global effort on climate change. I believe it is a good complement to the post I published last Wednesday. Here is the introduction : ” As a close observer of the energy and climate global scene since

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Start-stop systems are simple, yet brilliant

A great innovation I have seen on French cars recently is called Stop and start. Peugeot Citroen (PSA) started selling this anti-idling technology as early as 2006. The gains in urban driving are no less than ten percent… Indeed, thanks to start-stop systems, the internal combustion engine is automatically shut down while you are stuck

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The importance of good insulation

My current apartment in Valenciennes – Northern France – is located in a recent building (2000). And far from me the idea of bragging, but until temperatures dropped below zero (Celcius) I almost didn’t not use my electric heaters. My flat has double glazing windows and quite well insulated thick walls. The thermometer located in

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Happy and sustainable 2013 ! (starting season 7)

Dear visitors, readers and subscribers. Today, January 2nd, this humble blog turns SIX. As this is the first 2013 post, I would like to wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and sustainable year 2012 ! I have tried from day one to bring you a selection of the latest news and best

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Taking a break

Dear visitors, readers and subscribers, as we are nearing the holiday season and the end of this year I am taking a short break at blogging. This is the occasion for me to wish you all a merry Christmas and holiday season. Please be sure that I will come back in January 2nd, 2013 to

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Splitting water with solar power

This is a guest post from Mathias Aarre Maehlum, an environmentalist who studies energy engineering. In his spare time he works as a freelance writer. Read more of his stuff at Energy Informative. Researchers at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have figured out a way to split water molecules (H2O) into hydrogen by using the sun.Hydrogen

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Composting matters

Within my current involvement with the local JCI, I have been collecting information about biodegradable waste and composting. This is a question of importance as more than 30 percent of French waste could be biodegradable. Meanwhile, recyclable waste – paper, cartons, glasses – represent just one percent more and are sorted out and recycled. I

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A $370 billion idea for European buildings

Here we go again with a brand new article on Cleantechies. This time, we focus on one of my favorite topics : insulating buildings with a new study on the very matter. Here is the introduction : ” According to a new study presented by the Renovate Europe Campaign, weatherizing European buildings in an important

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