solar energy

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Scientists Warm Up to Idea on Cooling Down the Earth

Solar geoengineering projects that involve deflecting the sun's rays get a second look

(Newser) - Three and a half decades ago, British physicist John Latham raised the wild idea of injecting droplets of seawater into clouds to brighten them, increasing their reflection of solar radiation and thereby cooling the planet. He suggested 1,000 unmanned vessels could sail the oceans, spraying water into the air....

'After Several Tense Days,' Moon Lander Is Alive Again

Following a rough landing, Japan's SLIM finally draws enough solar power to function once more

(Newser) - A Japanese moon explorer is up and running Monday after several tense days without the sunlight it needs to generate power. Japan's first lunar mission hit its target in a precision touchdown on Jan. 20, but it landed the wrong way up , leaving its solar panels unable to see...

'Hometown of Tomorrow' Kept Power on During Ian

Florida's Babcock Ranch, US' 'first solar-powered town,' didn't lose electricity

(Newser) - The stories out of Florida in the wake of Hurricane Ian are harrowing and devastating , with a death toll that continues to climb . One town in the western part of the state, however, fared better than most, with Ian serving as a "true test for the community," per...

California Man Sentenced in $1B Solar Ponzi Scheme

Jeff Carpoff gets 30 years

(Newser) - The owner of a San Francisco Bay Area solar energy company was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Tuesday for an audacious Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of $1 billion. It's the biggest criminal fraud scheme in the history of the federal court district that covers inland Northern...

Report: Solar Could Power 40% of US Electricity by 2035

10-fold increase is 'definitely achievable,' group says

(Newser) - Solar energy has the potential to supply up to 40% of the nation’s electricity within 15 years—a 10-fold increase over current solar output, but one that would require massive changes in US policy and billions of dollars in federal investment to modernize the nation's electric grid, a...

Germany Basically Had to Pay People to Use Electricity Sunday

Thanks to a new high-water mark in renewable energy

(Newser) - Germany hit a new milestone in renewable energy on Sunday, generating so much power at one point that customers were essentially being paid to turn on their lights or charge their phones. Quartz reports that around 1pm Sunday, about 87% of the power being used in Germany was coming from...

This 3-Bedroom Home Literally Snaps Together

Clemson University's 'Indigo Pine' designs wows at solar decathalon

(Newser) - Imagine building a zero-energy home. Now imagine building said house without the use of power tools or nails using files sent right to your inbox. That's the idea behind Clemson University's "Indigo Pine" design —one of 14 houses presented at this year's US Department of...

Tesla CEO: Our New Home Battery Does Not 'Suck'

Elon Musk intros Powerwall battery to soak up sun in the day, power homes at night

(Newser) - The guy who's diligently working on a plan to transport humans to Mars has also been toiling on a project that makes use of the sun. That project, a rechargeable lithium-ion battery made by Tesla called Powerwall , is designed to be installed in homes and store solar energy to...

Scientists Puzzled by Huge Sunspot

Magnetic burst deemed 'too complicated for us' to grasp

(Newser) - Scientists scratched their heads this week over a massive sunspot, partly because it posed no threat to human civilization. The burst of solar magnetic activity, one of the biggest on record, whipped up powerful flares but didn't spew coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that can bring down Earth's power...

Ex-Solyndra Employees Saw Scads of Wasted Money

Government loan 'made people sloppy'

(Newser) - Cheer up, taxpayers: Solyndra may never pay back its $535 million loan , but it put the money to good use. Like, for example, building a shiny conference room with nifty glass walls that could turn solid gray at the flip of a switch. That’s one of several questionable expenditures...

Obama Rushed Solyndra Loan
 Obama Rushed Solyndra Loan 
Sep 14, 2011 7:06 AM CDT

Obama Rushed Solyndra Loan

Congressional investigation says OMB had misgivings

(Newser) - The White House pressed the Office of Budget and Management to speed up its approval of a $535 million loan to now-bankrupt solar panel maker Solyndra, so that Joe Biden could announce it at a September 2009 groundbreaking for the company’s new factory, according to emails that Republican congressional...

Benedict May Get Hybrid Popemobile
Benedict May Get
Hybrid Popemobile
Jun 22, 2011 3:10 PM CDT

Benedict May Get Hybrid Popemobile

Mercedes working on turning his ride green

(Newser) - The next popemobile could be green. Mercedes-Benz is studying a hybrid that would replace the current Mercedes used when the pope travels abroad, says the Vatican. However, Pope Benedict's new ride won't be ready until next year at the earliest, not in time for his upcoming trip to...

10 Bizarre Ways Google Spends Its Money

What do windmills and bees have to do with Google?

(Newser) - Google has made billions, and there are only so many YouTubes or Androids you can buy—so why not spend some of that hard-earned cash in some decidedly stranger ways? Business Insider rounds up the 10 weirdest:
  • Windmills: Yes ... windmills. Google spent $40 million on them, probably because it likes
...

US Military Ditching Fuel for Solar Energy

First portable solar panels arrive in Afghanistan

(Newser) - The US military may be an unlikely poster child for green energy, but with its fuel supply convoys increasingly under attack in Afghanistan, it's working hard to ditch its dependence on fossil fuels—and source its energy from the sun. Last week saw the arrival of portable solar panels and...

Put Jimmy Carter's Solar Panels Back on White House

Obama can make an important symbolic gesture

(Newser) - A group of environmentalists has spent the past week carting a relic back to the White House—one of the solar panels Jimmy Carter installed on the roof in 1979. And President Obama should stick it back up there, along with more modern ones, as an important public gesture—and...

'Green China' Marks Sputnik of 21st Century
'Green China' Marks Sputnik
of 21st Century
OPINION
Sep 27, 2009 11:55 AM CDT

'Green China' Marks Sputnik of 21st Century

US ignores race for clean energy at its own peril: Friedman

(Newser) - For those who think the past year will be defined by global recession, Tom Friedman says think again. Rather, for the New York Times columnist it is Red China's decision "to become Green China" that will spur a 21st-century technological race for clean energy—in the same way that...

Recession Dims Lights on Solar Sales

Banks, government cut funding for industry

(Newser) - After a bright 2008, things are looking gloomy for the solar power industry amid the recession, the Wall Street Journal reports. Banks have cut funds for some projects, and the government of Spain, the second-biggest solar power market, has shrunk subsidies. Solar-cell sales are expected to fall by some 20%,...

Biogas-Farting Bugs Can Aid Green Power

(Newser) - Single-celled organisms that absorb electricity and emit methane can help people store energy from green power sources, New Scientist reports. Researchers have found that certain microorganisms, when fed surplus power, mix it with carbon dioxide to create methane, which can be saved and burned any time—perfect for storing power...

Green Venture Capitalists Need No Bailout
Green Venture Capitalists Need No Bailout
OPINION
Oct 4, 2008 4:34 PM CDT

Green Venture Capitalists Need No Bailout

Far from Wall Street, investors embrace eco-friendly ideas

(Newser) - The canyons of Wall Street have been swept clean of liquidity, but the valleys of northern California are still flush with environmentally and financially green ideas, Jon Gertner writes in the New York Times' Sunday magazine. Despite market madness, venture capitalists have seen little slowdown in their businesses, which are...

Solar Roofs Give Stores Moment in Sun

Increasingly, US chains turning to solar power as a way to reduce costs

(Newser) - Some of the largest US retail chains have begun to embrace solar power as a way to reduce energy costs and to wrangle some cred among green-conscious shoppers, reports the New York Times. Kohl’s, Macy’s, Safeway, and Whole Foods are among chains rushing to install test panels on...

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