Category:Solar
Energy production methods that convert sunlight into electricity, photovoltaic and solar thermal. Thermal can also heat water and air for domestic use. See also Energy page
For other specific examples of alternative energy production methods, see Geothermal, Hydrogen Nuclear, Bio-fuels and Wind.
For environmental issues related to energy production, see Global Warming and Fracking,as well as Fossil Fuels.
See also Sustainability and Transportation. Grist.org has excellent coverage of energy issues.
Contents
Overviews
The 20 Best Cities For Solar Power As America Prepares For An Energy 'Revolution' 4/14.
Earth Policy Institute overview/stats/status Link.
Three new PBS shows on energy and climate: EARTH: The Operators' Manual, Energy Quest USA and Powering the Planet. 4/12 Power Surge by PBS Nova explores green energy. 4/11. Also NPR's Burn: An Energy Journal see also (video).
Our Energy Dilemma in Three Easy Charts.
Utilities for dummies: How they work and why that needs to change includes solar. 5/13
Humor: video. Evil mad scientists are clearly behind all energy innovations humor/. US is T-Rex of energy use.
Greenpeace Report: Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable U.S.A. Energy Outlook, details how the United States can cut greenhouse gas emissions to the levels we must reach in order to prevent the worst effects of global warming and simultaneously build a sustainable economy. 16 page summary
Sustainable Energy – without the hot air recommended by Stewart Brand.
Environmental Working Group has info and action.
Pembina Institute info on green energy transition (Canada).
Beyond the Light Switch This two-part, two-hour documentary series thoughtfully considers the trade offs of carbon capture and storage, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, a nuclear renaissance, the costs of solar power, the sprawl of wind power and the feasibility of a super grid.
The Evolving Energy Revolution: Stanford's Jane Woodward visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss the energy landscape. February 2009, part of the Green@Google series. How do we use energy? Why should we care about energy? How about a revolution? (video). An excellent systemic Big Picture view.
College 8/EE 81C has lots of great resources, though you'll need to access via UCSC Library.
California Plan for green energy In 2009 Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi, a research scientist at the University of California, Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, published a cover story in Scientific American outlining a plan to power 100 percent of the world’s energy (for all purposes) using wind, water and solar technologies (WWS for shorthand). Their list of acceptable technologies includes several different kinds of solar power, on- and offshore wind turbines, geothermal, tidal, and hydropower. No nukes, no natural gas, no ethanol—only the real deal renewables.
People
Saul Griffith is doing some of the most interesting work around energy. In this webcast, he'll take a scientific look (physics and chemistry based) at all of the earth's energy resources, both stored (nuclear and fossil fuels) as well as renewable (solar, wind, wave, geothermal, tidal, wave, photosynthetic). Looking at the sizes of each of these resources and comparing them to humanity's energy consumption is far from depressing. Although humanity uses a lot of energy, there are very large sources of non-carbon producing energy that can be tapped to meet our needs.this is a brilliant and funny 60 minute talk, plus 30 Q&A) at LongNow****. Saul has multiple degrees in materials science and mechanical engineering and completed his PhD in Programmable Assembly and Self Replicating machines at MIT. He is the co-founder of numerous companies including: Low Cost Eyeglasses, Squid Labs, Potenco, Instructables.com, HowToons, Makani Power, and WattzOn, a free online tool to quantify, track, compare and understand the total amount of energy needed to support all of the facets of your lifestyle. Saul has been awarded numerous awards for invention including the National Inventors Hall of Fame, Collegiate Inventor's award, and the Lemelson-MIT Student prize. In 2007 he received a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant." fantastic TEDtalk on high altitude wind. short video on his carbon diet.
Elon Musk(TEDtalk) has made huge contributions as a designer and entrepreneur because he imagined what was inevitable and caught the wave to that early: Tesla electric cars, private sector spaceflight and solar energy. extensive bio interview 1/13 The Future of Energy and Transport Oxford 2012. He promises to share the technology.See also Electric cars. SpaceX will carry people.
