How Green is your Energy?

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There are many uses for a portable solar panel. You can use them to recharge a number of things such as computer notebooks, flashlights, mobile phones, even water pumps. The latest design, however, features the handbag. Noticing how often her friends searched for keys and other items at the unseen bottom of their bags, Rosanna Kilfedder, a student at Brunel University, had a bright idea. She designed a handbag with its very own inside light. She called it the Sun Trap, and it works by having a solar cell fitted on the outside. The cell stores solar energy to a battery which lights up the inside of the bag whenever the zip, acting as a switch, is used. What’s more, the handy battery is friendly enough to act as an emergency charger for your mobile phone and other small gadgets.

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Two radio presenters in Wales will be relying on eco-friendly power to keep their small community radio station going. Broadcasting from a small church in north Pembrokeshire, Preseli FM will use power generated from the wind and the Sun to broadcast 24 hours a day for a month-long experiment. Preseli FM is designed for the local community with topics of interest for all ages, including ‘talk show’ spots. But, if all goes well, it is hoped that the signals may have enough puff to reach listeners in other parts of the UK.

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Manchester wants to become the UK’s most environmentally friendly city. It is planning to introduce the first sports stadium in the world that is powered by renewable energy. The designs feature several renewable systems from wind turbines, to water recycling, and storage of enough solar energy to supply 4,000 homes. All of this is due to be ready by the 2018 / 19 soccer season. It’s not just the sports fans who will benefit: ‘People across Manchester will be able to buy into the 100 percent renewable energy produced’ says Pete