It looks like Sharp is well on its way to developing technology for solar-powered homes. They have plans to produce storage batteries for solar power systems of homes along with two other companies, Daiwa House Industry Co. and Nippon Printing Co. Find out more after the jump!

Someone finally found a practical use for heat-scorched deserts: use them to gather solar power. That's Europe's plan right now, and it's willing to spend GBP 5 billion (US$ 10 billion) to build enough solar power stations in Africa and the Middle East to provide the continent with a sixth of its power. Read more in the full article.

Hybrid cars aren't the only thing that's going green. By 2009, Australia's Solar Sailor is planning to set up solar-powered ferry boats to sail across San Francisco Bay, carrying tourists and passengers alike.

If all goes well, the boat will be ferrying passengers in two years time. The boat still runs on diesel, but it mostly gets around on wind or solar power.

The full story after the jump!

Industry leaders have announced that by the end of this century, solar power could become the world's primary source of energy. The move to use solar energy has gotten support from various countries including Germany, Japan, Spain, Italy, the United States of America, and even Greece.

Implementation of this looks to be expensive and subsidies are still needed since solar power is still more expensive than more conventional energy sources such as coal. On the other hand, costs have been dropping by around 5 percent each year and sunny countries could potentially do away with the subsidies in around five years.

While solar power has been gaining acceptance and is growing at 40 percent per year, growth has been limited by its small user base and silicon shortages, which have affected solar panel production. Currently, the sun provides us with 0.3 percent of our electricity, including market leader Germany. Still, many are hopeful that the growth can be maintained and that it won't be long before solar energy use becomes widespread.

General Electric Company's Chief Engineer Jim Lyons summed up the growth of this industry pretty well, "At that point you can expect pretty much unbounded growth. The solar industry will eventually be bigger than wind."

 

A futuristic car that looks like it came from the set of Minority Report has graced the Los Angeles Auto Show this year. Called the Honda 1^4 (One to the Power of Four), the car runs partly from solar power; but that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is that it splits into four pieces.

The car was made with carpooling in mind. The idea is that four people share the car until the point where they have to split up to get to their separate destinations and then the car will split into four single seater pods. Although they are also maneuverable when separate, it doesn't move as fast.

It would certainly be interesting to see how this little baby would affect commuting, but it probably won't hit the streets anytime soon (it's still a concept car). On a side note it looks like it was inspired by the Fantastic Four's vehicle.

While it may sound like a mad scheme cooked up by Dr. Evil to rule the world, there's nothing very threatening about the new space laser scientists from Japan are proposing. Instead of a dreaded orbital death ray, this space laser will instead provide solar energy for those living on earth.

There are many pros to building such a device in space. Since solar power in space is a constant resource and purely undiluted, it is possible to provide a near inexhaustible amount of energy to earth using a space laser. Also, the device can save a lot of space since it will end up orbiting the planet instead of eating up a lot of land if it were built on earth.

Scientists have estimated the laser to have up to a 40% efficiency ratio, similar to the current solar panels used. They projected the launch date to be around the year 2030. So far, the biggest problem encountered with the project is the launch costs and the possible weather interferences once the laser is already in place.

And of course, there's always a distinct possibility that a mad scientist might convert it into an extra-terrestrial sniper rifle, but seeing the benefits it can bring to mankind, it might just be worth taking the risk.

South  Korea could be at the forefront of the alternative energy race as scientists and engineers led by Professor Lee Kwang-hee have announced that they have successfully developed a cell prototype that yields more power, lasts longer, and is much cheaper.

The project was established in cooperation with the University of California, Santa Barbara. A team led by Professor Alan Heeger provided research support functions and the results came out nicely.

To demonstrate the quantum leap in this breakthrough, the old silicon semiconductor solar technology uses some US$ 2.30 to generate a watt of electricity. It just takes ten cents with the Korean technology which uses plastic solar cells.

"The efficiency of converting solar power to electricity should be at least seven percent for commercialization," says Professor Lee as he points out the levels that solar cells must attain in order to be truly called efficient.

Solar energy is considered to be the cleanest energy source which can replace fossil fuels because it uses natural light which is in abundance and leaves no waste materials. Expenses and efficiency issues have plagued it in the past but plastic cells are ushering in new hope.

A recent Roper survey commissioned by Sharp Electronics Corporation revealed that almost 90 percent of Americans believe that solar electricity should be an option for all new home construction. This shows a significant increase in interest in solar power as last year's survey showed that interest was only around 79 percent.

Below are the survey's findings as per the press announcement made by Sharp Electronics Corporation:

• 87 percent feel that homebuilders should offer solar power as an option for all new homes; older Americans are less enthusiastic, with 77 percent of those over age 65 supporting solar on new homes
• Respondents understand that solar power can be used to turn the lights on (82 percent), heat bath water (82 percent) or heat a swimming pool (80 percent)
• Respondents are less likely to understand that solar can power electric devices such as computers or appliances (71 percent). Americans over age 65 are least likely to recognize this functionality (56 percent). Those in the Northeast (63 percent) and Midwest (65 percent) were significantly less likely to identify this functionality for solar energy, compared to those in the South (75 percent) and West (78 percent)
• 82 percent say that a decrease in monthly energy bills is their primary motivation for installing solar power; other respondents indicated it was to reduce overall energy usage (79 percent), reduce oil dependence (77 percent) or because it is a secure source of energy (75 percent)
• 56 percent would be interested in learning more about solar for their homes if the system could be obtained for zero money down and their utility bills would be lowered right away. Younger adults, ages 25-34, are more encouraged by monetary savings, with 67 percent expressing interest.

Now that interest in using Solar Power as a means to save on electricity bills is on the rise, it seems that what the major companies need to do now is to figure out a cost-effective and affordable way of integrating Solar Power into homes.

Nuclear energy may be supported by majority of Americans, a survey said, but it seems that the folks at Dania, Florida think otherwise. The town of Dania, Florida has decided to cough up US$ 1 million for their new streetlight project. What's interesting is that the streetlights that will be used are going to be powered by the Sun so as to lessen the dependence of the city on electricity.

Solar power in the Sunshine State. Sounds cool to us!

The bidding for the project is already open and it would be designed to use 124 units of solar-powered lights plus the usual concrete poles. Solar powered lights have already been used by some cities for a number of years now to light up their water plants. The Dania project stands out because this is one of the few times that solar-powered lights would be used for something as huge as lightening up a whole street.

A source also claims that the city is currently in the process of planning another 75 units of solar-powered streetlights to add to the 124 street lights that are already being placed.

We are all fascinated with the idea of Mars becoming a second home to Earthlings. Though there are scientific findings that may turn Mars into a more Earth-like planet, we have to admit that we may never see that happen in this lifetime. But if a neat little trick to keep the red planet warm for humans to survive is successfully done, then perhaps we'd be seeing the first human Mars colonists enjoying Earth-like conditions.

According to a NASA-funded study, space mirrors in orbit around Mars would provide warmth and solar power to humans. The extra heat from the sun would create Earth-like conditions on the red planet's surface. The neat trick is scientifically called terraforming. The process involves increasing the temperature by thickening Mars' atmosphere.

Of course, this is just a concept that would involve the use of 300 reflective balloons to create a 1.5 kilometer-wide mirror around Mars. Sounds doable, but sill very ambitious. The deployment of mirrors alone would be one challenging task. Earthlings still lack the necessarily materials and equipment to really push for terraforming projects. Another cause of headache would be the risk of focusing harmful radiation onto Mars' surface. Ah, the price of colonization...