solar panel

Visiondivision’s Stunning Concept for Miami’s Bayfront Park Looks a Lot Like the Rising Sun!

Visiondivision’s Stunning Concept for Miami’s Bayfront Park Looks a Lot Like the Rising Sun!

Originally, the land where Bayfront Park sits was home to the Everglades. Dredged to create a port and real estate opportunities, the area is now home to host of human landmarks. Bringing a sense of

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The Solar Photovoltaic Industry is Finally Set to Become a Net Energy Producer

The Solar Photovoltaic Industry is Finally Set to Become a Net Energy Producer

Solar Panel photo from Shutterstock Solar panels offer a clean source of alternative energy - but ironically, the solar industry has a significant carbon footprint due to its reliance on coal and

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MIT Scientists Create a More Efficient Solar Cell by Using Quantum Dots and Nanowires

MIT Scientists Create a More Efficient Solar Cell by Using Quantum Dots and Nanowires

Photo via Shutterstock A team of researchers at MIT have developed a more efficient photovoltaic solar cell using particles known as quantum dots. The benefit of using quantum dots is that they can be

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World’s Largest Solar Panel Manufacturer Suntech Declares Bankruptcy in China

World’s Largest Solar Panel Manufacturer Suntech Declares Bankruptcy in China

Suntech was once the world's largest manufacturer of solar panels - but the company was just pushed into bankruptcy after defaulting on $541 million in bond payments. The company was a powerful force in

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Elementary School Students Crowd-Source Solar Panels to Take Their Classroom Off the Grid

Elementary School Students Crowd-Source Solar Panels to Take Their Classroom Off the Grid

In elementary school, we are taught to work together, share, and dream big. Students from a fourth grade class in Durham, North Carolina took these lessons to heart when they decided to make their

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StarEnergy’s INTI Solar Charge Point is a Solar Charging Station for Public Spaces

StarEnergy’s INTI Solar Charge Point is a Solar Charging Station for Public Spaces

Portuguese energy company StarEnergy recently unveiled the INTI Solar Charge Point, a solar-powered charging station for mobile phones, tablets and laptops that can be installed in public spaces like

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Top 6 Cabins for a Green Retreat this Winter

Top 6 Cabins for a Green Retreat this Winter

Intrinsik Architecture's Montana Modern Prefab Cabin This 800-square-foot prefabricated cabin, located above Paradise Valley, Montana at 8,600 feet, is a smart, efficient, and sustainable retreat for any

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Bonsai-Inspired Electree+ Solar Charger Launches on Kickstarter!

Bonsai-Inspired Electree+ Solar Charger Launches on Kickstarter!

From nanoflower solar cells to plant-based computer interfaces, modern technology often looks to nature for design inspiration. The Electree+ designed by Vivien Muller is a bonsai tree-shaped solar

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Nepalese Teen Invents Cheap Solar Panel Using Human Hair

Nepalese Teen Invents Cheap Solar Panel Using Human Hair

Did you know that melanin, the pigment in hair, is light sensitive and can be used as a conductor? Well, that's what an 18 year old in Nepal recently discovered, and is now using human hair to replace

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German Scientists Double the Efficiency of Black Silicon Solar Cells

German Scientists Double the Efficiency of Black Silicon Solar Cells

Photo via Shutterstock 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

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Sharp Unveils See-Through Transparent Solar Panels Perfect For Balconies And Windows!

Sharp Unveils See-Through Transparent Solar Panels Perfect For Balconies And Windows!

Rooftop solar installations are great for homeowners, or those with eco-conscious landlords - but what about the rest of us? Sharp recently announced a break-through in home solar technology that could

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Eton’s Rukus Solar Boombox Keeps the Music Pumping All Day Long

Eton’s Rukus Solar Boombox Keeps the Music Pumping All Day Long

Summer is the perfect time for picnics and pool parties, but don’t count on the mediocre built-in speakers of your smartphone or laptop to kick things off. Eton’s Rukus Solar boombox is a portable,

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Onyx Unveils All-In-One 330 Watt Plug and Play Solar Panels

Onyx Unveils All-In-One 330 Watt Plug and Play Solar Panels

Onyx just announced that they have installed their first 330-Watt “Plug-N-Play” solar panels at their demonstration site in Orlando, Florida. The two all-in-one solar panels have an incorporated micro

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MVRDV’s Stunning Flowerbed Hotel is a Giant Greenhouse!

MVRDV’s Stunning Flowerbed Hotel is a Giant Greenhouse!

