So today we’re going to delve into one of the most important pieces of your solar energy system: the inverter. The solar energy that your PV solar panels capture is naturally direct current (DC), meaning it flows in a single direction. The inverter converts the electricity into alternating current (AC), so that the it can flow in back and forth and feed electricity to different areas of your home.

Google.org has made it widely known that it intends to aid the progression of renewable energy development in any way possible. The company is pushing for quicker development of rechargeable vehicles through its Recharge IT Project and, though its RE<C program, is trying to develop one gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity in the next few years at a price that is cheaper than one GW of coal-based electricity. One GW is enough to power a city roughly the size of San Francisco for a full day. Each of these initiatives is part of Google.org's Clean Energy 2030 Plan — a proposal on how to shift the global economy from one that depends on fossil fuels to one that is based on clean energy.

It’s been quite the busy day in Nevada in terms of solar energy, as two major solar power plants took steps toward completion.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are once again entering the solar technology field to help solve one of solar’s most pressing questions: how can we efficiently store and transport solar energy?

For the nerds out there who want to learn fun details of solar technology without taking engineering classes, we have a brief intro to solar parabolic troughs. Nope — these don’t look like the panels that grace the rooftops of homes and buildings to generate clean electricity. Parabolic troughs are solar thermal technology: they use [...]

The Hawaiian Hospitality Group, Inc. (HHGI) – which works with all levels of government to ease land restrictions on under-used waterfront property on the Hawaiian islands in order to use the land for recreation and/or visitor-serving income projects – will soon utilize solar energy on its own develoment properties.

1366 Technologies raised $20 million this week in second round funding from Hanwha Chemical and Ventizz Capital, along with earlier investors Polaris Venture Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners. 1366, whose name refers to the amount of sunlight hitting the earth (1366 watts per square meter), has developed a solar manufacturing process that will cut [...]

The Arizona Public Service (APS), the largest utility company in the state, is testing a new piece of smart grid technology on two of its electricity distribution lines in Flagstaff, Arizona that could slash the time it takes to recognize and repair power outages.

For the non-engineers out there who are interested in learning as much as possible about how solar panels work, here’s a brief overview of micro-inverters and what they can add to a solar installation. Solar panels need (micro)inverters to convert the electricity they produce to a type that can be used at home. Solar photovoltaic [...]

The U.S. Department of Defense has developed two different types of portable renewable energy systems for frontline soldiers in Afghanistan to use.