Photo: Eiji Hori for Asahi Shimbun 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.
Following the maiden flight of their Elektra One electric plane, SolarWorld and PC-Aero have unveiled a new solar-powered version that gives the small plane twice the range of the electric version. The
According to a Pew Charitable Trusts survey, the United States has reclaimed the top spot in clean energy investment, toppling China from its number one global ranking. Meanwhile, investment in renewables
Natcore Technology scientists have created a black silicon solar cell with an average reflectance of 0.3%, making it the “blackest” solar cell ever designed. Compared to the most efficient solar cells
The French nuclear engineering company Areva was awarded a contract this week by Indian power company Reliance Power Ltd. to build the largest concentrated solar power installation in Asia, which
It’s pretty clear that we’re animal lovers here at Inhabitat, so when we got an email from All 4 Paws, a progressive animal rescue in South Carolina, asking for help we knew we couldn’t
Yesterday Walmart announced the installation of six more solar projects in Denver, Colorado, bringing the total number of Walmart’s solar power installations to 100. The rooftop solar installations,
The US military spends up to $20 billion on oil every year, and as oil prices climb that amount is steadily increasing. But oil doesn’t just cost the Pentagon in the form of tax dollars — it
Kyocera announced today that it will partner with two other companies to build Japan’s largest solar farm. Located on the southwestern island of Kyushu, the 70-megawatt solar power plant is the start of
Since the early 1970s, scientists have been toying with the idea of collecting solar power in space, where solar collection rates are stronger than on the surface of the Earth. But because of the costs
When news broke earlier this week that Solar Trust of America (a big solar company backed by the US Department of Energy) had filed for bankruptcy, conservatives predictably took to the airwaves to
Why do cloudy European countries produce so much more solar energy than the United States? Because countries like Germany, for example, have programs that require local utility companies to buy solar
Chinese material scientists have been studying the design of butterfly wings to unlock ways to make solar electricity more efficient. Inspired by the way that butterflies use their wings to collect solar
For the first time ever, a solar plane will attempt to fly from Switzerland to Morocco. Back in 2011 Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg flew their Solar Impulse plane from Paris to Brussels, however
Mitt Romney is certainly no stranger to the art of the flip-flop, so perhaps it should be no great surprise that before he pandered to the Republican vote by suggesting that the government’s
Addressing a string of deadly kerosene lamp accidents in slums that have killed hundreds of people and left even more homeless, designer Alain Gilles created a safer alternative called the Nomad solar
Charging your phone just got a whole lot easier and more energy-efficient with XD Design’s brilliant solar charger, which sticks to windows to maximize its exposure to the sun’s rays. Instead
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
