Affordable Solar Power for Californians!

        In these times, Californians have the option of putting rooftop solar panels onto their residential buildings, but they may fall short because of the cost. That's where affordable solar power comes in with the help of two statewide California solar programs!
        Multifamily Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) is one of the programs that help provide non-costly solar power. This program evaluates and qualifies eligible buildings for solar incentives to help offset the project costs of installing solar on housing. The goals for this project would include: stimulating the adoption of solar power in affordable housing areas, bringing more awareness into the community about solar power, improving energy utilization, and decreasing the electricity costs for low-income households.
       Another program is known as Single-Family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH), which is funded by many public and private sources. It is also administered by a nonprofit organization, Grid Alternatives, which holds one-on-one meeting sessions to engage low-income families with the knowledge of sustainable energy as well as promotes workforce development through the rapidly growing presence that solar power is gaining. Grid Alternatives is also a licensed solar installer so they are able to lead teams of the solar power industry to aid them in installing solar panels.
      However, installing rooftop solar panels can be quite expensive because the "soft costs" of the installations are involved, which includes the costs of permitting, site design and grid connection. Thankfully because of the SASH program, Grid Alternatives helps families through the entire process of installing the rooftop solar panels, as said previously. The SASH program also includes the option to apply for weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades to help California low-income households obtain the best quality assurance with energy sustainability.

Grid Alternative features industry and community volunteers in installing solar electric systems in residential areas

Uruguay Plans Cheap Solar Energy!

       The South American nation, Uruguay, is offering contracts to buy power equivalent to 200 megawatts of solar farms at the world's cheapest rates. Ramon Mendez, a director of energy at the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, has remarked that President Jose Mujica is planning to sign a decree that will require Uruguay's national power utility to purchase electricity from projects at a set rate of $90 a megawatt hour. The nation plans to produce some of the world's cheapest energy, referring mostly to solar and wind energy projects.
         China is offering Uruguay $160 a megawatt hour while Germany offers $154.33 a megawatt hour. Four months after the decree is passed, developers have the opportunity of proposing offers at a first-come first-serve basis. Mendez recalls that three companies have already proclaimed in selling at the price of $90 a megawatt hour. However, if the offers fail, they will plan to wait another couple of years until the equipment prices drop and they will try again.
        The decree that is to be issued also calls for a bid of developing a 1-megawatt and a 5-megawatt plant. Both these projects are to provide the national power utility power for 25 years at a price. Though this decree is currently in circulation, 80% of the nation's electricity is derived from hydroelectric power plants, costing on average $80 a megawatt hour. In a 2011 auction, Uruguay was offered a contract of  power at $63 a megawatt hour from wind developers. This nation has many projects in development to sustain their population as a low-cost nation.

Sports and Solar Power Energy

       The 2013 National Football Season may be six months away but one team is helping their community in sustaining a new outlook of their football stadium from a spectator sport to one who is involved with environment sustainability. Sunpower Corporation, a company involved in manufacturing solar panels, roof tiles, and high-efficiency photovoltaic cells, has been giving the opportunity to help the recent Superbowl Finalists, the San Francisco 49ers, by providing them with a solar panel system for their new stadium.

Santa Clara stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers will be playing their home games

       Sunpower Corporation has a partnership with NRG Energy, a large American-based company specializing in green-tech energy projects, and they are both collaborating on providing Santa Clara stadium with energy sustainability. NRG Energy is actually most known for its projects such as the electric vehicles' charging stations in California and wind farms in Texas; the company will be installing a number of solar elements on the stadium, giving it enough energy over the course of the year to offset the power consumed during the 49ers home games.
       This new system will be installed as three solar array bridges of solar panels of 400 kilowatts are done at the training center as well as there being a solar canopy built over a green roof terrace. The installation of the solar canopy defines it to be pro-football's first green rooftop, specifically as a 27,000 square foot canopy covered with vegetation, which will help insulate stadium's luxury suites as well as help to reduce stormwater runoff.

        However, this announcement of Sunpower Corporation and NRG Energy is not an unfamiliar one; it is part of the green trend spreading through NFL and other spectating sports. Metlife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, has 1,350 solar panels installed, producing 350,000 kilo-watt hours (or 10% of the stadium's energy on game day).

       The Fedex Field, home of the Washington Redskins, has also been involved in the green trend by having produced a total of 8,000 solar panels, providing them with 1/5 of their required energy needs.

Fedex Field having solar panels, which were installed by NRG Energy

       Major League Baseball participates in having stadiums of renewable energy sustainability in wind and solar power: San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals.

