30Jan

Solar powered homes that will compete in Solar Decathlon Europe 2012

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Solar powered homes that will compete in Solar Decathlon Europe 2012

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Environmentally friendly homes can reduce inhabitants’ carbon footprints, save resources and lead the way for others to live the same way. Most of us, however, have been living in homes that are pretty standard, in that they don’t help us reduce our carbon footprints. The US Department of Energy has been trying to further green living in terms of homes and has been organizing the Solar Decathlon for a while now. The international competition is a biennial event that challenges 20 college teams to come up with conceptual homes that utilize solar energy. The teams get to work on site, detailing their prefabricated houses for 10 days in a bid to take home the Solar Decathlon title. 2012’s competition is set to begin and we’re eager to see who wins the coveted prize.

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28Jan

Zero Energy Home helps say goodbye to energy bills forever

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Zero Energy Home helps say goodbye to energy bills forever

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Denver-based New Town Builders have created a net zero energy house that has been designed to save a lot of energy and help preserve precious resource. The Zero Energy Home will leave eco lovers in a state of complete amazement as it takes energy efficiency to an all new scale.

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17Jan

Switzerland’s Berghotel Muottas Muragl is the First Energy-Plus Hotel in the Alps

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Switzerland’s Berghotel Muottas Muragl is the First Energy-Plus Hotel in the Alps

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The incredible Berghotel Muottas Muragl is not just a favorite mountaintop resort for some of the world’s most avid skiers – it’s also the first energy positive hotel in all of the Alps. The 104-year-old lodge just completed a year’s worth of renovations that incorporate renewable energy and sustainable living. Although the building doubled in size, its numerous solar panels, geothermal heaters, and low-impact materials have decreased the hotel’s energy consumption 64% and put it on the map as one of the most luxurious green escapes in Europe.

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11Jan

The World’s 6 Coolest Solar Powered Projects

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The World’s 6 Coolest Solar Powered Projects

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Solar power is arguably the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available to us. It is therefore no surprise that all around the world, architects and designers are incorporating solar technology into new buildings and projects to make them as green as possible. We scoured the globe for some of the coolest solar projects constructed or in the works — from the largest solar-powered office building in the world to Enviromission’s solar towers to the PVs that top off the Vatican. Hit the jump for our 6 favorite projects!
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5Jan

India Plans Increasing Solar Power Capacity During The Next Few Years

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India seems to aim higher and think bigger in terms of its solar energy: from a set goal of 20 GW, the National Solar Mission grew its prospects to 33.4 GW all around the country, according to a report by Bridge to India.

The first step is to have 14.15 GW by 2018. By then, solar energy will have its own respected place on the national grid and more progress will have been made regarding the emissions level.

This will be possible due to the increased production of PV cells and the possibility of cheap imports from China. The final cost is estimated at around 40% less than what it is now.

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4Jan

Big Solar and Big Wind to Meet in Abu Dhabi for World Future Energy Summit

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From the 16th to the 19th of January, twenty renewable energy and cleantech developers from across Egypt, Ghana, India, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, UAE and USA will showcase cutting-edge projects and conduct full business presentations at the Project Village at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2012 in Abu Dhabi.

With 1 GW worth of of renewable projects being showased at the Project Village, the presentations represent a gigantic amount of local Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region renewable energy.

Developing countries have overtaken developed ones in the growth of renewable projects, and the MENA region is key for the development of renewables.

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4Jan

India Solar Market Could Hit 33.4 GW by 2022

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As mentioned in my 2012 solar energy expectations yesterday, I think India’s got a good chance of shooting onto the solar power map this year. Following up on solar in India, a recent report by Bridge to India estimates that the country will have 33.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar power installed by 2022, far more than the 20 GW that are targeted by India’s National Solar Mission (NSM).

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30Dec

Infographic: U.S. Electricity Costs & Consumption

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U.S. Electricity Costs & Consumption Infographic

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While there isn’t anything especially “clean tech” about this infographic, I thought it was pretty interesting, and is quite obviously related to what we cover every day, so sharing here with you all — enjoy!
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29Dec

HUGE NYC Clean Energy Tech Campus for Cornell University

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HUGE NYC Clean Energy Tech Campus for Cornell University

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A project that involved 1.8 megawatts (MW) of solar power, 500 geothermal wells, and fuel cells could potentially reduce energy consumption at a Cornell University campus by 75%. The campus has the name “NYC Tech Campus” and is a project of Distributed Sun.

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28Dec

India’s Tata Power to Divorce BP Solar

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India's Tata Power to Divorce BP Solar

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BP Solar is suffering a slow death that is hard to watch and reflects the cutthroat competition that marks an industry that used to be a lot more Pollyanna. The company is closing down and on Tuesday its joint venture partner, Tata Power, said it will buy out BP’s share in their enterprise.

Tata said it will purchase the 51 percent BP had in their Tata BP Solar joint venture, which was formed in 1989 and makes silicon solar panels and offers solar system design services. Tata didn’t disclose the purchase price. The joint venture is among the top three solar cell and panel makers in India, according to GTM Research.

The deal gives Tata total control of an operation that could benefit from India’s emergence as a sizable solar market. India’s central government wants to see 20 gigawatts of grid-tied solar energy and 2 gigawatts of off-grid uses by 2022, and it launched an incentive program in January 2010 that has auctioned off projects. A few states in India also run solar incentive programs. All these efforts are recent, so whether India can hit its goals still remains a big question.

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