Energy from floating algae pods Call it "fuel without fossils": UCSC's Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. He has done prototypes in Santa Cruz (TEDtalk 9/12).
Jihan Gearon, Navajo and African American, has been diligently working to introduce the idea of renewable energy systems to tribal members. 1/16 Grist 50. See Native Americans
News Sites
Greenmuze has lots of out-there ideas including a desert solar ice maker.
Treehugger on solar power and energy and technology.
News Stories
Social entrepreneur bringing power to Gaza 1/20 see Entrepreneurship.
Can a Field of Mirrors Slash Industry Emissions? 11/19. Heliogen.
Giant Floating Solar Farms Could Make Fuel and Help Solve the Climate Crisis, Says Study 11/19 see Bio-Fuels.
World's First Road That Recharges Vehicles While Driving Opens in Sweden.World's First Solar Road Opens in France 12/16 Solar Road Will Provide Power to 5 Million People.
Solar Capacity Exceeded All Other Fuel Sources Combined in 2017, Study Finds In 2017, the world invested more in solar power than it did in any other energy technology and installed more new solar capacity than all other energy sources combined, including fossil fuels 3/18.
Scientists Are Closer to Making Solar-Powered Jets a Reality 11/17.
Ready to Purchase Solar Power Right From Your Neighbor's Roof? Brooklyn startup are making it possible to auction rooftop solar power directly to your neighbors, creating a market for home-grown clean energy.
California Reaches Solar Milestone, Electricity Prices Turn Negative Solar power met roughly half of California's electricity demand for the first time on March 11, according to new estimates from the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA estimated that almost 40 percent of electricity on the grid between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. came from California's large-scale solar plants, with smaller solar installations on homes and businesses supplying the rest. When factored with other sources of clean energy in the state, renewable energy accounted for more than 55 percent of power on the grid on March 11. 4/17
World's First Solar Road Opens in France 12/16 Solar Road Will Provide Power to 5 Million People.
8 States That Made 2016 a Huge Year for Clean Energy
Solar robot boat stuck but plane crosses the Atlantic 6/16.
This Must-See Documentary Shows the Future of Solar Power Is Here Today 3/16.
Driving Cars Powered by Organic Solar Cells Might Be Closer Than You Think: The German solar company Heliatek has set a new record for organic solar cells, a type of photovoltaic that uses organic electronics to produce electricity, by increasing its efficiency to 13.2 percent. This may not sound very impressive, but organic solar cells boasted a mere 3 percent efficiency just a decade ago. “Organic solar cells are far less efficient than their silicon cousins, but they are also far less expensive,” CleanTechnica explained. “They are also flexible and transparent (or semi-transparent), so they can be used over a huge range of applications including buildings and yes, cars.”
2015: A Banner Year for Solar Energy.
Solar-Powered Water Wheel Removes 350 Tons of Trash From Baltimore Harbor 12/15.
The Panoche Valley is one of the last refuges for some of our most imperiled wildlife in California,a place to weather the coming threats due to climate change. Right now the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is considering whether to allow a solar project to destroy this crucial habit (endangered species -- the giant kangaroo rat, San Joaquin kit fox and blunt-nosed leopard lizard).11/15 take action. Sierra Club.
China is helping Pakistan build the largest solar farm in the world. The Chinese company Xinjiang SunOasis took only three months to install a 100-Megawatt (MW), 400,000-panel pilot power project—marking the first solar power plant in Pakistan.
New Record-Breaking Solar Device Could Be Game-Changer for Powering Homes: Australian researchers have set a new world-record 22 percent conversion efficiency for artificial photosynthesis (hydrogen). 8/15.
Ditching Fossil Fuels and Switching to 100% Renewables No Problem, Says Stanford Study and Hawaii goes for 100%. US set to break record again on solar installation 2015.