3D Printing can indeed help the Solar Power Industry too!

     The exact definition of the term "3-Dimension Printing" would be referred to as a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape of a digital model by using an additive process, which is the process of layers of material being laid down successively in different types of forms. Since the 21st century has begun, 3D printing has been used increasingly in various types of industries in society such as jewelry, dentistry, prototyping and even human organs.
     Energy strategist John Licata, whom also founded Blue Phoenix Inc., an independent energy and metals research company, comments his enthusiasm in seeing potential of how 3D printing can revolutionize solar panel and photovoltaic (PV) cell manufacturing. In this present stage of the rising solar power industry, it is accurate to point out that solar panels is somewhat lacking in energy storage and thus, solar cells must be developed to be more sustainable.
     With this complexity of solar power, John Licata has brought to our attention of possibly producing 3D solar cells, which, in turn, can capture more sunlight directly than with conventional PV cells. He believes that "they are more precise (using copper, indium, gallium, selenide: CIGS), less complex and has less weight." Researchers in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe they can be 20% more efficient than solar panels.
     Another key factor he points out is the cost, which if 3D printing is successful in producing more efficient solar cells, it could drop the production cost by 50% (because they wouldn't be using costly materials as glass, poly-silicon, or indium). Not only this but he believes it would provide us more convenience in the future because it may be able to produce extremely thin solar cells onto paper, plastic or even fabric instead of the expensive glass used in solar panels. This, he theorizes, would help produce mass appeal for solar energy if it can be turned into wearable high-tech clothing, radios or other electronics. Perhaps in the future, we may find 3D printing incorporated with the use of solar power energy, who knows what the future holds for us.

Shopping for Solar Panels are easy!

      Are you interested in obtaining a solar panel onto your rooftop to save money on those utility bills that just never seems like it's going to end? Well, maybe this will help your matters: there is a new free online solar panel shopping service that can help you research and shop for solar power systems from solar power companies that will offer the best incentives for you.
      It is known as the Online Solar PV Marketplace, which Distributed Energy Research & Solutions, Inc. (EnergySage) had announced and released recently. It has been developed for the convenience of interested consumers, forming an open-market platform between potential customers and solar panel installers and for President Obama's Sunspot Initiative. The term "sunspot" has been formed as the President's call for a "Sputnik movement" to stimulate American innovation as the foundation for economic revival. It originally was developed in the year 2011 to make solar power as cheap and accessible as fossil fuels. Simply put, it tries to obtain information for potential solar consumers, which as said, Online Solar PV Marketplace offers.
     Because of this development which no longer barricades the opportunities between solar consumers and solar providers, EnergySage has been awarded $500,000 from the Department of Energy as a Sunshot startup investment. "EnergySage is thrilled to receive this Sunshot award," said Vikram Aggarwal, CEO of EnergySage. He also claims "by making it easier for consumers to navigate the solar PV system purchase process, we are lowering customer acquisition costs, lowering prices, helping installers improve profitability and ultimately, expanding the market exponentially."
     As you may be curious in the shopping experience, it opens as you take an online survey to outline relevant details about your property. You are, then, able to list your property on the marketplace and EnergySage's preselected network of solar companies will start bidding on your job. Instead of having to compare different types of variables from different companies, you will receive all bids in clear, standard format for easy access to be able to decipher. EnergySage only participates in this relationship by obtaining a small commission fee from the solar companies, which you do not have to worry about because the marketplace is, once again, free for use to businesses, nonprofit organizations, or even residential buildings.
     Check the marketplace out here to start looking!

Free Solar Panels for Honda customers?

       Tesla Motors has been getting ahead in the electric vehicle market because of their newly produced car, Model S. Many car manufacturers are concerned with the shift in the market; this actually includes Honda Motor Company Ltd, the Japanese car manufacturing company to be established in 1948. Honda has recently decided to have a partnership with Solarcity, an American provider of energy services, to offer cheap solar power to eligible customers. They promised that with this incentive, they will be guaranteeing a utility bill for solar power producing a lower rate than grid-supplied energy. This not only includes cheap solar energy but, it also means the eligible Honda and Acura customers would be obtaining a rooftop solar panel installation, covering all the costs including the cost of the panels itself.
       The agreement that has been established between Honda and Solarcity is a power purchase agreement, which is a popular tactic to finance solar installations. Power purchase agreements are designed as contracts between two parties, whereas typically the property owner pays for electricity at a reasonable price rate for a period of time but the installer has continual access to own, operate, and maintain the system for that time period. It's not unusual for this partnership to also offer insurance, maintenance, repair and monitoring during the specified time period.
       Honda customers are able to pay for their bills up front in two ways: either pre-pay for the solar electricity or pay at a monthly rate which is lower rate than their utility bill. Surprisingly, Honda and Solarcity had invested $65 million into a fund for this agreement, which covers dealerships and customers located within Solarcity's few state service areas. This includes other efficiency upgrades for customers such as weatherization, a practice of protecting establishments and its interior from all weather (sunlight, precipitation, wind) and modifying it to reduce energy consumption and optimize energy efficiency.
     Not a bad deal if they're planning to be ahead of the other car manufacturers to be on a head-on competition with Tesla Motors, right? What do you think?

