Solar energy soaking systems could soon get cheaper and could work as a boon for developing nations who have no connections to electricity grids whatsoever with this new development that featured in the Scientific Reports a short while ago. Researchers today are working on creating a chemical that can be mixed with green plants to create a paintable biophotovoltaic material that could harness the energy of the sun! Without the need of sophisticated laboratory equipment and the like, this material could very well be painted on the roofs of houses in developing areas, helping people living there generate energy from renewable sources like the sun! A mix-up of biology and electronics, the chemical helps use the photovoltaic abilities of plants for the betterment of humankind.

[cnet]

BMW’s Zentrum Museum has now gone greener than ever with the automaker completing a one-of-a-kind solar installation that will completely power up the facility. Spending a whopping $500,000 for the same, BMW installed 400 solar modules in front of the museum, each capable of soaking in 240 watts worth of solar juice. The installation generates about 96,000 watts, enough to power up the sprawling 24,000-square-foot facility. And that’s not all. BMW has also installed three electric charging stations to juice up electric cars at the museum and we applaud the automaker’s efforts to go a darker shade of green.

[goupstate]

India will now play home to an eco-friendly initiative, also the first of its kind in the nation called the REAP. The Renewal Energy Assisted Pump, developed by BSES Yamuna Power Ltd, a subsidiary of BSES, in collaboration with IIT Delhi, uses solar energy to power up its water pumping system. At a total cost of just Rs. 4,00,000 (approximately $8,075.29) including the solar panels, the system could revolutionize the way homes, residential societies and industries pump water in the near future. The REAP system is easy-to-install and uses a submersible pump hooked on to solar panels and requires very low maintenance. This new development makes solar energy even more reliable for day-to-day use and is a fantastic way to bring home a clean supply of water without punching holes in the ozone.

[thehindubusinessline]

Producing hydrogen gas for use has always been a burden of sorts. HyperSolar however has come up with a brilliant way to do so, without too much of a hassle and without harming the environment. Hydrogen as we know it, is one of the cleanest ways to power up, with water as its only by-product. However, generating hydrogen gas takes energy, and HyperSolar has devised a technique to use solar energy to do so. Using solar energy to generate hydrogen gas for fuel seems to be a win-win deal and HyperSolar plans to use a solar-powered nanoparticle system inspired by photosynthesis to create hydrogen gas using solar energy.

[gizmag]

The Pennsylvania Farm Show plays home to some pretty exceptional pieces of art carved out of butter, and this might seem like a tremendous waste of food to some, though once done, these sculptures are put to rest in a pretty eco-friendly way. Here’s how. Instead of dumping them in the trash, these butter sculptures are dumped in manure and are broken down with help from ever-hungry micro-organisms. The breaking down causes the release of methane gas which is then used to generate electricity using methane digesters. The electricity in turn is used to power up farms. This eco-friendly way serves as a win-win mode to disposing off the butter used at the Farm Show, without having to put food to complete waste.

[dvice]

Besides burning them extra calories and giving you Greek-God like calf muscles, pedal power these days serves the purpose of lighting up art installations too! Take this fabulous piece of art that delivers an eco-friendly message unlike any other. Set up by artist Bruce Munro and designer James Augustini, this geodesic dome structure sports little twinkling lights that shine bright to entrance you as you pedal away to glory. The lights, hooked up to the stationary bicycle, are powered by energy generated by pedaling the bike. A great way to spread eco-consciousness coupled with an inspiration to use renewable energy, this art installation drives the message right home!

[treehugger]

The UAE has now added a shade of green to its streets with its new solar powered road lighting project. The project extending to 11km has been set up by the Ministry of Public Works at the Wadi Sidr Area. The system makes no use of low or high tension electricity lines and is a green as a leaf. Helping reduce carbon emissions substantially, the solar powered system also boasts low maintenance costs and is a step towards achieving sustainability. All in all, this touch of green added to the streets of the Wadi Sidr Area is an effort worth a load of applauds, and we sincerely hope the initiative is spread elsewhere, helping make cities environment friendly.

