Solar Power

Converting the sun's rays into usable energy is an integral step in decreasing our dependency on fossil fuels and lowering our greenhouse gas emissions. While solar panels have been used in buildings since the 50's, we're just starting to reach the tipping point for their widespread adoption. 

With subsidies that lower the costs of installations and feed-in-tariffs that pay for the electricity solar energy produces, going solar is more than an environmental decision; it makes sense economically.

The technology is actually simple, but everything surrounding it — not so much. It's going to be up to innovative entrepreneurs and policy makers to make solar power more economical, the grid smarter, homeowners and businesses more receptive, and coding and permits more uniform so that all the pieces fit nicely together.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Solar Power”

• Sunlight-Propelled Spacecraft to Launch in 2010

  
  TreeHugger — Authority: 722
  Image via Planetary Society The first Solar Sail spacecraft met an untimely end, crashing into the ocean instead of making it into orbit. But now, in 2010, a new, improved version of that craft--an entire spaceship thats propelled only by the suns rays--is set to launch. And scientists will be see if this unique ...
  3 hours ago

• M&M’S® and MARS Going Green? New Solar Garden at Headquarters in New Jersey

  
  CleanTechnica — Authority: 622
  Candy giant MARS, parent company of M&M’S®, DOVE®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, and TWIX®, turned on a huge new solar array (a “solar garden”) at its headquarters in New Jersey today. No matter what you think of candy food like this, it is good to see such a company going solar. Popular with ...
  4 hours ago

• Suntech (STP) Begins Building 50MW Solar Power Plant In Jiangsu

  
  Green Stocks Central — Authority: 508
  Suntech just announced that it has begun construction on its 50 MW solar plant in Jiangsu, China. Suntech is working with Huadian New Energy Development Company to build the plant.  The company will design the plant and install 37,000 of its own PV solar panels. Suntech will also own a minority stake in the plant ...
  4 hours ago

• Japan Plans an Outer Space Solar Power Station by 2030

  
  Trends Updates — Authority: 599
  Managing with its small amount of resources and increasing demand for fuels, Japan is one of those countries of the world that largely depends on renewable sources for energy consumption. No wonder this yearning led the country to launch an audacious multi-billion dollar eco-friendly concept, the Space Solar Power ...
  7 hours ago

• Spinning a new national record: Spain’s Windfarms produce 53% of total nation’s power over the weekend!

  
  Trends Updates — Authority: 599
  With those clamoring for greener energy options and cleaner energy sources constantly keeping their focus fixed on solar power, there is no doubt that wind energy has taken a back seat for sometime now. But with the help of creative new engineers who are altering the traditional perception of windmills and some help ...
  7 hours ago

• The solar panels that pay for themselves…

  
  Knowledge Problem — Authority: 616
  Michael Giberson From the Texas Energy and Environment Blog, reports that in New Mexico “ solar panels on homes can take as little as seven years to pay for themselves in energy savings .”  The post continues: That’s faster than Texas, where even in the best economic case, solar panels take at least a ...
  8 hours ago

• Land of the Rising Sun Power! Japan May Build a Solar Station in Space by 2030

  
  CleanTechnica — Authority: 622
  The Japanese space agency has unveiled an incredible new plan to start collecting solar power in space , and zap it down to Earth via microwaves or laser beams. Under the plan, known as the Space Solar Power System (SSPS) , floating photovoltaic dishes several square miles across would hover in geostationary ...
  9 hours ago

• Solar Charging Stations by Toyota

  
  Renewable Energy News Syndicator — Authority: 162
  It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before Toyota would jump into the market of using renewable energy to charge a car and they have done so in a big way. The solar charging station by Toyota will be put on display at the Tokyo Motor Show 2009. While [...] Posted in: Electric Cars , Solar Power , ...
  10 hours ago

• The Best Alternative Electricity Generators

  
  Alternative Fuels :: Other Sources of Renewable Energy — Authority: 98
  Alternative energy has made many inroads in popularity and usability in recent years, due to the rising cost of gasoline and heating fuels and concern over the depletion of fossil fuels. There is also a growing concern over the affect that fossil fuel usage has on the environment as a way of contributing to and ...
  10 hours ago