Latin America is Focused on Solar Energy!

     Argentina and Venezuela, which are the least renewable energy countries in Latin America, is planning on expanding on solar capacity as the government is willing to support their finances with a few incentives. International developers have actually been helping Argentina by planning plants, which gets as twice the solar radiation of Germany, which is the largest solar market at this time.
     According to Marcelo Alvarez, head of solar for trade group Camara Argentina de Energia Renovable (CADER), he claims that in 2012, Argentina has applied to build 11 projects of 20 megawatts each. By doing so, this would be helping President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's administration in meeting 8% of Argentina's power by 2016, in which the present time in 2013, it is now 2%.
     Argentina plans to build 3,000 megawatts in clean-energy capacity, of which approximately 10% may come from solar energy. About 625 megawatts are mainly in operation, which most of them are small hydropower projects and solar energy reigns only 6.2 megawatts.
     In 2011, regulation has been passed that allows developers to negotiate premium tariffs with the government and grid operation without relying on clean-energy tenders arranged by Energia Argentina SA, the state energy company. Officials have been concentrated on organizing and developing long-term contracts for power from the plants, bringing an interest from companies residing in Spain to China.
     However, Argentina has granted long-term contracts for 895 megawatts in 2010, whereas it included 20 megawatts awarded towards Genneia SA for Argentina's first large solar parks, enabling the energy to be enough to power 30,000 homes. In this, Energia Argentina SA has been backing five companies in starting the projects before the government is able to sign off the tariffs that will support the renewable energy industry.
    In reference to a report by the Inter-American Development Bank and New Energy Finanace, Brazil has been leading Latin America in installed renewables capacity. Latin America and the Caribbean have more than 6,000 megawatts of solar sites under development, which includes about 2,800 megawatts in Chile and 1,400 in Brazil.

Argentina builds Most Powerful Solar Energy Park in Latin America!

      In the Argentinan province of San Juan, the government has authorized to develop what will be the most powerful solar energy park in Latin America. Already Brazil, Germany, and Spanish companies have been expected to invest in the project, which has an estimated price tag of $120 million, in which the provincial government of San Juan has agreed to invest $15 million to $20 million in the project.
      According to a Spanish news source Cronista, the solar park has been producing between 1500 and 2400 megawatts of energy, making it the biggest single producer of solar energy throughout all South American and Latin American countries.
       There is a landmark in Argentina that is also remarkable to many tourists; it is known as the Bueno Aires landmark, the solar-powered Floralis Generica. This landmark is a large metallic sculpture that opens its petals with the sun at morning and closes them at night. For a country that has not exploited its solar power potential to any great extent, it seems there is a promising future in terms of renewable energy for Argentina.

A Bueno Aires landmark, the solar-powered Floralis Generica

Knoxville Zoo in Tennessee has Solar Installations!

      The Knoxville Zoological Gardens, located in Tennessee, has been the first zoo to receive solar installations, which 196 solar panels have been placed across the roof of the Stokely African Elephant Preserve Habitat. This installation has been ordered by Knoxville-based energy contractor ARiES Energy (Alternative Renewable Innovative Economic Solutions for Energy). Specifically, this installation has been made due to a partnership the nonprofit zoo has with Wampler's Farm Sausage and Family Brands International, which they are financing $170,000-$180,000 to construct the solar panels.  In return of this construction, the zoo leased the roof of the barn at its African elephant natural habitat from the Lenoir City-based Wampler's Company. Not only that but they are also supposed to sell Wampler's and Family Brands products such as its barbecues, bacon, and hot dogs at their concession stands.
       The solar installation, alone, could produce 55,595 kilowatt hours of power a year, which actually saves the zoo $825,000 of utilities on water, sewer and gas charges, etc. It also helps the zoo by reducing its carbon footprint, providing environment conservation, and it puts the Knoxville Zoo in a leadership position over other zoos in Tennessee for its green solar installation.

