Solar Power Archives – The Green Optimistic

New Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Goes 1,300km a Year on Its Solar Panel Alone

Ovidiu Sandru — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 13:29:19 +0000

In the old times, there were Priuses. Now, it’s Hyundai. They just launched their Sonata Hybrid and it has a solar roof charging system. In the 2004-2009 Prius, the solar panel on the top was used to power the air conditioner while the car sat in full sunlight. Not Hyundai. They’re going after mileage gains […]

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Sydney Is in a State of Emergency to Fight Climate Change

Matias Prieto — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 20:30:58 +0000

On Monday, the city council of Sydney, Australia, unanimously voted to enter a state of emergency over the looming threat posed by climate change. The decision — which makes Sydney the first major city in Australia to declare a climate emergency, but nearly the 660th to do so worldwide — mobilizes the entirety of the […]

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The global transition to clean energy – explained in 12 charts

Matias Prieto — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 06:06:59 +0000

A report released by Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) goes into that question in considerable detail. The Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) digs into the growth rates of various energy sources, the flows of clean energy investment, and the world’s progress on its sustainability goals. But first, we are still moving […]

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Coffee to Boost Solar Cell Performance

Effie P — Thu, 23 May 2019 19:53:27 +0000

You’re a graduate engineer. You’ve been working on perovskite solar panels. Perovskite describes a class of crystalline compounds which are easy and cheap to make, and as a result they are promising candidate materials to form light-harvesting layers on solar panels. However, if the crystals are exposed to atmospheric humidity and oxygen, they degrade rapidly. […]

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Zero Mass Water’s Solar Panels Pull Clean Drinking Water Out of Thin Air

Matias Prieto — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 17:31:35 +0000

Around the world, approximately 2.1 billion people do not have immediate access to clean drinking water. A startup called Zero Mass Water aims to make clean water easily accessible to more people around the world. In 2015, it launched its first product, Source — a solar panel array that harvests and filters water from vapour in the air. The […]

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Solar Empowerment of Nomads in Rural Mongolia

Effie P — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 15:09:49 +0000

Solar power is not only an environmentally friendly alternative, but in many cases the only available source of energy. One third of the Mongolian population is living a nomadic life. They sustain livestock and move seasonally across the vast Mongolian grasslands, bringing with them their Ger— foldable traditional homes made of felt and yak’s wool. […]

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New Discovery Boosts Performance of Perovskite-based Solar Cells

Mila Luleva — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 16:58:25 +0000

Scientists from three leading US research institutes found a way to increase life-time of perovskite solar sells. It could finally make the technology viable when used in energy devices. A couple of years ago, when I first started writing for The Green Optimistic, news about solar cells were flooding the blogs and feeds. I remember […]

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New Year, New Energy

Effie P — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 19:22:49 +0000

Solar energy production facilities find their way in unconventional locations, to replace fossil fuels and bring new energy to degraded coal mines and nuclear sites worldwide. The installation of solar panels on degraded areas, where there are no competing uses (agriculture, wildlife refuges) is very appealing. As coal mining industries are exiting the industry, solar […]

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Solar power production getting cheaper than conventional power

Effie P — Mon, 31 Dec 2018 12:10:11 +0000

Large-scale solar power projects are continuously coming to life, while new ones are being announced. In China, two 500MW solar power plants were connected to the grid on the 29th of December and will be managed by the National Energy Administration (NEA). More importantly, the plants will sell the energy they produce cheaper than the […]

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Tesla’s Home Solar System Price Drops

Effie P — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 20:32:09 +0000

Reuters report a cut in the prices of residential solar systems of Tesla Inc in the range of 15-25 percent, effective last Thursday. This translates to a price drop between $3.000-$5.000 depending on the system’s size and location. Tesla’s senior vice president of energy operations, Sanjay Shah, announced that the reduction in price can be […]

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ACME Solar Continues Indian Solar Expansion Despite Tariff Issues

Ally Munda — Mon, 08 Oct 2018 11:54:36 +0000

NEW DELHI: ACME Solar has aggressively pushed the India’s solar energy to expand its market share, particularly by pushing for lower tariffs for the clean technology. The company now weighs the option of putting 560 megawatts of capacity on the block for sale, potentially to fund future projects down its pipeline. ACME recently announced through […]

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Pollinator Habitats Could Be Saved By Solar Power Plants

Arsenij Percov — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 10:17:12 +0000

Researchers at the U.S Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are studying solar energy facilities with pollinator habitats on site. By this, they hope to rehabilitate declining pollinator populations that play an important role in the agricultural industries. The loss of such species could result in devastating crop production, costs, and nutrition on a […]

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New Solar Windows That Can Halve Your Electric Bill

Arsenij Percov — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 21:24:51 +0000

Chinese scientists have invented a new material that can block the unnecessary sunlight and produce power. Previously, windows could do only one thing, either to be tinted and shut out sunlight, to reduce the heating and cooling cost, or to use see-through solar cells to generate electricity. Windows using this new material can do both […]

