Compared to conventional remediation that involves weeks, months or even years of work along with a potentially huge carbon footprint for transporting or capping soil, the solar-powered exhaust systems took mere hours to install and resulted in an immediate 95% reduction in TCE vapors within the homes.  The EPA plans to extend the program this fall to other homes affected by the Delfasco site.

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A team of scientists from the University of Texas at Austin has developed a type of spray-on solar cells that could lower costs of production dramatically.

The concept of spray-on solar cells is by no means a new approach – the Australian National University has been working on one for the past three years. The University of Texas at Austin team led by engineer Brian Korgel uses copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) as the main component for the ink used to manufacture the solar cell. This nanoparticle ink allows manufacturers to completely deviate from the conventional expensive method of solar cell production. Using this ink, solar cells can be made through a roll-to-roll printing process, similar to how newspapers are printed. Plastic substrate and stainless steel are a couple of possible bases for the printing.

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This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

While Detroit has benefited from Cash for Clunkers, foreign automakers have gained even more. Some critics of the program warned that because it let consumers buy domestic or foreign cars, Clunkers could end up spending more American tax dollars to help foreign companies than American ones. More on this story here.

With irresponsible banking practices taking the blame for bringing about the global economic crisis, there has been a surge of interest in Islamic finance.Now, a slew of academic courses are springing up to meet the demand of those wanting to break into an expanding market. According to ratings agency Moody’s, the global Islamic finance sector is worth $700 billion and has the potential to be worth $4 trillion. More on this story here.

n an effort to curb solid waste pollution, China banned the import of scrap polysilicon at the beginning of August, an effort supported by its current environmental laws according to its Environmental Protection Ministry. Scrap polysilicon is a low-grade form of silicon not pure enough to use in microchips. However, it can be used as a component of solar wafers, which contain a variety of types of silicon, including up to 30% scrap polysilicon. More on this story here.

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Now we’re cooking.

Operation of a new Spanish solar thermal plant just kicked into high gear, taking the title as the world’s largest commercial tower-type collector.

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British environmentalist David de Rothschild, author of Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, met with the San Francisco Conservation Corps on Wednesday to talk about “Plastiki,” a 60-foot catamaran made from recycled plastic (except for the masts), which he’ll use to sail from San Francisco to Australia: an 11,000 mile voyage!

The boat is made up of about 16,000 plastic bottles and is an “effort to raise awareness of the recycling of plastic bottles, which he says are a symbol of global waste.” says Rothschild. Skin-like panels made from recycled PET, a woven plastic fabric, will cover the hulls and a watertight cabin, which sleeps four. Only about 10 percent of the Plastiki will be made from new materials.

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Perhaps these conditions will encourage innovation. Here are some tactics for solar companies to weather the storm in the short-term:

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Solio is a hybrid charger that can accept power from either the wall socket or the Sun and is powerful enough to charge all your handheld electronics. One hour of sun will give you enough charge to listen to your iPod for about an hour or provide up to 25 minutes of additional talk time on your phone. Solio comes in Silver, White, Black, and Pink. Some interesting facts;

- One hour of sunlight will provide about one hour of play time on your iPod

- Solio can store energy for up to one year

- A fully charged Solio will completely charge an average cell phone at least twice

- 60 minutes of sunlight will provide approx. 25 minutes of talk time and 10 hours of standby time.

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By turning a long line of mirrors, the first solar thermal plant in nearly two decades was launched last week in Bakersfield, California. Unlike solar photovoltaic systems that convert sunlight into electricity, this plant will focus sunlight on tubes that contains water. The light heats the water, creating steam, thus turning turbines.

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South Africa, recently dogged by electricity shortages at the state-run generator (Eskom), is innovating strongly in the energy sector. I will be discussing examples of this innovation in future posts, but now for the first of several reports on newsworthy energy related events in South Africa.

South African Solar Challenge 2008

South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) was one of the supporters of the South African Solar Challenge 2008 solar car race, which ended at the Innovation Hub in Pretoria this week. Solar car races are by no means new, but this is the first time one has been run in South Africa. The race, which was noted in a recent post on solar cars, was organized by the Advanced Energy Foundation.

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We’ve written about Livermore, CA-based startup Cool Earth Solar before. Now the company, which develops inflatable balloon-like solar concentrators, has announced that it is constructing a prototype plant in Livermore. Last week, I spoke to Cool Earth Solar CEO Rob Lamkin to get some more information on the upcoming project.

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Sharp’s new solar-powered streetlight can do it all. Not only does the light operate for ten years without needing maintenance, but it also automatically turns on when it detects an earthquake.

The light use a high-intensity LED spotlight that has a service life of about 40,000 hours. It charges using built-in solar panels during the day, and shines automatically at night. Best of all, Sharp’s streetlight doesn’t create any light pollution—it’s illuminated with a directed light that doesn’t shine into the sky.

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One man’s quest to travel around the world in a car without using a drop of gas is coming to a close over a year after it began. Swiss adventurer Louis Palmer has been driving his three-wheeled Solartaxi since last July. So far, he’s logged 27,000 miles and 28 countries.

