Yale researchers recently discovered a way to boost the efficiency of solar cells by a whopping 38 percent by coating them with a fluorescent dye. Polymer solar cells are popular for their low cost, low weight, large area and mechanical flexibility, according to Physorg, but they only convert roughly 50 percent of the solar energy absorbed into usable electricity. The organic squaraine dye improves light absorption and recycles electrons, thereby hastening the light to energy conversion process.

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Post tags: "solar energy", alternative energy, cleantech, Förster resonance energy transfer, renewable energy, solar cell efficiency, Solar cells, solar research and development, Squaraine dye, Yale University solar research

Solar Flight has just unveiled the world’s fastest two-seater solar-powered plane at the AERO Global Show for General Aviation in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The Sunseeker Duo continues the company’s exploration of solar-powered flight which started with their first Sunseeker I model designed back in 1990. The new fuel-free plane features solar cells 50 percent more powerful than those used by the previous models; this allows the plane to climb for up to 25 minutes running solely on batteries. After leaving Germany, the team led by Eric and Irena Raymond will transport the Sunseeker Duo to Italy for further test flights.

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Post tags: AERO Global Show for General Aviation, energy efficient airplane, fuel-free airplane, green transportation, photovoltaics, solar aircraft, Solar cells, solar flight, Solar Flight Inc, Solar Power, solar powered plane, Sunseeker Duo, sunseeker plane

The Hortus Celestia vertical farm is designed to showcase innovation in the Dutch greenhouse industry with 14 floors of flourishing gardens. Designed by Except and Sign, the 28-story vertical farm features a promenade that starts at the panoramic roof garden and winds down through the tower.

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Post tags: "solar energy", agriculture tower, ETFE facade, ETFE membrane, green tower, greenhouses, Hortus Celestia agriculture tower, Solar cells, solar-powered greenhouses, urban agriculture, vertical garden

Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology‘s Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE), in collaboration with Purdue University have unveiled a new efficient, recyclable organic solar cell made from trees—or, more specifically, from a substrate that can be sourced not only from trees but from other plants as well. These efficient polymer solar cells are then fabricated on cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) substrates to create a more sustainable solar cell that can be quickly recycled in room-temperature water.

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Post tags: cellulose nanocrystal substrates, conversion efficiency, Georgia Institute of Technology, organic cells, perdue university, plant substrates, polymer cells, recyclable materials, Recycled Materials, Solar cells, solar cells from trees, solar efficiency, solar trees

Apple has announced that its newest—and largest—data center is powered entirely by renewable energy. Solar panels and fuel cells incorporated within the Maiden, North Carolina facility generate enough on–site energy to power up to 17,600 homes for an entire year. The project is part a larger push by Apple to switch to renewable energy sources, an effort which has resulted in 75% of Apple’s offices worldwide being powered by clean energy.

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Post tags: "solar energy", apple, Apple Maiden Data Center, corporate responsibility, corporate responsibility Apple, leed certification, Microsoft energy, renewable energy sources, solar array, Solar cells, Solar Power, U.S. Green Building Council

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", biomes, cycling, cycling superhighways, green economy, green jobs, hybrid buses, insulation, new builds, public transportation, renewable energy, retrofit old buildings, Solar cells, wind turbines

While silicon has long been the standard for commercial solar cells, new research from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Spain has shown that graphene could prove far more efficient when it comes to transforming light into energy. The study found that unlike silicon, which generates only one current-driving electron for each photon it absorbs, graphene can produce multiple electrons. Though the application of graphene in solar cells is only theoretical, the potential outlined in the study is remarkable; solar cells made with graphene could offer 60% solar cell efficiency – double the widely-regarded maximum efficiency of silicon cells.

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Post tags: carbon solar cells, Frank Koppens, graphene, Institute of Photonic Sciences, photovoltaic panels, renewable energy, silicon solar, Solar cells, solar efficiency, solar materials, solar panels

Apple’s iPhones and iPads could someday self-charge with the use of integrated solar cells. The company has filed a patent application titled “Integrated touch sensor and solar assembly,” which envisions devices that would simultaneously capture and convert light into energy—as well as detect touch—with solar cells built directly into the smartphone’s screen.

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Post tags: "clean energy", "solar energy", Apple green technology, apple solar patent, apple technology, high-tech design, renewable energy sources, Solar cells, solar design, solar devices, solar powered gadgets, solar powered iphone, solar smartphone

A recent study conducted at the University of California has shown how teeth-growing techniques of marine snails can be applied to the solar industry, helping to create improved solar cells and lithium-ion batteries. The findings show that gumboot chitons – a variety of large marine snails – use conveyer belt-like magnetic teeth to grasp algae on rocks. This biomineralization process could help grow minerals used in solar cells and batteries and also make harder, abrasion and impact-resistant materials.

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Post tags: David Kisailus UCR, green technology, gumboot chiton research, impact-resistant materials, magnetite research, marine snail teeth research, nanomaterial research, scientific research, Solar cells, solar industry, UC Riverside Research

Used in the manufacturing of solar cells, silicon wafers are an integral component that also create a sizable financial loss for the solar industry. About 5-10 percent of wafers get damaged during the production process, increasing the final cost of installed solar systems by billions of dollars each year. In an attempt to improve the efficiency of solar manufacturing, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed a device that detects weak or defective wafers before they reach the solar cell production stage.

