solar power

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Google Wants Solar Panels on Your Roof

Company invests $280M in plan with installer SolarCity

(Newser) - Google is investing $280 million to help private US homeowners put solar panels on their rooftops. The money will allow installer SolarCity to offer solar systems to 10,000 homeowners for no money up front. In exchange, customers agree to pay a set price for the power produced by the...

Solar Panels Power Marines in Afghanistan

Alternative energy test wins over skeptics

(Newser) - US Marines in Afghanistan say flexible solar panels aren't just helping them cut back on fuel consumption, they're making military personnel safer. A unit testing the Solar Portable Alternative Communications Energy System—SPACES—says it reduced generators' diesel consumption from 20 gallons a day to 2.5 gallons a day,...

Sahara Holds Key to Powering Half the World
Sahara Holds Key to
Powering Half the World
scientists say
Jan 17, 2011 1:43 PM CST

Sahara Holds Key to Powering Half the World

'Solar Breeder Project' would extract silica from desert sand

(Newser) - Scientists in Japan and Algeria have a plan they say could provide half the world’s electricity needs by 2050, and it all starts with the Sahara desert. Factories built around the desert could isolate the silica from sand to make photovoltaic solar panels; the panels could power solar plants;...

Biggest-Ever Solar Plant Wins OK in Calif.

Desert installation will double America's solar power capacity

(Newser) - Federal regulators have green-lighted the world's largest solar power installation. The Blythe Solar Power Plant, to be built on 7,000 acres of public land in California, will double the amount of solar energy the US can produce, the Los Angeles Times reports. The German company behind the project aims...

White House Adding Solar Panels (Again)

Sun to provide electricity, heat water for White House

(Newser) - The White House will be powered at least in part by the sun after the installation of solar panels and a solar water heater next spring, CNN reports. The system will provide some electricity and heat water for the first family. "If it has anything like the effect of...

Solar Plane Completes 24-Hour Flight

Team proves sun can power plane more or less indefinitely

(Newser) - An experimental solar-powered plane landed safely today after completing its first 24-hour test flight, proving that the aircraft can collect enough energy from the sun during the day to stay aloft all night. Pilot Andre Borschberg eased the Solar Impulse onto the runway at Payerne airfield in Switzerland at exactly...

Obama Unveils $2B for Solar Projects

Aims to create thousands of jobs at a time we need it, he says

(Newser) - The government is handing out nearly $2 billion for new solar plants that President Obama says will create thousands of jobs and increase renewable energy sources. Obama announced the initiative in his weekly address today, saying the money is part of his plan to bring new industries to the US....

MIT Creates Viruses That Mimic Photosynthesis

Innovation could create unlimited solar power

(Newser) - Scientists building complex, designer viruses in the lab may sound sort of terrifying, but what if those viruses could potentially solve the world’s energy problems? A group of researchers at MIT has fabricated an artificial virus that can be fabricated into wire-like chains that can transport solar power and...

New Google Mirrors May Cut Solar Power Costs

Would focus sun's energy to produce heat, steam

(Newser) - Google is working on new mirrors to make solar thermal power significantly cheaper, Reuters reports. If it works, the technology could reduce the cost of building a plant to draw power from the sun by 25% or more. “We've been looking at very unusual materials for the mirrors both...

Sorry US, China Is World's Solar Powerhouse

(Newser) - If the US wants to be, in Barack Obama’s words, the “world’s leading exporter of renewable energy,” it’s got a lot of catching up to do. China is the king of solar, and it’s moving aggressively on the US market, the New York Times...

China Plans Massive Push for Green Power

Country could be world's leader in clean energy by 2020

(Newser) - China is on course to obtain 20% of its energy from wind and solar sources by 2020—a transformation that would make the country the world leader in renewables. Beijing is ramping up its targets for clean energy, helped by the $590 billion stimulus package passed last year, a senior...

Recession Dims Lights on Solar Sales

Banks, government cut funding for industry

(Newser) - After a bright 2008, things are looking gloomy for the solar power industry amid the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Banks have cut funds for some projects, and the government of Spain, the second-biggest solar power market, has shrunk subsidies. Solar-cell sales are expected to fall by some 20%,...

Vatican Plans Europe's Largest Solar Plant

(Newser) - The Vatican plans to build Europe’s largest solar power plant on land it owns north of Rome, Bloomberg reports. The 740-acre site—many times bigger than the 108 acres that make up the world’s smallest nation—is predicted to generate enough power for 40,000 households when it...

Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission
Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission
ANALYSIS
Mar 23, 2009 3:54 PM CDT

Plans for Clean Energy Get Dirty in Transmission

Firms use green hype to build power lines that could carry electricity from coal

(Newser) - Plans to green the US power supply are in full swing, with the Obama administration working toward the goal of doubling the current supply of alternative energy over the next 3 years. But, some complain, power companies are using the popularity of green power to push through a needless—but...

Solar, Wind Boom Starts to Wither

Once thought recession-proof, green tech takes a hit

(Newser) - Wind and solar power have been growing at breakneck speed over the past few years—a demand the industry had hoped would continue to soar under the Obama administration. But instead, wind and solar power is dropping, with trade groups projecting a drop in new installations of up to 50%....

Silver Bits Boost Solar Power
 Silver Bits Boost Solar Power 
Jan 9, 2009 2:45 PM CST

Silver Bits Boost Solar Power

Particles allow cells to absorb more light, researchers say

(Newser) - Scientists believe they’ve found a way to make less expensive, more efficient solar cells: Just add silver, the Economist reports. Standard cells, which rely on a thick layer of pricey silicon, are costly. Problem is, thinner cells absorb less red light, reducing electricity output by 20%. Sprinkling a few...

Car Tech Advances Can Recharge Detroit
Car Tech Advances Can Recharge Detroit
OPINION
Jan 3, 2009 11:54 AM CST

Car Tech Advances Can Recharge Detroit

(Newser) - Detroit needs to heed Henry Ford's advice and take failure as "the opportunity to begin again more intelligently," Sebastian Thrum and Anthony Levandowski write in the New York Times. Here are four technologies that can help the Big Three automakers turn things around:
  • Car-to-car communication: Wireless technology will
...

Toyota Working on Mass-Market Solar Car

Company believed to be trying to build first mass-market car running soley on sunshine

(Newser) - Toyota is trying to leapfrog rivals by developing a mass-market solar-powered car on the sly. The futuristic vehicle will get power from solar cells in the rooftop, providing enough energy to power only its accessories initially, reports Hybrid Cars News. The company is thought to be years away from creating...

Winter Chills Green Energy
 Winter Chills Green Energy 
Dec 26, 2008 7:03 AM CST

Winter Chills Green Energy

Renewable energy industry works to deal with seasonal variations

(Newser) - Winter weather is cooling newfound enthusiasm for renewable energy, the New York Times reports. Solar panels get snowed up or suffer from lack of sunlight on short winter days, and biodiesel sometimes congeals in cold weather. Wintry weather is a plus for wind power, but turbines can get iced up...

Calif. Adopts 1st US Plan to Slash Greenhouse Gases

Plan to reduce carbon emissions by 15%

(Newser) - California regulators have adopted an ambitious, comprehensive blueprint to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2020, reports the Los Angeles Times. The plan, the first of its kind in the nation, calls for 33% of the state's electric power to come from solar power and wind farms, and includes...

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