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New Solar Cells With 60% Efficiency Can Now Replace Coal

Arsenij Percov — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 18:00:20 +0000

A team of researchers from the University of Exeter developed a solar cell with a record 60% efficiency. The idea behind this breakthrough is similar to using a “funnel”: corralling an amorphous collection of electrical charges into a more precise area, where they can be transferred into use. Using this idea, the researchers increased the […]

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Mission SolarStratos – Electric Solar Airplane that Will Fly at 80,000 Feet

Arsenij Percov — Sat, 28 Jul 2018 12:50:09 +0000

The two-seat electric solar airplane Mission SolarStratos aims to break the 80,000 ft (24,400 km) electric flight record by 2020. This airplane has already shown itself when it flew around the globe. However, this goal is even more ambitious. It will have to fly two times higher than the highest commercial jetliner using only sun’s […]

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Solar Panel That You Can Make at Home For $30

Arsenij Percov — Sat, 21 Jul 2018 20:02:36 +0000

Solar panel and solar power are among the hottest topics in social media right now. However, the majority of people think that they are very expensive. Instructables’ user BrotherJames8765 doesn’t think so, he built a solar panel for less than $30. It doesn’t include all the downstream gizmos of the panel’s output such as regulators, […]

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The Way China Invests Heavily in Concentrated Solar Power

Arsenij Percov — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 20:08:06 +0000

China’s power system operators must invest in renewable energy to meet climate commitments. The cheapest options are wind power and PV, but they deliver power only when it’s sunny or windy. Their more expensive alternative, Concentrated Solar Power, can store its solar energy relatively inexpensively, also for long durations, and can deliver power regardless of […]

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Solros Real Light: Swedish Device Brings Real Sunlight Where Needed

Arsenij Percov — Sat, 14 Jul 2018 20:33:12 +0000

A new way to light up some dark spaces in your house was developed by the Swedish Company Solros. The company is composed of well-trained and talented designers, developers and engineers. They are creating and selling products that promote a sustainable future. They have developed the Solros Real Light. It is a system that will […]

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New Compound Could Make Thin Film Solar Panels More Efficient

Arsenij Percov — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:49:14 +0000

The market is now dominated by silicon solar panels. They are great, but they are not cheap. Therefore, to use solar panels widely, we need some alternative that will cost less. The alternative is using thin film photovoltaics. They use thin layers of specific p-type and n-type materials sandwiched together and utilize the photovoltaic effect. […]

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New Bacterial Solar Cell Works Even in Overcast Sky

Arsenij Percov — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 19:27:36 +0000

A lot of places are not able to use solar panels efficiently due to weather conditions. More precisely, places where overcast skies are common. For example, British Columbia and parts of northern Europe. However, University of British Columbia researchers have found an effective and a cheap solution to this problem. They built a solar cell […]

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Solar Energy’s Dropping Costs Fuels Green Energy Investments

Jose Aguilar — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 19:49:25 +0000

At the heart of the clean energy business there are the readily renewable options such as wind and solar (and marine tidal), requiring lesser construction related foundations, beyond equipment installation and operation than its counterparts, say hydro, geothermal, etc. Among these, solar has unarguably been the investment of choice in the last years, even more […]

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Silicon Versus Polymer-Based Solar Cells

Jose Aguilar — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 18:37:33 +0000

The development of photovoltaics (PV) can be traced back to the 1950`s, first involving the use of organic dyes and their photoconductivity properties. Later, in the early 1980`s polymers were introduced in simple PV cells. By then the challenge was to increase the Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) from a stunted 0.1%. A major breakthrough came […]

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Tesla set to build the largest Virtual Solar Plant in history

Jose Aguilar — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 20:18:29 +0000

Last year Elon Musk offered to build the largest storage battery installation in the world in South Australia. This would be no ordinary proposal, even less ordinary when he boasted about doing it in 100 days, or else the service would be handed for free. The challenge was met and the installation was completed in only […]

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This New Breakthrough Could Boost the Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Sat, 10 Feb 2018 18:41:33 +0000

The organic solar cell technology promises low-cost manufacturing, abundant raw materials, and lightweight, flexible substrates. These benefits address the limitations of current photovoltaic cells on the market. However, the efficiency of this cheaper and more sustainable alternative to silicon-based solar cells remains a big challenge. At 11 percent efficiency, they need more ways to catch […]

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Will Solar Energy Overtake Wind Sooner than Expected?