This is Knoxville Zoological Gardens before the solar panels installation

This is Knoxville Zoological Gardens, in progress of the solar panels installation, still to be completed

UPS, the delivery giant, gets involved with solar!

      

      Within these past few year, many companies have been getting involved with solar-powered technology as it is impacting the world on a global level. They have mostly been focusing on producing and installing solar panels to obtain electricity in a healthy cost-efficient way. One major corporation, known as the UPS, realized its benefits in this expanding time and has made it official by announcing its latest project, in installing solar energy installations in its locations in Parsippany and Secaucus, New Jersey.
      The project that was constructed in Parsippany, New Jersey, was a 1.2 megawatt installation that was completed last Fall in the year of 2012. The project in Secaucus is said to also produce a 1.2 megawatt installation that will be completed at the end of Spring this year. In a public statement, Steve Leffin, whom is the director of global sustainability at UPS, claimed that he and his team will be overseeing every aspect of the design and installations, which he believes to be extremely beneficial.
      "Federal and state government incentives and state government incentives encouraged our investments in solar energy sources," said Steve Leffin. "We develop, engineer, own and operate our solar capacity, which is a departure from contracted power-purchase agreements in which a company pays a solar power provider for a set price of electricity for 20 years. Under this arrangement, we not only benefit at UPS, but can also help community power grids by providing a hedge against possible energy price hikes during peak usage times."

Source : UPS pressroom

Did you know a bug can actually produce electricity?

This here is what is known for as the oriental hornet. Like many other insects or hornets, it is able to digest other insects. It lives in many areas of the western Mediterranean and India region, specifically in Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afganistan, and the list goes on. 

So, how does this oriental hornet actually produce electricity?
    Well, the hornet's exoskeleton and the silk surrounding the pupae and its comb walls conduct electricity. The yellow stripe on its abdomen is capable of harvesting the sun's light and converting it into electricity. Its brown exoskeleton traps the sunlight, instead of it being reflected off the hornet's body.

But, how exactly does it work so that they can produce electricity?

      Within the oriental hornet's body, there are pigments that actually captures the energy of the sun's rays. Dr. Plotkin, whom was the researcher who discovered that the oriental hornet's abilities, commented that "the pigment melanin gives the hornet its dominant brown color; the pigment xanthopterin, in the head and abdomen in a form of stripes and bands, gives the Oriental hornet its bright yellow color." He also claims that "xanthopterin works as a light harvesting molecule transforming light into natural energy." This also explains why they become more active during the middle of the day, when the sunlight may be most intense. 

Investments towards renewable energy

      European investors in the next five years are withdrawing their finances from the construction of facilities generating fossil fuels and inserting them into better use: development of renewable energy sources, known as the RES. These claims were made from representatives from gas companies surved by the British-based Gas Strategies Group at the European Autumn Gas Conference, known as EAGC 2012.
        According to this survey, it was claimed that 42% of gas industry representatives believed that the whole share of investments would go to the wind power sector, 28% believed it would be towards the solar power industry, 13% thought it to be the coal-fired industry,  11% to the gas industry and 7% to the nuclear power industry.
       From last year, it seemed that opinions have indeed changed dramatically: support of solar energy has grew from 4% to 28%, coal-fired industry has grew from 2% to 13%, nuclear energy from 5% to 7%, wind power sector from 52% to 42%, and lastly but not least the gas industry from 37% to 11%.
       There have been reports in the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, that global investment in renewable energy development in 2012 was $268.7 billion, whereas there was $142 billion in investments towards solar power energy as well as the remaining $78.3 billion in the wind power sector.

      Ukraine has also been increasing their involvement in renewable energy. At the beginning of this new year, the total number of companies operating power plants, derived from renewable energy sources has increased to 80, and the number of the power plants has increased to 133, in which 39 are used for solar power energy.
     Ukraine actually has what is known to be the largest power plant in Europe.

Once construction is completed in 2015, this solar power farm is said to be equivalent to 207 football fields. It is expected to produce 100,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year, meaning it can be enough to power 20,000 average-sized households.
Even today, Ukraine ranks 12th in energy rankings with installed renewable energy capacity of 54 GW.

So you hear that there's going to be a solar storm coming soon, now what?

