Giraffe Street Lamp designed by Chen Wei & Lu Yanxin is a very original self-sustaining swing design that provides illumination at night. It harnesses kinetic energy each time you swing and as a double back up, utilizes the solar panel hood to soak some more energy goodness.
The design ranks high on the safety graph as it doesn’t make use of any additional electricity source, which makes it absolutely safe in case kids use the swing. It is a perfect blend of a courtyard light and a swing chair!

25 is the number of years that most crystalline silicon solar panel manufacturers warranty the power output of their panels. Afterwards although the panels can still technically generate power beyond this point, their power output begins to decrease significantly.

Image via Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

As the industry continues to grow over the coming decades, and today’s solar modules approach the end of their useful lives, we will find ourselves with a serious solar trash problem.

A new report from GlobalData delves into a hidden side of the solar industry that will emerge as a result of this problem over the next 15 years–solar module recycling. According to the firm’s report, end-of-life PV modules are expected to generate approximately 24,855 tons of waste in 2025. By 2035, the amount is expected to increase to 1,161,173 tons.

Image via Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

As one might expect, there are significant financial opportunities in this sector. In 2025, a PV module is expected to generate $0.58 per watt in recycled value, increasing to $1.21 per watt in 2035. The major factors driving this trend are the rise in solar panel installations from 2000 to 2010, an expected increase in recycling rates, and a rise in the market price of solar module materials, like glass and aluminum.
Overall, the total value of recycled crystalline modules is expected to increase from $122 million in 2025 to $12.9 billion by 2035.

The emergence of solar module recycling is just part of a growing market for electronic waste, or e-waste. A recent study by Pike Research found that the amount of total e-waste generated worldwide is expected to double to 1,465 million cubic feet by 2025. Today, the vast majority of e-waste that doesn’t go to the landfill ends up in developing countries, where it is processed with little consideration for human or environmental health.
One organization that is working to ensure that the solar industry does not go down the same road as the electronics industry when it comes to recycling is the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC). SVTC believes that solar manufacturers can ensure that PV is a truly sustainable energy resource by reducing the use of toxic chemicals in PV, developing responsible recycling systems, and protecting workers at every stage of the global PV supply chain.
The organization’s annual Solar Score Card ranks solar manufacturers according to standards of product recycling, worker health and safety, chemical use and life-cycle analysis and company disclosure statements. In 2011, the top-ranking manufacturers were SolarWorld, Trina Solar, First Solar, REC and Abound Solar.

Source: earthtechling.com. Article by Lauren Craig.

RECYCLE YOUR OLD SOLAR LIGHTS HERE – GET MONEY FOR YOUR NEXT PURCHASE!

Check out new Halloween video from Your Solar Link.

For this Halloween project 3 solar spot lights were used along with 1 solar security light to showcase the giant spider.

Giant spider is made of chicken wire, plaster bandage strips pvc pipes and some spray paint. All the solar lights that were used for this project can be found at www.YourSolarLink.com.

“If you wanted to generate all the world’s electricity, you could do it with less than 1% of the area of the world’s desert.” Gerry Wolff, Coordinator of Desertec, says. But if Wolff is correct, why hasn’t it been done yet?

Seville, Spain hosts the first commercial operation of solar tower technology in the world. It’s the first commercial solar tower plant of its type, concentrating solar power (CSP), in the world. According to the report, it features over 1,000 freestanding heliostat mirrors that follow the arc of the sun. In a process referred to as Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), the mirrors reflect solar rays to the tower, where water is boiled, and then steam is generated to drive a turbine, which in turn produces electricity. This electricity is sold to the national grid.

This is all possible because Spain’s government has provided subsidies and incentives in support for the solar industry. Without government support, it’s possible that the entire operation could not exist. That is because the upfront investment is huge, as most of the money goes into building the plant. The investor community tends to see solar plants as high risk.

But according to the video report, once economies of scale are achieved, solar power is one of the cheapest sources of energy. The report argues that it’s hard to detect the value of solar power because currently, conventional sources of electricity are subsidized, artificially making them appear to be cheap. GOOD reports that “concentrated solar power… will be a core element of the transition from dirty coal to clean energy.”

