CLEAN TECH
SOLAR PANELS AND wind turbines are perhaps the two most iconic images that come to mind when thinking about renewable energy .
That image , however , is changing . New and innovative panel designs are being presented – almost daily it would seem – that could change the way we approach deploying renewable infrastructure . From invisible solar panels to flying wind turbines , here are some we think are particularly innovative .
NASA ’ s Origami Panel Origami isn ’ t just for paper anymore .
Engineers at NASA ’ s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have created foldable solar panels inspired by the art of Japanese paper folding .
NASA ’ s Brian Trease , a mechanical
When folded , NASA ’ s panel looks like a flower engineer , studied abroad in Japan and was initially exposed to the art of origami . From then on , he was hooked .
“ I ’ d be folding subway ticket stubs , baseball game lineups ; there ’ s a picture of me in McDonalds in the city of Kobe holding a big origami crane that I had just folded [ out of a hamburger wrapper ],” he recalls to Wired . “ Now it ’ s come full circle — I ’ m doing this as my career .”
Origami seemed to be an excellent solution to one of the biggest challenges NASA faces : how do you make bulky objects needed for space flight light and compact enough to transport ? Several years ago , NASA began exploring different ways solar panels could be made more compact . Now , the solution looks to be as simple as folding them .
The project is now a joint collaboration between some unusual partners : engineers at NASA ’ s JPL , students at Brigham Young University and origami master Robert Lang . The team has developed a prototype 1 cm thick solar array that has the capability to expand from 8.9 feet in diameter to 82 feet . The material for the panel is called “ hannaflex ” by the
16 February 2015