Three-dimensional system based on optical fiber could provide new options for PV. by John Toon, Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Converting sunlight to electricity might no longer mean large panels of photovoltaic cells atop flat surfaces like roofs. Using zinc oxide nanostructures grown on optical fibers and coated with dye-sensitized solar cell [...]

(CNN) — Peter Gathungu walks more than a mile to a shopping center, where he pays a sizable sum to charge his cell phone. That’s because electricity is nonexistent in Gathungu’s hometown of Njoro, in northwest Kenya. Landlines and other forms of communication are not as efficient, so Gathungu and millions of others in emerging [...]

California is the number one U.S. state for solar power generation — not a surprise. The country’s most populous state, with an inclination for progressive environmental policies also happens to enjoy sun in abundance. What state might be number two? Surely some other large southerly state. Arizona? Maybe sunshine-state Florida? Not even close. Number two [...]

The holy grail of renewable energy is a solar power plant that continues producing electricity after the sun goes down. A Santa Monica, Calif., company called SolarReserve has taken a step toward making that a reality, filing an application with California regulators to build a 150-megawatt solar farm that will store seven hours’ worth of [...]

Iosa Ghini Associati has designed the Energy Belt, a sleek solar-powered monorail system for Bologna, Italy that will connect the airport to the city center. The system’s smoothly sculpted lines run above the countryside, providing great views for travelers. The monorail will also provide infrastructure for other uses, namely a pedestrian walkway alongside the tracks [...]

Minjoo Kwan’s probably-won’t-be found-at-your-local-Home Depot-anytime-soon design concept, the Blind Air Conditioner, is exactly as described: a solar-powered AC unit that’s also a set of window blinds. On a hot and sunny day when the blinds are drawn, solar panels built into the top of the blinds power a built-in air conditioning unit. Cool. Kwan, who [...]

DURANGO, Colo. – The sun had just crested the distant ridge of the Rocky Mountains, but already it was producing enough power for the electric meter on the side of the Smiley Building to spin backward. For the Shaw brothers, who converted the downtown arts building and community center into a miniature solar power plant [...]

If humans were forced to vacate Earth, where is the next best place in our solar system for us to live? A study by the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo has provided a quantitative evaluation of habitability to identify the potential habitats in our solar system. Professor Abel Mendez, who produced the study also [...]

Dark energy is the deus ex machina of cosmology, able to save even the most inflation-prone calculations from destruction or – worse – being provably wrong.  But while we’ve been busy watching the X-energy apparently accelerating all of creation while hiding in plain sight, some believe it’s responsible for much more than that.  It didn’t [...]

Like a wounded Starship Enterprise, our solar system’s natural shields are faltering, letting in a flood of cosmic rays. The sun’s recent listlessness is resulting in record-high radiation levels that pose a hazard to both human and robotic space missions. Galactic cosmic rays are speeding charged particles that include protons and heavier atomic nuclei. They [...]