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Post tags: artemide, clerkenwell design week, eco design, eco-art, green art, green design, Ross Lovegrove, solar art, solar panels, solar tree, sustainable artwork, sustainable design

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Post tags: backwater, BIPV, eco design, green design, indian ocean, methane, mozambique, off-gried, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, sustainable design, thatched house, Timber Design, Tofo

Germany fed a whopping 22 gigawatts of solar power per hour into the national grid last weekend, setting a new record by meeting nearly half of the country’s weekend power demand. After the Fukushima disaster, Japan opted to shut down all of its nuclear power stations and Germany followed suit after considerable public pressure. This seems to have paved the way for greater investment in solar energy projects. The Renewable Energy Industry (IWR) in Muenster announced that Saturday’s solar energy generation met nearly 50 percent of the nation’s midday electricity needs AND was equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity!

Read the rest of Germany Sets New Solar Record By Meeting Nearly Half of Country’s Weekend Power Demand

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Post tags: "solar energy", 2020 energy goals, alternative energy, clean tech, cleantech, eco design, EU, Fukushima, germany, green design, meltdown, news, nuclear, nuclear disaster, nuclear power, protests, renewable energy, solar panels, sustainable design

Solar panels must be regularly cleaned and maintained in order to keep them operating efficiently and maximize the amount of sunlight they convert into electricity. With this in mind, a group of students from CalTech and UCLA have developed an impressive robot that cleans solar panels. The design won a third of $200,000 in prize money in the DOE’s National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition.

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Post tags: award winning robot, Caltech Greenbotics, design robot solar panels, greenbotics, greenbotics design, greenbotics robot, prize money robot, solar panel cleaning, solar panels, Solar Power

Read the rest of Turanor PlanetSolar Solar Boat Completes its Trip Around the World

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Post tags: green boat, green transportation, PlanetSolar, Raphael Domjan, solar panels, Solar Power, solar powered boat, TÛRANOR PlanetSolar

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 increasingly cheaper with tax incentives bringing the costs down even more, the vast majority of homeowner associations in the United States ban the practice for aesthetic reasons. Now homeowners are fighting back, taking their cause to state legislatures and the courts.

Read the rest of Condo Owners Fight Homeowner Associations For Their Right to Install Solar Power

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Post tags: "solar energy", condo, condominiums, David Dobs, georgia, hoas, homeowner associations, solar, solar panels, Solar Power, virginia

Read the rest of Moreava Cabins are Airy Eco-Accommodations for Easter Island Explorers

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", AATA Arquitectos Asociados, cross-ventilation, Easter Island, easter island accomodations, eco design, eco-tourism, green design, Moreava Cabins, Prefab Housing, solar collectors, solar panels, sustainable accomodation, sustainable design, timber

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), and it will generate enough power to heat water for a university of 40,000 students. GREENTecONE, an Austrian solar design company, supplied the solar panels for the project.

Read the rest of World’s Largest Solar Thermal Plant Opens in Saudi Arabia

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Post tags: GREENTecONE, Middle East, Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University for Women, Riyadh, saudi arabia, solar, solar panels, solar thermal, solar thermal plant

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 Brighton a solar-powered makeover to make the property more eco-friendly. The solar retrofit will allow the house to be powered without the use of any fossil fuels.

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Post tags: Adele, adele house, adele solar house, adele's house, brighton, eco design, green design, renewables, Simon Konecki, solar, solar home, solar panels, Solar Power, solar retrofit, sustainable design, sustainable lifestyle, UK, united kingdom

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. The panels — which line the structure’s facade and rooftop — have a total capacity of 650 kilowatts, and the building also generates another 100 kilowatts using fuel cells. Custom designed for the university’s Environment and Energy Innovation Building in Tokyo’s Meguro area, this innovative idea makes great use of the sun’s abundant rays.

+ Tokyo Institute of Technology

Via Asahi Shimbun via Gizmodo

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Post tags: "clean energy", Architecture, Environment and Energy Innovation Building, green technology, Japan, Meguro, renewable energy, solar panels, solar panels facade, Solar Power, Tokyo Institute of Technology, university

Read the rest of Phipps Conservatory’s Net-Zero Center for Sustainable Landscapes Opens Next Month

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Post tags: Andropogon, cjl engineering, constructed wetlands, design alliance architects, green buildings pittsburgh, green roof, leed certification, LEED platinum, Living Building Challenge, living buildings, massaro corporation, net zero building, phipps, phipps center for sustainable landscapes, phipps conservatory, phipps conservatory pittsburgh, phipps csl, pittsburgh, rainwater harvesting, solar panels, sustainable sites initiative, turner construction, vertical axis wind turbine

The US solar industry is gaining some serious ground, according to a new industry report charting a recent spike in solar installations. While big bankruptcies — such as government-backed Solyndra‘s – have grabbed the headlines, the solar industry enjoyed a record-breaking year last year. The new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research noted that the number of photovoltaic installations more than doubled from 2010 to 2011.