When this solar storm hits, there will be panic and chaos, we already established that. But, now what? Well, there'll obviously be a strong sense of wanting to survive kick in; so how do we survive?

First, evaluate where you're living. Are you living in an urban area, where skyscrapers and telephone wires are everywhere? Or do you live in a rural area, where the nearest skyscraper would be 1 hour away?
   Be warned people of the city! If you live in an urban area, chances are the electricity, that you're depending on, won't last once the storm hits. Even water and food sold in supermarkets will become scarce. So, my suggestion would be to stock up on food and water as much as you can because once the storm hits, you can definitely bet on it that those necessities to live will go out very quickly.

Example : Remember Hurricane Sandy?

You may also want to consider having a bag with essentials such as toiletries, matches, blankets, extra clothes, medical supplies, etc.

To read in-depth about things you may need, click here!
Good luck.

Solar storm can throw us back 100 years

     Michio Kaku, whom is an American theorist physicist, author and host of his show on the Syfy Channel, is featured in an interview with Fox News. He claims that there is to be a predicted solar storm hitting earth in this year. He claims that every 11 years, North and South Pole flip to release a burst of radiation and every 100 years or so, a monster tsunami from the sun emerges, which can cause trillions of dollars in property damage.
     In 1859, there was a gigantic solar storm that knocked out telegraph wires in the United States and Europe, causing widespread fires. If this storm was to happen, it would knock out satellites, power stations, and cause food riots because refrigerators would not function because there would be no power source.

Let's take a look at what Professor Michio Kaku says about this storm.

Even NASA has given a warning of the coming solar storm in 2013. Encaptured footage of a giant sun eruption in 2012 but predicts a larger coming storm this year.

More and more solar gadgets to look into in 2013

Are you tired of constantly trying to buy batteries for your keyboard because it just keeps on dying after a period of time? Well, problem solved with the new anticipated Logitech Wireless Solar-Powered Keyboard!

Oh, and did I mention there's one in black too?

This keyboard is compatible with mobile devices such as tablets and phones accessed through the bluetooth function. Don't worry about buying batteries for this one because it's charged through the solar cells on top as shown. Full charged capacity can obtain functionality up to three hours.


Next off, do you have a kindle? If you do, this is maybe something you ought to consider getting for your Kindle.

Solar Focus had created a leather case over for the screen and they also inserted a flap on the top right hand of the case to charge the case from the sun. Not only this but there is a LED reading light built in to read outdoors and indoors.


Battery-powered flashlights can get lost in luggage easily and anything battery powered can only last for a period of time. Battery-powered lanterns can eat up all those D-size batteries in only a few days but, here's an invention that is worth keeping.

Featuring the Woods Solar Powered Tent, it is a tent with solar-powered LED lighting inside. This tent has many LED lights strung, all of them which are connected to a panel on its outside that can charge from the sun in 6 hours. At night, you can access lighting for 2-4 hours.

So, when you decide to go camping with a few of your friends or family members, don't hesitate to buy and pack this invention for it'll save the hassle!

When you go somewhere for a vacation and there is just that one thing that always slips your mind in forgetting to pack? Well, mobile chargers are usually forgetful when traveling somewhere but, that's where the Goal Zero Sherpa 120 Kit comes in!

This kit runs at a high-efficiency rate, in which it has enough power to charge an iPhone for 133 hours, an iPod for 400 hours or even a laptop for 5 hours. It actually is not heavy as expected (6.5 lbs) when it carries a panel, cables and a power pack. When the pack reaches its full charging capacity, it can hold 120Wh, which is enough to charge the average laptop twice or more.

For people who enjoy decorative lights or even gardening, consider this: Mohzy Petal Solar Light.

This solar light can be a cute and fun way of decorating your garden for it can absorb sunlight through the small solar panel featured on the left and illuminate the garden outdoors at night. 

5 Green Tech Trends in 2013

1. Solar Power Technology
The solar industry is facing a decline in price by 2016 when federal investment tax credit for solar installations from 30% to 10%. Though 4 years may seem a lengthy time, it is the same amount of time for a large solar power plant to be permitted, financed and constructed. Thus, as this new year kicks off, be sure to be on a lookout for there will be new discoveries to finance solar power installations, whether it will be residential installed solar panels or solar power plants in remote areas. An example of this could possibly be solar securitization, whereas the leases for residential solar power installations are bundled and sold to investors. Another example is known as crowdsourcing, where investors help finance projects and they would be shareholders of the company by buying a piece of the pie.