As Gus Schellekens of PricewaterhouseCoopers argues, “Solar has a huge role it can play, the fact that it’s an endless supply of energy…the one thing that’s needed to unlock much of that is the political leadership and will.”

WATCH video about this innovative solar power tower below:

VIDEO of James May (Top gear) visiting solar thermal plant in Spain:

Solar Ivy is a solar energy delivery device that draws inspiration from ivy growing on a building.

Solar Ivy was created to meet the energy needs of individuals, businesses, and communities while adhering to the values of sustainable design and environmental stewardship. Combining photovoltaic technology and piezoelectrics, Solar Ivy’s unique, patent–pending system continues to grow and to challenge our notions of what solar power can and can’t do.

Solar Ivy (from Brooklyn, NY) and its parent company, SMIT, utilize recycled and reclaimed materials and life–cycle analysis to ensure that the system and its component parts can be recycled and reclaimed.

Some features of this ingenious invention include:

Customize easily.

Solar Ivy’s modularity allows for customization on a number of levels, including:

Color: Each leaf of Solar Ivy can be colored to order to meet aesthetic purposes or to “paint” your organizations name or logo.

Spacing: Density of Solar Ivy leaves can be increased or reduced depending on goals for energy gain, visibility requirements, or architectural needs.

Photovoltaic Type: Solar Ivy can be produced with one of several types of photovoltaic material depending on your energy production and environmental objectives.

Orientation: At any given geographical location there is are a range of pitch orientations available to Solar Ivy’s leaf shape. In designing a Solar Ivy solution we can take into account architectural and aesthetic priorities by adjusting the leaves to have more or less pitch, or angle at different places.

Grow Anywhere.

The stainless steel mesh that roots Solar Ivy to a building or sub-structure is flexible enough to stretch, bend, and curve to hug the contours of almost any surface, including building facades. Spread leaf concentrations thinner over windowed areas of a facade to enhance views. The modular design also allows for updating Solar Ivy as new photovoltaic technology becomes available.

Produce Renewable Energy.

Through analysis of a site’s sun exposure and geographical location, Solar Ivy’s leaf arrangement and density are designed to meet optimal performance specifications. Each installation of Solar Ivy results in a unique product whose appearance, dimensions and energy capacity harness the maximum potential wattage for the location. With its unique flexiblity and modularity, Solar Ivy can be used independently, or complementing traditional solar systems in places they can’t go (like facades and over windows), so you produce more energy.

Provide Shade.

Just like its natural counterpart, Solar Ivy provides shade while collecting and converting sunlight into usable energy. A home or business utilizing Solar Ivy enjoys substantial savings from having to run air conditioning and HVAC units less.

Residential Applications.
Solar Ivy can be used on the roof or walls of your home or garage. Shade a deck or patio with Solar Ivy. Solar Ivy can be installed on nearly all building types using standard electrical hardware that will allow easy integration with existing power service or for on–site battery storage.

Commercial & Architectural Applications.
Solar Ivy is a flexible system that can adapt to different building typologies, programmatic demands, and regional climates. From collaborating with architects and builders to harness sustainable energy sources in new buildings to retrofitting existing structures, Solar Ivy meets the needs and sustainability goals of business and property owners.

Advertising Applications.
Solar Ivy’s customization feature allows business and institutions to display logos or images as a solar “painting.” By adjusting variables like density and pitch, and by coloring individual leaves, we can accurately reproduce corporate names, logos, or identifying images with Solar Ivy.

Read more about Solar Ivy at http://solarivy.com.

1.5 billion people do not have direct access to electricity and rely on kerosene, candles or firewood for lighting. Lack of suitable home lighting is directly linked to illiteracy, poverty and heath problems. Too many children are burned or impacted by house fires linked to lighting. Lighting should be safe, clean and affordable to all.

