Sharp just signaled a bright future for renewable energy as it achieved a new solar cell efficiency record of 43.5%, eclipsing its previous record of 36.9% set in November. Sharp shattered the efficiency
Kite power has long been discussed as the next step in the evolution of wind power, and KiteGen’s radical new kite power concept could be one of the cleanest and most efficient ways to address the
The great river turbine is a conceptual design for a large (one hundred foot diameter) stainless steel water turbine developed to function as a tourist attraction and as a powerful electricity generator.
Climate change is a threat to national security, according to fifteen leaders in the US Armed Forces. As the US military has always been at the cutting-edge of technology — having
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) – the US Air Force’s top-secret automated space plane – is finally set to return to Earth after a year in space. Although not much is known about the
On a trip to Colorado, presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney claimed that the state had no green jobs as a result of the Obama Adminstration’s energy policies. While in fact it has 72,452 jobs in
Germany fed a whopping 22 gigawatts of solar power per hour into the national grid last weekend, setting a new record by meeting nearly half of the country’s weekend power demand. After the
The climate change conference in Bonn was supposed to see the creation of a work-plan that would result in a new global climate treaty by 2020. Instead, the talks ended with disappointment, no progress
Doctors from New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center are using tiny, tool-laden snakebots in surgical procedures in order to help identify diseases and perform operations.
Considering that our planet may be on the precipice of experiencing its sixth mass extinction event, this makes for pretty disturbing reading. According to researchers from the University of Bristol, it
It seems that there are a lot of paranoid people out there. Maybe it is because of rising water levels, a nuclear disaster, The Rapture or a possible 2012 doomsday scenario, but all apartments in
According to a new report from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the UK green economy saw record growth last year with an increase of £5.4 billion. That now puts the UK green goods
Mike Schropp of TotalGeekdom has combined technology and the natural world with his modified desktop computer that uses its own heat to grow plants! The compact DIY unit allows the plants — in this
We’d like to think that here at Inhabitat, we are rather clued in to the latest in robotics, however a new development has blown our minds. A group of scientists at the University of Hawaii have
Residents of Japan may be able to breathe a sigh of relief as the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently announced that radiation levels in most of the country are “below cancer-causing
Despite recent clashes between the US and Chinese solar industries, it seems that the entire solar power sector is prospering. As stated in a new report from GlobalData, with the ever-increasing number
Solar panels must be regularly cleaned and maintained in order to keep them operating efficiently and maximize the amount of sunlight they convert into electricity. With this in mind, a group of students
Algae fuel and other biofuels have gained popularity in recent years to the point that even the US Military has adopted it as jet fuel. Given its recent rise to prominence, it’s not particularly
With China becoming the world’s leader of solar cells and panels, it was hoped that their mass production would help bring down global prices. However, in order to aid domestic manufacturing, the
The world’s first Solar-Geothermal Hybrid power plant has been inaugurated in the town of Fallon, Nevada. Just ten months ago Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced that the addition of solar panels
Since Japan shut down all its nuclear power stations in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, the country has been exploring ways to replace the 30 percent of national power which was generated by nuclear
Tidal farms, which use underwater turbines to harness the power of the planet’s oceans and convert it into electricity, are something that we frequently mention here at Inhabitat. While there are
Dr. Steven Chu, head of the US Department of Energy, gave an information-packed, 50-minute speech at the World Renewable Energy Forum in Denver on Wednesday. Speaking to a crowd of renewable energy
Yesterday Africa’s first bio-ethanol cooking fuel plant opened in central Mozambique. The partnership between Novozymes and CleanStar Mozambique, NDZiLO, will provide cleaner, safer and cheaper cooking
According to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, Americans are willing to pay for slightly higher electricity bills for clean energy. The survey, led by researchers from Yale and
Wind energy is one of the cleanest, most reliable sources of renewable energy out there, but there’s one strike against it: Most wind turbines aren’t exactly the most attractive sight. But for
While solar energy has long been touted as the key to solving the planet’s energy demands, the problem of efficiency has always hampered it. However, a team of engineers from the University of
