Category: Solar Power

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Great Videos, Science & Technology News, Solar Power

Solar Roadway – a road built out of solar panels to charge our cars

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi14nhBACEk[/youtube]

For several years Scott and Julie Brusaw have been working on their Solar Roadway, a road made of solar panels. And, now, they’re finally ready with their first full trial: a 12 by 36 foot parking lot in north Idaho, about an hour from the Canadian border. Funded with a $750,000 grant from the Federal Highway Administration, the 5,700-watt installation is set to be completed in April, and will be a key step in proving viability.

 

 

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Alternative Transportation, Photo Perspectives, Science & Technology News, Solar Power

Airplane flies across U.S. powered by sunshine

Solar Impulse

The goal of Solar Impulse is to fly around the world using no fuel other than sunlight. But before the solar plane circumnavigates the globe they will fly across the U.S. Solar Impulse took off on May 3 proving that airplanes can fly long distances on nothing more than sunshine. (Photos)

 

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Analysis, Business, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News, Solar Power, Wind Power

Shrinking cost of solar energy drives mega-projects around the world

US solar installations jumped 76% in 2012.

There has been a dramatic fall in the cost of solar power generation. Solar is at grid parity in many countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, and in parts of the US such as the Southwest. That means it is as inexpensive to build a solar plant as a gas or coal one. The pace of technological innovation in the solar field has also accelerated, so that costs have started falling precipitously and efficiency is rapidly increasing.

 

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Great Videos, Science & Technology News, Solar Power

SolarCopter – world’s first solar powered helicopter

SolarCopter

A team of masters students from the U.K. have built what they call the world’s first “solar copter.”  It is a quadrotor that flies solely on solar power.  It is only capable of short flights at the moment. But once the team adds a storage system they say it should fly longer. (Video)

 

 

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Breakthrough Thinking, Great New Product, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints, Solar Power

Stylish Sun Shade Is the Easiest Way To Harness Solar Power For Your Home

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Solar wins again.

If you like the idea of getting free energy from the sun, but don’t want to deal with the complications of installing a solar array on your roof, Umbrosa has created a lovely backyard sun shade that does double-duty—turning those rays into electricity.

As umbrellas go the Eclipse’s design is striking, but it isn’t really an umbrella at all…

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Great New Product, New Inventions, Science & Technology News, Solar Power

‘Blackest’ solar cell ever absorbs 99.7% of all light

natcore-black-silicon-solar-cell

Scientists create blackest silicon solar cell.

Scientists at Natcore Technology have created a black silicon solar cell with an average reflectance of 0.3%, making it the “blackest” solar cell ever designed. Natcore’s development offers a tenfold decrease in reflectance over the solar spectrum. The result is an increase in energy efficiency that could help solar power compete even more effectively with traditional fossil fuels.

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Architecture, Great Videos, Photo Perspectives, Science & Technology News, Solar Power

Dome house rotates to take advantage of sun’s energy

dome house

Rotating dome house

Usually, when someone asks for the remote, it’s because they want to undertake some serious TV channel surfing. But in one unique home located just 90 minutes north of New York City, playing with the remote control will set the entire wooden house spinning on its axis. (Pics and video)

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Great New Product, Nanotechnology, Science & Technology News, Solar Power

Researchers develop paint-on solar cells

solar paint

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles coated with cadmium sulfide produced a yellow paste that, when painted onto a transparent conductive material, generates electricity.

The next coat of paint you put on the outside of your home could generate electricity from light — electricity that can be used to power the appliances and equipment on the inside.

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Analysis, Big Problems, Business, Corporate Manipulation, Current Events, Economy, Global Warming, Globalism, Latest News, Solar Power

BP drops solar division after 40 years of operations

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When the Going Gets Tough, BP Runs…

While it is well-known that the solar industry is highly cyclical, the general trend is definitely in an upward direction, with rapid double-digit yearly growth in production capacity and plenty of money to be made by the smartest players (both Warren Buffett and Google have recently invested in solar power). But apparently, when the going gets tough, BP cuts and runs. After 40 years of existence, now that solar power is more necessary than ever, the giant oil company has decided to drop its solar division. So much for ‘Beyond Petroleum’, a recent BP slogan, eh?

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Culture, Ecological Products, Globalism, Green Friendly, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, Solar Power

Solar Power becomes cheaper than diesel generators in India

india-solar-powerrrrrrrrrr

Solar Power is now a viable reality in India.

While the passage of time makes solar cost competitive for many Americans right now, the question of cost competitiveness is not a simple one for solar. It depends on location, installation costs, and what kind of power solar is competing against. In Africa, solar has already become cheaper than kerosene in many locations. And now Renewable Energy News reports that solar is becoming cheaper than diesel generators in India as French-company Solardirect has bid to supply the energy grid with solar power at a rate cheaper than the average for diesel generators…

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