Read the rest of Solar Installations in the US More Than Doubled in 2011

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Post tags: "clean energy", "solar energy", cleantech, GTM Research, photovoltaic, Solar Energy Industries Association, solar panels, Solar Power, solar pv

While many of the conversations regarding Apple today will center around the launch of the iPad 3, the Natural Resources Defense Council has taken to its blog to attack the computer giant over its plans for its new Cupertino campus. The proposed Foster+ Partner-designed campus impressed us with its expansive glass facades and significant commitment to renewable energy sources, but the NRDC’s Kaid Benfield all but directly calls for a boycott of Apple products in light of its violation of “the most basic tenets of smart growth and walkability in the sprawling, car-dependent design of its new headquarters.”

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", apple, apple campus, apple inc., carbon emissions, cupertino campus, Foster + Partners, Natural Resources Defense Council, renewable energy, retrofitting suburbia, silcon valley, solar panels, Steve Jobs, suburban sprawl

Canada-based SYSTEMATEKS is a brand based on the idea that the future of design lies in creating systems that allow people to personalize and co-create designs for themselves. The company recently built a modular Eco-Bar for the Interior Design Show in Toronto that consists of an open lattice system with interchangeable panels that can be customized to offer shelving, cabinets, transparent panels, and planters. The shed is also equipped with solar panels that provide power, and rainwater can be collected using gutters and stored in tanks to irrigate the plants with automated hoses.

+ SYSTEMATEKS

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Post tags: eco bar, Green Building, green building systems, green design, green event booth, prefab design, prefabricated building, renewable energy, solar panels, sustainable booth, sustainable design, systemateks

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Post tags: "solar energy", Cape Town, eco design, green design, music, music bins, Recycled Materials, social design, solar panels, South Africa, sunplugged, sustainable design, Video, warren baynes, wheelie bins

London designer Omer Sagiv created this solar-powered concept car that looks like it’s straight out of the latest sci-fi movie. The concept car is referred to as the SPV (Solar Power Vehicle) and Sagiv states that it’s made of aluminum with flexible thin modules fixed to it and that the shaft in the center of the SPV functions as an in-built cooling system. The aerodynamic shape of the concept allows it to collect energy in any sunny environment. Even better, the concept can also use the extra energy that it collects from its solar panels to power its owner’s house!

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Post tags: automotive, automotive design, electric car, electric vehicle, ev, green transportation, news, Omer Sagiv, solar car, solar panels, Solar Power, Solar Power Vehicle, toyota prius

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Post tags: "green wall", "living wall", 1967 World Fair Expo, adaptive reuse, Buckminster Fuller, eco design, Ecoological Solar House, ecotechnologies, Environmental Museum, geodesic sphere, green design, green roof, Montreal Biosphere, O.N.E. Fashion exhibition, solar house, solar panels, sustainable design, water filtration system, wind turbines

HOK’s San Francisco office received a jury recognition award for their net-zero “Battery Park” design, which features a remarkable algae facade. A combination of load reduction, waste heat recovery, and waste-to-energy strategies combined with an array of solar panels ensures that this densely populated mixed-use building can generate all of its own energy, while the building-integrated algae further slashes the program’s carbon footprint.

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Post tags: "solar energy", algae, algae facade, battery park, biomimicry, BIOS Design Collective, Charles Lee, eco design, green design, HOK, net-zero energy, San Francisco, sea sponges, solar panels, sustainable design, waste heat recovery, waste to energy, wind energy

Read the rest of US’s Largest Net Zero School Welcomes Students in Irving, Texas

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Post tags: "wind power", Corgan Associates, Corgan Associates architects, energy efficient schools, Fabral Metal Wall and Roof Systems, green architecture, irving isd, johnson middle school, lady bird johnson middle school, largest net zero school, LEED gold, net zero middle school, net zero school, net zero school texas, renewable energy, solar panels, Solar Power, wind turbines

Pvilion has been very busy lately developing flexible energy-harnessing materials for a number of uses including solar powered pavilions and architectural applications. Their latest innovation is a brilliantly designed solar charging station for battery powered cars in Pflugerville, Texas, just outside of Austin. The 1/8 inch panel is flexed onto stainless steel sheets that create a stylish twisting form. The unique twirling design of the panels allows them to provide electricity to the power grid even without a car being present, making the Pflugerville charging station the first of its kind. This is great news for the tiny suburb, as it is beginning to make waves in the green world with its Renewable Energy Industrial Park and other citywide eco-friendly ventures.


Read the rest of Pvilion Unveils an All New Kind of Battery Powered Car Charging Station in Texas

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Post tags: "solar energy", battery cars, battery powered cars, pflugerville, PV panels, pvilion, pvilion charging station, pvilion solar panels, renewable energy, solar car charging, solar cars, solar charging station, solar panels, solar rays, texas