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SunPower on Thursday announced two deals with Florida Power & Light to build 35 megawatts worth of electricity, including an installation at the Kennedy Space Station.

The deals are the largest to date for SunPower, which makes and installs solar photovoltaic panels.

A 25-megawatt plant will be installed by DeSoto County by 2009 and the Kennedy Space Center will have its 10 megawatt plant done by 2010. Florida Power &Light will own and operate the plants.

The largest solar photovoltaic plant in the U.S. is at the Nellis Air Force base in Nevada, which generates 14 megawatts.

Earlier … Read more

If home electronics with built-in ambient lighting is a gimmick as some suggest, it's nevertheless a profitable one. We're just not sure about the reasoning behind using it with an iPod dock.

Philips has charged a premium for its TVs with this feature, which supposedly improves viewing. That doesn't help music, of course, but that hasn't stopped LG from incorporating red ambient lighting with its PC12DAB "iDoc."

Sporting an unusual oval design, the dock also has a CD player, DAB radio, alarm clock, and speakers with 10 watts of sound, according to Tech Digest. … Read more

It's already two days into July, and shockingly we haven't provided a single public service alert about date-repelling products this month. But this one should make up for the lost time.

The Lightsaber has always held a special place in this category, and a new product is paying homage to this totem once again in the form of a stylus for the Nintendo DS. (Make that styli, actually, because they're being sold in packs of two or three at a time.)

For those not in the know, according to OhGizmo, the trio-pack includes the Luke, Vader, and Obi-Wan … Read more

You've been driving a hybrid car (good for you, by the way!) and eating veggie burgers, and yet still don't feel environmentally conscious enough? Well, you are probably not alone. And now there's a way for your life style to get even greener: the Medis 24/7 fuel cell powered flashlight/charger.

The lengthy name says it all, this is a flashlight and a charger kit that's powered by one Medis fuel cell. The cell can provide enough power for the flashlight to be used, on a "real world" basis, for up to six … Read more

The push for energy-efficient lighting in the developed world focuses on replacing wasteful incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents and LEDs. In developing regions, however, kerosene lanterns still bring dim nighttime light to an estimated 1.6 billion people.

Off-grid lighting is a growing area of focus for social entrepreneurs eyeing opportunities for "green" technologies in developing markets.

Engineers, start-ups, nonprofit groups, and venture capitalists involved are working on portable flashlights and fixtures powered by solar panels and even bicycle-like pedaling contraptions.

Safe and affordable lighting can be key to development efforts in poor communities. With better light, people … Read more

Billions of people continue to burn dangerous and costly kerosene in lamps to see at night.

Start-up d.light design, which aims for no less than to eliminate kerosene around the world within a decade, is launching three off-grid lighting products for developing regions.

"We believe that 1.6 billion people without regular access to electricity deserve high-quality, safe and dependable light that they can afford," said Sam Goldman, CEO of New Delhi, India-based d.light design, in a Monday statement.

Three lights from d.light will cost $30 or less and are designed to be cheaper for … Read more

A couple of weeks back, we reported on Omnivision's new CMOS camera sensor, which promised improved sensitivity in low-light shots. By rearranging the layers in the sensor, engineers were able to shift the light-sensitive diodes to the surface. This not only boosted sensitivity, but also slimmed down the device.

Now Sony has announced its development of a similar chip that works on the same basis as Omnivision's technology. The company also mentioned that the development was in-house and that there was no involvement with the Californian company.

Much to our surprise, Omnivision's take on this was quite … Read more

If you like the idea of an "Ambilight" TV but aren't ready to replace your wall-mounted LCD just yet, there may be an alternative--especially if you're in the market for some new home theater speakers.

Yamaha and Koizumi have partnered for a new pair that feature three 25-watt halogen lamps behind each speaker. When positioned on either side of the TV, the speakers can shine their lights against the wall and effectively create a type of backlighting without having to buy one of those pricey Philips sets with built-in LEDs. Better still, the brightness can be … Read more

If you've seen the latest Knight Rider series recently, you may have noticed that K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Three Thousand) embraces a type of nano technology that lets its outer shell change colors and temporarily morph into other car forms. How cool is that? If BMW has its way, that part of the reel world would be made real.

The carmaker's GINA Light Visionary Model, a two-seater concept car, wears a flexible, virtually seamless skin made of a textile fabric and stretched over a metal wire structure enforced with carbon fiber. This gives the owner the … Read more