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 18:19:26 +0000

By 2028, the world will be mostly powered by solar energy. This is the bold prediction of Ray Kurzweil, the man who also predicted the mobile internet, cloud computing, and wearable technologies about two decades ago. The basis? Starting from 0.5 percent in 2012, the global market share of solar power doubles every two years […]

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Warner, New Hampshire – Home of a Microgrid Virtual Power Plant

Jose Aguilar — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 14:18:00 +0000

A U.S. community microgrid project is in the making in Warner, New Hampshire, to harness the potential solar-derived power coming from individual units in random buildings, making it available as needed once plugged into the existing electrical grid distribution system. The project entails the installation of the associated equipment such as solar panels, batteries, inverters, etc., […]

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Nissan to Sell Solar Panels and Battery Storage Cheaper Than Tesla

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 19:41:09 +0000

The residents of the United Kingdom that have solar products installed in their households could save as much as 66 percent of their electric bills. This is according to Nissan’s recent press release. To make the technology more available to homeowners, Nissan has recently launched its Nissan Energy Solar, described by the automaker as an […]

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MIT’s Open Source Tool Predicts Solar Cell Performance per Location

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Sun, 17 Dec 2017 22:26:26 +0000

“If you have a new solar cell technology, you can see where your technology might be able to outcompete commercial silicon solar cells,” explains Tonio Buonassisi, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts’s Institute of Technology (MIT), pertaining to the significance of their newly developed open-source tool published in the journal Joule last December 13. […]

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Double-glazed Solar Panels: New Approach to Solar Energy Efficiency

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 18:46:50 +0000

Upon acknowledging that at present, the improvement of solar cell’s efficiency has already reached its maximum with only gradient increases if any, the two physicists from the University of Warwick, Coventry took the works of Einstein and Tesla as inspiration and came up with a new design of solar panels – double-glazing. The proposed solar […]

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Cheaper and Safer Solvents for Increasing Solar Cell Efficiency

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Thu, 07 Dec 2017 19:19:54 +0000

The amount of solar energy that a solar cell can convert into electrical energy is presently limited by its bandgap, such that only the photons with higher energies can be converted, leaving photons with lower energies useless. This limit is also called the Shockley-Queisser limit and in order to address such hindrance in achieving optimum […]

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Solar Supercapacitor Generates Both Electricity and Hydrogen

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Sun, 03 Dec 2017 11:14:34 +0000

Hydrogen is a much cleaner option than other renewable energy sources, only if not derived from methane that involves carbon dioxide emission. Another limitation of hydrogen fuel cell is its feasibility to be mass produced, efficiency in energy conversion, and cost. For these reasons, a team of scientists from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) […]

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Solar Power Is a Perfect Fit for Vietnam, Even John Kerry Thinks So!

Nicholas Say — Sun, 19 Nov 2017 19:28:49 +0000

There is no doubt that Asia is taking over the future of solar power. China has become the largest manufacturer of solar power equipment over the last decade, and today they have more solar generation capacity than any other country on the planet. But there are other places in Asia that would be perfect to […]

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Semi-transparent, Flexible Solar Cells Give 0.7% More Efficiency

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 05:13:44 +0000

Solar cells that offer a range of transparency while possessing high mechanical flexibility are considered as the next-generation smart solar cells, gathering much attention at present. Their special features find their application in cellular phones, human skin, personal computers, and windows. However, the technology is needing a lot of improvements in terms of its scalability […]

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New 3D Printed Material Could Reduce the Cost of Solar Cells

Guest Contributor — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 13:41:52 +0000

While the use of solar cells is a good way to harness the power of the Sun and cut back on our dependency, most people are put off by their high prices. Much research has gone into making solar cells cheaper, however, the answer to this problem may come from a group of researchers from […]

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Ice Buildup on Solar Panels No More: Researchers Find Solution

Guest Contributor — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 16:56:33 +0000

Specialists have recently discovered the solution to a problem that could potentially threaten all man-made structures: the build-up of ice on their surfaces. Scientists have been observing that dangerous amounts of ice are occasionally building up on sensitive objects such as solar panels and power lines for years, however, they never found a solution to […]

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Stretchable Solar Cells That Can be Washed and Worn

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 14:53:21 +0000

Recent studies are developing small energy-harvesting devices that can make them applicable in wearable medical devices and sensors. Previous attempts have been made to construct solar cells that could be incorporated into textiles, but these were challenged by long-term stability in air and water, energy efficiency, and resistance to deformation. A new design of solar […]

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Air Pollution in India Cuts Solar Power Output Over 25%

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 11:24:35 +0000

A study conducted by Indian and American researchers measured for the first time the effect of smog and dust deposition on the efficiency of solar cells in the world’s third largest polluter, India – an unexpectedly huge 25 to 30 percent of power is lost, equivalent to 3,900 megawatts, which is six times the capacity […]

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Moth Eye Inspired Nanostructure Reduces Reflectivity of Solar Cells

Janina Lazo-Cruz — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 16:54:45 +0000

Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently found a new technology alternative to anti-reflection coatings in order to address the desire in solar cells to minimize reflectivity, absorbing more sunlight and thus, generating more electricity. The technology is based on biomimicry concept that duplicates the hierarchical structure of a moth’s eye, which is known […]

