Super Efficient Transparent Solar Cells Could Turn Windows into Clean Energy Generators

October 22, 2013, 2:30 pm

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Imagine windows powering homes, office buildings, and even airplanes. That fantasy might not be far from reality thanks to the latest breakthroughs in solar cell technology. Researchers from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) have developed an organic solar cell with an increased level of transparency and solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency that could turn entire buildings into powerful energy generators. Their research was recently published in the journal Nature Photonics .

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Post tags: "clean energy", "solar energy", clean tech, green tech, Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), Nature Photonics, renewable energy, Solar Power, solar power breakthroughs, solar technology, transparent solar cells, windows that generate energy

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Israel Announces Plans for 121 MW Solar Power Station in the Negev Desert

October 22, 2013, 2:38 pm

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Israel is blessed with abundant sunshine and has long been a pioneer in solar energy. With construction starting in early 2014 on a 121 Megawatt solar power station, the country will be taking a big step in achieving its goal of producing 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. The Ashalim power plant will be located in the Negev desert near Kibbutz Ashalim south of the city of Be’er Sheva, and when it’s completed in 2016 it will be the biggest solar power station in Israel with enough capacity to power 40,000 homes. The new solar station is being developed by Megalim Solar Power — a joint venture between U.S.-based solar power company Brightsource Energy and French power and transport company Alstom.

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Post tags: Alstom, Ashalim, Brightsource Energy, California, Israel, Ivanpah, Megalim, Negev, solar power station, solar-thermal energy

Next-Gen SolarVolt Generator Uses Lighthouse Glass to Capture the Power of 20 Suns

October 23, 2013, 2:08 pm

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Fresnel lens photo from Shutterstock

You might not expect it, but lighthouses are leading the way to more powerful solar panels in outer space and here on earth. The key is Fresnel lenses, which enabled 19th century lighthouses to focus a beam of light for many miles. Fast forward to the modern era and you’ll find NASA engineers using these lighter, thinner lenses to improve space-borne solar power – and scientists recently used Fresnel lenses to create a miniature photovoltaic system called the SolarVolt that can concentrate the sun’s rays 20 times.

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Post tags: concentrated solar power, Deep Space 1, Energy of 20 Suns, Entech Solar, Fresnel Lenses, green technology, lighthouse, Mark O’Neill, NASA Glenn Research center, photovoltaics, R&D 100 Award, SCARLET, Solar cells, Solar Concentrator Arrays with Refractive Linear Element Technology, Solar Power, SolarVolt

Japan’s Millennium City Commune Provides an Earth-Friendly Utopia in Gigantic Greenhouses

October 25, 2013, 2:42 pm

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Japanese architect Hiroshi Iguchi has once again shown us that greenhouses are more than just homes for plants and veggies. To demonstrate how humans can also benefit from spending time in these large cocoon-like structures, Iguchi has created a spectacular, yet peaceful eco commune. The Millennium City is located on donated open farmland in the Japanese region of Chiba. It consists of four large greenhouses that have been restructured to provide open, healthy living spaces. The commune offers city dwellers a chance to escape from the chaotic daily grind for just $50 a month.

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Post tags: chiba, eco design, ecological living, green living, greenhouse, hiroshi iguchi, Japan, Japanese design, japanese eco structure, millennium city, sustainable lifestyle

Walmart Produces More Solar Energy than Any Other U.S. Retailer

October 29, 2013, 11:08 am

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Mega-retailer Walmart has crowned the roofs of their retail locations with enough photovoltaic panels to blast past 39 entire American states with their combined solar capacity. As photovoltaics become increasingly affordable, the retailer has outfitted their stores with an incredible 89.43 MW of clean energy, transforming the company into an unlikely beacon of renewable energy and inspiring other retailers to follow suit.


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Post tags: American retailers solar energy, eco design, green design, rooftop solar, rooftop solar arrays at retailers across the US, Solar Means Business, sustainable design, walmart, Walmart boasts 89.43 MW of solar power, walmart has the most solar energy of all retailers in the United States, Walmart solar

Gorgeous Fogo Island Eco-Hotel Rises on Stilts in Canada

October 29, 2013, 2:21 pm

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Post tags: contemporary hotel, eco hotel, Fogo Island, fogo island arts corporation, fogo island inn, newfoundland hotel, north atlantic, saunders architecture, Shorefast Foundation, solar panels, Sustainable Hotel