2. Watch Out For Solar Energy in California
BrightSource Energy's 370-megawatt Ivanpah "power tower" plant is going online in 2013 and it's the first big solar thermal facility in the U.S. that has been planned to be built more than 20 years. Solar thermal power plant uses mirrors to focus on the sun while it is on top of a liquid-filled boiler to generate more electricity. Though this may be exciting to experiment with, many developers tend to stick with the traditional, inexpensive way of producing solar panels; however, if this power plant is to produce interesting results, it may change these perspectives of solar panels.

BrightSource Energy's 370-megawatt Ivanpah "power tower" plant and its mirrors

3. Tesla Motors is getting ahead in the competition
With the production of the Model S, which is a high-performance electric sports sedan, Tesla Motors is getting ahead of the game in terms of the electric car market because of Silicon Valley company's network of Superchargers. For anyone who have no prior knowledge of this Supercharger network, it is a network of solar-powered chargers that will refill your Tesla Motors Model S free of charge. Not only that but the Model S charges 4-5x the rate of a high-capacity home charger, meaning you can get as far as 150 miles in half an hour. Great car, Tesla; props to you.

Tesla Motors Model S

This is Silicon Valley company's Supercharger; CEO Elon Musk has revealed to the audience the Supercharger, which has already been set up in six locations in California.

4. Biofuels are Advancing
Not only is solar technology advancing but there is a struggling revival of biofuels in place. The Sapphire Energy's algae biofuel demonstration plant in New Mexico desert is producing green crude, which is renewable crude oil made from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and algae to make green oils that can be converted into fuel. SG Biofuels of San Diego are also breeding new branches of jatropha, which is an inedible plant in South America and Africa, to help boost oil yields. 

Sapphire Energy is producing a 100-acre algae field in Southern New Mexico. 

5. China is, of course, winning in this battle of Solar Energy
While many U.S. startups on solar energy are declining, Chinese solar powered manufacturers are supported intensely by their government in that they receive enormous subsidies. In a recent news article, it is discovered that the Chinese is expanding more faster than expected - a Chinese firm had bought an American solar startup. MiaSolé has been expected to stand firm in this competition but in Beijing, it has been announced that Hanergy Holding Group of China, specialized in building hydroelectric dams, completed the purchase of the company and its technology for a fraction of what the investors had put in. 

John Carrington, chief of MiaSolé, is seen with Zhou Jiesan, an executive of Hanergy Holding Group, at the conference in Beijing

(Credit : Forbes Magazine)

New Solar Technology made from Carbon

Scientists at Sanford University developed a solar panel made entirely from Carbon making it more economical for everyday use. The panel is formed of a thin film that can be applied from a solution which means it could be coated onto buildings, cars, or even glass to generate electricity. The one downside of having the film all carbon is the fact that the efficiency is not so great, but the durability resulting much greater compared to our modern solar panels being manufactured today. Wonder how our economy may benefit greatly from this technological approach in renewable energy, this may be the beginning of a new revolutionary invention bringing many new ideas and innovations to our world, at the same time establishing a sanitary and sustaining environment.

How to build a Solar Panel

1. Treat yourself to some powdered doughnuts and herbal tea. The powdered sugar on US-style doughnuts contains titanium dioxide (TiO2 or E171). This is a semiconductor that can be used to make solar cells. To extract the TiO2 in a useful form, first scrape off all the powder and put it in a cup of warm water. Stirring this will dissolve all the sugar (there is a lot of it).

2. Running the whitish water through a coffee filter will leave behind a white blob -- this is the precious TiO2, along with some unwanted fat.

3. Because the fat is useless for solar cells, you'll need to put the residue in a hot oven for a few hours to vaporise it. The TiO2 remains as nanoparticles, each around 100nm wide.

4. Throw these particles into high-proof ethanol (vodka will do: use 1ml per doughnut) and shake.

5. Now conductive glass is needed (tough to find, but indium-doped tin oxide is best). With an eye dropper or syringe, drop ten layers of the nanoparticle spirit on the glass, allowing it to dry with each layer. Then put it back in the oven.

6. This is now a solar cell, but it will work only with UV light (the bad kind). Here is where the tea comes in. Leave the nanoparticle solar cell sitting in a cup of hibiscus tea for a couple hours, and soon it will have absorbed the colour, shifting its useful range from UV (useless) to visible light.

7. To collect energy from this solar cell, you'll need a counter-electrode. Take another piece of conducting glass and use a dark pencil to cover the surface with graphite.

