World's First Tidal Turbine Power Station Goes Online, Doesn't Blend Seals

However exciting the rubber robot snake wave power generator sounds, a real seagoing power station is way more interesting. And over in the UK, they've just turned on the world's first commercial tidal power generator station. SeaGen is situated in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, and it has twin turbines that spin as the tide rushes into and out of the lough at up to 8 knots. The moving seawater spins the turbines for around 20 hours each day and when it's up to full operating capacity, SeaGen will be pushing out 1.2 megawatts of power, roughly enough to supply 1,000 homes. And since the revolution speed is only around 10 to 15 per minute, the blades shouldn't offer a threat to sealife like the local common seals. Eco-friendliness all 'round. [Daily Mail]

Huge Rubber Snake is No Joke, Generates Power From Waves

For some reason or other, we've shown you a lot of robotic snakes here on Giz. But this new one is kind of a robot snake in reverse: it's designed to float just beneath the surface of the sea and capture wave energy, which it then turns into electrical power. A science team in the UK has been working on the design, and is now testing small versions in a test tank: ultimately the "real" machines would be 23 feet across and 650 feet long, and be able to generate 1 megawatt. Check out the video to see how "Anaconda" works. More »

Japan to Build Huge Solar Power Plants to Power Sharp Factories

The city of Sakai in Japan is going to have a glittering new "green" addition in 2010, when Sharp and Kansai Electric Power build two massive solar-electric power plants there. In a bid to make Sharp's factories more eco-friendly, the two plants will generate 10 megawatts and 28 megawatts of electricity and reduce CO2 emissions by 10 kilotons yearly. Apparently the "Sakai City Waterfront Mega Solar Power Generation Plan" will be among the biggest like it in the world, and is part of a bid by Sakai to become a leading eco-friendly city. Smashing, and means Sharp gadgets can be bought with a clearer conscience. [Crunchgear via Dvice]

MIT Scientists Increase Fuel Cell Efficiency 50%

Scientists at MIT have been tackling the efficiency of next-gen power source fuel cells, and have discovered how to significantly improve it. Most current direct-methanol fuel cells use a membrane called Nafion sandwiched between their electrodes, and apparently it's got a flaw. As well as letting hydrogen nucleii through to drive the power-generating process, it apparently also leaks methanol, lowering the efficiency of the cell. By coating the Nafion with a new material (kept secret for now) the boffins have plugged the leak and have been able to measure up to 50% efficiency increases. What's this mean for us? Well, longer-lasting fuel cells in our future gizmos of course. [Reghardware]

IBM Boosts Solar Cell Efficiency Using Magnifying Trick

IBM's researchers have been busily beavering away trying to improve solar power technology, and they've just come up with a neat solution that uses a surprisingly simple technique: concentrator photovoltaics. In much the same way as kids use magnifying glasses to focus the sun on things to burn them (we all did that, didn't we?) the IBM boffins combined a large lens and a photovoltaic cell to focus a record-breaking 230 watts solar energy per square centimeter. That ends up producing about 70 watts of useful electric power, effectively creating a solar cell about five times more powerful than the cells commonly used in solar farms. More »

Scientist's New Solar Panel Tech: Paint Your Home For Power

Forget old-news solar-power shingles: a team from Swansea in the UK have found a way of creating solar "panel" paint. A by-product of their research into degrading paint on steel surfaces, their invention is applied in layers to steel cladding, and converts a gentle 5% of inbound solar energy to electricity. Sounds like not much, until you multiply it up over the surface area of a building. More »