solar-power

Following a bicycle down the runway at Moffett Field in Mountain View, Calif., a solar-powered airplane took off on a coast-to-coast voyage across the U.S. this morning to promote the message of clean technology.

Piloted by Swiss aviator Bertrand Piccard, the Solar Impulse HB-SIA set off for Phoenix, Ariz., on the first leg of its Across America journey that will also take the slender craft to Dallas, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and finally New York in early July.

The goal is to go from one end of the country to the other without using a drop of fuel. … Read more

It's a good week for renewable energy around the globe, with the world's first algae-powered building opening in Germany, and the official opening of the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere. Now, France is getting in on the action, with construction officially beginning on the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, by Swiss design firm Herzog & de Meuron.

The project consists of three parts: the stadium bowl, including the sports field and the seating; the concourse; and the aesthetic look of the stadium. Located in the Bordeaux Lac region on the banks of the Garonne in the city's north, the stadium will be able to hold up to 42,000 spectators. … Read more

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This week on Crave, Japanese scientists teach moths to drive mini trucks, and a new app called Dognition claims to improve our relationship with man's best friend. Also, we decide if a $30 million Death Star Kickstarter campaign is worth it, and Montana is apparently full of badasses! Those stories and more, plus a round of "Into It, Not Into It." … Read more

The U.S. Patent and Trademark office published a patent application from Apple today for solar-paneled technology designed for devices with small screens, such as iPhones or iPods.

This "integrated touch sensor and solar assembly" would involve integrating social cells into a touch screen by using electrodes that can pull double duty as a solar cell and a touch sensor. Apple envisions this technology for handheld devices, like "a media player or phone," according to the patent application. In addition to images of different size iPods, the patent application also comes with an image of a screen that's sized for an iPad. … Read more

I can relate to the energy woes of folks in the Pacific island nation of Tokelau (technically a territory of New Zealand), and I'm a bit jealous of their solution.

Tokelau and the roughly 1,500 residents of the coral atolls about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand have become the world's first completely energy-independent territory/nation/whatever, thanks to a solar energy project that's just been completed with funding from the New Zealand government.

"Until now, Tokelau has been 100 percent dependent upon diesel for electricity generation, with heavy economic and environmental costs," New … Read more

There's something new(ish) under the sun in the rural South African village of Phomolong, where Samsung has built a gadget-laden solar-powered classroom -- in a renovated shipping container.

The Solar Powered Internet School -- a product of Samsung's corporate-social responsibility initiative -- has solar panels on the roof that can generate nine hours of electricity a day. That power's needed to juice the electronics inside -- a 50-inch electronic board, Samsung Internet-enabled solar-powered notebooks, Samsung Galaxy tablets, and Wi-Fi cameras.

… Read more

By driving electric cars, BMW ActiveE drivers have already kicked the gasoline habit. But now the auto manufacturer is giving them a little help in the effort to quit fossil fuels for good. BMW has partnered with Real Goods Solar to offer EV customers discounted residential solar panel systems so they can charge up using only the sun.

Real Goods Solar will install solar panels at homes of ActiveE drivers at a 35 percent discount. The Colorado-based company operates offices in California and Connecticut, and offers several purchase plans, including the typical upfront system purchase, a zero-down 20-year lease of … Read more

Logitech's been on a roll with its well-made keyboard accessories for the iPad (the Ultrathin Keyboard Cover is one of my favorites), but there's one big problem with all these accessories: they need their own USB charging cables.

Logitech's just-announced Solar Keyboard Folio adds a clever twist to the crowded iPad keyboard case market by introducing a solar charger. Better yet, the case doesn't look clunky.… Read more

Rather than try to reinvent the solar cell, startup Thermata has engineered a high-tech mirror to cut the cost of solar power.

The company, incubated at Idealabs, has completed initial testing on a system executives say can cut the cost of sun-tracking mirrors, or heliostats, in half using cameras and other digital technologies. Thermata plans to start beta testing the heliostats this year with potential customers, which are concentrating solar power technology companies, and with Sandia National Laboratories.

Thermata typifies a new breed of green-technology startup which is targeting a specific niche in energy using technologies from other fields. Its … Read more