8. To get your electricity to your counter-electrode, a generous amount of iodine in high-proof alcohol works well as an electrolyte. Use one part alcohol to three parts Lugol's solution -- available from health stores and aquarium suppliers.

9. Cut a hole in some thin plastic or tape to use as a spacer, and place it on the nanoparticle cell. Drop some electrolyte on top, and quickly sandwich the two electrodes together with some bulldog clips.

10. You're done! A multimeter connected to both of the conducting electrodes should show about half a volt when in the sun.

This article was taken from the March issue of Wired UK magazine.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here is a great gift for your loved ones. Roses bringing light in your garden at night powered by solar energy! Check it out here!

Google headquarters are more eco-friendly than ever

As we all know "Google" had been most recognized for their most trustworthy search engine that has now been branched out towards many technological innovations such as tablets, smartphones, netbooks, browsers, and smart televisions. It had also been discovered that Google had been charging their vehicles with solar energy by driving around campus with commuter vehicles powered by electricity.

George Clooney's tango T600

Google had worked on a project for fairly quite some time, regarding to charging their electric vehicles cost effectively  Therefore, Google had built carports all around their parking lot involving closely to 9000 solar panels made from Sharp Electronics, a unit of Japan's Sharp Corp, and using their parking lot as a charging station for their vehicles. Google is still looking for ways to make its campus more environmental friendly. “This is definitely just the tip of the iceberg,” Radcliffe said.

Helping Slums in Africa have Better Lifestyles!

     In America, where freedom and an opportunity to live a better life is guaranteed, many American lives may take for granted what we are accustomed to having: electricity. In Sub-Saharan African urban areas, 589 million people are living without access to a public electric facility as well as dwelling in slums. That's where the iShack comes in!

This is the iShack, which was developed by the University of Stellenbosch, where they were able to fund this experimental project using a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It was developed to shelter families from the extreme temperatures in Africa as well as provide them with reliable power to sustain their lifestyles.

       This particular iShack is currently occupied by Plaatje, a domestic worker employed only once a week, and her three children. It is completely equipped with a photovoltaic panel, providing them with enough electricity to power three lights, a mobile phone charger and an outdoor motion spotlight. 

The structure of the iShack was carefully designed in that windows were placed strategically to provide them with better air circulation and sunlight heating as the roof was sloped to harvest rainwater during winter months. 

Upon living in the iShack, Plaatje and her three children claims that her lifestyle has improved drastically from where she used to dwell in, which was a cold, damp shack with a leaky roof and no electricity. Not bad of a transition for a family struggling as well as many others in Africa.

A Hospital Running on Solar Power?

       Have you ever heard of a hospital running on solar power technology? Well, if you haven't, there apparently is one in Haiti. It's called "Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais," known as HUM, and because of the generous donations from Boston-based nonprofit Partners in Health, it was made possible.

As you can see here, the roof of the hospital is entirely covered with solar panels in this newly constructed hospital, featuring a total of 300 beds for hospitality.

   It actually serves as a great benefit for Haiti, due to their instability when the power grid is concerned. In Mirebalais, a rural town in Haiti, it is claimed that power goes out on an average of 3 hours per day. Because of this dilemma, many patients, undergoing surgeries, can constantly be jeopardized as well as other tasks performed in hospitals. Thus, they decided to go solar as many corporations in other nations have.

      The hospital is officially opening in March but before their official opening, the solar panels on the rooftops have received 139 megawatt hours of electricity, which is enough to charge 22 million smartphones and offset 72 tons of coal. With this excess amount of electricity, it will be fed back to Haiti's national power grid, giving a much-needed boost to their power sources. Amazing on how solar panels can just make a huge impact for a nation, huh?

Solar distribution cuts down school's energy costs

The Murrieta Valley Unified School District, located in Southern California, has been reported to be saving approximately $23 million in electricity cost for the next two decades. Their solar panels, which they had invested in, is providing them with a total of 2.3 megawatts in the midst of the 19 school districts "Solarcity" had distributed. The schools has been mounted with 10,000 PV panels atop of parking lot carports. The project has been expected to cut down $1 million per year in electricity costs for the first five years bringing them the desire to enhance academic excellence towards their students.

Murrieta Valley Unified Assistant Superintendent Bill Olien- "As these solar projects demonstrate, we want to continue to save money while doing our part for our environment."

Happy Lunar New Years!

I wish you guys a New Years blessing for 2013!

