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+14 +2
Your windows may soon produce power thanks to transparent solar panels
Scientists in Switzerland have designed transparent solar panels that could make windows generate electricity.
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+24 +5
Adidas made solar-powered headphones that sound like the future
At first, the Adidas RPT-02 SOL headphones sound too good to be true: Self-charging Bluetooth headphones powered by...light? Give me a break. But they're real and they're pretty incredible. And they're a surprising solution to a very familiar pain point.
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+26 +3
Australian research finds cost-effective way to recycle solar panels
Process involves using electrostatic separation on PV panels to collect valuable materials, reducing them to 2-3% of original weight
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+13 +3
Schools are harnessing solar power in record numbers
In 2014, two solar energy groups published a report finding that only about 3,750 U.S. schools — out of a total of roughly 130,000 — were generating electricity from solar panels. But that number is on the rise. According to the fourth edition of the “Brighter Future” report, released last week by the clean energy nonprofit Generation180, the number of U.S. schools using solar power has more than doubled in the last seven years, reaching roughly 8,400 by the end of 2021.
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+4 +1
Out of this world: Floating solar farm could power a million homes
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction - but Europe might one day be powered by giant floating solar panels orbiting the planet. The European Space Agency (ESA) has unveiled a plan to harvest the sun’s energy in space and beam it back down to Earth.
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+1 +1
The first 'utility scale' renewable energy plant combining solar and wind generation with battery storage opens in the US
A utility-scale renewable energy plant using wind and solar combined with battery storage opened last week, a US first, with the potential of powering 100,000 homes with clean, reliable energy. The project gives us a glimpse into the future as the US shifts from fossil fuels to clean energy sources.
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+15 +1
This Man Is Trying to Put Mirrors in Space to Generate Solar Power at Night
Ben Nowack is a 26-year old inventor and entrepreneur. After a mechanical engineering degree, a raft of gigs, and an appearance on Mythbusters he is now the CEO of Tons of Mirrors. Tons of Mirrors is using satellite-mounted reflective surfaces to redirect sunlight to earthbound solar panels at night.
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+14 +5
The best solar generators in 2022
We tested a baker's dozen solar generators — large-capacity rechargeable power stations paired with a set of portable solar panels — to find the best performing, most versatile devices that can provide backup power for your home during an emergency and do double duty for off-grid activities like camping, tailgating or even DIY projects around your yard.
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+18 +1
Europe Is Getting Serious About Making Space-Based Solar Power a Reality
Proposals for beaming solar power down from space have been around since the 1970s, but the idea has long been seen as little more than science fiction. Now, though, Europe seems to be getting serious about making it a reality.
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+19 +3
Solar power is booming in Germany as Russia turns down the gas
People on the frontlines of Europe's gas crisis are scrambling to get solar panels for their homes and businesses as they confront a "perfect storm" that's sending energy prices to record levels.
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+12 +1
For half an hour on Friday, Australia was running on more solar power than coal
For about half an hour on Friday, the national energy market caught a glimpse of what a renewables-powered future might look like.
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+4 +1
Europe is seriously considering a major investment in space-based solar power
Europe is seriously considering developing space-based solar power to increase its energy independence and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the leader of the European Space Agency said this week.
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+26 +3
Solar Parking Lots Are a Win-Win Energy Idea. Why Aren't They the Norm?
Covering parking lots makes both renewable energy and a more pleasant parking experience.
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+20 +7
Solar is now ‘cheapest electricity in history’, confirms IEA
The world’s best solar power schemes now offer the “cheapest…electricity in history” with the technology cheaper than coal and gas in most major countries. That is according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2020. The 464-page outlook, published today by the IEA, also outlines the “extraordinarily turbulent” impact of coronavirus and the “highly uncertain” future of global energy use over the next two decades.
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+13 +2
Barcelona school and residents create solar energy community
A secondary school and a residents’ association have teamed up with Barcelona city council to create a solar energy community with the capacity to grow – rooftop by rooftop – across large areas of the city. The solar panels on the roof of Quatre Cantons secondary school in the former industrial district of Poblenou supply power to the school and 30 households in the surrounding area.
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+9 +2
Europe to rollout nearly 40GW of solar PV by end of 2022 in record year for deployment
Nearly 40GW of solar PV will be rolled out across Europe by the end of the year, according to SolarPower Europe (SPE), as the continent scrambles to deploy renewables and wean itself off Russian gas. The expectation-beating figure of more than 39GW of solar PV is a significant jump on last year’s figure of 27GW, itself a decade-long installation record.
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+14 +3
Climate change: 'Sand battery' could solve green energy's big problem
A storage device made from sand may overcome the biggest issue in the transition to renewable energy.
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+10 +2
U.S. Landfills Are Getting a Second Life as Solar Farms
When landfills get capped and grassed over, they have the appearance of lush, rolling hills. Despite their green appearance, however, these sites are known as “brownfields”—a term for an environmentally hazardous site without a promising future. Indeed, landfills are typically unsuitable for development because the contents below the surface are both contaminated and physically unstable.
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+3 +1
Solar Panels Are Coming to Ikea
Starting this fall with its locations in California, the Swedish furniture giant Ikea will sell the means to power your Starkvind (that’s an air purifier) and Stjärnstatus (that’s a fridge) by adding solar panels to the company’s offerings. Thankfully, assembly will be handled by the professionals.
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+16 +1
'Night-time solar' technology can now deliver power in the dark
UNSW researchers have made a major breakthrough in renewable energy technology by producing electricity from so-called ‘night-time’ solar power. The team from the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering generated electricity from heat radiated as infrared light, in the same way as the Earth cools by radiating into space at night.
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