Site Meter

Solar Power

Saudi Arabia Promises $109 Billion in Solar Power Investment

Saudi Arabia Promises $109 Billion in Solar Power Investment

Saudi Arabia has long been a wealthy country because of its enormous oil reserves. But the kingdom also is rich in sunlight, and it now promises to invest over $100 billion to develop 41 gigawatts of

Read More >

Ackroyd and Harvey’s Twist Sculpture in Bristol is Powered by the Sun and the Wind

Ackroyd and Harvey’s Twist Sculpture in Bristol is Powered by the Sun and the Wind

When driving along a sprawling motorway towards the UK city of Bristol at night, a massive glowing helicoidal tower welcomes visitors and locals. Installed in 2008, the tower, called Twist, was designed

Read More >

Solar Parasols Charge Laptops, Phones and Tablets While Providing Shade at Milan Design Week

Solar Parasols Charge Laptops, Phones and Tablets While Providing Shade at Milan Design Week

Ombrellone Solare recently unveiled two solar parasols at Fabbrica Del Vapore during this year’s Milan Design Week. Dubbed Eclipse and Kosmos, the designs saw great success, not only because of the

Read More >

USC Researchers Develop Liquid Nanocrystal Solar Cells that Can Be Printed Onto Plastic

USC Researchers Develop Liquid Nanocrystal Solar Cells that Can Be Printed Onto Plastic

Imagine a solar cell that comes in a jar instead of a big, clunky panel, and that could be painted on a piece of plastic. It might be closer than you think - scientists at the University of Southern

Read More >

USDA Researchers Want Airports To Double as Renewable Energy Farms

USDA Researchers Want Airports To Double as Renewable Energy Farms

At airports, the usable space is limited to a few areas: runways, terminals and storage facilities. Much of the rest of the land is left fallow, requiring maintenance from airport operators (mowing the

Read More >

Power in a Box: Princeton’s Disaster Relief Solar and Wind Generator Fits in a Shipping Container

Power in a Box: Princeton’s Disaster Relief Solar and Wind Generator Fits in a Shipping Container

A prototype for a solar and wind power station that fits within a shipping container has placed a group of students from Princeton University among the winners of a national EPA-sponsored sustainable

Read More >

Poznan Is a Sunny Outdoor Bench That’s Also a Sleek Solar Charging Station

Poznan Is a Sunny Outdoor Bench That’s Also a Sleek Solar Charging Station

Wouldn’t it be great if you could charge your gadgets while waiting for the bus or relaxing on a bench? Magdalena Czapiewska, Karol Murlak and Zuzanna Lemieszek of Design lab, have taken this

Read More >

Solar-Powered Painters Hall is a Net-Zero Community Center in Salem, Oregon

Solar-Powered Painters Hall is a Net-Zero Community Center in Salem, Oregon

Painters Hall is a 100 percent solar-powered building nestled in the beautiful surroundings of quiet Pringle Creek community, in Salem, Oregon. The 80-year-old Painters Hall recently earned

Read More >

Tesla and SolarCity Team Up to Create New Off-the-Grid Solar Power Storage System

Tesla and SolarCity Team Up to Create New Off-the-Grid Solar Power Storage System

Tesla may be best known for exceptionally good-looking electric sports cars, but their role in the automotive industry has honed their skills in battery-making too. Now, the company is teaming up with

Read More >

Condo Owners Fight Homeowner Associations For Their Right to Install Solar Power

Condo Owners Fight Homeowner Associations For Their Right to Install Solar Power

Do you think homeowners should have the right to install solar panels on their own condos? Many homeowner associations (HOAs) in the United States don’t think so. Even as solar energy becomes

Read More >

7 Weird and Wonderful Uses For LED Lighting Technology

7 Weird and Wonderful Uses For LED Lighting Technology

It’s amazing to think that just a few years ago, many people thought of LEDs as nothing more than the tiny red lights in our laser pointers but my, how the times have changed! With more and more

Read More >

World’s Largest Solar Thermal Plant Opens in Saudi Arabia

World’s Largest Solar Thermal Plant Opens in Saudi Arabia

The world’s largest solar thermal plant recently opened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The new plant is almost double the size of what was previously the largest solar thermal facility (located in Denmark),

Read More >

Moby1 is a Modern and Mobile Micro-Home for Living in the Wild

Moby1 is a Modern and Mobile Micro-Home for Living in the Wild

Moby1‘s stylin’ XTR is a modern spin on the classic 50s Teardrop Trailer, incorporating new technologies and an array of cushy amenities. Lightweight, small, and quite comfortable, these

