The historic city of Augustenborg, Denmark may soon provide a new view of its surrounding waters thanks to a revitalized city center complete with a modern castle. Successfully combining old and new, Deve Architects plan to transform the city’s aging industrial buildings into a new downtown area that celebrates the country’s modern yacht culture. The new plans call for ground-source heat pumps, wind turbines, and biogas as well as solar arrays and kinetic plates to generate energy.
If you only made between $400 and $4,000 a year in income and didn’t have easy access to electricity, what would you do? For many rural Indians, the answer is the Duron, a $130 solar home power system that allows users to generate and store solar energy, charge gadgets and appliances, and run LED lights.
Australia-based EnviroMission Ltd recently announced plans to build two solar updraft towers that span hundreds of acres in La Paz County, Arizona. Solar updraft technology sounds promising enough: generate hot air with a giant greenhouse, channel the air into a chimney-like device, and let the warm wind turn a wind turbine to produce energy. The idea isn’t new — it’s been around since the mid 1980’s — but it’s only now starting to take off.
A vast fan-shaped compound in China has officially taken the title of “largest solar-powered office building in the world“. Located in Dezhou in the Shangdong Province in northwest China, the 75,000 square meter structure is a multi-use building and features exhibition centers, scientific research facilities, meeting and training facilities, and a hotel – all of which run on solar power.
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Solar-Powered Plane Makes Runway Debut
Biofuels are often touted as the next big thing in airplane fuel technology, but solar power shouldn’t be discounted — as was recently proven by the team behind the Solar Impulse. The solar-powered plane just took its first test down the runway, and eventually the plane is expected to take a 20 to 25 day trip around the world.
Taipei Pop Music Center Ever Changing Media Wall Powered By The Sun
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.
SunPods Modular Solar EV Charging Station Debuts in California
The problem with most electric vehicle charging stations is that you never know where your electricity is coming from–and unfortunately it’s often arriving courtesy of a dirty coal plant. Luckily, the prefab SunPods SP-300 EV Plug-N-Go solar charging station, installed this week in San Jose, CA, changes that by reassuring EV drivers that their power is coming straight from the sun.
Links Roundup of the Week: Solar Decathlon
It’s finally the week of the Solar Decathlon competition! From Thursday, October 8 to Friday, October 16, 20 multi-disciplinary students teams made up of architects, engineers, and designers will participate in 10 contests to determine the winner. You can take a peek at each team’s standing here. Taking place …
Graft Lab’s Vertical Village in Dubai Has Spider Web of Solar Panels
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.
Solar Home Tours Sweep United States TODAY!
Imagine 3,000 communities and 10,000 volunteers across the country in a one-day celebration of solar power. That’s why we are reminding you that the American Solar Energy Society kicks off their 14th Annual National Solar Tour TODAY in collaboration with more than 240 local groups as part of National Energy Awareness Month. Participants can take a peek at …
MAD Unveils Taichung Convention Center With Solar Eco-Skin
Like a cluster of pleated, venetian blind-esque volcanoes, this new convention center in Taiwan has “skin” that will naturally ventilate the structure and generate energy from solar power. Beijing-based MAD Architects recently designed the Taichung Convention Center as a commission by the Taiwanese government. The center is intended to become a new local landmark and help redefine the cultural landscape of the city, while also drawing attention to sustainable development and growth.
Solar Filling Stations: On-Demand Fuel for Electric Cars and Bikes
The problem with grid-powered electric cars, bikes, and scooters is that you never know what’s supplying their energy. Is it coal, solar, nuclear, or some combination of the three? Enter the E-Move Charging Station, a solar-powered filling station in Bozen, Denmark that can charge up to eight vehicles at the same time. With the E-Move station, you’ll always know where your vehicles power is coming from – the sun!
World’s Largest Solar Plant in China Will Power 3 Million Homes
Arizona-based First Solar announced yesterday plans to construct the world’s largest solar plant in Ordos, China. When completed in 2019, the 2,000 megawatt Ordos solar farm will produce enough power to provide for 3 million homes. It’s a development that makes China, the second largest energy-using country, one of the biggest players in the solar energy game.
BIG Architects Unfold Origami-Skyscraper in Shenzhen China
The very fabric of skyscrapers is being reinvented now as architects and engineers look to make these dense urban buildings more sustainable. One of the biggest dilemmas they face is allowing for visibility without overheating the interior from direct sunlight. BIG Architects recently came up with their solution to this issue, winning them the award to design their origami-folded skyscraper for the Shenzhen Energy Company. The facade is folded accordion-style, and shades the office complex from direct sunlight with integrated solar thermal panels, while simultaneously allowing for indirect light into the interior.
Solar Shanghai Pavilion Made From Used CD Cases
Preparations for the Shanghai World Expo 2010 are heating up and many countries are getting in on the action by designing structures for the space. We couldn’t help but be dazzled by the Shanghai Corporate Pavilion by Atelier Feichang Jianzhu, but we were even more impressed to learn that the fascinating building is composed of thousands of plastic tubes made from used CD cases! Read on to find out what other green features the pavilion is incorporating besides the extensive use of recycled materials.
Japan Plans $21 Billion Solar Space Post to Power 294,000 Homes
The concept of space-based solar power was introduced way back in 1968, but it’s only recently that the world has latched on to the idea. Japan is definitely getting in on the action with its latest spacey plan – a $21 billion solar-powered generator in the heavens to produce one gigawatt of energy, or enough to power 294,000 homes. The Japanese government announced the plan back in June, but there has been an important new development – Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and industrial design company IHI Corp. are now teaming up in the race to develop new technology within four years that can beam electricity back to Earth without the use of cables.
Spray-On Solar Cells Energize Almost Any Surface
Bulky and expensive photovoltaic panels are so 2008. What does the future look like? Entire buildings, rooftops and even windows spray-painted with revolutionary nanoparticle inks that channel solar power into a thin, semi-transparent and relatively inexpensive medium. Sound crazy? Not at all, according to one group of chemical engineers.
Germany Unveils World Class Sustainable ECO CITY
Today Germany’s historic Hamburg-Harburg Harbor announced the development of a sustainable ECO CITY that combines industry, entertainment and pedestrian life into one super green package. Designed by international firm Tec Architecture and the global engineering company ARUP, ECO CITY is one of the only projects in the world that is seeking to achieve the highest level of environmental certification from all three major green building rating systems (LEED, BREEAM and DGNB). The project is an exceptional example of how to integrate efficient technology and building methods while fostering social interaction and community rebirth.
Solar-Powered Moon Rover to Explore Apollo Landing Site
Solar power doesn’t have to be limited to Earth-based gadgets — at least, not if Carnegie Mellon roboticist Dr. William Whittaker has anything to say about it. Whitaker and Astrobiotic Technology have teamed up to develop a solar rover prototype that will explore the Apollo moon landing site and find out how materials used in the mission have fared over all these years.
U.S. Largest Solar Power Facility Approved for Austin
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!
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