African huts glow with solar power

KIPTUSURI, Kenya - Sara Ruto's yearn for electricity began with a purchase of her first cellphone for receiving money transfers, contacting relatives, or even calling nearby markets for the prices of chicken. However, powering her phone was no simple matter, due to the fact that there is no electricity to begin with in farming villages residing in Kenya. Therefore, Ruto walked 2 miles to hitch a 3 hour ride on a motorcycle taxi bound to Mogotia, the nearest town with electricity  to charge her phone for 30 cents. It doesn't end there; with such high demand of locals needing to charge their phones, Ruto has no choice but to leave her phone there for 3 days before returning home. However, Ruto's distressful routine ends in February when the family saves up their money as well as selling their cattle for a solar panel made from China costing them $80 but well worth the investment. The solar panel provides enough electricity to charge their phones and also running 4 overhead lights with switches. Ever since Ruto had hooked up her solar panel, her children of six drastically improved their school grades from having light in their home as well as avoiding burns from kerosene lamps.

Sara Ruto holds a small solar-powered LED light, part of a system that also charges cell phones, at her home in Kiptusuri, Kenya. Ruto, who used to travel miles to charge her mobile phone at the nearest town with electricity, purchased a solar panel for about $80 to charge her phone and power several lights.

Ed Ou / New York Times News Service

Thanks to this solar panel, Sara Ruto no longer takes a three-hour taxi ride to a town with electricity to recharge her cellphone.(Ed Ou/The New York Times)

China's desperate need of cleaner energy

Children at school were being halted from outdoor activities and physical education for several days from massive amounts of smog shrouded across Beijing in January. Anything beyond this level is labeled as a critical state, endangering many lives of young children and adults. Severe crisis of air pollution could prong towards pollution mitigation in which taking 12,000 lives in just two weeks during the incident of, "London Fog" in 1952. The biggest source of the cause of air pollution in China are the cars that are being run on and off of dirty diesel fuel, which brings us closer to global warming inch by inch. We could make a difference in this world; it just takes determination and compassion towards the world we stand upon. Like what Morgan Freeman says, “In the harshest place on Earth, ... love finds a way.”

(Hospital admissions for respiratory complaints jumped 20%)

Apple eyes another patent for solar-powered iPhone

Apple yet again faces to amaze me; the company files a patent application, regarding to solar panel technology towards their smaller end devices such as iPhones and iPods. With solar cells embedded over the "integrated touch sensor" (another word for the display screen for people who aren't tech savvy), the phone can act as a "solar charger" powering your phone, but at the same time, waiting for incoming calls outdoors. Though this idea may seem too good to be true, fellow Apple fans, don't have your hopes up too high for patent applications don't necessarily mean "Apple" will launch this device anytime soon. Especially with solar technology being a bit pricey in the current market towards production funds, the official launch of this project may take quite some time.

(Credit: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)

Robots taking over the world!

Introducing "Qbotix," the world's first monorail robot, equipped with 20 solar panel arrays, trailing behind a small tuna-shaped robot called the "Solbot." Over time, the sun moves 10 degrees in approximately every 40 minutes, decreasing the efficiency of our solar panels that are being engineered today all across the world. So, in order to get the job done more efficiently in harvesting the energy of the sun from sunrise to daybreak, "Qbotix" had designed a robot that moves through steel pipes like a small roller coaster, tracking the position of the sun while moving with it in order to retrieve the most efficiency of the sun without consuming much energy during the process.

A California based startup, Qbotix, has now come up with a robot that does the job efficiently without consuming a lot of energy in the process.

However, here's Germany with their huge robotic arms engineered to install solar panels onto steel racks. This robot is called "Momo" and it could do the work of 250 workers required to build a 100 megawatt photo voltaic power plant. The main idea of this project was to save large amounts of money, mainly towards labor. Towards a construction of a 14 watt solar plant, reports say that the company could cut the cost nearly half of what they had originally paid in which it came up to approximately $2 million in total. 

Renewable robot: A robotic arm places a large photovoltaic panel onto a frame during the construction of a solar plant near Leipzig, Germany. The panel is nearly six square meters in size and weighs 120 kilograms.

Taiwan with their National Stadium "solarized"?

I know rooftops with solar panels may not be something new but seeing Taiwan's stadium, hosting many world games and powered only by the sun to no fewer than 8,844 solar panels, is a whole new level than many commercial buildings currently residing in the United States. Total funds that were put into the stadium was approximately $152 million dollars. Early reports say that the stadium can cover 75% of the energy consumption and on days that are sidelined, the power would be fed on the grid to power local communities with sustainable energy. So whose ready for some baseball?