Nabito Architects has proposed a fascinating new pop-art inspired design for the Taipei Pop Music Center that integrates a photovoltaic facade and a wall clad in LED panels. Depending on the activities of the Pop Music Center that day, the LED media wall can broadcast news, weather, advertisements and trailers for new events. Powered completely by the sun, the LED facade isn’t a drain on the grid when it lights up at night. Although just a proposal for the Taipei Pop Music Center Competition, this music events hall would showcase not only pop musical talents, but an innovative use of renewable energy.

Read the rest of Taipei Pop Music Center Ever Changing Media Wall Powered By The Sun

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", LED screen, LED wall, photovoltaic, Solar Power, taipei, taipei music center

Things really heated up this past few days as we inched closer to finding out who the winner of this year’s Solar Decathlon would be, and in the end Team Germany’s surPLUShouse stole the show. We were sad to see that Cornell University’s Silo House did not place in the top 3, but we still love this totally unconventional and clever home which held steadfastly in the ranks as part of the top 10 throughout the week. As a compact modular structure, the Silo House proves that impressive green, energy-efficient things do come in small spaces!

Read the rest of SOLAR DECATHLON 2009: Cornell Silo House

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: cornell, cornell house, cornell university, Department of Energy, hvac, photovoltaic, Solar Decathlon, Solar Power

At first glance, Graft Lab’s dazzling complex in Dubai may appear to have a cluster of sparkling geometric pools at its base. But upon further inspection, the web-like structures are actually something even more desirable than a place to take a dip in the hot desert – a means of collecting the scorching rays of the sun and transforming them into energy. Dubbed the Vertical Village, this multi-use building and accompanying massive array of solar collectors was designed to work smarter, not harder, which is expected to earn it a LEED Gold certification when it is completed.

Read the rest of Graft Lab’s Vertical Village in Dubai Has Spider Web of Solar Panels

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", desert, dubai, graft lab, Green Building, green construction, photovoltaic, Solar Power, vertical village

A retail lot in Austin, Texas recently sprouted a stunning field of solar sunflowers that soak up the sun’s rays to provide shade while generating a steady stream of renewable energy. Designed by public art team Harries/Heder, the installation consists of 15 flower-like solar photovoltaic panels located on a pedestrian and bike path between the village of Mueller and Austin’s highway I-35. According to Harries/Heder, the flowers are “an icon for the sustainable, LEED certified Mueller Development and a highly visible metaphor for the energy conscious City of Austin.”

Read the rest of Solar Sunflower Field Energizes Austin, Texas

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: austin, green design, harries heder, mueller, photovoltaic, renewable energy, solar, sunflowers, sustainable design, texas

Monolab is aiming to take solar power to extreme heights by designing their sky-high Rotterdam Tower with a skin of photovoltaic panels. At 450 meters, the Rotterdam Tower design is intended to connect Europe’s largest port to the city by reaching into the vertical landscape. The tower, which has been designated as a mixed-use building, will incorporate public, commercial, and residential spaces. An intricate series of gondolas, which move up, down, and diagonally across the tower will leave passengers with a bit of vertigo while affording them an amazing view of the city.

Read the rest of Monolab’s Soaring Solar Rotterdam Tower

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Monolab, Monolab Architects, photovoltaic, Rotterdam Tower, Sustainable Building

By far one of the most wasted spaces of every residence is the roof – of course it is there to protect us from the elements, but surely it can be put to better use. Aiming to innovate upon conventional roof cladding, researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory recently unveiled a new breed of flexible and moisture resistant solar panels that are designed to be rolled out en masse as energy-generating roof tiles!

Read the rest of Researchers Unveil Flexible Solar Cell Roof Shingles

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "clean energy", green energy, pacific northwest national laboratory, photovoltaic, renewable, roof shingle solar cells, Solar Power, sustainable design

Texas is famous for having the biggest of everything, from the biggest capitol in the nation, to the largest population of livestock cattle. And while one may not immediately think of Texas as a green state, that will soon change, as Gemini Solar Development has been selected by Austin Energy to install the United States’ largest solar power facility. A green Texas? Why not!

Read the rest of U.S. Largest Solar Power Facility Approved for Austin

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", austin energy, gemini solar development, green design, photovoltaic, renewable energy, sustainable design, united states' largest solar power plant

In the ever-expanding metropolis of Mexico City, green space is hard to come by. An estimated population of 22 million inhabitants bears an impressive weight on the Valley of Mexico and, in recent years, architects and urbanists have been examining solutions to combat the thickening smog. This stunning Vertical Park by Jorge Hernandez de la Garza intends to infuse the city with much-needed green space in the form of a modular skyscraper made up of a series of stacking units. The solar-powered structure contains sky-gardens in addition to spaces for living and working, and recycles all of its own water.

