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Solar windows use sunlight to retain a building's heat
A domestic property loses as much as 20 percent of its heat through windows. For big glassy commercial buildings, that figure is a lot higher, resulting in big heating bills and inevitable disputes among employees about the thermostat. But researchers have now found a way to turn ordinary windows into solar-powered heaters, using energy from the sun to boost window temperature by as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Solar car race kicks off 30th anniversary with a fresh challenge
It's a special moment in the history of clean energy: the 30th anniversary World Solar Challenge has begun. A total of 42 solar-powered cars (the largest field to date) left Darwin, Australia on October 8th to travel roughly 1,880 miles to Adelaide. The race officially lasts a week, but it's likely going to end considerably sooner for the front-runners -- the world record holders, Tokai University, took just under 30 hours in 2009. As it is, technical hiccups knocked out several competitors in the first day of racing.
Your solar panels could power the neighborhood during a blackout
A new set of algorithms could make it possible for renewable energy-generating homes to not only access their power reserves during outages, but share their resources with their neighbours -- a move which could play a significant role in disaster relief efforts. Self-sufficiency is an attractive factor when it comes to domestic renewable energy, but even though it's the sun generating electricity, owners of solar panels are still beholden to the grid. During an outage, their equipment powers down for safety reasons, and it's impossible to draw on the renewably-generated electricity that's waiting to be used. We've seen companies produce kit to overcome this before -- Tesla's Powerwall home battery system can untether a home from the grid for a few hours, for example -- but researchers from the University of California San Diego want to scale up the technology to have a wider and more meaningful impact.
California continues to lead the US in renewable energy
In 2006, California adopted aggressive legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and boosting renewable energy production throughout the state. And since then, the state has been tracking its progress through its annual California Green Innovation Index report. The ninth report was just released this week and it shows that the state has made some major progress towards its renewable energy goals while hitting a bit of a bump in regards to its emission reductions.
IKEA’s selling home storage batteries for its solar panels
A rooftop of solar panels generating clean energy is great and all, but having somewhere to squirrel away that free juice is even better. After stepping into the shade for a good few months, IKEA began selling solar panels again last year with new teammate Solarcentury (a company that specialises in solar stuff). Today, the meatball-mad retailer is adding another piece of the off-grid puzzle to its shelves: A home storage battery.
Gogoro's solar-powered scooter battery charging station is here
Electric scooter-maker Gogoro's latest battery-charging location is its cleanest yet. As usual, riders pull up, swap out their depleted batteries (two per vehicle), and drive off with fully-charged ones. The only difference is the new GoStation is the first to run on solar power.
Elon Musk says all Superchargers will run on solar and battery power
According to a tweet from Elon Musk this morning, Tesla's Supercharger stations are all being converted to solar and battery power. Musk added that eventually, most of them will be completely disconnected from the electricity grid.
Tesla's Solar Roof is available for pre-order
Tesla didn't quite fulfill its promise to start Solar Roof sales in April, but you thankfully haven't had to wait that much longer to pull the trigger. As of today, you can pre-order Tesla's stealthy solar power cells in textured or smooth variants ahead of the first US installations in the summer (2018 elsewhere). While the price will vary depending on your home, of course, the company estimates that a "typical" buyer will pay about $21.85 per square foot instead of $24.50 for a regular roof. Not that there will be much mystery regardless of what you pay -- Tesla is offering a cost calculator to figure out your real-world expenses.
Google is helping Germans go solar
Google's Project Sunroof is a way of combining the company's mapping data with information on how much sunlight hits your home. With it, people can work out if their abode gets enough radiation for them to consider investing in solar panels. Until now, the service was limited to the US but, from today, the system is rolling out to Germans similarly curious about adopting renewables.
Tesla ends SolarCity's door-to-door sales pitches
Tesla is used to selling cars online, but that's not how the recently acquired SolarCity liked to roll -- it preferred door-to-door sales pitches to get panels on your roof. Thankfully, you won't have anyone interrupting dinner going forward. Tesla has revealed that its solar energy division will stop those door-to-door sales in favor of internet and retail operations. It's what "most of our prospective customers prefer," the company says, and the other sales channels should more than make up for the loss. That will shake up jobs, but the roughly 1,000 people affected will either be moved to other sales methods or get a chance to interview for other positions at Tesla.