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China Launches World’s Largest Floating Solar Power Plant, Surpasses US

Nicholas Say — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 19:20:32 +0000

When Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the roof of the White House, solar technology wasn’t in any position to displace fossil fuels. But times have changed, and today solar power is capable of replacing fuels like coal. A New Future China got a bad reputation for creating a lot of pollution, but recently a […]

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Tesla Solar Roof Goes on Sale

Mila Luleva — Thu, 18 May 2017 12:53:17 +0000

Wave good-bye to regular solar panels, as Tesla’s revolutionary Solar Roof goes on sale. The solar energy industry has been blooming over the last couple of years. Not only that technology improved drastically, but it also became much more affordable (and therefore desirable) to everyone. Home solar power, in particular, went trough an incredible transformation. […]

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Japanese Solar Cell on Verge of Reaching Theoretical 29% Efficiency

Ece Polat — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 15:20:35 +0000

As homeowners’ main worry about using solar power is price, the main area that can be worked on for a better solar power industry is efficiency. Normally, a silicon based solar panel (monocrystalline or polycrystalline) has a theoretical limit of efficiency at 29 percent. Yet, this number was never achieved until Kaneka Corporation, a Japanese […]

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Houston, TX, Best for Rooftop Solar Power, Says Google Study

Ece Polat — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 13:25:15 +0000

Google has recently announced that it is working on a project that will help people learn how much electricity their rooftop can provide with a solar power system. Project Sunroof, will include a 3D model of every rooftop in 50 states and include shades, trees, and weather in the calculation. According to this new software […]

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Australia Can Ditch Coal and Use Hydro Pump Storage to Pick Up the Slack

Nicholas Say — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 18:50:40 +0000

Australia can have a 100% green power grid, and hydro pump storage makes it possible. A recent report has delineated a way forward for creating a near zero emissions infrastructure down under. Professor Andrew Blakers from ANU led the research and based on what his team found the future of Australian green energy hasn’t looked […]

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Wattway’s Solar Road in France Offers Glimpse into the Future of Roads

Ece Polat — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 20:35:18 +0000

After two years of testing, the trial of a 1 kilometer solar road will finally make the 1000 km long solar roads around France be installed. In Normandy, France, there is a village roadway powered by solar panels. France finally decided to implement 1,000 km (621 miles) long solar roadways using Wattway, which is still a […]

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New Production Method for Printable Perovskite Solar Cells Discovered

Ece Polat — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 07:51:04 +0000

With this new technology from the U of T Engineering, printing solar cells will be possible and cheap. Dr. Hairen Tan and his team developed the perovskite solar cell that is low in cost, printable, and can turn any space into a power generator. Regarding this innovation, Professor Ted Sargent, the Canada Research Chair in […]

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New Plasmonic Metamaterial Could Revolutionize Solar Cells

Nicholas Say — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 07:47:37 +0000

A recent discovery at the University of California San Diego could change the field of photonics. A team of engineers has fabricated a plasmonic metamaterial that could change the way we look at optical transmission. Their new material shows promise is the field of light-based technologies, like photovoltaics, fiber optics, and lasers. Their new material […]

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Ex-US President Jimmy Carter Builds 1.3 MW Solar Farm in Hometown

Nicholas Say — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 12:55:28 +0000

In the fullness of time Jimmy Carter will be seen as the dynamic leader and fantastic human that he is. Solar power has always been of interest to the former president and he recently completed the construction of a 1.3 megawatt solar power facility in his home town. Jimmy Carter was unpopular during his presidency, […]

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SolPad Announces the All-in-One Solar Power System

Ece Polat — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 15:41:18 +0000

There are many all-in-one charging systems for charging small, portable objects. Yet, when it comes to charging larger objects, like laptops or TV, the options for a portable solar charger decrease. SolPad’s new products are the solution to the lack of all-in-one solar chargers in the industry. With two essential options, the SolPad Home and […]

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Tesla Gigafactory’s Solar Roof Will Be the Largest of Its Kind

Nicholas Say — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 20:45:38 +0000

It is often said in Asian philosophy that at the center of darkness, there is light. Elon Musk very well may be that light. It is hard to imagine a culture that is more wasteful than the consumer culture in the United States. Somehow from within that culture, Mr. Musk emerged a very successful innovator. […]

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Tesla and Panasonic to Make Solar Cells in New York

Mila Luleva — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 10:32:47 +0000

Tesla and Panasonic just agreed to manufacture solar cells in Buffalo, New York. This year electric cars, solar energy and energy storage were continuously in the spotlight. Prices dropped significantly, new and improved technologies emerged, and more and more companies decided to get involved. The competition among the inventors and manufacturers is more severe than […]

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New Plastic Paving System Captures Solar and Kinetic Energy

Mila Luleva — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 19:08:02 +0000

A new paving system, made out of recycled plastics, is able to harvest both solar and kinetic energy. I am a big fan of solar roads and solar bike lanes. It is true that in terms of efficiency and placement, these might not be the best. However, I cannot think of a better way to […]