The Unite-to-Light project started with a visit from Pastor Kofi Fosuhene and Osei Darkwa to Santa Barbara. They explained that many people in Africa, who rely on kerosene for reading, suffer health problems and financial hardship. Aware of the work done at UCSB’s Institute for Energy Efficiency on high-efficiency LED lights and high-efficiency solar cells, Fosuhene and Darkwa asked if the Institute could design an affordable reading light. Although many solar powered flashlights are available, they were interested in reading lights because of the problems related to children and education, a focus for both men.

With assistance from Engineers without Borders, John Bowers, David Schmidt, Norm Gardner and Jock Bovington set about to solve this problem. After going through several designs, the first samples were sent to Ghana and met with great enthusiasm. Unite to Light is now engaging with other organizations to supply solar-based lighting to the developing world.

Solar Reading Light at night.

Watch five minute video showing soot from a kerosene lamp.

More at www.unite-to-light.org

Even though the rest of us do not rely on kerosene, candles or firewood for lighting and have direct access to electricity, the opportunity to use free energy sources is priceless. Check out these solar reading lights HERE.

They come in two attractive colors : green and red. And are on %10 OFF sale today.

Posted by Ekaterina Kohlwes – Principal/Designer at Mindful Design Consulting.

What Mindful Design Consulting can do for you:

• Branding/Your Brand Recognition Strategy
• Human Behavior Pattern in Your Business
• Professional Space Planning
• 3d Renderings and Illustrations to See Your New Space in Action
• Color Selection Based on Psychological Responses
• New Business Concept Space Design
• Retail Design and Buying Pattern Consulting
• Custom Cabinet Drawings
• Materials and Finishes Selection Based on Human Sensibility
• Equipment Selection Serving Your Needs
• Furniture Selection for Your Style
• Construction Drawings
• Energy Efficient Lighting layout and Selection
• We partner with Licensed Architects, Engineers and Other Professional Consultants if Your Project Requires

Website:
http://www.mindfuldesignconsulting.com/
http://mindfuldesignconsulting.com/Blog

Using minute graphite particles 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, mechanical engineers at Arizona State University hope to boost the efficiency and profitability of solar power plants.

Nanowires and Nanocrystals for Nanotechnology Video. An overview on the research about how nanomaterials impact the critical applications in faster transistors, smaller nonvolatile memory devices, efficient solar energy conversion, high-energy battery and nanobiotechnology.

Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are popping up more and more on rooftops, but they’re not necessarily the best solar power solution. “The big limitation of PV panels is that they can use only a fraction of the sunlight that hits them, and the rest just turns into heat, which actually hurts the performance of the panels,” explains Robert Taylor, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Arizona State University.

Graphite Structure. Click on this image to view an interactive Jmol version of this model.

An alternative that can make use of all of the sunlight, including light PVs can’t use, is the solar thermal collector. The purpose of these collectors — which take the form of dishes, panels, evacuated tubes, towers, and more — is to collect heat that can then be used to boil water to make steam, for example, which drives a turbine to create electricity.
To further increase the efficiency of solar collectors, Taylor and his colleagues have mixed nanoparticles — particles a billionth of a meter in size — into the heat-transfer oils normally used in solar thermal power plants. The researchers chose graphite nanoparticles, in part because they are black and therefore absorb light very well, making them efficient heat collectors. In laboratory tests with small dish collectors, Taylor and his colleagues found that nanoparticles increased heat-collection efficiency by up to 10 percent. “We estimate that this could mean up to $3.5 million dollars per year more revenue for a 100 megawatt solar power plant,” he says.

What’s more, Taylor adds, graphite nanoparticles “are cheap” — less than $1 per gram — but with 100 grams of nanoparticles providing the same heat-collecting surface area as an entire football field. “It might also be possible to filter out nanoparticles of soot, which have similar absorbing potential, from coal power plants for use in solar systems,” he says. “I think that idea is particularly attractive: using a pollutant to harvest clean, green solar energy.”

Source: the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.

