Q&A: How fiber-optic sensing and new materials could reduce the cost of floating offshore wind power

In shallow waters, offshore wind turbines are fixed to the ocean floor. However, in deep water areas where winds are typically stronger and have the capacity to reap more than double the energy, floating offshore wind turbines must be moored to the seabed where the ocean is too deep for fixed structures.
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Compensating for grid fluctuations with bivalent furnaces

Due to the high energy consumption of melting and holding furnaces, the price of the energy source used represents a significant cost factor in the production of castings. The price of electricity fluctuates significantly over the course of the day. This can be explained, for example, by the varying utilization of the power grid or the volatile feed-in of energy from renewable resources.
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House of moveable wooden walls promises a cheaper, greener alternative to ‘knocking through’

University of Cambridge architects are inviting visitors to the London Design Biennale to experience a prototype home constructed with flexible wooden partition walls which can be shifted to meet the changing needs of residents. The invention aims to reduce waste and carbon while also improving living conditions for those who cannot afford expensive refurbishments.
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A green path to net zero carbon building

The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) has mad progress in the field of ecological building technology with the development of a new “Net Zero Carbon Building (NZCB) system.” This innovative system, designed to minimize both operating carbon and embodied carbon, holds the key to significantly reducing carbon emissions in the construction industry.
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Researchers create flexible monocrystalline silicon solar cells

A large team of technologists affiliated with multiple institutions in China, working with two colleagues from Germany and another two from Saudi Arabia, has found a way to create flexible monocrystalline silicon solar cells. In their study, reported in the journal Nature, the group developed and tested a new process. The editors at Nature have also published a Research briefing in the same journal issue, outlining the work by the team on this new effort.
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