Read the rest of Vertical Park: Stackable Solar Skyscraper for Mexico City

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", air pollution, d.f., Green Building, green design, hernandez de la garza, mexico, mexico city, photovoltaic, Solar Power, structural, sustainable design, vertical park

San Francisco has made solar energy a top priority with the passage of the Solar Energy Initiative Program – the largest solar energy subsidy program of any city in the United States. An annual budget of $3 million dollars will help create incentives for individuals and businesses to install solar photovoltaics systems with a $3,000 to $6,000 rebate available to individuals and a $10,000 rebate for businesses. On par with statewide programs, San Francisco’s Solar Energy Initiative Program is poised to make solar installations permanent fixtures in the city’s more sustainable skyline.

Read the rest of Largest City Solar Initiative gets greenlight in San Francisco

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", alternative energy, photovoltaic, renewable energy, solar panels

The Pacific Ferris Wheel at the Santa Monica Pier in California took her last spin on May 5th before crews dismantled the sun-faded behemoth piece by piece to make way for a shiny new wheel. And shiny it is, boasting 160,000 LED lights that will bring glittering visual performances to Santa Monica’s evening sky. The solar panels used for the old wheel will remain at the pier, providing clean energy for the 90-foot ride and its 800 passengers per hour.

Read the rest of Santa Monica’s New Solar Powered LED Ferris Wheel

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", chance morgan rides, Ferris wheel, LED power, Los Angeles, photovoltaic, Santa Monica, Santa Monica Pier, solar panels

Last month we brought you news of the Solar Lily Pads that are being proposed for Glasgow’s Clyde River. In a perfect example of serendipity, we’ve discovered that the Far Niente winery, located in the Napa Valley region, has implemented a similar idea. Compelled by the desire to shift towards renewable energy, this forward thinking winery has created their very own floating solar power system by installing photovoltaic panels on pontoons!

Read the rest of FLOATOVOLTAICS! Far Niente Winery’s Floating Solar Power

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Far Niente winery, land conservation, photovoltaic, Solar Lily Pad, solar panal, Solar Power, winery

In a stunning example of biomimicry, Scottish architecture firm ZM Architecture have come up with a brilliant scheme to provide solar power to the city of Glasgow – and do so in a way that is provocative, creative, and aesthetically appealing. The proposal? To design Solar Lily Pads which will float in Glasgow’s River Clyde and soak up the sun’s rays, sending electricity to Glasgow’s grid while also stimulating urban riverfront activity.

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "solar energy", Clyde River Solar, Floating Solar panels, Glasgow Solar Lily Pads, Lily Pad Solar, Peter Richardson, photovoltaic, renewable energy, SOLAR LILY PADS Planned for Glasgow’s Clyde River, Solar Power, Zm Architecture

What could be more refreshing than casting off your carbon shackles with a bunch of solar balloons? Our favorite environmental architect visionary, Joseph Cory, of Geotectura has seized this dream with an award winning way to take solar energy to the skies. He’s teamed up with Technion aerospace engineer Dr. Pini Gurfil to develop an an array of helium filled platforms constructed from a new fabric coated with photovoltaic solar cells. Dubbed Sunhope, the project is showing great promise as a low-cost deployable system that would harness solar energy while maintaining a minuscule environmental footprint.

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Cory Solar Balloons, geotectura, Geotectura Solar Balloons, Israeli architect, joseph cory, photovoltaic, Pini Gurfil, remote energy, renewable energy, Solar Balloons, solar concept, SunHope solar balloons, SunHopes, Technion

Researches at PrizmaTech Labs have recently revealed an incredible breakthrough in solar technology that’s sure to brighten your day. The development utilizes specially calibrated ROYGBIV panels to collect solar energy over a broad spectrum of wavelengths, yielding an unheard-of energy efficiency rating that is 7 times greater than conventional panels. The fortuitous find employs rainbows as naturally occurring instances of refracted light, paving the pathway towards an exciting new source of renewable energy.

Read the rest of Energy Crisis Solved by Harvesting Rainbows

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: harvesting rainbows, Harvesting Rainbows @ April Fools, photovoltaic, renewable energy

Installing solar panels on the roof of every new building in the world would go a long way towards solving our energy needs, but as we all know, solar panels are costly and often difficult to install. But what if the solar panel was an integral part of every building? What if solar cells could be painted on building products? Well, according to a team from Swansea University this type of technology will soon be coming to a hardware store near you.


Read the rest of Paint on Solar Power!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: BIPV, Building Integrated Photovoltaics, Paint On Solar Cells, Paint on Solar Power!, photovoltaic, Solar Cell, Solar Cell Paint, Solar Paint, solar panel, Solar Power, Swansea University, Voltaic