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Stories about: solar energy


Power Plants Might Turn Hybrid to Decrease Costs

The owners of hybrid vehicles are well aware of the benefits they experience on the road, as their cars are powered by a mixture of gas and electricity. At this point in time, scientists from Tel Aviv University are trying to expand the area in which these advantages can be applied, by turning the power plants into ...

4 November 2011
03:30 GMT

9 out of 10 Americans Support the Solar Industry's Development

2011 is the fourth consecutive year in which a study developed by Kelton Research indicated that 9 out of 10 American citizens are keen on exploiting the benefits offered by the solar power industry. The national poll conducted this year shows that 80% of Republicans, 90 % of Independents and 94% of Democrats are ...

3 November 2011
06:23 GMT

Solar Community Project Creates Jobs with $100 Investments

Oakland Solar Mosaic is the first pilot program set up in Oakland, California, that tries to explore the benefits coming from solar energy without relying on funds coming from local banks.Instead to depending on loans which might turn out to increase the project's total costs, the officials behind this strategy ...

24 October 2011
07:05 GMT

Cold Regions Are The Best Locations for Photovoltaic Panels

Researchers discovered that some of the coldest regions on Earth are the best candidates to apply the benefits of alternative energy coming from the sun, throughout solar panel installations. The list of unfriendly, cold locations includes the Himalayas and southern Andes. The explanation for this choice is quite sim...

24 October 2011
03:55 GMT

By 2015, IKEA Plans to Use Up to 50% Less Water and Energy

IKEA redefined, in time, its position as a major company keen on respecting its customers and earth-friendly values. The company focuses on making profit, while trying to decrease the potential negative effect its activity might have upon the environment. The individuals and enterprises that choose to decorate their ...

19 October 2011
10:02 GMT

MIT Expert Explains New Energy-Storage Technology

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) have recently created a new solar energy-storage system, which they say will completely revolutionize the way this type of power is used. This video sees the technology's inventor explain how it works. One of the primary issues related to using solar...

5 October 2011
05:30 GMT

Giant Rooftop Solar Project Awarded $1.4 Billion from DOE

An ambitious project to put a total of 733 megawatts of photovoltaics (PV) on warehouse rooftops across 28 states in the U.S. has just received a $1.4 billion (€1.05 billion) conditional loan from the Department of Energy (DOE).Dubbed ‘Project Amp’, the solar generation project would offer as much po...

3 October 2011
08:10 GMT

UK’s Largest Solar PV Plant Completed in Just 10 Weeks

The UK is now able to take advantage of its biggest photovoltaic (PV) solar power facility, which has been constructed by Spanish company Isolux Corsan in a timeline of just 10 weeks, ahead of schedule and in-budget. The facility comprises three, five-megawatt (MW) solar PV power plants in Cornwall, that required ...

23 September 2011
02:34 GMT

Largest Solar Installation at an NFL Stadium Unveiled by the Redskins

What is said to be the largest solar energy installation at a National Football League stadium was presented by the Redskins team and New Jersey-based power generation company NRG at FedExField during the "NRG Solar Bowl" Quarterback Challenge.Comprising no less than 8,000 solar panels, the system will not only power...

20 September 2011
09:46 GMT

Mojave Solar Project Gets $1.2B Loan Guarantee

The Energy Department announced it is offering its financial support to what will be the nation’s first utility-scale deployment of Abengoa’s latest Solar Collector Assembly (SCA). The DOE has finalized a $1.2 billion loan guarantee for the development of the Mojave Solar Project (MSP) in San Bernardino C...

15 September 2011
03:16 GMT

Apple 'Evaluating' Solar-Cell Firms in Taiwan, Industry Sources Say

A new report indicates Apple is on the verge of beginning tests with solar-powered solutions, if a number of Taiwan-based solar firms are to be believed. Trade publication DigiTimes has learned from the Taiwanese firms that both Apple and Samsung have been “evaluating” the niche market for solar-powere...

