A team of US scientists are working on a new generation of airborne solar cells, and expects them to power Air Force unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the near future.

The University of Washington’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) project team, believe that their new breed of Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) will become an optimum energy harvesting source that may lead to longer flight times without the need to refuel.

According to lead researcher Dr. Minoru Taya, “These kinds of solar cells have more specific power convergence efficiency (PCE), very clean energy and easy scalability to a larger skin area of the craft, as well as low-temperature processing, which leads to lower costs overall.”

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There’s an electric car revolution underway in sleepy Browntown, Wisconsin, population 252.

More than six Sebring-Vanguard CitiCars, many zipping down the country roads in southwestern Wisconsin, are registered to owners in this small town – most to Phil Welty and one to myself.  They come in red, yellow and several other colors and look like a wedge of cheese, but they’re all completely powered by electric motors.  It’s estimated that as few as 600 CitiCars are still on the road in the U.S. with less than 3,000 manufactured by Sebring-Vanguard between 1974 and 1976 during the last energy crisis.

“When I first saw the CitiCars back in the 1970s, it was the only all-electric car on the market,” recalls Phil Welty,  “The same problem exists today as in the 1970s, like high fuel prices and our marriage to foreign oil.  I’ve always wanted to bring one back from the junkyard and restore it to fully operable condition.”  Not content with just one, he has two CitiCars on the road, using his other cars for parts.

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Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg acquired a controlling interest in Saab so that it could get its hands on the company’s electric car production facilities.

The claim, made on Swedish language website realtid, cites unnamed sources in saying that the move is likely to bring the cutting-edge solar-powered Quant EV concept car (pictured) a step closer to production reality.

Sources also suggest that low volume production of the ZEV Quant (video) is expected to begin in a couple of years. The car was designed by Swedish outfit NLV Solar AG, a world-leader in photovoltaics and electrical-power technology.

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Richard Gryzch has built what he claims is the world’s first fully sun-powered electric motorbike.

A project that has taken him more than two years. In fact, to finance building the bike Cryzch sold his other motorbikes and even a house.

He calls the bike a Solar Flyer. A name inspired by those Radio Flyer wagons.

“Everyone told me I was crazy for doing it,” he said. “But I’m riding it and it works. And it could change everything. No gas, just hit the throttle and go,” he boasted.

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Details about the bike are scarce, but it travels up to 50 miles on a full charge and has a top speed of 90 mph.

“People look at me at the stop light and just say, ‘What is that?” Gryzch said.  “I just shrug my shoulders and tell them, ‘it’s solar powered.”‘

Still, Gryzch plans to outdo himself. He hopes to hit a travel range of 300 miles. I hope he does too!

Source [ABC 15 News] Photo [Inhabitat]

Like Welty, Ben Nelson is serious about making the changes, not waiting for someone else to come along to save the day.  A year ago, Nelson took a 1996 two-door hatchback Geo Metro and replaced the 1.0 liter three-cylinder gasoline engine with a forklift motor and replaced the gas tank with a bank of batteries.  “The car still has its driver and passenger airbags, daytime running lights, and all the other things you would expect in a regular car,” shares Nelson.  “The difference is that it runs on renewable energy for a cost of about 2 cents a mile.”

I caught up with Nelson at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association’s Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair where he had his all-electric Geo Metro on display.  He was all wound up having just returned from the 2009 International Gathering of CitiCars held in Columbia, Maryland, just two miles from the home of the creator of the vehicles, Bob Beaumont.  The gathering was organized by one of the members of the C-Car Yahoo Group.

“The CitiCars are simple, practical, quiet,” sums up Nelson.  “They are easy to fix, and cheap to maintain.  That, and they are 100% street legal. Your other choices are a $100,000 Tesla, or a conversion, which usually costs about $10,000, plus all the work and knowledge.”  Welty echoes these sentiments, with a caveat regarding the troublesome CitiCar brakes (and lack of a parking brake).

“Three years ago, I couldn’t have possibly imagined myself building an electric car,” admits Nelson.  “I’m just trying to make do with what I have to make the world a little better. I have come to find that few things in life work they way I wished they do.  If they often don’t “fit in the box,” the only thing to do is change the box.”  One time Nelson even got pulled over for a speeding ticket while out for a test drive, material for one of his electric car forum posts.

Welty also shares the innovative, can-do spirit.  “I do what I do with the CitiCars not to make money, but to express the opportunities that rest with renewable energy and electric powered transportation.”

