SolarPrint Develops Ready-To-Print Solar Cells

Irish company SolarPrint has developed a new type of printable solar cells that can be produced quickly and easily and can even generate energy from fading sunlight. Since the dye-sensitized cells use

MIT Develops Self-Assembling Solar Cells

Get ready for super-charged solar cells! MIT researchers announced this week that they have developed self-assembling solar cells that can be broken down and rebuilt repeatedly, much like plant cells. The

Stuttgart University’s Shimmering Solar Decathlon Home+

All of the homes in this year's Solar Decathlon Europe utilize advanced building technologies and green strategies to optimize their energy use -- this is especially evident in the home+ by Stuttgart

New Quantum Dot Photovoltaics Could Double Solar Cell Efficiency

Today's solar cells make use of just under a third of the energy hitting them, overheating to create "hot electrons" that escape before they can be converted into electricity. A study published in this

Canadian Researchers Move Closer to Affordable, Efficient Solar Power

Enough solar energy hits the Earth in an hour to meet global power demand for an entire year: the trick is catching it, and doing it with equipment cheap enough to allow it to compete with fossil fuels.

Cow Brain Protein Could Build Better Batteries and Solar Cells

We've heard about alternative energy produced from corn, switchgrass, and watermelons... but cow brains? Researchers at Stanford are exploring the idea that clathrin, a protein found in cow brains, can

NextGen Announces Cheap Solar Paint on the Horizon

NextGen Solar has announced that their new breed of cheap solar paint is closer than ever now that the company has raised half of the $1 million it needs to move out of the lab and into the real world.

Cheap Carbon-Based Solar Cells Could Replace Silicon Cells

Forget silicon -- the next major light-absorbing material in solar cells could be carbon. Chemists at Indiana University Bloomington have figured out how to effectively create big sheets of carbon that

NREL Develops Super Efficient Robots That Build Better Solar Cells

It might be time to welcome our robot overlords to the green tech revolution. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has developed a jukebox-like robot that can grow and analyze solar cells in nearly

DARPA Unveils Speedy Solar-Powered Smart Blimp

The military often gets to check out exciting green technology before the general public. Case in point: DARPA's new smart blimp, an automated, unmanned airship featuring an advanced radar system, solar

Antro Unveils a Solar Car That Splits into Two Vehicles!

Although it's not particularly known for its autos, Hungary is taking a stab at the electric vehicle market with a futuristic new solar-electric car. Founded by auto enthusiasts and backed by local

MVRDV Unveils Mesmerizing Water Cube Pavilion for 2012 World Expo

The 2010 Shanghai World Expo hasn't even begun yet but we're already starting to see designs roll in for the 2012 World Expo in Yeosu, Korea! MVRDV just released plans for their own mesmerizing Water Cube

New Silicon Nanorod Solar Cells Use 99% Less Material

Instead of investing in solar cell architectures that require entirely new manufacturing processes, wouldn't it be easiest to build on what we have? That's part of the thinking behind a new type of

IBM Releases Cheaper, 40% More Efficient Thin-Film Solar Cell

IBM has announced the development of a thin film solar cell with an efficiency of 9.6% - a whopping 40% increase from its previous prototypes. An efficiency of 9.6% isn't terribly impressive compared to

Sydney Theatre to Install Second Largest Photovoltaic System in Australia

The Sydney Theatre Company is well known for its fantastic theatrical productions and its rather famous director, Cate Blanchett, but it's also set to become the greenest theater company in the world.

Colored Solar Panels Don’t Need Direct Sunlight

With normal solar cells, you need direct sunlight for them to generate power, and if the panels are at all shaded the efficiency drops significantly. A new type of solar cell, being developed in

Australian Scientists Develop World’s Most Efficient Solar Cell

The race for the world's most efficient solar power cell is forever played out in fractions of percentages. The latest victory comes from scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who

Development Shines Light on Solar Energy Generating Plastics

Plastic sure has gotten a bad rap lately -- it takes petroleum to produce it, most kinds are notoriously difficult to recycle and it can leach harmful chemicals like BPA. But that hasn't stopped

MercuryHouseOne: Sleek Solar-Powered Mobile Lounge

There are mobile offices, mobile hedges, mobile homes and mobile phones, and just when you thought you couldn't get more mobile, now there are super sleek mobile lounges! Designed by Italy-based

TRANSPORTATION TUESDAY: The Solar Speedboat

When alternative transportation comes to mind, the focus is usually on more eco-friendly land or air travel. After all, the open ocean provides the prevailing winds as a very sustainable power source. We

New Solar Panels That Work At Night

Despite the enormous untapped potential of solar energy, one thing is for sure- photovoltaics are only as good as the sun's rays shining upon them. However, researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory