In a move that is less than popular, energy company Xcel Energy has pulled its support out of the Colorado solar energy market. You might remember Xcel Energy from a story I wrote back in 2009 about how Xcel Energy was charging solar customers who were using their solar panels to make electricity but not [...]
Read More colorado, photovoltaics, PV, Solar, solar energy, solar panels, That's Corrupt!, XCel EnergyIt's a cold, foggy day in San Francisco, so I'm going to throw a bunch of sunshine on the grill (and by grill, I mean internet, naturally). Photo is from JimOnLight fab photog Amanda Lynne Ballard. New favorite holiday: Solar Day! (CleanTechnica) The US Air Force is one of the biggest purchasers of wind power [...]
Read More Jax's Link-o-rama, solar collector, solar energy, solar panelsHave you seen the most recent ad for Toyota and concentrated solar power? I just ran across it a few days ago, thanks to the Green Technology Blog – the ad has some beautiful images in it – me being a lighting designer that loves (loves loves loves) haze and atmospherics in my design work, [...]
Read More advertisements, commercials, concentrated solar power, CSP, solar energy, ToyotaI think that the little solar reflectors look like machines praying to some big solar deity. How cute! But seriously, apparently using CSP (or concentrated solar power – the little praying sun mirrors) in deserts around the world will provide a whole bunch of power – about 25% of the projected need – by 2050. [...]
Read More concentrated solar power, CSP, Solar, solar collector, solar energyI came across an article recently written by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that discusses a discovery made by RPI – a material made from a loosely populated coating of carbon nanotubes that has a reflectance of 0.045. This is ground breaking – the current standard is 1.4%. Researchers have developed this material coating to facilitate [...]
Read More reflectance, research, RPI, solar energy