Solar

For a country with some very sunny regions, Mexico has strikingly little solar power. At just over 10 gigawatts of solar capacity, it has one-eighth that of Germany, a country with less sunlight and 40% fewer people. German government incentives have helped, but there’s more to the story than that. In Mexico, the solar market is still nascent, which means customers are not very familiar with the technology and the market remains highly fragmented. For two entrepreneurs, that spelled opportunity. A couple years ago,…

The sun may be setting on NASA’s plans to build a space-based solar power (SBSP) satellite system to alleviate our energy needs on Earth. In January, the agency released a report that, citing launch costs specifically, concludes that generating power from orbit is simply too expensive, especially compared with solar power made right here on the planet’s surface.That’s surprising because NASA has been interested in satellite solar power for half a century (other countries have been investing in research as well).…

Amorphous solar cells with FIDO technology are more efficient, stable, and lightweight. Credit: Yutaka MatsuoA novel material called fullerene indanones (FIDO) has been created by a Japanese research team, offering improved durability and efficiency for next-generation solar cells, with potential applications extending to organic photodiodes and photodetectors.A group led by researchers at Nagoya University in Japan has created a material based on fullerene indanones (FIDO), which promises to improve the durability of…

Rendering: Brier'energie The residents of Saint-Joachim in Pays de la Loire, France, are putting solar canopies over their cemetery. A cemetery shaded by solar The 1.3-megawatt (MW) solar canopy will cover the Saint-Joachim cemetery and supply electricity to the commune’s 4,000 residents from the summer of 2025. What’s neat about this project is that it will do more than generate clean energy and provide shade. It will also collect rainwater for a nearby sports complex, which will…

Oh, and did I mention it can park itself? Bowlus revealed its most rugged travel trailer yet, the off-grid Rivet. The Bowlus Rivet features a “yacht-quality” battery and solar power system that allows “indefinite time off-grid in all conditions.” Trailblazing the luxury electric RV market Bowlus is best known for upgrading travel. In 1934, he launched the first aluminum travel trailer. As the story goes, Bowlus blazed the trail years before Airstream’s iconic “Silver Bullet” hit the market. The…

Just a few days ago, an M-class solar flare hit Earth and sparked a G2-class geomagnetic storm. This is amidst the rising solar activity during the current solar cycle 25, which is expected to enter its peak this year. Consequently, the planet has witnessed a growing number of solar particles, CMEs, solar flares, solar storms and geomagnetic storms in the last few months, and it is expected to rise further. Now, a geomagnetic storm alert has been issued which could trigger a solar storm.Also Read: Volatile Sunspot all…

The Anker Nebula Solar HD portable projector is on sale at Amazon for $250. That matches a previous low and represents a 46 percent discount off the current $460 list price. Wshen it first came out in 2021, it went for $600. We give the Nebula Solar a shout out in our buyer's guide to projectors as a notable budget option, noting that you get a lot of features for the price.NEBULAIt's 46 percent off and the lowest price we've tracked.   $250 at AmazonIt's a 1080p HD projector that emits 400 lumens for reasonably bright…

The US added a record-setting 32.4 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity in 2023, according to a new report, but 2024 will bring challenges to the industry. March 5, 2024: That’s a 37% increase from the previous record set in 2021 and a 51% increase from 2022. It’s the first time in 80 years that a renewable electricity source has accounted for over half of annual capacity additions to the grid.  According to the US Solar Market Insight 2023 Year-in-Review released today by the Solar Energy Industries…

In the last two months, we've witnessed a sharp increase in solar activity. This is due to the approaching solar maximum, a period in the Sun's 11-year cycle where its activity is at its peak. Consequently, Earth has been bombarded with solar particles, CMEs, solar flares, solar storms and geomagnetic storms. Just recently, a G2-class geomagnetic storm sparked auroras over the Arctic Circle. In a new development, NASA says that a sunspot could hurl out an M-class solar flare which could trigger a solar storm. Check…

Photo: ReVision Energy An abandoned gravel pit was the ideal site for this community solar farm in Maine, because nearly 90% of the state is forested. The Wishcamper Hampden solar farm is in Hampden and was built by owner Wishcamper Companies, a clean energy and real estate investor and project developer ReVision Energy. The $15 million, 6.77 megawatt (MW) project will generate an estimated 8,700 MWh of clean energy annually. The clean power generated will be the equivalent of the energy…