Going green doesn’t have to be boring and utilitarian! Phillips shows that you can employ solar energy and cool design with its blooming solar powered street lights. Check out the gorgeous, unique street lamps, shown to the left, which were designed for the Phillips Simplicity Event in 2008. If you can believe it, the Sustainable [...]
I cannot wait for the longer days of summer! Lingering outside on our deck in the backyard until the sun goes down is one of my favorite things to do. This year, I’m planning on getting a few of these solar sun jars to keep the sun shining just a bit longer. This is renewable [...]
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The solar debates in the Mojave Desert have pitted green vs. green. Proponents of renewable energy look at the vast expanse of land in sunny Southern California as a great location to generate solar electricity. But concerns over the fragile habitat of the endangered desert tortoise have had some people seeing more red than green. [...]
Continue reading about Solar Thermal Power Scaled Back to Protect Tortoise
If you own a mobile phone (you do, don’t you), there are two things you’ll want to ensure: (1) that your battery is always charged; and (2) that you don’t break the darned thing when you drop it. Protective covers for cell phones are ubiquitous – from simple, black wraps to fancy bling-bling versions. I’ll [...]
Step aside Joe Camel! There’s a better use for tobacco plants these days. In fact, researchers at University of California Berkeley have developed a new solar technology that can be used to create biodegradable spray-on solar cells from the ubiquitous crop. Smokin’ hot solar cells are actually based on a virus that attacks tobacco crops. [...]
Do you wonder what it takes to put solar panels on your home? What about the people that help you with a home solar install? Let’s walk through a solar installation, step by step. In some instances, it can be done in a single day! And, for those of you that are considering becoming a [...]
Renewable energy is on everyone’s mind… including the government. To encourage people to switch to solar power or other non-fossil-fuel based power sources, the U.S. federal government will allow you up to 30% of the cost of solar installation in the form of tax credits. But, the deal could get even sweeter! Two Senators have [...]
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Review “Martin A. Green of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, is arguably the most renowned scientist in the field of photovoltaics … The book is well written, covers all the important concepts, and gives the right references. Green manages to keep the reader’s attention in spite of some arduous derivations … Third Generation [...]
The next big thing in energy could be tiny! Researchers at the University of Michigan recently unveiled a 9-cubic millimeter solar powered sensor system that can harvest energy from surroundings and operate virtually perpetually. Nearly 1000 times smaller than existing commercial counterparts on the market, the tiny solar powered sensor system is dwarfed by a [...]
Did you ever wish you could know exactly where in the United States people have been putting up solar panels? Certainly, the Internet and tools like Google Maps demonstrate how easy it is to find information on a wide variety of people and places. So in many ways it should come as no surprise that [...]
Continue reading about The OpenPV Project: Pinpoint PV Installations in the U.S.