Solar Impulse Attempts Historic Flight Across the Pacific 6/15. Solar-Powered Airplane Prepares for Groundbreaking Around-the-World Flight 3/15. Solar plane zero emissions, 4/15.
How Solar Panels Could Save Lives in War-Torn Gaza 6/15.
DIY installation 10/14.
9/14 update includes policy.
How a Solar-Powered Water Wheel Can Clean 50,000 Pounds of Trash Per Day From Baltimore’s Inner Harbor 6/14 see Plastic.
In Latest Step In Its ‘War On Smog’ Effort, China Says It Will Triple Solar Capacity By 2017 5/14.
Solar roads goesviral (video). 5/14
RE-Volv, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization, is working to make solar more financially accessible to local community groups. The organization is building a program that allows community centers to make the switch to clean energy with no upfront costs. See Economics.
U.S. Solar Industry Had Record-Shattering Year in 2013 3/14.
Solar is keeping California’s lights on as hydro dries up 2/14
Tortoise vs solar farm. Update 1/14 (video).
Can Microgrids Bring Low-Carbon Power to Tens of Millions of People? 1/14.
Big energy breakthroughs of 2013. see Energy.
IBM solar collector magnifies sun by 2,000x (without cooking itself), costs 3x less than similar systems, 80% efficient.
Solar Bike 4/15 see also Solar bike, enclosed, carries cargo too. See Transportation.
Overwhelming the Grid with Renewable Energy 10/13.
California utilities say, “No batteries for you!” 10/13.
Integrated PV vs panels.
Peru To Provide Free Solar Power To 2 Million Of Its Poorest Residents By 2016
Solar Fridge See also Sustainability
According to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar power could very well be responsible for over a third of our energy supply by the year 2060. Van Jones solar outlook 2013 on BigThink (video). Ray Kurzweil predictions, record 67% percent growth last year.
California utility customers installed a record-breaking 391 megawatts of solar power systems last year. That was a banner year for the nation’s largest photovoltaic rebate scheme, with installations up 26 percent compared with 2011.
California town of Sebastopol will require solar panels on all new homes 5/13
Solar panels could destroy U.S. utilities (coal), according to U.S. utilities 4/13
Electric vehicles could stabilize grid, make money as batteries 5/13. see EV's.
Solar financing startup Mosaic, which wants to be the “Kickstarter for solar,” has a lot to celebrate. This week, it released a platform that lets average people – you and me – invest in solar projects with as little $25.
Solar powered plane can fly in the dark. Takeoff! 5/13. 7/13 update.Solar boat circles the world, and trike set to do same (see transportation Out There Ideas).
Window gadget provides plugin solar power to go.
The next big thing in energy: Decentralization 3/13.
Germany gets more than half it's power from solar. How they did it? win-win.
Feed in tariffs democratize energy creation, is helping Germany and China to take the lead in solar. 1/13.
Is Solar Energy the Next Great Crowdfunding Experiment?
Solar breakthrough, cheaper than coal. 1/13.
Solar Industry Borrows a Page, and a Party, From Tupperware 12/12
19 year old's solar power breakthrough. 9/11 Also a Genius Award winner on energy conservation software Interview.
Energy democracy: Three ways to bring solar to the masses (nice overview current situation, including community mini-grids) 9/12.
Solar plane attempts transcontinental flight in preparation for world trip. 5/12
Plant based solar energy. Scientists at Vanderbilt University are using proteins found in spinach to generate solar power. (audio) 9/12.
Google's Green Energy Czar on Solar Thermal Energy (video).
Solar thermal to heat houses (videos).
Japan's new solar R&D park. also images.
Freeing energy from the grid Justin Hall-Tipping (TEDtalk).
Solar cooker text and audio 8/11.
UCBerzerkeley is building an artificial leaf, a super-efficient solar power source. (Audio) 11/10.
3D map shows NYC solar potential video 7/11.