Panasonic’s New Solar LED Lantern Brings Light to Off-Grid Areas

October 30, 2013, 1:00 pm

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The Panasonic Corporation just unveiled plans to launch a new solar LED lantern that will provide light to those living without electricity. The BG-BL03 Lantern can be charged up in just six hours, and it even doubles as a power source to charge mobile devices. The company plans to bring the solar lanterns to families living off the grid in Asia and Africa this December

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New Hyperloop Startup Announces it Will Build a Prototype by Next June

October 31, 2013, 2:56 pm

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The Hyperloop concept is already beginning to pick up speed. A new start up group of engineering experts, who call themselves Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc., has stepped forward with the ambitious task to turn Elon Musk’s idea into reality. Today the team’s leading technicians, Dr. Marco Villa, former SpaceX mission director, and former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers Dr. Patricia Galloway, along with HTT interim CEO Dirk Ahlborn announced their plan to build a prototype Hyperloop system by next year.

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Post tags: Dirk Ahlborn, Electric Transporation, elon musk, Fringe Tech, Future Tech, GloCa, Hyperloop, Hyperloop Concept, hyperloop development, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, JumpStartFund, Marco Villa, Patricia Galloway, Space X, SuprStudio, tesla, ULCA

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Kyocera Opens Japan’s Largest Offshore Solar Power Plant

November 5, 2013, 2:26 pm

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Kyocera Corporation has just launched Japan’s largest offshore solar power plant. Clean energy generated by the 70MW Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant will be sold back to the national grid through a local utility company. Although the utility-scale solar plant went online November 1, 2013, it was officially inaugurated on November 4.


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Post tags: eco design, Fukushima, green design, Japan's largest solar power plant, Kagoshima Nanatsujia Mega Solar Power Plant, Kyocera Corporation, renewable energy, sustainable design

Rock On! Playing Pop and Rock Music Around Solar Cells Improves Efficiency

November 6, 2013, 11:00 am

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New research out of the UK finds that solar cells actually enjoy improved efficiency when exposed to the pounding beats of today’s pop and rock music. According to researchers from Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College London, the high frequencies and pitch featured in pop and rock music trigger really “good vibrations” in solar cells that contain a cluster of ‘nano rods.’ Their research found that these vibrations improve efficiency by up to 40 percent, which could be especially good news for those working to develop lower cost, printed solar cells.

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Post tags: "solar energy", beats improve solar cell efficiency, music, pop music, PV cells like rock music, rock and roll, rock music, Solar cells, solar cells perform better with rock and pop music, solar efficiency, solar panels, solar performance, Solar Power

Old-Fashioned Steam Engines Could Solve Solar Energy Storage Problem

November 7, 2013, 2:15 pm

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Australian engineers might have solved one of the biggest obstacles to scaling up solar energy — the lack of affordable storage technology that allows solar to be used at peak demand after the sun goes down. Their California-based startup Terrajoule is applying an older technology, namely steam engines, to build a storage system that could lower the cost to under $100 per kWh, which is less than 20 percent of what it costs for current battery storage systems. This new system will also last longer (it has a 25 year lifecycle), thereby eliminating use of the toxic and rare materials contained in batteries.

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Post tags: concentrated solar power, distributed solar power generation, solar energy storage, steam engines, steam piston engines, storage system, Terrajoule

Build Your Own Flat-Pack Micro Nomad Home for Less than $30,000

November 8, 2013, 11:02 am

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Post tags: "solar energy", "sustainable architecture", $30000 flat-pack home, affordable housing, cabin design, flat pack house, flat-pack housing for nomads, green design, green home, nomad, nomad micro home, off-grid micro housing, renewable energy, solar-powered flat-pack micro home, solar-powered micro home

Apple Brings Manufacturing Back to America with New Solar-Powered Plant in Arizona

November 9, 2013, 12:30 am

≫ Next: After Trillium: Solar-Powered Flower Sculpture Opens and Closes With the Sun

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Photo of solar panels in Arizona via Shutterstock

Apple has faced a lot criticism for failing to monitor its manufacturing partners’ questionable work safety standards, but it looks like the company is trying to turn a new leaf. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer announced that the iPad and iPhone designer is opening a new manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona that will be entirely powered with renewable energy.