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Scientists Combine Energy Storage and Solar Cells in Tiny Fibers

Mila Luleva — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 19:43:00 +0000

Scientists developed a unique fabric, which can harness solar energy and store it for later use. There are quite a number of crowdfunding projects out there that plan to sell items of clothing with solar panels attached onto them. Although the demand for portable, rechargeable source of power is ever-so-huge, somehow, it is not surprising, […]

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Sweden Slashes Solar Power Tax Following Opposition

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 08:42:44 +0000

While Trump heavily denies climate change and everything related to it, Sweden now wants to slash taxes on solar power, because they too have faced heavy criticism from environmental experts and the government’s opposition. The tax isn’t old, however. It’s only been introduced this year on the basis that EU laws require it and only […]

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Tesla Helps Paradise Island Become 100% Solar Powered

Ovidiu Sandru — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 20:35:59 +0000

When big league players get together, everyone can bet the game is going to be worth watching. SolarCity and Tesla combined forces and brains and a year ago started implementing a project that helps the small paradise island of Ta’u in American Samoa to break free from diesel and to embrace solar power. The Ta’u island […]

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Tesla Just Unveiled the Affordable and Gorgeous-Looking Solar Roof You’ve Been Waiting For

Ovidiu Sandru — Sat, 29 Oct 2016 19:38:45 +0000

When you’re Elon Musk, people come and see what you have to say, just because you proved you were right so many times. Following this principle, people gathered yesterday to see Tesla/SolarCity’s newest revolutionary product: a roof tile that also doubles as a solar cell and that’s estimated to outlast your home. Or maybe a […]

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Teenager Develops $5 Device to Harness Wind and Solar Power

Mila Luleva — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 13:06:21 +0000

Thirteen years old Maanasa Mendu developed a $5-wind and solar hybrid system to generate renewable energy. Teenagers often manage to amaze us with their forward thinking and incredible creativity. The inventions that they come up with can easily overtake those designed by the greatest of engineers. This is especially the case when we look at […]

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Australian Desert Farm Uses no Freshwater, Soil or Fossil Fuels to Make Food

Mila Luleva — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 19:19:36 +0000

Sundrop Farms produces healthy, sustainable food in the middle of the Australian Desert, without using pesticides, fossil fuels or fresh water. The scarcity of food resources in many parts of the world is one of the major population threats. Agricultural lands deplete continuously, as climate change and inappropriate agricultural practices cause intense soil degradation and […]

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Insolight Boldly Claim Record Solar Cell Efficiency

Courtney Lepping — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 18:37:14 +0000

Insolight, which became an official solar company in 2015, recently made the claim that its new solar panel designed for residential installations is ‘twice as efficient’ than the norm. How? It claims to have a solar energy conversion rate of 36.4 percent. 34.6 percent is pretty much double the conversion rates of popular solar cells. […]

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Australian Company Sells Three Affordable Solar Battery Packs

Mila Luleva — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 21:17:08 +0000

ZEN Energy offers affordable residential solar and battery packs to meet the needs of the average household. When it comes to home-based renewable energy generation, solar power is among the most affordable and accessible options. This is even more apparent at places where companies running the national grid purchase the unused energy from rooftop solar panels. […]

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Conergy Builds World’s First Islanding Solar Power Project

Courtney Lepping — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 18:34:53 +0000

An islanding solar project reliant on battery backup is about to undergo a two-year test. Conergy (a well-known solar company), along with Origin Energy, BHP Billiton, Ergon Energy, and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARNEA), just established a Knowledge Sharing Project to bypass renewable energy setbacks. These companies will monitor a $42.5 million Lakeland solar project […]

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Facebook CEO Gifts Solar-Powered Drone to Pope Francis

Satya Sivani — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 10:46:09 +0000

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has presented Pope Francis an unusual gift – a model Solar-Powered Drone – on Monday at the Vatican. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla saw the Pope at the Vatican. Mark wrote in his Facebook post “We told him how much we admire his message of mercy and tenderness, and […]

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Revolutionary Solar Roof Announced by Elon Musk This Week

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 12 Aug 2016 05:20:58 +0000

Since the news of the fusion between SolarCity and Tesla Motors, some even greater news now show up. At SolarCity’s second quarter financial call this week, Elon Musk announced that the company will launch a revolutionary solar roof. Now mind you, a solar roof is NOT a solar cell mounted on the roof. For existing buildings, […]

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Mobile Solar-Powered Station Charges Phones in Rwanda

Mila Luleva — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 17:53:25 +0000

Mobile solar power station can charge up to 80 cell phones simultaneously. Rolled out in Rwanda, the concept gives jobs, connects people and could even save lives. In rural Rwanda, mobile phones are one of the most essential gadgets. Not only they help people stay connected, but they are also used to disseminate information. What […]

