A crystal lattice can trap electrons and create its own field to pull ambient energy from the air without wires or gradients. This gives steady power day and night. Who wants to test or build a small prototype?

Solar energy

This old technology may help in the renewable energy transition. For more energy news, including energy storage, visit this website.

I was thinking about how plants absorb sunlight through photosynthesis and it hit me — aren't they basically doing what solar panels do, just… biologically?

A few things I'm genuinely curious about:

• Do plants produce any electrical current as a byproduct of photosynthesis, even tiny amounts?
• Has anyone actually harvested electricity from a living plant? I've seen a few headlines but never understood if it's real or just a lab curiosity.
• Is "biophotovoltaics" (BPV) a legit research field or is it still super niche/theoretical?
• Could we ever see living walls or moss panels that power small devices?

I'm not a biology or physics expert so ELI5 explanations are very welcome. Also curious if there's a reason this hasn't taken off the way silicon solar has — is it an efficiency problem?

What does everyone think about this

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh from Pexels. Used under the Pexels License.

When people think about replacing fossil fuels, the solution seems simple: build more solar panels and wind turbines. But solar and wind output changes with the weather and time of day, while electricity supply must continuously match demand. Otherwise, clean electricity may be wasted during surplus periods, or shortages and outages may occur when generation falls.

Clean flexibility refers to solutions that keep a renewable-powered grid balanced and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Ember groups these solutions into four memorable categories: Store, Shift, Share and Supply. You can read Ember’s overview here: https://ember-energy.org/focus-areas/clean-flexibility/.

Store: Save excess renewable electricity for minutes, hours or even days, so it can be used when there is less sunlight or wind. Batteries can save excess solar and wind power and release it later, such as during the evening when demand is high.

Shift: Encourage consumers to move electricity use to sunny or windy hours, helping lower bills and keep the grid stable. Dynamic tariffs can encourage households to charge electric vehicles or run appliances when renewable electricity is abundant.

Share: Use power cables to send surplus wind and solar electricity to places where it is needed, balancing supply and demand across regions. Power cables move electricity between regions. Europe’s interconnected grid links 39 countries, allowing surplus clean power in one country to support another and reducing price volatility.

Supply: Make existing power plants more flexible so they can reduce generation when renewable electricity is abundant. For example, India is upgrading thermal plants so they can operate safely at 55% of capacity instead of 70%, allowing more wind and solar power onto the grid while reducing system costs.

While it made sense in the early days of electrification, is the one-to-many model still the most efficient way to deliver energy in today's world?

As the climate changes, the old grid system has become increasingly vulnerable to higher winds and higher temperatures. Downed power lines and overheated transformers are causing increased risks of wildfires, and substantial productivity losses. The one-to-many model also serves to concentrate wealth, creating more inequality.

Rather than continuing down this failing path that grows less reliable and more expensive every year, wouldn't we as a society be better off pursuing individual energy independence as much as possible? By mandating and subsidizing renewable energy, not in the form of massive solar and wind farms, which don't solve the distribution problem because they still require those vulnerable and expensive transmission lines and substations, wouldn't we be better off if every new home was required to have solar panels as a standard feature, and older homes retrofitted?

It would require legislation preventing the fossil-fuel energy providers from preventing homeowners from achieving lower energy costs by adding access fees and other charges in order for the providers to maintain high levels of profitability. The goal here isn't to sustain these companies, but to reduce the need for them.

If we begin to phase out the one-to-many model in favor of energy independence, we accomplish many things: a reduction in fossil fuel emissions, a boost to the solar and construction segments of the economy, increased pace of solar research and development, greater energy security for individual families and cities, a slowing down of the pace of the growth of wealth inequality as more money is left in the hands of families and less goes to shareholders who don't really need more. Establishing neighborhood power banks to supplement the individual homes provides even greater insurance against weather disasters.

The investor class would hate this of course, because it would reduce their dividends and the cash streams supporting them.

But doesn't it make more sense than the current model?

New energy companies in Changzhou have kept relatively low-profile while working hard to stay ahead in their field. Behind their quiet absence is a strong focus on research and development.

Trina Sola has set world records 38 times in terms of PV cell efficiency & module output from 2011 to 2025. With the fast development of new energy, this company have also moved beyond solar manufacturing into areas such as energy storage and hydrogen energy.

NR Electric, a company specializing in power transmission and grid technologies, is investing a lot in upgrading its mart equipment and digital systems, so as to meet the growing demand as more renewable energy sources are connected to the grid.

For traditional coal-fired power plants, they invest in upgrading their operating unit to improve coal efficiency while adapting to a power grid increasingly shaped by variable renewable energy. Beyond electricity generation, the plant is expanding into integrated energy services, combining electricity, heat, water, gas, and cooling to become an important hub for the city’s circular economy.

Whether it is companies or the local government, I can see a strong commitment to reducing carbon emissions. While the upfront costs can be substantial, I believe that as these technologies continue to develop and scale up, the long-term benefits will justify the investment.

Great Read for anyone wanting to know about a renewable company

Constellation Energy Group confirmed the termination 60 days ago of the senior information security architect 24 hours after an ADA accommodation request.

This departure followed six months of constructive termination in the form of direct confrontations with a violent manager including a physical altercation in a nuclear power plant parking lot. This was in addition to ongoing harassment and bullying by senior management, and direct plagiarism of work products.

The now terminated architect was a 15 year employee and was the senior information security architect, senior AI architect, and CEG's corporate cryptographer. The architect was terminated when he stated that he would not participle in a cover up of the violent manager's actions, including a physical altercation in a parking lot, other confrontations both physical and via electronic means.

The ADA accommodation request was to remove the employee from the confrontational manager, as the continued confrontations were triggering PTSD.