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Post tags: American Manufacturing, apple, Apple brings manufacturing back to America, Apple's worker safety record, Arizona Apple plant, better environmental and working conditions for Apple, Google, green energy, green technology, GT Advanced Technologies, iPad, iPhone, mesa, moto x, New Apple Manufacturing plant in Arizona, photovoltaics, renewable energy, Solar Power

After Trillium: Solar-Powered Flower Sculpture Opens and Closes With the Sun

November 12, 2013, 1:30 pm

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After Trillium is a solar powered robotic sculpture by artist Anthony Castronovo that is inspired by Iowa’s native Trillium flower. The sculpture is made of cast aluminum and kiln-formed glass and uses custom electronics to respond to changes in the local environment. The flower opens each morning and closes each night and is illuminated from within for four hours after dusk. The sculpture’s environmental response is determined by temperature, which controls how far the flower opens each day.

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: After Trillium, Anthony Castronovo, Botanical, eco-art, Iowa River Landing Wetlands Park, renewable energy, Solar Power, solar powered sculpture, solar sculpture, trillium flower

Brad Pitt’s “Make It Right” Transforms Historic School into LEED Platinum Affordable Housing

November 12, 2013, 2:04 pm

≫ Next: Blossoming Surya Sculpture Could Shield Dallas Building from Scorching Glare

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, affordable housing, Bancroft School Apartments, BNIM Architects, Brad Pitt, Brad Pitt architecture organization, Brad Pitt's Make it Right Organization, cradle-to-cradle, kansas city, LEED platinum, Make it Right, William McDonough

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Blossoming Surya Sculpture Could Shield Dallas Building from Scorching Glare

November 13, 2013, 2:29 pm

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Post tags: dallas architecture, Front Architects, light-sensitive design, Museum Tower Dallas, Nasher Sculpture Center, renzo piano, responsive art, responsive sculptures, REX Architects, solar design, Surya Rex Front, Surya sun-responsive sculpture, texas architecture

Volvo’s Stunning Pure Tension Pavilion is a Lightweight Sun-Powered Charging Station

November 15, 2013, 2:14 pm

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Post tags: architecture automotive design, Buro Happold, car trade show pavilion design, charging station design, Fabric Images, green automotive design, hybrid cars, photovoltaic panels, SDA Los Angeles, solar powered charging station, synthesis design + architecture, volvo, Volvo Pure Tension Pavilion

Have We All Been Installing Solar Panels the Wrong Way?

November 18, 2013, 10:32 am

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Image of residential solar panels / Shutterstock

Installing solar panels seems pretty straightforward – just aim them south so they get lots of sun all day. But researchers are finding that we may have been doing it wrong this whole time. While studying residential solar power’s impact on the power grid, researchers at Pecan Street Research Institute uncovered an unexpected result: homes with west-facing solar panels generated more power than those with conventional south-facing panels. Depending on the time of day, west-facing solar panels produced at least two percent more power and sometimes much more.

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Post tags: installing solar panels, off grid electricity, off-grid power, Pecan Street Research, Pecan Street Research Institute, Pecan Street researchers, research institute, solar electricity, solar installations, Solar Panel Orientation, solar panels, Solar Power, solar power research, solar power studies, solar research, South Facing solar panels, West Facing solar panels

Solar-Powered ConnecTable Charges Devices in Outdoor Public Places

November 19, 2013, 8:02 am

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Have you been reading an e-book at the park when suddenly your device’s battery starts gasping its last? The sun may be shining bright, but there you are, stranded without an outlet. CarrierClass, a company that specializes in solar technologies and broadband connectivity, hopes their latest creation will eliminate this problem for outdoor enthusiasts. At the upcoming GreenBuild International Expo in Philadelphia, CarrierClass will unveil the ConnecTable: a solar-powered station that comes in the form of a café, picnic, or deck table. With seamless integration into a variety of landscapes, the ConnecTables can provide renewable energy to a wide range of public spaces.

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Post tags: "solar energy", CarrierClass, Charging Station, clean tech, ConnecTable, ConnecTable solar charging stations, electronics, GreenBuild International Expo, outdoor solar charging stations, phone chargers, renewable energy, Solar Charging, Solar Power, solar-charging stations for public spaces

Spectrolab Breaks Own Solar Cell Efficiency Record

November 21, 2013, 12:00 pm

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Space solar cell and panel manufacturer Spectrolab has broken its own solar cell efficiency world record. The Boeing subsidiary achieved an efficiency of 38.8 percent for a ground-based multi-junction solar cell without the use of concentrated sunlight, breaking their former record by one percent. The U.S. Department of Energy‘s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado independently verified the record.


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Post tags: "clean energy", boeing, National Renewable Energy Lab, NREL independently verifies solar cell record, record solar cell efficiency, renewable power, semiconductor bonding technology, solar, solar cell efficiency record, Solar cells, solar panels, space cells, space technology, Spectrolab, Spectrolab breaks their own solar record