This morning the Solar Impulse airplane embarked upon the next leg of its sun-powered journey across the United States. The solar-powered giant has already traveled from the San Francisco Bay Area to Arizona, and at 5am it took off from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport en route to Dallas. The record-breaking flight marks a pivotal point in the team’s attempt to be the first to fly across the the country without using a single drop of fuel.

Read the rest of Solar Impulse Departs for Dallas on Second Leg of Sun-Powered Flight Across America

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Post tags: Andre Borscberg, Andre Borscberg Solar Impulse, bertrand piccard, Bertrand Piccard Solar Impulse, energy efficient plane, fuel-free plane, lightweight airplane, renewable energy sources, solar impulse, Solar Impulse Cross America 2013, solar panels, Solar Power, solar powered aircraft, solar powered plane

MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, the world’s largest solar boat, set a new record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a vessel powered entirely by solar energy, smashing its own 2010 record by four days. The 115-foot Swiss catamaran traveled 2,867 miles (5,310 kilometers) across the Atlantic Ocean in 22 days, conducting experiments along the Gulf Stream as part of the PlanetSolar DeepWater expedition.

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "solar energy", green transportation, Guinness World Records, marine expedition Tûranor, MS Tûranor PlanetSolar, PlanetSolar, PlanetSolar’s Tûranor, solar boat, solar catamaran, solar design, Solar Power, solar powered boat, Swiss solar boat, transatlantic crossing record, TURANOR, World speed record boat

Today is National Bike to Work Day, and all across America, people are ditching their cars and trucks for a cleaner, healthier journey via bicycle. Our friends at Voltaic Systems joined in the fun to support NYC’s Bike to Work Day, and it’s no surprise that they added their own solar-powered flair to the day’s festivities. Company staffers decked out a commuter bicycle and with a custom-built bike trailer carrying 60+ Watts of portable solar panels, 180 Watt hours of charging capacity, and lots of connectors to charge up smartphones, tablets and even a MacBook, in an effort to show New Yorkers how much fun can be had when human and solar power are combined.

Read the rest of Voltaic Celebrates Bike to Work Day with Portable Solar-Charging Trailer You Can Rent!

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Post tags: bike commuting, bike to work day, bike trailer, solar charger, solar panels, Solar Power, voltaic systems

In the developing world, mortality rates for expectant mothers total over 300,000 deaths each year. The WE CARE Solar Suitcase is a brilliant new device that aims to reduce this figure by providing hospitals in off-grid areas with access to a steady source of energy and light. Designed by Dr. Laura Stachel and her husband Hal Aronson, the system includes high-efficiency LED lights, a universal cellphone charger, 12V DC outlets, a set of 40 or 80 watt solar panels, and a 12 amp-hour sealed lead-acid battery.

READ MORE >

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Post tags: birth, clean tech, Design for Health, developing nations, dr. laura stachel, green design, hal aronson, health technology, Light, photovoltaic light, renewable energy, Solar Power, solar suitcase, solar-powered light, sustainable design, wecare solar

Researchers at SUNY Buffalo are working on a new generation of liquid solar cells that may one day be as cheap as paint. Although they would be significantly less efficient than conventional solar cells made with either amorphous silicon or cadmium telluride, these new plasmonic-enhanced photovoltaic solar cells containing metal nanoparticles are less costly to produce and can be applied to much bigger surfaces.

Read the rest of Liquid Solar Cells Could One Day be as Cheap as Paint

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Post tags: clean tech, green technology, liquid solar cells, liquid solar cells as cheap as paint, more efficient liquid solar cells, Plasmonics, pv cells, Solar Power, SUNY Buffalo, university at buffalo

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Post tags: First Floor K-12, green public schools, LEED certified US schools, LEED Platinum school US, renewable energy, Sandy Grove Middle School LEED, SfL+a Architects, solar energy schools, solar panels, Solar Power, Spotlight solar, Spotlight Solar Sandy Grove

Read the rest of Spain’s Energy-Saving Ego Sport Center Supports a Healthy & Sustainable Lifestyle

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", almeria, eco design, eco gym, ego sports center, ferrer architects, ferrer arquitectos, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green gym, green renovation, gym, recreation, solar hot water, Solar Power, Spain, sports center, sports facility, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

When it comes to capturing solar energy, plants are first in their class. Able to function at nearly 100 percent quantum efficiency, they can produce an equal number of electrons for each photon captured. Using these photons to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, the resulting electrons are able to create sugars that help the plant to live and reproduce. Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a way to harness the power of the photosynthetic process to generate a clean form of electricity. Ramaraja Ramasamy, assistant professor in the UGA College of Engineering, explained how his team manipulated the biology for human advantage.