MIT researchers have discovered an inexpensive way to harness and store the sun's energy. The new technology only needs 5 liters of water, 4 hours of sun and a 16 x 20 foot array of solar panels to produce 30 kilowatt hours of electricity. That's enough to power a four-person household all day—and night.
After 55 years of development, photovoltaic electric generation is at a historic moment as it transitions from a niche technology to a significant source of clean, carbon-free energy. Swanson discusses the promise of photovoltaic solar energy, policy issues needed to meet this promise, and how the industry is addressing these challenges. video 10/09.
Photovoltaic electricity explained (video from Beyond the Light Switch documentary)
Scientific American's Musser explains how he installed PV. (video)
Thin Film solar shingles, the future? (video from Beyond the Light Switch documentary)
California - Carbon = A Cleaner World? GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. Recorded Sep 24 2009 Link audio (free Realplayer download required).
The New Gridlock: Los Angeles may be facing a new kind of gridlock; not on the road, but on the electrical grid. 3/09
Solar Realities: This two-part series explores the issues, opportunities and challenges surrounding solar power in California.
SAVED BY THE SUN - The State of the Union for Solar Energy webinar by creators of Nova program. Quicktime video. 2010
Solar Incentive US map, Oregon's pilots of a solar highway (and other useful graphs and info)
Paul MacCready flies on solar wings 2010 update
The QinetiQ Zephyr unmanned solar plane has just shattered the world record for unmanned long duration flight by completing two weeks of non-stop flight at Yuma, Arizona, easily passing the previous official 30 hour record set back in 2001 by Northrop Grumman's RQ-4A Global Hawk. QinetiQ is a UK defence and research company that designed the Zephyr to be ultra-light, so light in fact that it is launched by five people holding it above their heads and trotting down the runway until the plane develops sufficient lift.
Bill Gross, the founder of Idealab, talks about his life as an inventor, starting with his high-school company selling solar energy plans and kits. Learn here about a groundbreaking system for solar cells -- and some questions we haven't yet solved.
solar furnace melts steel (and incinerates hot dogs) video.
In 1979 President Carter tried to move America off of oil dependence. Part of this was install solar panels on the White House. These were removed by President Reagan. video. See also Documentary and Trailer
Solar water heaters made from plastic soda bottles video.
| Group purchase gets residential solar to grid parity in Los Angeles | |
| 12/12 |
Back for a second round, the Open Neighborhoods organization in Los Angeles has organized another group purchase of residential and commercial solar PV, bringing the lifetime cost of solar well under the cost of grid electricity even for individual homeowners. The savings from the group purchase are enormous. With prices are around $4.40 per Watt installed for solar, Open Neighborhoods gets residential solar for $2 cheaper than the average residential-scale solar prices reported by the Solar Energy Industries Association for the second quarter of 2011. That equates to a 6-cents-per-kilowatt-hour savings on solar over 25 years. Even though solar power is typically cheaper in California than elsewhere in the U.S., the group purchase promises savings of as much as 33 percent on a residential solar array. More |
Maps/Graphics
Solar Incentive US map, Oregon's pilots of a solar highway (and other useful graphs and info).
America's Energy, Where It's From and How It's Used
Our Energy Dilemma in Three easy Charts.
U.S. map showing installations of non-hydro renewable energy in 1970 compared to today.
Video
Solar roads goesviral (video). 5/14
This Must-See Documentary Shows the Future of Solar Power Is Here Today 3/16
Cooking with solar video.
Electric helicopter promotional.
Energy from floating algae pods Call it "fuel without fossils": UCSC's Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. He has done prototypes in Santa Cruz (TEDtalk 9/12).
Using nature to grow batteries. Inspired by an abalone shell, Angela Belcher programs viruses to make elegant nanoscale structures that humans can use. Selecting for high-performing genes through directed evolution, she's produced viruses that can construct powerful new batteries, clean hydrogen fuels and record-breaking solar cells (Video TEDtalk).
