Energy & Green Tech

How extreme weather and system aging affect the US photovoltaic fleet

For photovoltaic (PV) systems—designed to operate over lifetimes of 20, 30, or even 50 years—small losses in energy production can add up to measurable differences over time. These differences can even determine whether ...

Automotive

As planet gets warmer, ski gondola maker goes urban

Austrian company Doppelmayr is well known for making gondolas for ski resorts, but its workshop is increasingly building cable cars for congested cities as climate change has opened up new markets.

Robotics

New inspection drone uses wind to lengthen flight times

Elythor, an EPFL spin-off, has developed a new drone whose wing shape can adapt to wind conditions and flight position in real time, reducing the drone's energy consumption. What's more, the position of the wings can change, ...

Engineering

How do floating wind turbines work?

Northern California has some of the strongest offshore winds in the U.S., with immense potential to produce clean energy. But it also has a problem. Its continental shelf drops off quickly, making building traditional wind ...

Engineering

Caltech Hall is getting stiffer, according to decades of data

Caltech Hall, a 55-year-old nine-story reinforced concrete building on the Caltech campus, has been getting structurally stiffer over the past 20 years, according to a new report published in The Seismic Record.

Energy & Green Tech

Biden plans floating platforms to expand offshore wind power

The Biden administration on Thursday announced plans to develop floating platforms in the deep ocean for wind towers that could power millions of homes and vastly expand offshore wind in the United States.

page 1 from 2