• India tops McKinsey & Company energy report

  
  Electric.co.uk News — Authority: 436
  India, along with the US, has emerged as the world’s topmost solar power generator, according to the recent McKinsey & Company survey. Concluded in May 2009, the energy research reveals that India has one of the highest solar intensities in the world, yielding an installed solar energy capacity of 1,700 to ...
  13 hours ago

• Delivery of Full-Scale Receiver to eSolar’s Sierra SunTower Power Plant Marks New Era for B&W

  
  Power Industry News — Authority: 145
  B&W Enters New Solar Receiver Market: Delivery of Full-Scale Receiver to eSolar’s Sierra SunTower Power Plant Marks New Era for B&W B abcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. (B&W PGG), a major operating unit of The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W), has designed, developed and ...
  14 hours ago

• Clean energy challenges: the power grid and renewable energy infrastructure

  
  Keen For Green — Authority: 126
  The electrical power grid is an interconnected network of national, state and regional infrastructure for generating, transmitting, distributing and delivering electricity from suppliers to customers. Photo from www.bible-light.com In recent years, we have all become familiar with power outages, which ...
  15 hours ago

• The Future of Energy - Solar PV Panels

  
  EbioAnt — Authority: 144
  By Nick Gent In 1839 Edmund Becquere l discovered that when photons of light strike two thin layers of silicon, which is a natural semiconductor, electrons are released and flow from one layer to the other, thus producing electricity. Photovoltaics are the wonderful science of generating electricity directly from ...
  17 hours ago

• Through the Oil Slick Looking Glass

  
  After Gutenberg — Authority: 471
  Via Peak Energy , we learn from The Guardian that high winds over the weekend supplied 53% of Spain’s electricity – equivalent to the power output of 11 nuclear plants. Photo: Steve Fareham Burbo Bank Windpark is an example of off-shore wind power . According to Wikipedia, “wind power is growing at ...
  18 hours ago

• Exelon is working with SunPower to put a solar photovoltaic...

  
  [andyinabox] — Authority: 133
  Exelon is working with SunPower to put a solar photovoltaic plant on an old brownfield site on Chicago’s South Side. The 10-megawatt plant will have 32,000 solar panels and should be able to power between 1,200 and 1,500 homes. “The Future of Electric Power” in Businessweek. (via smartercities )
  20 hours ago

• Solar Power Installation - Next Stage

  
  Alternative Energy HQ — Authority: 123
  We are getting a 2.4KW system installed by Solar City on their SolarLease plan. This has enabled us to get this system put in for a very small down payment up front and then monthly lease payments on the system. When you average out our power usage we should come out about even in terms of our monthly payment. Instead ...
  21 hours ago

• EarthSure announces AirRay: Sleek green car to run solely on solar and wind power!

  
  Trends Updates — Authority: 599
  Unleashing the perfect green vehicle on to the roads is the dream of every automaker right now on the planet. There obviously is more reason than one for this very ‘green and clean’ outlook that automobile firms have taken up. Green in terms of the cash they make might also depend on eco-friendly features as we ...
  22 hours ago

• SFR Residential Solar Power System - Save on Energy, Shrink Your Carbon Footprint

  
  As Seen on TV Network Blog — Authority: 118
  One of the more frightening terms to come out in the last 20 years is “carbon footprint.” According to Wikipedia: A carbon footprint is “ the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, event or product. “ One of the easiest, safest, and cost efficient ways to reduce your carbon ...
  22 hours ago

• Japan Pushes Forward on Plans for a Giant Solar Power Farm in Space

  
  80beats — Authority: 655
  Refusing to cave to the “that’s far too crazy to ever work” crowd, Japan took a step forward this week in the country’s scheme to develop a giant solar power station in Earth orbit. JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, selected major Japanese firms like Mitsubishi Electric, Fujitsu, and Sharp to ...
  23 hours ago

• New Solar Bags From Mascotte Industrial Associates of Hong Kong

  
  Gadgetreview — Authority: 608
  With Solar Power being about the greenest energy around, it still takes way too long.  These new bags from Mascotte Industrial Associates of Hong Kong use DSSC (Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells) technology to effectively store and convert solar power so your can charge your gadgets on your own time. I really like the ...
  23 hours ago

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