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Wind turbines are a valuable source of renewable energy, but face challenges related to unpredictable wind speed. The turbine must be able to control its angle to catch enough wind to generate electricity, while avoiding excess wind that may damage the turbine. Zhou and Wang explore different types of smart turbine controllers to see which appears optimal for electricity generation.

Global reliance on extractive energy sources has many downsides, among which are inconsistent supply and consequent price volatility that distress companies and consumers. It is unclear if renewable energy offers stable and affordable solutions to extractive energy sources. The cost of solar energy generation has decreased sharply in recent years, prompting a surge of installations with a range of financing options. Even so, most existing options require upfront payment, making installation inaccessible for towns with limited financial resources. The primary objective of our research is to examine the use of green bonds to finance solar energy systems, as they eliminate the need for upfront capital and enable repayment through revenue generated over time. We hypothesized that if we modeled the usage of green bonds to finance the installation of a solar energy system in New Jersey, then the revenue generated over the system’s lifetime would be enough to repay the bond. After modeling the financial performance of a proposed solar energy-producing carport in Madison, New Jersey, financed with green bonds, we found that revenue from solar energy systems successfully covered the annual green bond payments and enabled the installers to obtain over 50% of the income for themselves. Our research demonstrated green bonds as a promising option for New Jersey towns with limited financial resources seeking to install solar energy systems, thereby breaking down a financial barrier.

In this study, the authors test the effect that the tilt angle of a solar panel has on the amount of energy it generates. This investigation highlights a simple way that people can harvest renewable energy more efficiently and effectively.

Water scarcity affects upwards of a billion people worldwide today. This project leverages the potential of capturing humidity to build a high-efficiency water condensation device that can generate water and be used for personal and commercial purposes. This compact environment-friendly device would have low power requirements, which would potentially allow it to utilize renewable energy sources and collect water at the most needed location.

The authors looked at the ability of Shewanella oneidensis to generate energy in a microbial fuel cell under varying conditions. They found that the S. Onedensis biofilm was able to produce energy in microgravity and that one of the biggest factors that limited energy production was a decrease in growth medium present.

The authors investigate whether air quality impacts solar production.

Here, seeking to develop more efficient solar cells, the authors investigated photo-electrochemical (PEC) solar cells, specifically molybdenum diselenide (MoSe₂) based on its high resistance to corrosion. They found that the percentage efficiency of these PEC solar cells was proportional to light intensity^–0.9 and that performance was positively influenced by increasing the electrolyte volume. They suggest that studies such as these can lead to new insight into reaction-based solar cells.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) use dye as the photoactive material, which capture the incoming photon of light and use the energy to excite electrons. Research in DSSCs has centered around improving the efficacy of photosensitive dyes. A fruit's color is defined by a unique set of molecules, known as a pigment profile, which changes as a fruit progresses from ripe to rotten. This project investigates the use of fresh and rotten fruit extracts as the photoactive dye in a DSSC.

The objective of this project was to test various materials to determine which ones collect the most atmospheric water when exposed to the same environmental factors. The experiment observed the effect of weather conditions, a material’s surface area and hydrophilicity on atmospheric water collection. The initial hypothesis was that hydrophobic materials with the greatest surface area would collect the most water. The materials were placed in the same outside location each night for twelve trials. The following day, the materials were weighed to see how much water each had collected. On average, ribbed plastic collected 10.8 mL of water per trial, which was over 20% more than any other material. This result partially supported the hypothesis because although hydrophobic materials collected more water, surface area did not have a significant effect on water collection.

Recent research confirms that climate change, driven by CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels, poses a significant threat to humanity. In response, authors explore methods to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, including breaking its molecular bonds through high-speed collisions.