solar panels

The Department of Energy just gave $100,000 to upstart company Solar Roadways, to develop 12-by-12-foot solar panels, dubbed "Solar Roads," that can be embedded into roads, pumping power into the grid. The panels may also feature LED road warnings and built-in heating elements that could prevent roads from freezing.

Fifteen of these flower-shaped solar panels were installed last month in an open space between a highway and a retail lot in Austin, Texas. They not only provide a green source of energy, but also bring a fresh look to solar panel design. Unfortunately, I can't help but think of those fake-tree cellphone towers when I see these things.

In what could very well become the auto industry’s greatest comeback story, a trio of German companies is hoping to introduce a revamped version of the pride of DDR auto engineering: the Soviet-era Trabant.

According to the prototype the three companies plan to unveil at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, the Trabant nT (as in Neu Trabant!) will be powered by an all-electric drive train, sport solar panels on the roof for juicing the AC and have a range of up to 150 miles.

Click Here for last month's entry - Stage #1: Build the Box

Stage #2: Solar Water Boiler

The M/V Auriga Leader is the world's first solar powered cargo ship, which uses solar panels to provide up to 10 percent of the ship's power. Working alongside Toyota and NYK Line, the ship will be used to transport 6,400 cars while using less diesel fuel.

Solar power is an exciting source of renewable energy, but has so far mostly been used to power little things like homes, cars and small villages. But what if solar energy was used on a scale that would power the majority of Europe?

A small kibbutz in Israel has installed the world’s first solar-hybrid power plant to fulfill all their energy needs. Composed of 30 solar reflectors and one kooky-looking “flower” tower, the plant can switch to gas-powered turbines after dark to keep the system producing power 24-hours a day. The best part is that the plant takes up a relatively small amount of space for its output and can power remote areas that are not connected to larger grids.

The Big Picture: "Solar power" no longer refers just to chunky photovoltaic panels. A variety of tools for turning sunlight into usable energy — thin-film solar, solar thermal, solar heating, and more — are undergoing a burst of technological acceleration. Whether it's powering an entire housing development or simply heating your house, taken together, their potential is huge

In the shadow of the state’s struggling automakers, the University of Michigan solar engineering team—one of the most advanced in the country--unveiled its newest solar-powered race car, Infinium. With the $1 million racer they hope to vanquish the competition at the World Solar Challenge, a six-day 1,800 mile sprint across Australia using only the southern hemisphere sunlight. Needless to say, it looks fast.

This fall, Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard and his team will begin test flights of a prototype of Solar Impulse, a sun-powered plane designed to circumnavigate the globe without burning a drop of oil. Piccard wants the project to demonstrate the potential of green technology, and he’s feeling the pressure. "We still have to prove that this plane will fly," he says.

This fall, Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard and his team will begin test flights of a prototype of Solar Impulse, a sun-powered plane designed to circumnavigate the globe without burning a drop of oil. Piccard wants the project to demonstrate the potential of green technology, and he’s feeling the pressure. "We still have to prove that this plane will fly," he says.

The next frontier in traditional solar panels is concentrators - devices, usually lenses, that concentrate solar power onto the most expensive part of a solar panel - the silicon. Skyline Solar's "solar trough" design concentrates sunlight without using expensive lenses or complicated robotic armatures for tracking the sun as it crosses the sky.

Like analog TV and Marshall Tucker fans, solar power is a holdover from the Carter administration. Yet, for modern businesses like Google and General Motors, it's a promising alternative energy source. So far, "promising" is as far as it's gotten: the density in data centers and in the typical office complex -- lots of demand in a small area -- turns solar arrays into a pipe dream. At Google HQ, for example, nearly every rooftop is covered with solar panels, and they have plans for more coverage, but the array can only provide for about 30 percent of peak power usage.

Hardly a week goes by these days without a new solar panel technology development in the news. You would think the country was plastered in solar sheets with all the work currently being done. Let's hope the stories soon turn to how we're going to make this all affordable enough to support widespread installations. In the meantime, today's innovation.

If you've been following our recent series of articles on solar cells, you've likely noticed the focus falls roughly into two categories: how to make the panels thinner, lighter and more flexible; and how to make the cells more efficient.

We've been talking a lot lately about new designs in solar panel technology. Today's panels divide into two groups: the old-school silicon and glass box and the newly emerging thin film solar sheets, now being offered by several companies. What we haven't yet looked at is how the thin film technology can be used to make a solar installation that isn't staid and wholly utilitarian. Enter Teresita Cochran, a graduate of both Rhode Island School of Design and New York University's Interactive Telecommunication Program.