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Mitsubishi-Hitachi’s New CSP Plant Promises Big Efficiency Gains

Mila Luleva — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 20:50:39 +0000

A hybrid system, designed by Mitsubishi Hitachi, combines concentrated solar power and cheap low-temperature evaporator. It promises to bring down cost and boost efficiency. Concentrated solar power (CSP) systems are known to be the most efficient solar power generating means. This is because CSP systems comprise of numerous rotating mirrors that track the sun. This […]

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New Solar Cell Behaves Like Actual Plant

Courtney Lepping — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 19:49:19 +0000

There’s an efficient new solar cell that can basically perform the job of any plant: convert carbon dioxide into fuel. Instead of a photovoltaic solar cell, the photosynthetic solar cell aims to utilize the excess carbon in the atmosphere and make fuel from that. The characteristics and appearance of such solar cell is much like […]

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Chernobyl to Get a Second Life as a Solar Power Plant

Mila Luleva — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 19:30:43 +0000

Chernobyl gets a second chance as Ukrainian government considers turning the site into a massive solar power plant. Ever since the nuclear disaster back in 1986, the whole region of Chernobyl, Ukraine, has been pretty much alienated. The area, surrounding the damaged reactor was named Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It covers around 2,600 square kilometers (1,000 sq […]

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Solar Roadways to Pave Route 66 in Missouri With Solar Panels

Courtney Lepping — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 19:22:49 +0000

In a section of Route 66 located in Missouri, MoDOT, the Federal Highway Administration, and Solar Roadways plans to install solar panels to serve as public roads by the year’s end. The specially-designed roadways will feature LED lights to cover the expression of “lines and signage” as well as surface heating abilities. Not only will […]

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Advanced Solar Cell Resembles Rose Petal Epidermis

Courtney Lepping — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 14:04:09 +0000

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) discovered a cheat for greater organic solar cell efficiency based on the epidermal cells of rose petals. Rose petals have certain properties that when artificially reproduced on a larger scale, such as a solar cell, yields more power. Researchers from the Light Technology Institute (LTI), the Institute of Microstructure […]

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Elon Musk’s Tesla Plans to Acquire Elon Musk’s SolarCity, Offer Joint Services

Courtney Lepping — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 17:25:53 +0000

Tesla and SolarCity plan to merge energy-efficient products for consumers. Solar City, which produces and installs solar panels, and Tesla, which produces battery-powered vehicles, recently engaged in an offer for Tesla to acquire SolarCity. Tesla seeks to acquire SolarCity’s common stock and give Tesla’s common shares in return. A definite agreement and approval has yet […]

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World’s First Ever Solar Plant Provides Power Day and Night

Mila Luleva — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 18:48:25 +0000

Crescent Dunes Project, located in Nevada, goes down in history as the first ever solar power plant, which provides clean electricity 24 hours a day. Renewable energy is slowly getting closer to the place on the energy market that it deserves. Technology improves, reliability and efficiency increase, and consequently investments get a boost too. Limitations […]

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Bionic Leaf Turns Light Into Liquid Biofuel

Mila Luleva — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 19:56:42 +0000

Scientists at Harvard developed a bionic leaf that can convert light into biomass more efficiently than nature, and then make biofuel. Artificial photosynthesis has been in the spotlight for quite some time. Typically it is associated with splitting the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen via some sort of a solar technology. The produced hydrogen […]

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MIT Breaks Theoretical Efficiency Limit of Solar Cells

Courtney Lepping — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 07:14:07 +0000

An MIT demonstration revealed the ability to top the theoretical upper limit of solar cell efficiency which is currently 32 percent. It was a silicon solar cell that showed that the Shockley-Quiesser Limit could be bypassed, suggesting a silicon alternative to perovskites and other solar cell types. An efficiency of 32 percent is considered high, […]

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SolSource – Affordable, Eco-Friendly Outdoor Solar Cooker

Mila Luleva — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 07:09:03 +0000

SolSource is a new type of outdoor cooker, which uses concentrated sunlight to grill your favorite meal faster than ever. Outdoor cooking is something that everyone enjoys in these wonderful long summer days. It gets even better when some sort of clean energy tech is involved, minimizing costs, minimizing emissions and simply out-cooling all alternatives. SolSource […]

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Futuristic Solar Powered Bus Goes Over Traffic

Mila Luleva — Thu, 26 May 2016 14:20:50 +0000

Solar powered bus goes over traffic, not around it. Traffic congestion is one of the biggest problems of most cities. The consequences from this go way beyond people having to get up an hour earlier to make it to work in time. Pollution is the most dangerous of them all. Premature deaths, respiratory disease, asthma, and […]

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New Perovskite Solar Panels from MIT Fix Themselves With Light

Courtney Lepping — Thu, 26 May 2016 06:33:17 +0000

Researchers at MIT added to the work on perovskite materials by introducing a light-based method that improves their performance. Perovskites are compounds often produced as thin films that are used in solar cell applications. Past research differs in that it has used electrical and chemical treatments to alter perovskite performance. Although perovskites offer solar cell […]