27 July 2011
13:01 GMT

Innovating Devices for Harnessing Solar Energy

Investigators at the University of Manchester have taken a deep interest in harnessing as much sunlight as possible. They are working with colleagues at several universities in the United Kingdom to achieve this objective, which calls for the creation of new devices for harnessing solar energy. The investigators, bas...

5 July 2011
10:00 GMT

Google Invests $168 Million in Solar Energy Project

Google has announced that it has invested $168 million towards the completion of a new solar energy plant in Nevada, US. When finished, it will be the largest "power tower" solar plant in the world and the investment is Google's largest in green technology to date."We’ve invested $168 million in an excitin...

12 April 2011
05:00 GMT

Sahara Desert Solar Project Wants to Power Half the World by 2050

The Sahara Solar Breeder Project is, apparently, one gigantic renewable energy project, and if you have not heard about it before, know that its goal is to power half of the globe by 2050. The idea is to build a silicon manufacturing plant in the desert, and thanks to that silicon, to start building solar power plan...

8 December 2010
10:22 GMT

Australia Finances Solar Power Research

The Australian Solar Institute granted a major funding to the University of New South Wales, ensuring its lead role in the development of new technologies that will make solar energy cheaper and much more efficient than it is today. The School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Associate Professor, Gary Rose...

1 December 2010
03:44 GMT

Energy Plan Calls for Harvesting Sunlight in Orbit

Space-based solar power could become a reality soon, if plans to deal with the emerging global energy crisis are developed in time. The world is gradually starting to reach Peak Oil, and governments need to plan ahead to prevent shortages.The alternative forms of energy production that we currently have, such as for ...

10 November 2010
04:14 GMT

Solar Eagle Contract Goes to Boeing

Two days ago, on September 14, officials at the Boeing Company and DARPA signed an agreement that made the corporation the main contractor on developing and flying the Solar Eagle.The project for this unmanned aircraft is part of the Vulture II demonstration program, that is being conducted by experts at the US Defen...

16 September 2010
10:58 GMT

Making Iron Production Green

The iron-making process is very toxic for the environment and it contributes to climate change so scientists from the United States and China have found a new production method, with zero pollution.Iron metal is produced in the same way since the industrial revolution: iron ore is melted at temperatures over 2000°...

10 September 2010
03:29 GMT

Experts Propose Self-Dusting Solar Panels

A team of investigators believes using a series of technologies developed for space exploration could help companies that construct large-scale solar power plants keep their panels clean. If dusting your carpet or curtains seems difficult, image how hard the task of cleaning up 50-football-field-worth of solar panel ...

23 August 2010
05:23 GMT

Solar Power Will Soon Compete with Oil

One of the main reasons why alternative forms of energy production such as solar, wind, and geothermal power are not common today is the fact that they carry very high prices. In addition, obtaining energy from solar plants, wind farms and geothermal stations is an inconsistent process, in the sense that the amount o...

2 August 2010
11:07 GMT

The US Invests $2 Billion in Solar Energy

Abengoa Solar will receive $1.45 billion to start the construction of the Solana project, the largest concentrating power plant in the world (250 net megawatt ). The plant will be located 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, near Gila Bend, Arizona, and it will provide more than 5000 new jobs. The second company to be sup...

5 July 2010
10:48 GMT

iPhone Autonomy Increased by Solar Energy

The main problem that the iPhone seemed to have received multiple complaints for has now been solved. The USA Solar and Digital Communications Technologies, also known by its brand name “Muzatch,” developed a small but powerful solar energy device meant for the iPhone. Besides the Apple iPhone series, the...

15 March 2010
11:49 GMT

The Future of Solar Energy

Out of all the renewable sources of energy that could be tapped to create electricity, solar radiation is now, by far, the most favored. Although some may argue that geothermal energy is truly endless, the fact is that billions of dollars are currently being poured into research related to creating more efficient and...

18 August 2009
02:42 GMT

US and China Find Common Ground in Solar Power

Two of the largest solar power research institutes, the Institute of Electrical Engineering (IEE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the American National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), with the express purpose of forwarding international research and tech...