Read the rest of NREL’s Silicon Wafer Screening System Could Save Solar Industry Billions of Dollars

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Post tags: crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, green technology, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), NREL wafer device, photovoltaic cells, scientific research, Solar cells, solar cells manufacturing, solar panel costs, Solar Wafer Screening System, solar wafers, us solar industry

Solar cells image via Shutterstock

Instead of rigid, cumbersome flat solar panels, you could soon be powering your home and electronics with a sticker. Engineers at Stanford have successfully fabricated thin, flexible solar cells that are able to be peeled and attached to almost any surface. The new technology is described in the December 20th issue of Scientific Reports and details how the team of scientists led by Xiaolin Zheng and Chi Hwan Lee achieved such a remarkable breakthrough. In addition to being dynamic, the peel-and-stick process also reduces cost and weight, making the cells an attractive alternative to their uncompromising relatives.

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Post tags: chi hwan lee, flexible, nickel, peel and stick, scientific reports, silicon dioxide, Solar cells, stanford, thermal release tape, wafer, wearable technology, xiaolin zheng

Arizona-based PhotonFlightTeam has unveiled plans for a lightweight, solar-powered airship that would be a more sustainable and cost effective alternative to airplanes. The team is raising funds with a newly launched IndieGoGo campaign that would allow them to test the prototypes and proceed to more advanced stages of design.

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Post tags: airship prototypes, aluminium airship, blimp design, fundraising, green design, green transportation, indiegogo campaign, PhotonFlightTeam, recycled materials vehicles, Solar cells, solar-powered airships, zero-emission airships, zero-emission flight

The future of solar power is about to get a little brighter with new developments in black silicon, a material that can absorb almost the entire spectrum of light – including infrared. Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany were recently able to double the efficiency of black silicon solar cells, and the team is also hoping to combine a conventional panel (which can only capture three quarters of the spectrum) with black silicon to create a super-efficient cell that can harness the the full power of the sun.

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Post tags: black silicon, dr. stefan kontermann, Fraunhofer Institute, germany, infrared, Laser, photovoltaic panel, Solar cells, solar efficiency, solar panel

Everyone knows that Popeye got his strength from spinach, but a team of researchers at Vanderbilt University believe we harness certain properties from spinach in order to generate electricity. The team has developed a technique to combine the photosynthetic protein that converts light into electrochemical energy in spinach with silicon, the material used in solar cells in order to create “biohybrid” solar cells.

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Post tags: "solar energy", biohybrid, biohybrid solar cells, electrochemical energy, photosynthetic, platinum, Solar cells, Solar Power, spinach, Vanderbilt University

Carbon nanotubes have been used in everything from energy-free lights to oil spill clean-up technology, and now a team from Rice University has used them to develop a paint that transforms any surface into a lithium-ion battery! This transformative paint holds the potential to create a functional, rechargeable solar battery on just about any surface.

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Post tags: "solar energy", carbon nanotube paint, carbon nanotubes, energy paint, lithium ion battery, nature journal, rice university, Rice University team, Solar cells, solar panels, Solar Power

A controversial new environmental book called Green Illusions, by University of California Berkeley scholar Ozzie Zehner, claims that renewable energy technologies in the US are not offseting fossil fuel use in the United States. In fact, Zehner claims that by building more solar cells and wind turbines, we could actually be accelerating fossil fuel use.

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Post tags: fossil fuel usage, fossil fuels, green illusion, offset, ozzie zehner, renewable energy technologies, Solar cells, us alternative energy, us alternative power

Currently 40% of the solar energy that reaches Earth lies in the near-infra-red region of the spectrum, and while most photovoltaic devices are unable to harness this energy, a team at MIT has created an all-carbon solar cell that absorbs this infra-red heat radiation.  The team believe that their all-carbon solar cell will lead to the development of combination solar cells, that use both traditional silicon-based cells and the new all-carbon cells to generate even more energy!

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Post tags: "solar energy", carbon nanotubes. solar cell efficiency, carbon solar cell, infra-red energy, infrared energy, MIT, pv cells, silicon solar cell, Solar cells, Solar Power

Scientists at the US Naval Research Laboratory, Electronics Science and Technology Division recently announced that they have developed a new breed of underwater solar panels that are able to power submerged electronics and sensor systems. You might think that solar cells would have limited use underwater due to the limited amount of sunlight that is able to penetrate the murky depths, however these new panels are optimized to produce a significant amount of power at depths of up to 9 meters.

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Post tags: "solar energy", gallium indium phosphide cells, silicon cells, Solar cells, Solar Power, underwater research, underwater solar cells, underwater solar panels, US Naval Research Laboratory, US Naval Research Laboratory Electronics Science and Technology Division

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 of solar power installations, the cost of energy generation is falling. In fact, it is falling so quickly that the report predicts that by 2017 it’ll be cheaper than generating power from traditional fossil fuels.

Read the rest of Solar Energy Generation Costs to Compete with Fossil Fuels by 2017

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Post tags: "solar energy", globaldata solar power parity, NREL solar panel, optical furnace, renewable energy, SILICON WAFERS, Solar cells, solar energy generation costs, solar grid parity, solar panel construction, Solar Power, solar power energy usage

Solar technology could have a role in reversing blindness in the near future. Stanford University researchers have invented goggles that can send information to chips – which behave like solar cells – implanted into eye retinas. These new retinal implants would require far less invasive surgeries than the very limited options that are currently available. The “bionic eye” could potentially give the blind the gift of sight once again.

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Post tags: bionic eye, blindness, cure for blindness, electrical engineering, James Loudin, retinal implants, Solar cells, specialized goggles, stanford university