Largest Solar power plant in Arizona..

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/02/25/world%e2%80%99s-largest-solar-power-plant-coming-to-arizona-in-2011/
"the enormous solar plant called Solana will power up to 70,000 homes, and will be the first example in the country of a major utility getting the majority of its energy from solar. The 1900 acre plant will be completed by 2011 – IF AND ONLY IF Congress renews the clean energy tax credit that’s set to expire at the end of 2008."

Solar powered Dragonfly!

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/02/solar_dragonfly.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

Interesting robot with solar cells..

Fabric may make the first real power suit

Electricity from Cloth we wear..
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080213/full/news.2008.572.html

Solar energy tapped without Solar panels

Solar energy tapped without Solar panel..
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/02/11/clean-energy-startup-infinia-raises-50-million-to-crank-up-manufacturing/

"Using its Stirling engine technology, Inifnia thinks it can eventually produce electricity 20 to 30 percent cheaper than today’s existing solar panels. And in times of peak energy demand—on a hot summer day, for instance—it could even be competitive with electricity from gas-powered or coal-fired plants. Renewable energy isn’t going to replace fossil-fuel technologies off the bat, but if they make economic sense for utilities to deploy in a hybrid grid, they will become more cost-competitive over time. With this round, there is $50 million on the table that says Infinia will be one of the companies that makes renewable energy more affordable."

Can't disagree on the economy aspect!!

Energy is everywhere. In the sun, wind, and now rain.

"Energy is everywhere. In the sun, wind, and now rain.

Researchers have developed a technique that harvests energy from rain showers and converts it into electricity. The technology could work in industrial air conditioning systems, where water condenses and drops like rain."

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/07/raindrops-energy.html

"The method relies on a plastic called PVDF (for polyvinylidene difluoride), which is used in a range of products from pipes, films, and wire insulators to high-end paints for metal. PVDF has the unusual property of piezoelectricity, which means it can produce a charge when it's mechanically deformed.

Guigon and his team embedded electrodes into a thin membrane of PVDF, just 25 micrometers thick (it takes 1,000 micrometers to make one millimeter). Then they bombarded the sheet with drops of water varying in diameter from 1 to 5 mm."

Human energy generation..

Not spiritual energy :), Energy from your legs while you walk!.

http://www.news.com/2300-1008_3-6229842-1.html?tag=nefd.pop

Solar power, full use

I am watching the shuttle docking to the ISS and the bright Orange glow of the solar panels on the ISS. Probably one day we should be able to make this work in ground too..

Energy from Spinach!

MIT's energy institute on power from Spinach!, I think they should call it the energy that powered Popeye[the sailor man] is now real :)

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/08/71574

Thin Solar cells

Nanosolar's factories have started rolling out thin solar panel strips..
http://www.news.com/greentech/8301-11128_3-9835241-54.html?tag=nefd.top

Can it be tough to endure the harsh weathers of tropical countries??

Solar Engine Whips Waste Heat Into Power

Interesting way to reuse energy that normally goes waste[from both carbon based as well as non carbon energies].

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/01/25/engine-solar-energy.html
"A new engine with no moving parts has been shown to convert waste heat and concentrated solar energy into electricity better than conventional solar panels."

Solar power initiatives list(around the world)

List of all solar power initiatives[non commercial ones mostly] around the world..
http://www.solarbuzz.com/Links/OffGrid.htm

Solar Energy in India

Interesting detail on cost of solar vs. conventional power generation in India.
http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Feb62008/national2008020650740.asp
"At present, the cost of producing 1 mw of solar power is about Rs 20 crore as compared to Rs 5 crore for thermal power generation."

First post and disclaimers..

This is my first post on this topic. As I have mentioned in my profile, I am eagerly following the trends in the non carbon energy technological developments in the area of Solar, Wind, Hydro and Hydrogen etc. I feel that with the increasing cost of the carbon based fuels these alternate, green fuels can be competing for the energy consumption for ordinary consumers like me. I do not work in the energy area and I am not promoting the products which I blog here. I will post tidbits of information which I gather around the net that may be of interest to you!.