[emirates247]

Turning street furniture green is indeed one of the smartest ways to have a city turn eco-friendly. Take these super-green seats for example. Designed by Voda Design, the Solar Bench doubles up as a street lamp too, and uses an overhead LED fixture to light up. Using solar panels integrated in the bench case, this piece works as an independent unit and can be placed and used just about anywhere. That’s not all. Using integrated power outlets, this solar powered bench and streetlight combined also works as a charging station for users to juice up their mobile phones, laptops and other portable devices with renewable juice from the sun!

[yankodesign]

Trust Dubai to go extravagant. This time, the emirate is planning a 1 GW solar power project called the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, one of the biggest of its kind in the world. Sporting photovoltaic panels as well as concentrating solar power, this humongous solar power plant will take approximately 18 years to complete. With the dead-line set at 2030, the plant will be located on the outskirts of Dubai and will cover 48 square kilometers. Priced at $3.25 billion, this expensive project is a petty price to pay for an emirate that has built itself selling fossil fuels to the world.

[treehugger]

Jails in Rwanda are now turning towards an eco-friendly way of powering up. Using the inmates’ poop, these jails are slowly turning away from fossil-fuel reliance and burning wood, and the move is indeed a favor to the environment. 75% energy requirements of about 14 prisons in the country will now use energy derived from human and animal waste. Using Biogas burners for the same, these prisons are setting a standard for those around the globe to follow suit, turning towards more sustainable energy sources. The Nsinda prison in particular has 8,000 inmates who fuel the facility with sewage from the 24 toilets along with cow dung. Currently, a part of the prison’s energy comes from burning wood, and the authorities hope to wipe out these practices completely in the near future.

[inhabitat]

Charging stations for EVs have never looked better before. After spending hours working on developing flexible energy-harnessing materials, Pvilion has finally pulled the veil off its rendition of a solar-powered electric-vehicle charging station. The charging station was shown-off at Pflugerville, Texas, and uses a 1/8 inch panel flexed onto stainless steel sheets to create a stylish twisting form factor that’s eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing. Also, the design enables the station to provide electricity to the grid without a car needed, and these charging stations could soon show up at just every nook and corner of the urban world.

[inhabitat]

Motorized window shades used today suck in energy from the grid. Instead, give the environment some respite and opt for these eco-friendly window shades developed by Somfy Systems, headquartered at New Jersey. These shades use solar energy kit instead to juice up consisting of a photovoltaic panel, Y' harness connector, Ni-MH rechargeable battery and battery tube. The kit can be used for both new as well as existing WireFree window coverings and work perfectly fine in limited sunlight too, making these usable almost throughout the tear in most regions. Also, the solar panel is adjustable and can be turned to face the sun whenever required, though a little automation here would prove fruitful.

[discovery]

Soon, you probably wouldn’t need to rely on just grid energy to power up your energy-hungry stuff. If all goes as planned, researchers could soon develop a way to pull out energy right out of the air, literally! Japanese firm DenGyo is currently working on a Microwave Regenerative Converter called the rectenna that could generate energy by simply placing it next to a microwave oven! The device, as per the company’s claims, uses spare energy that isn’t used to cook your food, and converts this into usable energy, generating up to 100W in the bargain. Well, all we can do for now, is hope that this turns into a full-fledged way to generate energy, and in future, microwaves could be put to better use than popping popcorn!

[ohgizmo]

Who needs those environment-choking fossil fuels when you could plug in to paper and have your stuff powered up instead! Sony Corp recently pulled the veil off this bio battery that generates electricity by using paper as fuel. Using an enzyme to decompose paper into glucose which is then used to generate power, the battery uses cellulase produced by Denmark-based Novozymes to decompose cellulose. Generating up to 18Wh of electricity by decomposing an A4-sized paper, this sure seems to be a pretty awesome way to power up smaller gadgets and the like, without plugging them onto the grid.

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Wind turbines today don’t really exploit the energy of the winds to its fullest, simply due to the fact that these are closer to ground, away from the areas where the winds blow the hardest, up in the sky. KiteGen instead, puts wind-energy generators in the sky, using large wings (or kites) driven by avionic sensors located in a dome base that also houses an electric generator. The intelligent control systems automatically guide the kites in order to rotate the turbine and maximize torque enabling the kites to make full use of the winds.

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