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Miraah Project, The World’s Biggest Solar Plant Built for the Oil Industry

Mila Luleva — Wed, 25 May 2016 04:41:24 +0000

Miraah Project, one of the largest solar power plants currently under construction, will be used to power oil extraction. Solar power is being promoted all around us as being cheap and super efficient. Newsfeeds are full of stories that tell us how the price of solar has never been closer to that of fossil fuels. […]

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Ivanpah, World’s Largest Solar Power Plant, Catches Fire

Courtney Lepping — Sun, 22 May 2016 21:24:49 +0000

The generator at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) in California caught fire from a misaligned mirror that directed sunlight at the power plant’s wires. Luckily, no injuries ensued and workers shut down one of the boilers for later repairs. On the downside, exactly how California’s electricity supply will be affected is unknown, being […]

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Alamos Team Solves Stability Issue of Promising Perovskite Solar Cells

Courtney Lepping — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:12:39 +0000

The research team at Alamos National Laboratory recently published a study on the photo-degradation process associated with perovskite solar cells and the surprising small solution to their degradation tendencies. The researchers were able to stabilize the devices by adjusting the temperature and light of the surroundings. While standard solar cells lose as much as 50% […]

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New Stanford Solar Cell Uses Coldness of the Universe

Courtney Lepping — Fri, 13 May 2016 04:46:41 +0000

Current research by Stanford University scientists is showing promising implications for the efficiency of solar cells. These solar cells rely on heat loss from radiative cooling and electricity from sunlight. Solar cells utilize photons, light particles, to generate electricity. In the process, solar cells also generate heat which reduces efficiency. The current research allows the […]

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Heliofloat System Brings Off-shore Solar Closer to Reality

Mila Luleva — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 08:58:13 +0000

Scientists developed a wave-resisting platform that can hold multiple solar panels and float safely on the rough ocean surface. The concept of floating solar has been around for quite some time, but most technologies have been developed for in-land aquifers with somewhat stagnant waters. The main reason for this is that seas and oceans can become […]

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Thermophotovoltaic Solar Cells Produce Electricity in the Dark

Mila Luleva — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 17:33:05 +0000

Scientists developed a new nanomaterial that can make solar cells generate electricity in the dark. “Solar power generation in the dark? How is this possible?” If these were the questions that popped up in your mind when you read the title, I would say, you have every right to ask. This is especially the case […]

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Watly, Solar-Powered Computer that Provides Clean Water, Electricity and Internet

Mila Luleva — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 19:50:15 +0000

Watly is the world’s largest solar-powered computer, which provides clean drinking water, green solar power and internet connectivity. In many parts of the world, access to clean drinking water and electricity is often a luxury. Unfortunately, this does not only lead to inconvenience. In fact, limited availability of clean water results in vast spreading of […]

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Graphene Solar Cells Produce Electricity from Sun and Rain

Mila Luleva — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 16:03:13 +0000

Adding graphene to solar cells makes them generate power from rain. Solar power has been on a continuous rise over the past decade. Rooftop solar is arguably the most common renewable energy source for home use, and solar power plants are arguably the biggest renewable energy large scale generators. But, regardless of all this, there […]

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Cochin Airport, India – World’s First Fully Powered by Solar Panels

Mila Luleva — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 19:51:37 +0000

Cochin International Airport in Kerala, India, is the first ever airport to be completely powered by solar. There are many success stories when it comes to solar- people going off grid thanks to their rooftop solar power, giant companies funding and co-financing big solar arrays to account for their energy consumption. However, nothing is quite as […]

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Revolutionary Roll Out Solar Panel Invented by Renovagen

Mila Luleva — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 19:44:01 +0000

Flexible solar panels by Renovagen can be rolled up and transported pretty much everywhere. It is safe to say that solar power has been on a roll over this past decade. The number of rooftop solar owners increased drastically, while the technology kept getting better and better. In order to optimize the usability, inventors and […]

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World’s Thinnest and Lightest Solar Cell Developed by MIT Team

Mila Luleva — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 21:03:27 +0000

Researchers from MIT have developed the world’s lightest and thinnest solar cell. As electronics become smarter, better, more sophisticated, and more energy demanding, the interest in energy sources that can provide power on-the-go increases exponentially. Scientists, engineers and developers race to develop better, more efficient, and of course sleeker technology, that can ultimately provide more […]

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Massive Floating Solar Array under Construction in London

Mila Luleva — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 04:42:26 +0000

A massive floating solar array is being installed in the suburbs of London by Thames Water. The next runner up for the title “Europe’s largest floating solar array” belongs to Thames Water. Earlier this month, the utility company announced that they will be constructing a floating array on London’s Queen Elizabeth II reservoir. Once built, the capacity of […]

