OK, I know this isn’t strictly the type of car that you’re used to hearing about on Gas 2.0. For starters, you can’t even drive it. But, with Christmas looming just around the corner, I couldn’t resist writing about this funky little hydrogen fuel cell-powered remote-control car.

Called the H2Go, this is a toy car aimed at teaching kids about alternative energy in a fun and exciting way. Forget falling for the classic disappointment of (duh) forgetting the batteries and having to wait till the shops open, this little number runs on a combination of solar and zero-emission hydrogen.

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More efficient energy storage has been a difficult issue for scientists to crack. It is a major issue preventing more widespread use of renewable energy, and solar energy in particular.

Is this project, one funded by a true oil giant, the one that will make it happen?

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The $16 million upgrade project is funded by ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act).  Parkson’s Thermo-System Active Solar Sludge Drying Chambers will enable the sludge conversion process to operate under more than 90% solar power rather than using gas or oil.  For disposing sludge in landfills, that translates into a significant savings in preparation and transportation costs.  Even better, it makes sludge products more cost-competitive with conventional soil amendments and fossil fuels, effectively taking the “waste” out of wastewater.

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No major oil outlets have fully embraced biofuels, although British Petroleum has just announced that it may begin commercial production of ethanol starting in 2010.

BP has partnered with Verenium to bring a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility online next year to start bringing alternative fuels to a gas pump near you.

BP has big plans for biofuels and seems to be marching towards an alternative fuel future faster than many of its competitors. Verenium already has a demonstration plant in Louisiana capable of producing over a million gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually, and BP hopes to ramp production up. The Verenium process uses proprietary enzymes to break down grass feedstock and convert it to ethanol more efficiently.

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Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made a three-dimensional photovoltaic solar cell around an optical fibre, a revolutionary new approach that could pave the way for a new generation of hyper-flexible solar systems.

According to team-leader Professor Zhong Lin Wang, “Using this technology, we can make photovoltaic generators that are foldable, concealed and mobile. Optical fibre could conduct sunlight into a building’s walls where the nanostructures would convert it to electricity. This is truly a three dimensional solar cell.”

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The articles of association for the DESERTEC Industrial Initiative (DII) were signed by the joint venture group of 12 companies and the DESERTEC Foundation in Munich on October 30.

Additionally, a CEO for DII was appointed — Paul van Son.

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Why Concentrated Solar Power

Two of the widely used alternatives for collecting the suns energy are the concentrated solar power (CSP) plant where sunlight is focussed on a receiver in which a circulating working fluid is heated and used as the heating media for a conventional power station and the photo voltaic (PV) plant where sunlight is converted directly into electrical energy.

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A partnership between two companies will develop a home energy monitoring device for residential solar power installations.

Two startups – Tendril Networks, known for its home energy monitoring technology and Fat Spaniel technologies, a solar panel monitoring company – make up the partnership. The purpose of the partnership is to develop a monitoring device for homes that can gauge the sun’s intensity for any particular time and automatically adjust, or even shut down, home appliances as needed.

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Computer technology is always about being one step ahead of competitors. Information technology moves faster than light it seems, and by the time your new computer arrives at your doorstep, it is already out of date. Dell, whose computers can be found in most offices, homes, and campuses across the country, has been doing its best to stay ahead of the curve.

Proving it is both environmentally friendly and hip to the trends of popular culture, Dell has just finished installing a grove of solar trees at its Corporate headquarters in Round Rock, Texas.

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The new efficiency record is 7.6% and it breaks 7% for the first time.

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Just the other day, I wrote that it was a great time to go solar, especially due to the great rebates and discounts on solar technology. Apparently, I jumped the gun and was a few days early. A new report by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab — “Tracking the Sun II: The Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the US from 1998-2008” — shows a significant decrease in solar costs over the last ten years and shows that now is a great time to go solar.

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For those concerned about the US economy or national security risks, T. Boone Pickens and data from the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) show us that foreign oil imports should be at the top of our list. We rely very heavily on foreign oil and send a good chunk of our money to other countries to supply us with that oil — $25 billion last month alone!

Take a closer look.

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California-based eSolar has just announced that it is expanding into southern Africa now. It has partnered with Johannesburg-based Clean Energy Solutions (CES) to create “eSolarSA” which will sell its concentrating solar power technology throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Governor Schwarzenegger just gave solar power a boost in California, especially for relatively small-scale solar generators.

Taking notes from Europe, perhaps, Schwarzenegger signed legislation for a “feed-in tariff” earlier this week that requires Calfornia utilities buy solar power from relatively small generators and at higher than market-value prices.

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New research at the University of Florida (UF) has just brought to light a new method in the capturing and guiding of energy that may lead to cheaper and more efficient solar cells.

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Steven Chu, US Energy Secretary, announced at the start of the Solar Decathlon on DC’s National Mall on Friday that the Department of Energy (DOE) would be dishing out an additional $87 million in new funding for the development and rapid deployment of solar energy technologies.

This money is being given to 47 projects in a range of sub-fields and sectors.

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The solar capacity of the National Mall in Washington D.C. has increased exponentially in just a week as teams of college students from 20 international schools hurriedly reassembled their submissions for the fourth ever Solar Decathlon, a competition in which students must create “the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.” The three-week event kicked of yesterday with an opening ceremony that featured a speech from Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who announced an additional $87 million solar-targeted award for solar energy projects. Here’s a look at some of the impressive solar submissions and the opening day events.