Inhabitat favorite MVRDV just unveiled plans for a new greenhouse hotel filled with living flowers. Designed in collaboration with Kloos2, the Aalsmeer, Netherlands hotel will sit adjacent to the

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Cantilevered Energy-Efficient BC House Offers Sweeping Views of the Sierra Madres

Cantilevered Energy-Efficient BC House Offers Sweeping Views of the Sierra Madres

The elevation of the BC House’s site gives residents a superior view of the gorgeous Sierra Madre mountains and national park surrounding them. The dark rectangular volumes are made from black granite,

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Apple Patents Next Generation Solar Technology

Apple Patents Next Generation Solar Technology

The US Patent and Trademark Office just revealed that Apple has been granted 20 new patents which focus on next generation solar technology. According to PatentlyApple, the patents not only cover solar

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City Farm: South Providence’s Urban Agriculture Transformation

City Farm: South Providence’s Urban Agriculture Transformation

City Farm finds its home in the heart of South Providence. It is an area with a turbulent history of conflict and neglect. Originally a marshland, the plot has seen its history of dwellers pass through. A

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World’s Largest Solar Bridge Crosses The River Thames in London

World’s Largest Solar Bridge Crosses The River Thames in London

Over 100 bridges, 20 tunnels, and six public ferries cross the River Thames, but only Blackfriars will shine in photovoltaic glory. Solarcentury is working in conjunction with other public transportation

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NASA Announces Plans to Launch the Largest Solar Sail Ever Created

NASA Announces Plans to Launch the Largest Solar Sail Ever Created

Solar activity sometimes causes disturbances through massive flares, but the energy can also be used to increase in-space propulsion capability - harnessing solar power with solar sails could expand

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Solar Industry Responsible for Dumping 2.4 Million Tons of Lead on China and India

Solar Industry Responsible for Dumping 2.4 Million Tons of Lead on China and India

It turns out that some members of the solar panel manufacturing industry might actually be doing harm while advancing renewable energy by dumping millions of tons of lead into the environment in China and

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Inhabitat Attends an Inspiring (and Soggy!) Woodland Design Lab Camping Trip in Wales

Inhabitat Attends an Inspiring (and Soggy!) Woodland Design Lab Camping Trip in Wales

On our first morning there, and all subsequent mornings, Tabitha played a few notes on her violin to wake us up (in lieu of a loud, harsh alarm clock), which is when we realized how serious these

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Next-Gen Electronics Charge Themselves With Energy-Harvesting LCD Screens

Next-Gen Electronics Charge Themselves With Energy-Harvesting LCD Screens

Engineers at UCLA have developed technology that allows energy gobbling gadgets like smartphones and laptops to convert sunlight, ambient light, and their own backlight into energy. Equipping LCD-enhanced

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Solar Powered Schools in California Will Save the State $1.5 Billion

Solar Powered Schools in California Will Save the State $1.5 Billion

Cash-strapped California is in the midst of a Solar Schools initiative that will help the state save over $1.5 billion in energy costs over the next 30 years. In partnership with SunPower, the California

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New Nokero Solar Charger Lets Consumers Charge Cell Phones Off the Grid

New Nokero Solar Charger Lets Consumers Charge Cell Phones Off the Grid

Cell phones have made our lives incredibly convenient (can you remember not having one?), but when we are stuck  out and about with a dead battery, it can feel like the end of the world. Luckily, a new

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New Printable Cling-Film Solar Cells are Cheap and Easy to Produce

New Printable Cling-Film Solar Cells are Cheap and Easy to Produce

Researchers in the UK have discovered a new process that could create inexpensive, mass-produced solar devices by printing a thin layer of plastic polymer photovoltaic cells over a cling-like film. The

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Smart Solar International Develops Cost Efficient Sun-Chasing Solar Panels

Smart Solar International Develops Cost Efficient Sun-Chasing Solar Panels

Tokyo-based start-up Smart Solar International has developed a new solar panel comprised of aluminum mirror bars that turn to face the sun for optimal efficiency throughout the day. The system requires

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Solar-Powered Piezoelectric Sports Stadium Breaks Ground in India

Solar-Powered Piezoelectric Sports Stadium Breaks Ground in India

Each section, or ripple, contains a different sporting activity space. The “droplets” vary in size, design and purpose, but Studio Symbiosis unified each section by designing them to symbolize

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New Solar-Thermal Flat Panels Are Eight Times More Efficient than Existing Technology

New Solar-Thermal Flat Panels Are Eight Times More Efficient than Existing Technology

A team of researchers from Boston College and MIT have developed a hybrid flat panel that is capable of producing electricity from the sun's rays as well as hot water for thermal energy. The team's new

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New Nano Material Could Replace Rare Earth Minerals In Solar Cells and OLEDs

New Nano Material Could Replace Rare Earth Minerals In Solar Cells and OLEDs

Researchers in the Netherlands have created a synthetic replacement for indium, an extremely rare metal that has become a necessary ingredient in solar cells. The research team was led by Paul

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Sunengy Develops New Floating Liquid Solar Arrays to Maximize Energy Output of Hydro Plants

Sunengy Develops New Floating Liquid Solar Arrays to Maximize Energy Output of Hydro Plants

Sunengy has developed a new kind of floating solar array, called a Liquid Solar Array (LSA), which they believe could be attached to hydro-electric dams to increase their energy output. The LSA is a

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