Read the rest of Scientists Discover Methods of Harvesting Electricity from Plants

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Post tags: "clean energy", carbon nanotubules, electrons, journal of energy and environmental science, photon, photosynthesis, plants, quantum efficiency, ramaraja ramasamy, Solar Power, sun, thylakoids, uga college of engineering, University of Georgia, water issues

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Post tags: "solar energy", alternative to rooftop solar, clean tech, eco design, Fortune Brainstorm Green Conference, green design, nrg energy, off-grid energy solutions, renewable energy, solar canopy, Solar Power, sustainable design

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Post tags: "sustainable energy", alternative energy, Andre Borschberg, bertrand piccard, California, fuel-free airplane, green transportation, HB-SIA, moffett air filed, mountain view, NASA Ames Research Center, photovoltaic panels, renewable energy, solar impulse, solar impulse across america, Solar Power, solar powered airplane, sun-powered plane, world's first solar plane

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Post tags: "clean energy", "wind power", Antarctic, Brazilian Antarctica, clean tech, Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station, conservation, eco design, Estudio 41, green design, Keller Peninsula, prefabricated design, research, science, Solar Power, sustainable design, thermal loss, weather proof, Wildlife

Inhabitat is reporting live from the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference today, where Verizon just announced a massive $100 million solar and fuel cell energy project that will provide power to 19 of its U.S. facilities. The project is expected to be complete next year, and it’s poised to generate more than 70 million kilowatt-hours of electricity – that’s enough to power more than 6,000 single-family homes each year.

Read the rest of Verizon Announces $100 Million Green Energy Project to Power 19 US Facilities

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Post tags: "solar energy", eco design, fuel cells, green design, green energy, Solar Power, sustainable design, verizon, verizon fuel cells, verizon green energy project, verizon launches green energy project, verizon solar power, verizon sustainability, verizon wireless

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Post tags: "solar energy", green architecture, Green Hotels, hotel architecture, Park Royal Hotel Singapore, Park Royal on Pickering, singapore architecture, Solar Power, solar-powered hotel Singapore, vertical garden Singapore, vertical park, Vertical Parks, woha architects

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.

Read the rest of Sunseeker Duo: World’s Fastest Solar-Powered Two-Seater Plane Unveiled at AERO Friedrichshafen

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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

Occidental College recently powered up an urban hillside solar array that combines science, engineering, urban design and art. Occidental faculty collaborated with the environment design and research firm, Lettuce Office, to create a subtle shifting, rotating design that challenges the design of normal, utilitarian solar arrays. Two-thirds of the array’s 4,886 panels are installed on a southwest-facing campus hillside. With panels mounted just 2-3 feet above the ground, the low-profile array hugs the topography of the slope in a fluid form based on a mathematical expression known as a hysteresis loop. “[This] project represents a new paradigm for arrays as architectural objects that, like buildings, are expected to contribute aesthetically to their environment,” says Occidental President Jonathan Veitch.

Read the rest of Occidental College and Lettuce Office Create an Electrifying Urban Hillside Solar Array in Los Angeles

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Post tags: lettuce office, occidental college, solar array, solar design, solar installations, solar panel art, Solar Power

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Post tags: alternative transportation, collaborative consumption, conservation, e-waste, earth day, Gardening, hiking, Nature, recycling, solar chargers, Solar Power

Artist Michael Jantzen has released designs for a solar-powered seed-sowing machine that would plant flowers in response to evidence of environmental destruction. Placed in various locations around the world, these structures would detect signs of pollution and automatically release small quantities of flower seeds onto the ground below. The result is a paradox: the more flowers blooming around one of the apparatuses, the worse the environmental degradation in the surrounding area.

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Post tags: "solar energy", American artist, Art, eco-friendly art, environmental art, environmental degradation, environmental destruction, green design, green solar design, michael jantzen, renewable energy, Solar Power, Solar-powered Eco-Seed Sowing Machines

Greek architect Anestis Papaemanouil won the Duo-Gard Charging Station Design Contest with his solar-powered, nature-inspired “TWITT” concept. Duo-Gard challenged designers to create a one-car charging station and canopy that is both sustainable and flexible in its installation and usage. Papaemanouil’s winning design will be built and installed in Philadelphia for Greenbuild 2013, the annual conference of the US Green Building Council.


Read the rest of TWITT: Duo-Gard Unveils Nature-Inspired, Solar-Powered Winner of Its EV Charging Station Contest

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", Anestis Papaemanouil TWITT, charging station design, daylighting systems, Design Competition, Duo-Gard, Duo-Gard Charging Station Design Contest, green design, Greenbuild 2013, photovoltaic panels, Solar Power, William Cultrara Franklin Grid

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Post tags: bay water heating and cooling, EHDD, GLS Landscape Architecture, Museum, net zero, net-zero energy, San Francisco, San Francisco Exploratorium, Solar Power, The Exploratorium

Panasonic will celebrate its 100th anniversary by donating 100,000 solar lanterns to help some of the one billion people without access to electricity in developing countries across Asia and Africa by 2018. The company has already donated 3,000 lanterns to non-profit organizations in Myanmar and 5,000 lanterns to those in India over the last couple of months, and a refugee camp in Kenya is set to receive 2,000 lanterns in the coming weeks.

Read the rest of Panasonic to Donate 100,000 Solar Lanterns to Nations Without Electricity

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Post tags: "clean energy", affordable energy, air pollution, carbon emission reduction, fossil fuels, green tech in developing nations, green technology, humanitarian initiative, kerosene lamps, Panasonic solar lanterns, renewable power in developing nations, solar lamps, solar lanterns, Solar Power