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New Materials Greatly Improve Solar Fuel Cell Peformance

Satya Sivani — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 18:59:40 +0000

Chemists from University of Texas at Arlington(UTA) have devised new materials of high performance for solar cells to split Carbon dioxide and water into fuels like methanol and hydrogen gas. “Technologies that simultaneously permit us to remove greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide while harnessing and storing the energy of sunlight as fuel are at the forefront […]

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India Expands Solar Cover With the “Rent-a-Roof” Concept

Satya Sivani — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 21:25:38 +0000

Indian electric companies are using the ‘Make in India Week‘ campaign to encourage potential customers to rent out their rooftops to host solar panels. Last Saturday, the Prime minister of India, Sri Narendra Modi has started the ‘Make in India week’ exhibition in Mumbai to attract huge investments in various sectors. Around 2500 international and […]

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France to Cover 1,000km of Roads with Solar Panels

Mila Luleva — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 10:52:07 +0000

France takes solar road concept to another level- paves 1,000km (~630 miles) of city roads with solar panels. The huge success of the SolaRoad project in the Netherlands, where a bike path was covered with solar panels, was bound to trigger the interest of others. The difference now is that SolaRoad had to take the […]

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Giant Solar Power Plant in Sahara Observed from Space

Mila Luleva — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 10:50:57 +0000

The world’s biggest solar power plant currently under construction in Morocco, can already be seen from space. In anticipation of the grand opening of Noor 1, the giant concentrate solar power plant (CSP) emerging in the Moroccan desert, everyone is eager to follow the process closely. And of course, who better to tell us what […]

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All About Solar Power

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 13:08:58 +0000

Solar power is undeniably the way of the future for energy. It allows us to harness a free, everlasting power source and convert it to electricity in order to keep our modern lives comfortable and pollution-free. But although we think of solar power as a cutting-edge technology, it is not really a new concept. The sun […]

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Evovelo Combines Solar-Powered Tricycle and EV

Samantha Joe — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 21:32:02 +0000

evovelo, a Spanish startup, is joining others in combining cycling and vehicles. Their prototype, the evovelo mö, was recently revealed. The evovelo hybrid tricycle, or velomobile, resembles a small vehicle, with a fully enclosed body and seating room for two. The range for electric-only use is 50km, and the battery pack charges via solar panels […]

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Tandem Silicon and Perovskites Solar Cell boost Energy Absorption

Guest Contributor — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 21:29:05 +0000

It has been a challenge for decades until the time being, to avid solar cell innovators and scientists, how to tweak the design and what material to use, just to completely absorbed the wide solar spectrum of about 300 to 2500 nanometer. Commercial Silicon (Si) based Photovoltaic (PV) cell’s performance, ranges 17 to 20 percent […]

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Solar Powered Travel Record Broken by NASA

Samantha Joe — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 08:48:02 +0000

A NASA spacecraft has set a new record for longest distance traveled when using solar power. Juno, the first solar powered spacecraft, was launched in 2011. On Wednesday, it was around 493 million miles away from the sun. Juno was specifically designed to be able to operate at such a far distance away, with a […]

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Solar Powered Aircraft Paves Way for Satellites

Samantha Joe — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:40:05 +0000

The solar powered aircraft, Solar Impulse 2, hasn’t yet finished the journey around the world, but next steps are already being considered for new aircraft. The team that built the plane are mulling over not only the fate of Solar Impulse 2 after its journey, but also what lies ahead for other planes like it. […]

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A New Kind of Funky Hybrid: Solar and Pedal Power

Samantha Joe — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 18:55:51 +0000

A new type of hybrid vehicle has debuted, and it’s completely clean. Combining solar power and cycling, the Elf was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show last week. Billed as the future of environmentally friendly transport, the solar powered hybrid bicycle appears to be an inverted tricycle with an oval-shaped body. With no doors or […]

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Scientists Store Solar Energy in Desert Sand

Mila Luleva — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 17:41:18 +0000

Researchers have found a new, eco-friendly and highly efficient way to store solar energy using desert sand. While some research teams are spending long hours, trying to develop the ultimate solar energy storage system, others just have to look out of their window and they have it all in front of their eyes. A team from the Masdar […]

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Elon Musk: How Many Solar Panels Does the World Need?

Samantha Joe — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 13:50:32 +0000

Elon Musk has an idea how many solar power panels would be required. While being interviewed at the American Geophysical Union meeting, Musk stated that if only a corner of Nevada or Utah were covered in panels, the solar energy generation rate would be enough to power the entire United States. At an earlier talk, Musk […]

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Five Green Tech – New Year’s Resolutions for 2016

Mila Luleva — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 13:49:28 +0000

Looking for New Year’s resolutions? Here are five green suggestions. It is that time of the year again, wen we look in retrospect, we analyze what went right and what went wrong over the past 12 months, and we start thinking of where we can improve. Most of us make New Year’s resolutions, hoping to […]

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