Power Struggle: Why the green energy dream may not happen. PBS Now documentary 23 min. NOW travels to California, which has the most ambitious clean energy plan in the nation. But the state's efforts face stiff opposition from property owners and conservationists who prefer renewable energy from "local sources," such as photovoltaic rooftop solar panels. 8/09 link. See also PBS Nova CA's Big Energy Gamble.
Three new PBS shows on energy and climate: EARTH: The Operators' Manual, Energy Quest USA and Powering the Planet. 4/12 Power Surge by PBS Nova explores green energy. 4/11. Also NPR's Burn: An Energy Journal see also (video).
The Evolving Energy Revolution: Stanford's Jane Woodward visits Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss the energy landscape. February 2009, part of the Green@Google series. How do we use energy? Why should we care about energy? How about a revolution? (video). An excellent systemic Big Picture view.
Saul Griffith is doing some of the most interesting work around energy. In this webcast, he'll take a scientific look (physics and chemistry based) at all of the earth's energy resources, both stored (nuclear and fossil fuels) as well as renewable (solar, wind, wave, geothermal, tidal, wave, photosynthetic). Looking at the sizes of each of these resources and comparing them to humanity's energy consumption is far from depressing. Although humanity uses a lot of energy, there are very large sources of non-carbon producing energy that can be tapped to meet our needs.this is a brilliant and funny 60 minute talk, plus 30 Q&A) at LongNow****. great talk at PARC solar work in 23 min.
Scientific American's Musser explains how he installed PV. (video).
Thin Film solar shingles, the future? (video from Beyond the Light Switch documentary).
Audio
The toxic side of solar energy with C8 alum Dustin Mulvaney.
Solar cooker text and audio 8/11.
Plant based solar energy. Scientists at Vanderbilt University are using proteins found in spinach to generate solar power. (audio) 9/12.
UCBerzerkeley is building an artificial leaf, a super-efficient solar power source. (Audio) 11/10.
California - Carbon = A Cleaner World? GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. Recorded Sep 24 2009 Link audio (free Realplayer download required).
Books
Solar Entrepreur Danny Kennedy’s new book, Rooftop Revolution: How Solar Power Can Save Our Economy -- and Our Planet interview 5/13
== Plant-Based Solar == (see also Bio-Mimicry) and Bio-Energy
Plant based solar energy. Scientists at Vanderbilt University are using proteins found in spinach to generate solar power. (audio) 9/12.
UCBerzerkeley is building an artificial leaf, a super-efficient solar power source. (Audio) 11/10.
Plant based solar energy 2/12 GMO virus assembles nanotubes for solar.
Energy from floating algae pods Call it "fuel without fossils": UCSC's Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. He has done prototypes in Santa Cruz (TEDtalk 9/12).
Energy from sewage/algae Loe.org 5/10
Microbes Transform Wastewater to Energy LOE.org audio and text 2/12.
Juan Enriquez offers a glimpse of some ground-breaking research to explore the potential of bioenergy. Our current energy sources -- coal, oil, gas -- are ultimately derived from ancient plants -- they're "concentrated sunlight." He asks, Can we learn from that process and accelerate it? TEDtalk video.
A solar powered floating scum collector that sucks up algae and combines it with a chemical (this part is a bit vague) and transforms it into bio-oil instantly. When you need oil, you can go to your pond or swimming pool and harvest it instantly.
Plant based solar energy. Scientists at Vanderbilt University are using proteins found in spinach to generate solar power. (audio) 9/12.
Solar Cooking/ Water Heating/Passive (Green)houses
California Solar Initiative CSI-Thermal Program.
Solar cookstove breakthrough 9/13. see Sustainable design
UCSC’s Family Student Housing Solar Energy Potential EE180J - Spring 2011. Co-author Alex Sassoon Mentor: Ben Oberhand, Environmental Studies, Green Campus Program.
Solar Design Challenges
solar car race and World solar challenge featured in Secrets of Ra 7.