Read More >

PRODUCT REVIEW: Inhabitat Tries Out Ikea’s Solar-Powered Sunnan Lamp

PRODUCT REVIEW: Inhabitat Tries Out Ikea’s Solar-Powered Sunnan Lamp

When Ikea came out with its SUNNAN solar-powered desk lamp, we were immediately enamored with the elegant, minimal design, but were curious about how much light the product could actually deliver when

Read More >

Solar-Powered Spiral Garden Pavilion is a Sustainable and Adaptable Retreat

Solar-Powered Spiral Garden Pavilion is a Sustainable and Adaptable Retreat

Designed as an interactive retreat, the Spiral Garden Pavilion is a peaceful solar-powered space for visitors to sit back, relax and enjoy their surroundings. The airy pavilion by Michael Jantzen would

Read More >

Adele’s New Solar-Powered Seaside Home Will Be Rolling In The Green

Adele’s New Solar-Powered Seaside Home Will Be Rolling In The Green

Leading British singer Adele isn’t just rolling in the deep – she’s also rolling in the green! We found out this morning that the chanteuse will be giving her new seaside home in

Read More >

Tokyo Institute of Technology Unveils New Facade Decked Out in 4,500 Solar Panels!

Tokyo Institute of Technology Unveils New Facade Decked Out in 4,500 Solar Panels!

Photo: Eiji Hori for Asahi Shimbun The Tokyo Institute of Technology recently unveiled a shiny new shell made of 4,500 solar panels that allow it to use half of the energy of a similarly-sized building.

Read More >

United States Pulls Ahead of China in Clean Energy Race

United States Pulls Ahead of China in Clean Energy Race

According to a Pew Charitable Trusts survey, the United States has reclaimed the top spot in clean energy investment, toppling China from its number one global ranking. Meanwhile, investment in renewables

Read More >

“Blackest” Solar Cell Ever Designed Absorbs 99.7 Percent of All Light

“Blackest” Solar Cell Ever Designed Absorbs 99.7 Percent of All Light

Natcore Technology scientists have created a black silicon solar cell with an average reflectance of 0.3%, making it the “blackest” solar cell ever designed. Compared to the most efficient solar cells

Read More >

Areva Announces Plans to Build Largest Solar Installation in Asia

Areva Announces Plans to Build Largest Solar Installation in Asia

The French nuclear engineering company Areva was awarded a contract this week by Indian power company Reliance Power Ltd. to build the largest concentrated solar power installation in Asia, which

Read More >

Walmart’s 100th Solar Power Installation Gets Switched On in Colorado

Walmart’s 100th Solar Power Installation Gets Switched On in Colorado

Yesterday Walmart announced the installation of six more solar projects in Denver, Colorado, bringing the total number of Walmart’s solar power installations to 100. The rooftop solar installations,

Read More >

Kyocera Announces Plan for Japan’s Largest Solar Farm

Kyocera Announces Plan for Japan’s Largest Solar Farm

Kyocera announced today that it will partner with two other companies to build Japan’s largest solar farm. Located on the southwestern island of Kyushu, the 70-megawatt solar power plant is the start of

Read More >

New Solar Satellite Could Harvest the Sun’s Rays 24/7 From Outer Space

New Solar Satellite Could Harvest the Sun’s Rays 24/7 From Outer Space

Since the early 1970s, scientists have been toying with the idea of collecting solar power in space, where solar collection rates are stronger than on the surface of the Earth. But because of the costs

Read More >

Scientist Develops Self-Sustaining Solar Reactor That Produces Clean Hydrogen Fuel

Scientist Develops Self-Sustaining Solar Reactor That Produces Clean Hydrogen Fuel

Hydrogen is a fuel that has seemingly limitless potential, but scientists have only been able to produce it from fossil fuels, like natural gas. That is, until now. A doctoral student in mechanical

Read More >

How the Media Dropped the Ball on the Solar Trust of America Story

How the Media Dropped the Ball on the Solar Trust of America Story

When news broke earlier this week that Solar Trust of America (a big solar company backed by the US Department of Energy) had filed for bankruptcy, conservatives predictably took to the airwaves to

Read More >

  • Read Inhabitat

  • Search Categories

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

  • Browse by Keyword

get the free Inhabitat newsletter

Submit this form
popular today
all time
most commented
more popular stories >
more popular stories >
more popular stories >
What are you looking for? (Solar, HVAC, etc.)
Where are you located?