Tesla's sleek solar panels are easier to install on your roof
Tesla's home energy efforts might be centered around its solar roofs, but it knows that not everyone can (or wants to) rip up their roof just to bring renewable energy to their home. To that end, the company is offering a first glimpse at Panasonic-made solar panels that would go on top of your existing roof. Unlike many aftermarket options, this would be relatively slick and unintrusive -- the panels have "integrated front skirts and no visible mounting hardware." While it'll be patently obvious that you have solar energy on your roof, it shouldn't be the eyesore you sometimes get with conventional designs.
Tesla starts taking solar roof orders next month
Compared to successfully launching a private rocketry business and an electric vehicle brand, Elon Musk's quest to line your roof with solar cells is a less flashy endeavor. He pitched it last August as Tesla's preamble in its eventually successful attempt to acquire SolarCity, a part of his greater goal to wean society off fossil fuel dependence. We haven't heard much else about it since. But in typical fashion for his announcements -- that is, in a tweet responding to a random question -- Musk told the world that folks can start placing orders for solar roofs in April.
Researchers break efficiency record for consumer-friendly solar panels
Turning sunlight into power is a surprisingly tricky thing. Experiments in academia have created solar arrays that can capture up to 40-percent of the sun's energy and convert it to electricity, but consumer cells are notably less efficient. At best, silicon-based technology has a theoretical 29-percent efficiency ceiling -- meaning any consumer panel in the low 20s is doing pretty well. Still, we're inching ever closer to the technology's limit. Researchers at Kaneko corp recently announced that they've developed a silicon solar cell with a record-breaking 26.3 percent efficiency rating.
SolSol's baseball hat can charge your phone using solar power
Solar technology is still far from becoming ordinary, but we're seeing more and more of it make its way to consumer products. And now that includes hats. SolSol, a startup from Los Angeles, made a baseball cap that has a small solar panel built into its brim. You can use it to charge your smartphone, tablet or any other device that needs to be plugged in via USB. It looks kind of odd to have a cable hanging down from your head, but the hat could come in handy if your gadget's battery is running low and there are no other outlets nearby.
Solar-powered UK schools face an 800 percent tax increase
Solar technology could face a huge hurdle in the United Kingdom. Schools and certain businesses with solar panels installed may see a 800 percent raise in taxes when a law goes into effect this April, according to The Independent. It's a harsh blow to the industry when you consider some 12,000 employees from the sector were laid off last year, and installation slowed by 85 percent according to the publication. It's something the Guardian says was caused by the end of subsidies for solar farms and and incentives for homeowners to add solar to their houses.
A renewable planet is almost inevitable
When the leader of the free world denies climate change and fills his cabinet with like-minded individuals, it's hard not to panic. The world is, after all, hurtling toward an irrevocable ecological catastrophe that threatens all of our lives. There may be a reason to be slightly less pessimistic, however, thanks to the mechanics of the energy business. Shortly before leaving the White House, Barack Obama said that clean power had an "irreversible momentum," and it looks as if there might be evidence to justify his optimism.
Ferroelectric material could make your smartwatch run longer
Elon Musk's big plan involves charging your electric car with shingles that are solar panels. While that's incredibly impressive -- not to mention ambitious -- it uses only one form of alternative energy. Finnish scientists have a different idea: harnessing heat, kinetic energy and sunlight simultaneously to help power your gadgets. This involves using a ferroelectric material (think: the stuff inside ultrasound machines or fuel injectors for diesel engines), KBNNO, to generate electricity from heat and pressure. That's according to a post on Phys.org.
China is now the biggest producer of solar power
You probably don't think of China as a clean energy champion given its frequent problems with smog and continued dependence on coal power, but you may have to rethink your views after today. The country's National Energy Administration has revealed that its solar power production more than doubled in 2016, hitting 77.42 gigawatts by the end of the year. The country is now the world's biggest generator of solar-based electricity in terms of capacity -- it doesn't compare as well relative to population (Germany, Japan and the US could easily beat it), but that's no mean feat for any nation.
Alphabet dropped its plan for solar-powered internet drones
Wondering what happened to Google's solar internet drone project? Unfortunately, we don't have good news. An Alphabet spokesperson has confirmed to 9to5Google that its X division quietly dropped the Titan project shortly after it folded into X in late 2015. It won't surprise you as to why: Project Loon's high-altitude balloons are a "much more promising" way of getting people online in remote locations, the company says. Staffers who were working on Titan have found their way into other "high flying" initiatives, such as Project Loon and Project Wing. You can read the full statement below.
A French town just installed the world's first 'solar road'
The tiny town of Tourouvre-au-Perche in Normandy, France no longer has to worry about how it will power its street lights. The Sun will handle that.
