solar
Grand solar energy plans — such as turning the Sahara or the Mojave into giant, clean power plants — are good at grabbing big headlines and big investments. But, for hundreds of millions of people around the world, the energy revolution lies with small-scale solar. Affordable, off-the-grid, renewable energy could help deliver
solar
There’s been plenty of squawking about the Obama Administration’s spending on solar-energy development (ie, the overwrought hoopla surrounding the Solyndra “scandal”). But any missteps the US government has taken pale in comparison to what’s been going on across the pond. Coming into office with the promise to
biofuels
It’s official: 2008, while being generally miserable for many business ventures, was a banner year for cleantech. The Cleantech Group reports that worldwide cleantech investments last year soared to a record high of $8.4 billion (US). It was the sector’s seventh consecutive year of investment growth. Whether
prius
Over the holiday period Greenbang caught the ‘Best of Top Gear’ programme on BBC, which featured crash-tastic presenter Richard Hammond out in Toyota City in Japan test driving the car manufacturers latest prototype vehicle – a single seater scooter/car hybrid that looked just a bit too much like a, err,
china
Plans have been unveiled for a giant 1GW solar power station in Qaidam Basin desert region of north western China. China Technology Development Group and Qinghai New Energy Group have signed an agreement with the local government of the Qinghai Haixi region to build the solar power station, which will
solar
we’ve all been anxiously watching the cleantech and renewable energy sector for signs of the impact of the recession and global financial crisis and there was some bad news today when the world’s largest solar cell manufacturer Q-Cells cut its profit forecast and gave a gloomy forecast going
california
Solar thermal is the way to go, says California’s Public Utilities Commission. Commissioners this week approved a contract between Southern California Edison and eSolar, a firm that plans to build solar thermal energy facilities that could generate up to 245 megawatts of electricity. Under the 20-year contract, inked earlier
Italy
Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer Sharp and Italy’s largest power company, Enel SpA, are to invest $1.05bn in a solar power joint venture that will have a total generating capacity of 189MW for Southern Italy by 2012. A number of photovoltaic power plants will be set up mainly in
photovoltaics
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say computer simulations could help design a next-generation solar cell that’s up to 50 percent more efficient that today’s versions. The team says a combination of computer modeling and various advanced chip-making techniques make it possible for light to bounce around
solar
The Spanish city of Santa Coloma de Gramanet, near Barcelona, has come up with a pretty unusual way of generating renewable power – by installing solar panels on top of mausoleums at the local cemetery. Reports say the project cost just over £600,000 and the 462 solar panels will create
solar
BP Solar has signed to three-year deal to buy multi-crystalline solar wafers – the principal raw material used to produce solar cells – from Chinese manufacturer LDK Solar. The deal will see LDK Solar will deliver approximately 435 MW of silicon solar wafers, starting next year, and BP Solar will supply a
sails
Hello sailor! Shipping, along with aviation, is one of the world’s biggest emitters of CO2 but global trade is still massively dependent on this mode of transport for the flow of goods around the world. Anything that can reduce shipping’s carbon footprint is a good thing, both for