“If there’s somebody else out there that has more of them in one town, I’d sure like to hear from them,” smiles Welty, reflecting on the per capita ownership of CitiCars in Browntown.  He’s quick to admit that if he sells one or two of his restored CitiCars (which he plans to do), then Browntown will lose its claim to fame.

But I won’t be parting with my CitiCar, that much is for sure.

Photography: John Ivanko/www.innnserendipity.com

“In 2010, the first round-the-world trip powered by solar energy will be realized, with stopovers, along the equator, where the maximum amount of sunlight is available. The over 40,000-km voyage will last 120 days, for an average speed of 10 knots. PlanetSolar’s two-man crew will cross the Atlantic Ocean, the Panama Canal, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and finally the Suez Canal, to return to the Mediterranean.”

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A Swedish inventor has unveiled a solar-powered water purifier that could provide billions of the world’s poorest people with access to clean and disease-free drinking water [video].

The device, called the Solvatten, (Swedish for ’sun water’), looks much the same as a standard jerrycan and can be filled with up to ten liters of water, opened out, and left in the sun. A simple indicator shows either a red or green face to let users know when the water is safe to drink (typically after 3-4 hours), thus avoiding the risk of contracting water-borne diseases.

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The most technologically advanced, eco-friendly, solar powered playground, the first of its kind in North America, is being dedicated in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward today.

The Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans suffered catastrophic flooding after Hurricane Katrina pummeled New Orleans on August 29, 2005, and many of the residents lost their homes.

They also lost something else.

Playgrounds.

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Swiss company BKW has revealed that it plans to launch a 20-30 meter long solar-powered submarine. The vessel, to be used as a tourist attraction, will feature a huge ‘living-room’ style passenger area, as well as 60-70cm viewing portholes.

Under the plan, called Project Goldfish, a team of engineers will build a submarine, capable of carrying 20-30 passengers and two crew, at a depth of up to 300 meters across Lake Thun. Since it operates underwater, the team has figured that it’s pointless to attach solar panels on the sub itself. Instead, the vessel will fully recharge at a floating solar platform on the surface of the lake, decked out with 300m2 of solar collectors capable of supplying up to 30kW of renewable energy.

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Meraki — the ubiquitous WiFi company — announced that their much anticipated solar unit will begin shipping on December 4 as part of the company’s mission to bring affordable Internet access to everyone. Here in San Francisco, I often connect my iPhone to their Free the Net hot spots while out and about.

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New York City goes green by launching a 100% wind and solar powered billboard this Holiday Season.

As alternative energy continues to be the hot topic in our flailing economy, New York City sets an environmental example by launching Times Square’s first 100 percent eco-powered billboard.

The billboard powered entirely by wind and sun, is the first such sign in New York City. It will be erected by Ricoh Company, Ltd., a Japanese company that strives to be outstanding in all areas of the environment, society, and the economy. Their first eco-signage project dates back to April 2003 in Osaka, Japan.

Powered By Wind Turbines and Solar Panels

The electricity for the billboard will be produced entirely by solar and wind power and stored in 16 batteries. No electricity will be purchased from local power companies.

Sixteen wind turbines and 65 solar panels will produce an average of 98 kwh of electricity per day (93 kwh from wind power and 5kwh from solar). To put the savings into perspective: the same amount of electricity required by an ordinary sign would result in as much as 18 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The batteries can hold four days worth of supply. However if there is insufficient wind or solar power, the sign may not light up, an eventuality that Ricoh readily accepts.

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British car-maker Lotus has unveiled an environmentally-friendly concept car, which is partly made of hemp, at the British International Motor Show. The Lotus Eco-Elise (pictured above) sports body panels manufactured entirely from hemp (they’re the brown bits on the roof and bonnet).

Compared to metal, hemp is a very lightweight material, which helps to improve vehicle performance and promote greater fuel-efficiency. Hemp is also a renewable, lightweight material that absorbs CO2 through photosynthesis. In addition, the particular type of hemp used by Lotus is ethically produced in close proximity to the manufacturing plant, keeping a lid on the emissions made through transportation.

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Since their launch in 2006, Noon Solar has sold out of every product line within weeks after manufacturing. Based in Chicago, Noon Solar creates bags for those who are both eco and fashion conscious. Now you can enjoy that lunch in the park or drive to your next appointment all while charging your cell phone, PDA or digital camera using the sun’s power!

As the founders say “you can bury this bag in the backyard, but you’ll never want to”. Made of biodegradable materials like organic hemp and cotton these bags can skip the landfill (after you’ve removed, reused or recyled the solar panel and hardware). Although I’d likely give it away when I was done with it rather than throwing it in the compost, it’s nice to know it can be done.

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