Eco-Thinker

Tags: solar power, Sustainable Development

In the video below, CEO of Solaria, Suvi Sharma, is interviewed and discusses Solaria’s new technology for manufacturing solar panels. Solaria solar panels use only half the silicon that older conventional panels use. This is an improvement from an economical and environmental standpoint, cutting costs and waste. The new panels can be produced using the existing equipment and facilities saving even more on time and expense.

Check out this attractive building of sustainable proportions set to be built in Chicago. It comes equipped with wind turbines and solar panels.

Ultraviolet rays take a toll on solar cells, just as they do human cells. While it may not manifest itself as a sunburn, UV light does expedite degradation of solar cells. As a promising answer to this dilemma, a scientist at the University of California in Los Angeles, Yang Yang, says his new material can change UV rays into visible light, reducing damage and even enhancing efficiency of a solar cell.

It takes little sense to see just how non green the traditional combustion engine fossil fuel driven lawn mowers are. So those are obviously the lamest of all lawn care tools. And, the eco-friendlier reel mowers are too labor intensive for most large yards, try your hand at a solar charged electric lawn mower. This was an engineering project put together with step by assembly instructions including pictures.

Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory, along with partners at Microcontinuum Inc. (Cambridge, MA) and Patrick Pinhero of the University of Missouri, are developing a novel way to collect energy from the sun with a technology that could potentially cost pennies a yard, be imprinted on flexible materials and still draw energy after the sun has set.

Already, Nanosolar says that they can sell panels for roughly $1 per watt, which will result in $2 per watt installations. Suddenly, that starts to look a lot like the $2.1 per watt that it costs to build a coal plant.

And that is extremely exciting news.
Well said. Please check out the article at

This is how to make passive solar heater for under $20 or so. It is basically a greenhouse box. Simple yet brilliant. It is environmentally friendly (after it is assembled), green, handy, forehead slappingly easy to make, and even an awesome project for shop class. Ok so it will not become school curriculum, but most agree it should be damn it! grumble government subsidies grumble greed and priorities and blah…watch this and learn!