The $5,000 Solartaxi was built for Palmer by Q-Cells, a German solar company. Zebra Battery provided the adventurer with two 250-pound rechargeable batteries— each valued at $15,000. The batteries store energy from the solar panels, as well as energy from the electric outlets that Palmer plugs the vehicle into every evening.

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Smaller start-up car companies, such as Th!nk, have plans for solar power augmented cars on the books too, but the incorporation of solar panels on the Prius would mark the first time a major car manufacturer has done such a thing with one of its models.

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Apparently Peter Richardson knew when he submitted a winning solar design to the International Design Awards. His idea is to turn disused water ways into functional space by populating them with solar panels shaped like water lilies. Aiming to increase quality of life, while generating energy, the lilies so impressed the Glasgow City Council that they expressed interest in developing a pilot project.

The technology itself is easily within reach:

“They can be moved and dismantled and are simply tethered to the river bed, integrated motors can rotate the discs so their orientation to the sun is maximised throughout the day.” (Project Description)

In other words, no new technology required, just some clever design. My concern would be recreational or commercial river traffic (how “disused”must the waterway be?). Would waves from wake disrupt the solar lilies? What about an impact on wildlife or wildlife’s impact on the panels? What if the river ices over in the winter? One hopes a pilot project would figure out the kinks.

What do readers think - would a product like this in your local water way make an impact on your community? (More images here)

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Solar System Powers Donggwang Green Village on Semi-Tropical Jeju Island

Donggwang is on the western half of Jeju-do, the largest of South Korea’s semi-tropical southern islands. Near the village, Halla Mountain, a volcano and the tallest mountain in South Korea, rises from the island’s center amidst a patchwork of small farms.

Donggwang has achieved what even the most powerful countries in the world are still struggling to accomplish: total energy independence with clean technology.

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This weekend, a few months after my trip to Chicago, I was returning some books to my local library. They have a “free magazine” rack near the door so I stopped and grabbed a gardening magazine and a few National Geographics from 2007. When I got home I began flipping through the October 2007 National Geographic which highlights the pros and cons of ethanol (for more read this post from Gas 2.0), and there on the page right after the table of contents was an Ameriprise Financial article about the place I walked past in Bucktown a few months earlier. It is the home of Frank and Lisa Mauceri and their record company Smog Veil Records.

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According to the article, James and Kathleen Seligman decided to build a green second home in Three Rivers, California. The 969 sf, two-bedroom house has double-paned windows, energy-efficient appliances, clay-based wall coverings and no paint, and non-toxic cotton insulation. Additionally, the house was designed to accomodate solar panels (not sure if they were actually installed), sustainably harvested wood was used, and construction debris was recycled, as opposed to going to the landfill. Note however, they decided to go with the granite counters for stylistic purposes, rather than opt for some of the other sustainable counters on the market. But for the most part, this is a fairly impressive green home.

James and Kathleen also have their first home in Three Rivers, so this home will be lived in occassionally and rented out to tourists the rest of the time. Which brings us back to our initial inquiry. How green can a second home be? I think, imho, to determine whether a second home can be green, one must look to the first home. In this situation, the second home is an investment and many of the green features serve to lower operating costs, but as it relates to James and Kathleen, have they lessened their incremental impact on the environment at all? Not that I know of. Sure, it's better to build a green second home than a non-green second home, but in reality, the question of greenness cannot be separated from the occupants or the people. What changes do we see in the people? That's what going green is all about. Incremental change on a going forward basis.

So to answer the queston posed by the title to this post, one must look a little deeper. What is happening to the people? Any home can be a green home, but the question of whether something is or is not green also depends on the circumstances. Look at the circumstances and you decide. You tell me, how green can a second home be?

Image via Nancy Doniger.

SolarCity is planning a community meeting with Mountain View residents and businesses this Saturday (February 10), and the company’s president Lyndon Rive will discuss the details of the Collective Power Program. With group purchasing power, Mountain View customers will save 30% over typical solar installation and service costs.

Where does the cost advantage come from? (1) SolarCity can purchase supplies in bulk and get a lower price; and (2) by having customers in a concentrated geographic region, it can minimize costs of service and maintenance. SolarCity makes the investment easy for consumers, too. Services include permit processing, system design and installation, rebate administration, financing, energy efficiency consulting, and system monitoring. From what I understand, SolarCity takes a pro-active approach to the whole process by making sure the system is working optimally at all times.

I think this is going to be what it takes to get solar moving forward, on a larger scale. If a company can establish good will in a specific region, there will be huge opportunities to capitalize on economies of scale without getting over-extended into different geographic regions. Solar is such a complicated product, including the piece meal regime of rebates, the best companies will be those that can provide expertise and service. Local companies will have a vested interest in the success of solar power generation and can help people rely less on coal- and gas-power plants.

Sidenote: Regarding homes that are not energy efficient, solar power may not be the first investment to make. After all, what good is solar power if your home is leaking heat/ac through the walls and cracks? That said, after speaking with a green professional about the specifics of your home, solar could be the right, next step.