4 December 2008
06:56 GMT

Solar Companies at Risk of Losing Their Funding

The development the solar industry underwent could now turn against it, as the economical climate prompts more and more investors to withdraw their funds from ongoing projects. The supply of solar cells, panels, and other similar installations, is already higher than the demand, and the economy forces banks to skyroc...

6 November 2008
05:35 GMT

Oregon Will Host a Massive 909 MW Wind Farm

The new wind farm, one of the largest in the United States, is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2012 and will by then be one of the largest such installations in the world. It will be more than 7.5 times larger in production capacity than the biggest wind farm in Africa, a French-financed project in Ethiopia. Wi...

30 October 2008
05:38 GMT

Solar Energy Usage Software Underway

Two individual companies announced that their scientists were working on panel-like devices, aimed at showing owners the exact amount of energy their solar panels create each day, the total household usage and all the differences in between. The announcements were made yesterday (October 15th) in San Diego, by SolarC...

16 October 2008
08:31 GMT

Solar Rickshaws for India

The most common sight in India, the wooden rickshaw, pulled by people for a fee, could soon be replaced by modern, electric counterparts, as part of India's effort to reduce the heavy pollution it is facing, as well as its dependency on fossil fuels. New Delhi has hosted this month the exhibit of the first solar...

14 October 2008
06:56 GMT

Reflective Plastic Replaces Glass in Solar Energy Conversion

Chris Huntington, vice president of business development at SkyFuel, announced that the company's new parabolic troughs were made of reflective plastic-coated silver, instead of the usual mirrored glass other power plants throughout the world employ. Tough it may seem to be more expensive at first glance, Huntin...

10 October 2008
04:55 GMT

Deserts Could Power the Whole African Continent

The incredible amount of energy released by the Sun on a daily basis in the African deserts, if harnessed, could not only provide the whole African continent with electrical energy but might also be enough to power some parts of the European continent as well. Calculations show that the Sun produces about 1.5 barrels...

6 June 2008
06:38 GMT

Ultra-efficient Solar Cells with... Popcorn-balls

Current solar cells available on the market have a conversion efficiency of about 25 percent. However, these are expensive silicon-based cells; dye-sensitized solar cells are much cheaper, but are half as efficient as silicon-based cells. Researchers from University of Washington believe that they can make dye-sensit...

11 April 2008
08:10 GMT

At Least One Decade Will Pass Before Solar Energy Becomes Efficient

Petrol price is now beating every record possible and there's no sign that its ascension will stop anytime soon. On the other hand, alternative renewable energy sources seem to remain inefficient. Nonetheless, researchers argue that, in the next decade or so, fossil fuel dependency will be a thing of the past. "...

9 April 2008
09:43 GMT

Soltronix Headphone Radio: "Look Ma', Solar Powered Dumbo Ears!"

If you're a sucker for solar powered items, then Soltronix solar powered AM/FM headphone may be the thing you were looking for: the Soltronix Headphone Radio. It comes with solar panels that are "sewed" on top of the headphones giving you th Dumbo-look that could scare all those irritating morining joggers eage...

7 May 2007
16:56 GMT

SolarRolls: UnFold that Solar Panel!

A few years ago, solar panels were mainly designed for industrial and remote homes use. Today, you can buy fancy bag chargers with embedded solar panels that can charge your laptop. There's even a solar backpack mobile power generator.Well, here's another interesting solar charger concept. SolarRolls is def...

3 May 2007
07:01 GMT

First Solar Powered Swimsuit Goes Commercial

OK... So you want to hit the waves with no big chargers hanging down from your pockets. Stop organizing your cables and drop the hand cracks, the battery chargers that work with batteries or the solar powered chargers. You don't need them anymore (at least not when you're taking a sunbath).It's offici...

26 April 2007
02:20 GMT

SolCool 4, The Air Conditioner That Can Run On Solar Power

Wind power has joined forces with sister solar power! If your house is not equipped with an air conditioning unit because electricity bills scare the heck out of you, then solar powered air conditioners aren't a waste on you. That's also the case especially if you live in a hot climate where power outages ...

22 March 2007
06:25 GMT


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