FYI: Solar Cooker for Simply $5

        With a few common household materials along with time and creativity, one is able to create a personal stove capable of reaching temperatures approximately between 250° to 375° Fahrenheit, solely powered by the sun. Step-by-step instructions are provided by Instructables user sclausson; this invention is known as the Purple Fig Solar Cooker, which can be built with simple items that can be found in convenience areas. The list of materials include a posterboard, aluminium foil, glue, a shoelace, a couple of binder clips as well as purple paint (obviously). According to the creator of this invention, the total cost of the materials should be under $5 (and possibly free to those households that may already have the needed materials). 

          The posterboard helps form the structure needed for the cooker while the foil is to provide the surface for concentrating the sun's rays. The glue helps to hold the foil to the posterboard while the binder clips aid in holding the structure in place. The shoelace is needed as a key component of the solar cooker but if you are interested in making one, do find out more here at Purple Fig Solar Cooker at Instructables. Enjoy!

Elementary School Solar Power Field -- $1 Million?

      Located in Warren County, New Jersey, Pohatcong Township Elementary School's officials have been discussing and reviewing bids for a $1.05 million solar field that could possibly save the school more than $90,000 annually on electric costs. According to Superintendent Diane Mandry, the ground-mounted photovoltaic field will help provide nearly all of the school's electricity and result in approximately $96,000 in annual savings. "The Pohatcong School District is excited about being able to incorporate a solar field that will produce a significant portion of the district's electric needs for the next 25 years, thus saving a substantial amount in operating expenses," said Mandry.
      The district had went out to bid for the project last month and had received a total of eight proposals from contractors, with bids ranging as high as $1.72 million. The lowest bid, however, was of $1,048,434 from Flemington-based Advanced Solar Products, Inc., although the school board is still in the process of formally accepting the bid. "The project will be funded through the school's district's capital reserve fund," Mandry said.
      "The solar field would be constructed on 2 acres in a field just north of the school and would include 1,694 solar panels on ground-mounted arrays," said Mandry. According to Advanced Solar Products President Lyle Rawlings, those panels will generate approximately 625,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. "In addition to the electricity cost-savings, the district stands to gain additional money by selling solar energy certificates to electricity suppliers," Rawlings said. Such suppliers are required to secure a portion of their electricity from solar generators. However, they also have the option of buying certificates to use as credits towards those requirements.
        "The school will be able to sell them and get substantial revenue," Rawlings said. "In fact, the revenue it would generate probably would be on the same order of magnitude as the power itself." Mandry had also noted that based on the average value of those certificates  last year, this project would have generated about $57,000 in revenue.

Pohatcong Township Elementary School

Solar Power brings 16Mbps Broadband to Towns without Electricity

     White space networks have yet to revolutionize Internet access but they still have hope in creating a drastic impact in countries that have lack the consistency of Internet access. A new project of the power of white space networks is arising in Kenya as a solar-powered network brings Internet to people who aren't connected to an electrical power grid.
      The previous month, Microsoft, along with Kenyan government officials, deployed the network in various areas in Kenya. It is currently serving a health clinic in Burguret, a primary and secondary school in Male, a secondary school in Gakawa, and a library in Laikipia. The network is planned to be expanded to 20 other locations in the next coming months.
       Director of technology policy at Microsoft, Paul Garnett recalls that "down in the valley, nobody has electricity." However, some areas did have mobile Internet access, but "it's so expensive that nobody ever uses it," says Garnett. Electricity is not completely unavailable but it is said that it is scarce. For example, a school has electricity going into the principal's office but it is unavailable anywhere else.
       This is where solar power comes in; specifically, 4.5 kilowatt hours of energy per day are derived from 7 square-meter panels. "During the day the solar panel is providing enough to run the network and provide some charging capability, and then in evenings there is this battery backup that can continue to provide broadband access, plus you have excess capacity for overnight charging," Garnett said. "Think of the school scenario where you've got a computer lab that the kids can use during of the day, and drain down the batteries in the tablets during the day. And then in the evening you have a charging station where all the tablets are plugged in and can recharge overnight."

Japan Proposes to cut Solar Power Price

         Recently, it has been discovered that Japan has submitted a proposal to cut solar power prices by 10%, leaving, in its midst, a place for incentives to trigger increasing amounts of solar power installations. Researchers have observed that the prices for solar power would be assumed to be cut in the beginning of April this year while payment for the wind energy sector prices remain unchanged. However, of course, the Japanese government has to consent to the proposal before solar power prices can be enforced and utilized.
         In the previous year, Japan has invested on non-residential solar projects totaling the estimate value to be 222 billion yen, or in other words, $2.3 billion, adding 580 megawatts of solar power capacity. This year, however, the country is claimed to have spent 438 billion yen for 1,460 megawatts.
          Hisao Kayaoka, secretary general of the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association, has claimed that the proposal may not change circumstances for the solar market is expanding but, the proposal will provide continual growth in the market. The association member companies consists of the following companies: SunTech Power Holdings (STP) Company, Kyocera Corporation, Solar Frontier K.K. and Sharp Corporation. These companies help make solar panels while another member of the association, Kansai Electric Power Company, is responsible for power utility. The proposed incentives actually aid companies, such as Kyocera Corporation, in giving them opportunity to construct solar stations while also encouraging Softbank Corporation, a mobile-phone provider, to develop solar power plants.

Shirashi Daiichi Elementary School received a grant of up to 30 million Japanese yen ($369,000) to purchase and install solar power equipment. In this photo featured above, it is shown that the pupils are touching the solar power generator installed.

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."