The U.S. Department of Energy aims to make electricity from the sun cheaper than that from burning coal or natural gas.
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—Silicon translates sunshine into electricity—and Earth receives enough sunshine in a daylight hour to supply all of humanity’s energy needs for a year. But despite being as common as sand, photovoltaic panels made from silicon—or any of a host of other semiconducting materials—are not cheap, especially when compared with the cost of electricity produced by burning coal or natural gas. The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) aims to change that by bringing down the cost of solar electricity via a new program dubbed “SunShot,” an homage to President John Kennedy’s “moon shot” pledge in 1961.

The U.S. Department of Energy aims to make electricity from the sun as cheap as that from burning coal or natural gas – by 2017.
Image: Dennis Schroeder, NREL Staff Photographer.

“If you can get solar electricity down at [$1 per watt], and it scales without subsidies, gosh, I think that’s pretty good for the climate,” notes Arun Majumdar, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA–e), the DoE’s high-risk research effort. “With SunShot, the goal is to reduce the cost of solar to [$1 per watt] in the next six years.”

As it stands, melting silicon or depositing thin layers of copper indium gallium selenide, then manufacturing photovoltaic modules and installing them on rooftops or in large arrays in the desert, can cost as much as $10 per watt. And whereas some technologies can deliver modules for roughly $1 per watt, installation at least doubles that.

“We are making solar for the masses…to get to [a] cost point that is viable,” said Bruce Sohn, president of Columbus, Ohio–based First Solar, the world’s largest thin-film photovoltaic manufacturer, which claims it can produce its modules for less than $1 per watt, on a panel at ARPA–e’s second annual summit on March 1. “We are looking to make something that can compete head to head with fossil fuels over the long term.”

As part of the new SunShot initiative, DoE committed some $27 million to fund novel methods for producing solar cells and their components—like 1366 Technology’s effort to grow pure silicon wafers directly rather than hewing them from long ingots of the material or Solexant’s effort to build thin-film solar cells from semiconducting materials that are neither toxic nor rare. The goal is to produce solar modules at roughly 50 cents per watt with attendant hardware and installation costing the same amount. To reach that target the photovoltaic cells will have to convert at least 20 percent of the sunlight that shines on it into electricity and cost only 25 cents per watt by 2017. “The future of the U.S. depends on three securities: national, economic and environmental. The foundation of all of this is innovations in energy technology,” Majumdar said in his own speech to the summit. “The future is still up for grabs. How do we win the future? Invent affordable clean technology. Make them locally, sell them globally.”

Of course, harvesting the sun’s power is not limited to photovoltaic panels. The DoE push also will incorporate efforts to create solar-thermal power plants that can store the heat of the sun for 12 to 17 hours by 2020, along with attempting to address some of the issues surrounding permitting, inspection and connection of solar systems to the electricity grid. “We want change, we want innovation, we want to overthrow the old energy order,” said former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a summit keynote address. “We want a new era of energy and a new era of American competitiveness.”

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger addresses the 2011 APRA-E Technology and Innovation Summit on California’s role in clean energy.

Already, electricity from the sun costs roughly the same as that generated from burning fossil fuels in places like Hawaii, which remains the only state to rely on imported oil for the bulk of its power. And solar power represents the fastest-growing sector of electricity generation. U.S. solar production in 2010 increased by nearly one gigawatt (billion watts), although that represents roughly the amount of electricity one nuclear power plant can produce. But even at that pace of adoption—spurred by both federal and state government largesse—solar still produces less than 1 percent of all U.S. electricity. And in 2035, by which time the DoE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that solar will have grown fastest among all energy resources (increasing sevenfold), all renewables put together, solar included, will only provide 14 percent of U.S. electricity.

The EIA has often been wrong in such long-term forecasts, but competing with natural gas—newly cheap thanks to the vast resources tapped by fracking in the eastern U.S.’s Marcellus Shale Formation—may prove difficult, even with SunShot. “Natural gas has low capital cost, higher fuel cost but overall lowest costs,” noted EIA Administrator Richard Newell at the ARPA–e conference. “There are significantly higher costs for other power sources.”