“Decathletes,” as the decathlon participants are called, began construction on October 1, 2009, a full week before the start of the competition. Each house was designed to be deconstructed and then reassembled for the event. The components of each house travel from each team’s school and are reconstituted as the solar-powered homes lining “Decathlete Way” on the National Mall.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Finishing Touches

Solar Decathlon teams hail from all over the continental United States as well as Puerto Rico, Germany, Spain, and Canada.

Here, a member of Team Spain puts the finishing touches on the roof its modern-style solar home. An inverted glass pyramid outfitted with photovoltaic panels and solar water heating collectors rests atop the house via a ball-and-socket mechanism. A solar tracking device orients the pyramid structure as the sun changes throughout the day to achieve the highest efficiency.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Energy Efficient House, Water Efficient Plants

The Solar Decathlon is designed to call attention to the enormous energy challenge that the world faces as well as empower young people to create solutions to the world’s energy problems. The competition has six main goals: 1) to educate; 2) to raise public awareness about clean energy, energy efficiency, and solar, in particular; 3) to hasten the entrance of solar technology into the marketplace; 4) to foster student collaboration among varying academic disciplines; 5) to promote an integrated approach to new construction; and 6) to demonstrate the potential for Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy as the consume.

Here, two Cornell University students work on the landscaping outside of “The Silo House,” which was designed to evoke “the character of a post-agrarian meadow.” The team, which boasts 150 members and the school’s third Solar Decathlon submission, is a true testament to “integrated collaboration” combining the creative geniuses of so many to produce a house consisting of three silos that is a net-zero energy user.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A Wall of Solar

In order to be eligible for judging, each house must be exclusively powered by the sun and energy efficient. Each house must also meet the following criteria: a) attractive and livable; b) maintain a comfortable, healthy interior environment c) contain adequate light; d) power household appliance and home electronic e) provide hot water; f) balance energy production and consumption.

Placing the last solar panel on the roof of their house, Team Germany’s two-story cube shaped house features an 11.1 kw solar façade made out of 40 single-crystal silicon roof panels and 250 thin-film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) panels on the rest of the exterior. With such a technology intense design, the house cost somewhere in the range of $650,000-$850,000.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A View with a Purpose

As the name suggests, there ten solar contests in which the teams must compete. The contest categories include: architecture, market viability, engineering, lighting design, communications, comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment, net metering. The Net Metering contest is worth the most points and uses a utility meter to see how much net energy a given house produces or consumes throughout the competition. The most points are allocated to team who produce more energy than they consume.

The window arrangement in Ohio State’s home not only affords a crystal clear view of the Washington Monument, it is passively designed to take advantage of natural ventilation and day light. Dubbed “Ohio-centric,” by its creators, the house is made from native Ohio materials, contains Whirlpool appliances, and reclaimed barn wood.

Image Credit: Annie Coghill on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Education on the Run

The Solar Decathlon is a teaching moment for the participants as well as the public. Throughout the competition the solar homes are open to the public in order to teach visitors about the importance of clean energy, solar technology, and energy efficiency. In addition to the contests, the event sponsors offer both solar energy and energy efficiency workshops for consumers and industry professionals. For homeowners, two daytime education exhibits displays the anatomy of a solar house and explain the types of “smart choices that can deliver us into a clean energy future.”

Here, a jogger takes advantage of an impromptu opportunity to learn about solar power and the Solar Decathlon from a University of Louisiana decathlete standing in front of the team’s home, BeauSoleil, which means “sunshine” in Cajun French.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Perfect Lighting

DOE Secretary of Energy Steven Chu welcomed the decathletes to the capitol city to start off the three-week decathlon. Taking advantage of the opportunity and the receptive crowd, Chu announced the latest round of DOE clean energy award money, this time $87 million to “support the development of new solar energy technologies and the rapid deployment of available carbon-free energy systems. A full $50 million of the award is come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the economic stimulus package, and is targeted towards projects that are working to make solar cost-competitive by 2015. The money will support 47 projects in four categories: Solar America Cities special projects, solar installer training, high-penetration solar deployment, and research projects at DOE National Laboratories.

Here, Chu joins Team California in front of “Refract House,” which also employs a passive solar design that is ideally suited to sun-soaked California. The house is more than just an educational tool, with information panels that pose key questions and system that allows guests to access the answers via their cell-phones, the abode is equipped with enough information technology to function as a teacher, as well.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

Let the Games Begin

The solar-powered festivities continue today and through October 18, 2009, when the winner is announced. You can visit the U.S Department of Energy Solar Decathlon home page to learn more about the event, the teams, the contests and to see more solar-inspired photography and multimedia.

Here, all twenty teams collect on Decathlete Way in front of their fully constructed and fully functional solar homes. After two years of hard work, these students have not only created incredible solar projects that are prepared for the intense level of competition, they have also gained skills that will shape the world’s clean energy future.

Image Credit: Stefano Paltera from USDOE on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

A new survey shows that 92% of Americans think developing and using solar power is important. The results cross political boundaries and favor solar over all other energy sources.

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Concept car designers have a great job. These vehicles don’t really need to have any basis in reality, they just have to look cool and generate buzz. Sure, when they are practical it is all the better, but sometimes good ideas and good looks don’t always translate into the real world. Take, for example, the BMW Lovos concept, designed by 24 year old Anne Forschner, a design student at Pforzheim University in Germany.

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Dow Chemical Company revealed a new line of solar shingles they say can be installed into roofs made of conventional asphalt shingles.The solar shingles should be available by mid 2010 in a limited supply and then readily accessible by 2011.

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