Part of the new Water City Development, the Expo Center will be the first to be constructed and hopefully spur on development in the area. The 1,940,000 sq ft exposition center includes 10 flat-floor expo
Leicester De Montfort University industrial design graduate Tom Broadbent has created an ingenious device that can harvest energy from falling waste water found in the pipes of high-rise buildings.
Sicily has just announced the opening of the world's first concentrated solar power (CSP) facility that uses molten salt as a heat collection medium. Since molten salt is able to reach very high
The premise of any science fiction movie worth its salt is robots operating without human supervision for long stretches of time. (Those pesky robots do get into trouble, don't they?) Researchers at the
We fell in love with this beautiful concept for a memorial park in Turkey and were very excited to see a number of small-scale wind turbines incorporated into the lawn of the rolling green space. Designed
Taking inspiration from Mother Nature isn’t a bad idea – afterall, she’s managed to create a complex self-sustaining system of life supporting millions of species over billions of years. There is a
People have been turning to nature for inspiration to help them solve problems for millions of years. From buildings and bridges to materials and medicine - examining the design of nature has aided in the
We've seen several solar-powered lawn mowers lately, and they're generally high-tech, super space-cadety looking things. That's part of why the Primate's Progress mower tickles our bits. It's a cute
A UN-backed study has reported that the building of new renewable energy plants has overtaken fossil fuel power plants in Europe and the US. The report charts construction from last year and states that
Calling out to architects, urban designers, planners, students, visionaries, the Build a Better Burb competition seeks to find a bold new design proposal that can retrofit underutilized spaces in suburban
Photo by Nevada Tumbleweed We’ve all heard by now that the army is trying to reduce its “carbon bootprint” with everything from solar panels to hybrid aircraft. The military’s
Lake Erie is about to join Cape Cod in hosting one of the first offshore wind farms in the United States. For a while now, plans have been underway to construct a wind power site on the Great Lakes after
Forget today’s primitive energy storage devices — one day we may use “ultra batteries” made out of xenon and fluoride. Currently under development at Washington State University,
President Obama recently announced that two of America's most established solar companies are set to receive up to $2 billion in loan guarantees in order to 'kick-start' the US solar industry. The plan
Solar panels are great, but they've got one huge problem. On average, they only catch about 15% of the sun's rays and scientists are scrambling to find a way to increase that efficiency -- using mirrors
Paris recently announced plans to infuse its grid with renewable energy by installing eight hydroelectric turbines in the waters of the River Seine. An urban ecology study of the French waterways has
Photo credit ©Flansburgh Architects The living laboratory is powered by renewable energy, with solar panels on the roof and a couple small-scale wind turbines on the hill behind the school. The Energy
The first phase of a massive renewable energy plan is now in place in Morocco with the official opening of a 165 turbine wind farm just outside of Tangiers. Official sources say that the wind farm --
The entire house is panelized to allow it to be flat packed and assembled around 7 square “ribs”. Because of the standardization of the system it can be configured in many different ways. Keeping cool
Griffith University in Australia recently secured funding for a $21 million dollar research facility that will be the country’s first zero-emission and self-powered building driven by solar-hydrogen
The home is modest is size. In fact, you can simply hook a semi to it and move it anywhere you want. But don’t be fooled - they packed a lot of living into the Lumenhaus. The center of the home houses
Team Wuppertal brought an intimate but expansive vision to the Solar Decathlon Europe this year. Their sun-powered house is flanked by solar walls, capped by a solar roof, and provides multiple spaces to
As the European Solar Decathlon heats up in Madrid, the Napevomo House is turning heads for its very unique tack on design. The team, composed mainly of students from Arts et Métiers Paris Tech, has
Potatoes are good for more than just filling up your stomach on the quick; they're also potential sources of electricity, according to Yissum Research Development Company Ltd. The company, which is an arm
A new Calla lily-shaped research center for Wuhan University is set to bloom in China as one of the most sustainable buildings the world. Netherlands-based firm Grontmij, in collaboration with Soeters
We’ve seen plenty of creative solar panel designs — some more attractive than others. The latest to come down the pipeline is Solarflora, a sleek sculpture that holds three solar panels (one
The Urcomante Team didn’t have to travel very far for the European Solar Decathlon this week in Madrid, Spain -- but their home’s design has taken sustainability a long way. The home's handsome
The European Solar Decathlon kicked off this past Friday, and Inhabitat was on the scene to bring you the world's most stunning sun-powered homes as they go head-to-head in this year's competition. One of
Tonji University Shanghai's Bambu House at the European Solar Decathlon is a beautiful sun-powered abode inspired by nature. It has two elegant sloping roofs and is almost entirely constructed from
Of all the 'mainstream' forms of renewable energy, it seems that geothermal power is always left in the shadows compared to solar and wind power. However, that looks set to change with news that the US
