How does a solar panel system really work? A guide for the layman and beginner.

For this week and next week, the news services will focus on the Democratic and Republican conventions, respectively. From now until Election Day, observers can expect to see discussion of climate change policies and technologies attached firmly to discussion of the relative merits of Barack Obama and John McCain’s energy proposals.
In one of the [...]

This not-exactly economical solar table and a great instance of the Olympics using solar deserve mention, but cooler still is Oregon’s decision to use solar to help power a highway interchange.
OregonLive.com, which reported the story, states that “it represents a critical first step in what the department envisions as widespread use of solar energy.” [...]

Not too much news in residential or commercial solar technology this week, so this seems like a wonderful opportunity to share that the Guinness world record for distance traveled in a solar car looks vulnerable after an Ontario man rode the famed Dempster Highway all the way up to the Arctic Circle, using nothing more [...]

The wizards at MIT have come up with yet another project that is nifty, cool, and eminently practical, with the invention of a simple, homemade $17 solar cooker designed for use in rural areas. The only materials are Mylar coating, yak wool, and bamboo ribs. In many countries across the world people cook with materials [...]

The past couple weeks, I’ve looked at various options for financing the purchase of a PV system. This week, we’re gonna dig a little bit deeper into the numbers. (Bear with me. I’ll try to make this as clear and as un-boring as possible…).
Bottom line: before buying a system, you’ll want to know what kind [...]

Last week, I had the fortune to tour a production site of Beijing Tsinghua Solar Co., Ltd., one of China’s biggest manufacturers of solar hot water systems. While the facility itself lies in the brownish, dusty outskirts of Beijing, where the grass grows sparsely and the sky remains a stubborn gray from sunup until sundown, [...]

The more I’ve studied international cooperation as it pertains to climate change, the more I’ve come to believe that a mainstay of the solution will ultimately lie with technology. Put differently, I don’t think that we can stabilize CO2 levels just by getting everyone to give up their car in favor of riding their bike [...]

Sometimes, it’s important to take a break from serious policy issues - which Margaret, Adam, Connie, and Matt tend to speak about a lot more intelligently than me - and reminder ourselves how cool solar can be. Especially on a Friday.
Over at Got2BeGreen, here’s a great post about solar-powered purses. Was the world anxiously [...]

For a long time, solar has been finding itself on non-traditional surfaces in fresh, yet practical, ways. The presence of solar shingles and solar billboards attests to this. Now take, for example, a solar balloon project called Sunhope.
 
 This initiative, which is being developed by architect Joseph Cory and aerospace engineer Dr. Pini Gurfil, of [...]