date: 2008-08-05 05:57:16
by: Venetsian

Solar power is being increasingly used all over the world as a source of clean, renewable energy. In an effort to increase its renewable energy resources, General Motors has recently made it known that the biggest rooftop solar photovoltaic power installation will be set up on its Zaragoza automobile assembly plant.

This plant, in Figueruelas, Zaragoza, Spain, will have approximately 85,000 solar panels, covering a rooftop area of around 2,000,000 square feet. General Motors estimates that the set up will be complete by the autumn of this year, and will generate something like 15.1 million kWh of power a year. That’s about how much 4,575 Spanish homes with an average yearly consumption of 3,300 kWh will use.

Glad to take the lead in using renewable energy, the Group Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations, General Motors, Gary Cowger said, "The Zaragoza project demonstrates proof that GM is actively accelerating our efforts to be part of the solution to the environmental issues and challenges facing our world. We are proud to be a global leader in the usage of renewable energy."

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date: 2008-07-17 04:46:24
by: Venetsian

Imagine a time when electricity could cost you almost nothing and there would be an endless supply of it, so much so that you might even have a surplus of it.

Imagine a time when nearly every household, apartment complex, town home and condo would be covered with photovoltaic cells.

Well actually you don’t have to imagine too far in the future for all of this. There has been a phenomenal growth in interest and investment of solar energy. The solar industry has gotten a new lease of life with the resurgence and newfound enthusiasm in solar energy from projects like San Francisco’s huge new grant program to a new 280 MW plant in Arizona’s desert. Joining the bandwagon is one of the most successful manufacturers of consumer microprocessors, Intel.

To get solar power going in a big way, Intel is establishing a solar startup unit in order to gather investments required for it to become one of the forerunners in this field. The new company is named SpectraWatt Inc. Intel Capital.

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date: 2008-07-09 07:51:17
by: Venetsian

Think back in time before automobiles came into the picture, one notable fact that you would observe would be the total lack of pollution, noise pollution, unhealthy emissions from the cars and no gasoline. It’s not that people didn’t travel, they did - but what they used was horsepower.

Now let’s think into the future, some basic similarities again, automobiles are in the picture but without the pollution, noise pollution etc. And again no gasoline! You would wonder how that is possible: Cars but no Gasoline? What would they run on? Well how about sunlight!

Solar power is something that is going to come up in a big way. There are many research projects about harnessing the sun’s energy and utilizing it for the betterment of mankind. So there might just be a future where transportation would not require any gasoline, it would be low cost and environmental friendly.

Work is already in progress to make this dream a reality. A team of fourth-year engineering students along with their professor, in Beruit, has been successful in building the first solar-powered vehicle in the Arab region. The American University of Beirut issued a statement in this regard. The vehicle has been aptly named Apollo’s Chariot. Apollo being the Greek God of the Sun as mentioned in mythology. This solar-powered vehicle is made entirely of steel and fiberglass and measures five-and-a-half meters in length and two meters in width. It’s a single seater and weighs about 700 kilograms, almost half the weight of an average sedan.

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date: 2008-06-25 05:51:14
by: Venetsian

I am glad to see that large businesses are beginning to see the benefits of using solar energy by installing solar panels to save energy. DHL’s fright hub at Halle Airport is one of the first self sufficient around in a bid to combat global warming. DHL have installed solar cells and 1,000 square meters of solar powered panels on the workshop roof to generate electricity. These solar panels produce upward of 100k kilowatt hours of electric a year.

This is part of DHL’s bid to go green and cut emissions by up to 90% by 2020. As well as having all those solar panels saving money on electric and saving the environment they have a system that collects the rain water from the roof. This is then collected and used all year round to clean aircrafts.

This goes to show you that there are also financial benefits to be made in going green. In the long term buying solar panels can save you money and you are doing your bit for the environment. ... read more..

date: 2008-06-10 09:22:35
by: Venetsian

Imagine how great it would be if we could do away with all those tiresome chargers, wires and plug points; if all it took was a little solar energy to power your iPhone or iPod! You could just take your iPhone along with you on your morning jog, or keep it near the window while you watch some television or even better take it to the beach and let your iPhone or iPod charge while you get a great tan.

According to MacRumors.com one of the Apple rumor sites, Apple is contemplating using solar energy to power handheld gadgets and portable computers and has recently become interested in using solar power for its mobile devices such as the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Reportedly Apple has already gone ahead and filed a patent that reveals how the company plans to use solar power cells in its mobile devices, particularly the MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook computers, as well as the iPhone iPod lines.

The patent talks about a new technique in which small solar panels are to be placed behind the LCD screen of the portable device in question. This would place the panels in the most convenient location to absorb the suns energy and light that come through.

The technique is particularly advantageous because it does not require that Apple redesign its mobile devices such as iPhones, iPods, and laptops to configure them for solar power. There are a few glitches such as durability and the space required to fit the new technology that Apple would need to solve before it tries to launch any such devices.

MacRumors.com had this to say about the obstacles ahead of this project: “The major issues described are the limited area available to solar panels, durability, and the \‘wasting\‘ of space on a portable device. It is due to these problems that solar power has not found its way into mobile devices, not just from Apple, but from all manufacturers,”

However, Apple is not the trail blazer where this concept is concerned as Motorola also came up with a similar idea earlier in a 2001 patent.

Whether apple will take this idea all the way into production or whether the idea will get shelved is something only time will tell. But it will certainly be convenient to have solar powered iPods that can just charge themselves in a little sunshine. ... read more..