Yet, even at a higher price, solar can offer benefits, which is why Duke Energy has invested $50 million putting solar arrays on the roofs of grocery stores and some of its other large customers. “Distributed solar can be thought of as a distributed resource, a multiple value resource,” Duke Chief Technology Officer David Mohler told ARPA–e attendees. “The proper comparison for that is not the cost of a bulk power system, it’s the cost and benefit of having an embedded resource.”

And flexible solar cells in sheets have already found novel applications powering the telecommunications and other electronic equipment of U.S. Marine units deployed in Afghanistan. Small-scale solar is also booming in places such as Kenya that do not have an electricity grid for charging cell phones or batteries that power lights at night. “We will need every energy resource we can lay our hands on,” said Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, an effort to develop the smart grid in the U.S. “There are two billion people in the world without access to electricity. Security means giving them energy.”

Of course, the DoE has already invested some $1 billion in solar energy research since the turn of the century, funding efforts to develop “black” silicon or cells employing quantum dots. “If renewables are cost-competitive with fossil fuels then it’s a very, very different world,” Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said at the ARPA–e summit.

Secretary for the US Department of Energy, Steven Chu, discusses the big picture of how the United States uses Energy and why innovation in clean technology is the key to Winning the Future.

Yet, despite inventing the technology in the 1950s and more than 30 years of government support, the U.S. share of the global market for photovoltaic modules is down from more than 40 percent in 1995 to just 6 percent in 2011. China’s Jiangsu Province alone—home to Suntech Power, the world’s largest maker of photovoltaic panels—has begun investing more than $152 million a year in solar technology since 2009.

“Just because we lost the lead doesn’t mean we can’t get it back,” Chu said. “We still have the opportunity to lead the world in clean energy…but time is running out.”

Article by By David Biello.
Source: scientificamerican.com.

Greendix, the company that makes these nifty leaf-shaped solar panels has captured our attention yet again with something even cooler – the world’s first solar powered soccer ball! The Taiwan-based company unveiled photos of the ball, which looks just like a regular soccer ball except that the iconic black pentagonal patches have been replaced with solar cells, giving it an eye-catching, prismatic look. Even more interestingly, the company is developing the ball with motion-sensing technology in hopes that it will allow visually impaired people to play with it!

World’s First Solar Powered Soccer Ball at Greendix. Image by Greendix.

The solar powered ball’s panels power built-in motion sensors and an audio device which could potentially enable visually impaired people to play soccer/football – each time the prototype is kicked, it emits a tracking sound.

While we think the direction Greendix is moving with the ball is innovative, we’re interested to see if they’re also planning on making it so the ball can store energy to be used at a later time like some other soccer balls can. Such technology can be used by kids in developing nations as a safer alternative to kerosene lamps to power lighting so that they can study and read at night.

“The main goal of this project was to prove that solar panels can be integrated into any object that we interact with on a daily basis and to push the limits of what is possible with solar panels,” explained Joseph Lin from Greendix. No word yet on when the ball will be available for sale, but how great would it be to see these being used at the next World Cup?

Source: greenmuze.com.

Looking for some alternatives to the typical holiday electric fare this year? What is a better Christmas present that a reduced energy bill? While some of us get creative with LED solar powered Christmas string lights, an aquarium in Japan has resolved this problem in by powering a Christmas tree with an electric eel!

See video below:

The Enoshima Aquarium in Kamakura (south of Tokyo) utilizes the eels ability to generate electricity when moving. It effectively powers a two meter Christmas tree. While the power generated isn’t enough to provide consistent light, it is strong enough to allow intermittent flashing.

See video below:

To further add to its eco-friendliness, the aquarium, have also added a robotic Santa Claus powered by human muscle. When visitors to the aquarium step on a pad, it generates electricity.

While the idea of using eel to promote eco-awareness is certainly a good one, you should probably stick with something like solar powered Christmas lights to create our own green Christmas. The decorative outdoor lights are an ideal addition to any home, but with an energy efficient twist you won’t feel guilty when they turn on night after night.

Solar String Lights are ideal to light up your trees, rooftops, doorways, pathways, windows and porches. No wiring. Fast and easy to install. Energy saving, recharged by solar panel under sunlight. Lights turn on automatically when dark. Safe, corrosion/water resistant.