Solar Decathelon see (current designs) another article and slideshow. 10/11 UPDATES 2012 winner is low cost. video.
Solar Decathelon 2015 winners; see (current designs) another article and slideshow. 10/11 UPDATES 2012 winner is low cost. 2013 update video.
UCSC Research
Sue Carter, a professor of physics, is developing cheaper and more efficient solar cells. She was awarded five new grants this year totaling more than $1 million to fund her research. As the first recipient of the Faculty Climate Action Champion Award, physics professor Sue Carter will establish a campus sustainability lab to support student-led research and training. 10/15. ***
new solar cell materials Physics grad student Katie Hellier—who also has a degree in fashion—is doing research into solar 10/17. Works with Carter.
Energy from floating algae pods Call it "fuel without fossils": UCSC's Jonathan Trent is working on a plan to grow new biofuel by farming micro-algae in floating offshore pods that eat wastewater from cities. He has done prototypes in Santa Cruz (TEDtalk 9/12).
Elliot Anderson and Jennifer Parker are featured artists in Groundswell. Parker and Barney Haynes present a new media installation that interactively engages gallery viewers with solar wind data. Anderson examines the technological landscape with a hydroponic garden that phytoremediates water polluted with mercury and other heavy metals left from 19th century mining operations.
Sue Carter, a professor of physics, is developing cheaper and more efficient solar cells. She was awarded five new grants this year totaling more than $1 million to fund her research.
Nobuhiko Kobayashi, associate professor of electrical engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering is principal investigator on a project based on a unique thin-film waveguide that collects sunlight and transforms it to match an optical fiber with minimum losses compared to traditional light-concentrating optics.A $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) will support research at UC Santa Cruz on the development of an innovative optical device for harvesting concentrated sunlight into an optical fiber for applications such as thermal storage, photovoltaic conversion, or solar lighting.
Joel Kubby, associate professor of electrical engineering, works on Quantum Dots to increase the efficiency of Silicon solar cells, as well as development of a renewable-energy microgrid at NASA Ames.
Ken Pedrotti co-teaches a green energy course EE/CLEI 81C.
Ali Shakouri works to make energy use more efficient. his website.
John Vesecky Electrical Engineering is working on Greening the Wharf, (website) in Santa Cruz. He also does HF radar design and construction and observation of ocean surface winds, waves and currents with applications to coastal and deep water ocean processes; project MEDSAT.
Jin Zhang explores emerging technological applications of advanced nanomaterials in areas such as solar energy conversion, hydrogen generation and storage, cancer biomarker detection, photocatalysis, sensors, imaging, detectors, and lasers. A number of projects have been accomplished and several are currently under investigation.
UCSC’s Family Student Housing Solar Energy Potential EE180J - Spring 2011. Mentor: Ben Oberhand, Environmental Studies, Green Campus Program.
Michael Geneau, ’11, has had a few different environmental jobs since graduating. He work as a contracting biologist on the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generation Facility, and then worked at the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. Most recently he worked for the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center.
Grant Marr, '11 writes “since I did my senior paper (for Tim Duane's class) about distributed generation solar energy, I decided to look into solar jobs after graduating. Now I am working at Sungevity, a residential solar company based in Oakland that has been expanding like crazy in the last couple of years. I didn't think I would want to join a sales team, but it is a really fun work environment!”
Local Resources
College 8/EE 81C has lots of great resources, though you'll need to access via UCSC Library.
UCSC student-led projects. Wind on the Wharf is also a UCSC project.
Center for Sustainable Energy and Power Systems update on partnership with Hartnell.
Transitions Santa Cruz. "Our mission is to be a catalyst for Santa Cruz' relocalization—the development of local self-reliance in food, energy, transportation, media, systems of care, economy and the arts—through a broadly inclusive community-building process." Monthly gathering the third Weds of the month.
The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating change for a clean energy future. Join us to learn about energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean transportation; take advantage of incentive programs and help promote sustainable policies and developing technologies.
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