Stephanie on August 28th, 2010

The 2010 Land Art Generator Design Competition features beautiful solar thin-film in a desert sculpture outside of Dubai.  Winding across the United Arab Emirates desert, the solar sculpture, called the “Light Sanctuary,” was created by Martina Decker and Peter Yeadon of Decker Yeadon LLC. Designed to resemble the desert’s sand dunes, the thin-film solar panels [...]

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Stephanie on July 8th, 2010

Cheap solar panels made from amorphous silicon (instead of the more expensive, yet more commonly used crystalline silicon) will now be more efficient. Researchers at TU Delft have discovered a way to increase the efficiency of these less-expensive solar panels from 7% to 9%.  Even though its very cost-effective to produce amorphous solar panels with [...]

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Two words: simple and cheap.  Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are taking down common barriers to affordable and easy home solar power.  MIT has created paper solar cells with an inkjet printer process. This amazing solar innovation begs the question: could homeowners print out their own thin film solar cells one day? Of [...]

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Stephanie on April 27th, 2010

If you didn’t already know, then let me be the first to tell you when and how solar technology will change the world. OK, well maybe I won’t be the first to make the claim, but I can at least tell you that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has included solar tech in its [...]

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Stephanie on December 29th, 2009

We’re just Dying to meet you! Just when you think a new solar technology is years away, up pops a company showing a product off, which then keeps all of the engineering groups in competitive companies working 24/7! Third generation thin-film solar technology has been on the horizon for almost two decades with a number [...]

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Stephanie on October 15th, 2009

Do you have an e-reader?  I don’t yet, but its going on my Christmas list.  Studies have shown that devices like the Amazon Kindle have a significantly lower environmental impact, compared with traditional book publishing.  But, there is room for improvement. Like cell phones and cameras, e-readers need to be plugged in to be recharged.  [...]

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Stephanie on August 24th, 2009

If you are interested in installing solar panels on your roof, there are a number of options.  One of the most recent innovations are solar roof tiles.  These look just like the real thing, but they help deliver clean, green solar energy to your home, without the need for bulky solar panels. These tiles are [...]

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Stephanie on May 7th, 2009

The photovoltaic (PV) industry is on the verge of expanding into something really big… er… small.  Miniature PV cells are being developed to be used just about anywhere sunlight may strike – from fabric to windows to automobiles. Thin film solar panels can truly offer solar energy to go! They are so tiny and flexible, [...]

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Stephanie on March 22nd, 2009

Do you want to go solar, but don’t like the look of panels?  Consider solar roof shingles instead! Also known as solar roof tiles, solar shingles look just like regular asphalt roofing material.  The secret is they are covered with thin film photovoltaic (PV) material, which operates just like solar panels. The shingles absorb ultraviolet [...]

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