http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. If NFI Industries' calculations are right, the three acres of solar panels just installed on the roof of its Cherry Hill, N.J., headquarters will save $750,000 in energy costs over 15 years and become a green feather in its cap. The 1.32-megawatt project could also be a launchpad. http://phys.org/news194635430.html Technology Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:24:01 EST news194635430 (PhysOrg.com) -- As the use of solar power grows in California it will become more important to know exactly how much radiation and energy are generated in regions throughout the state. That’s the basis behind an improved solar map for the state created by UC San Diego environmental engineering professor Jan Kleissl and his Ph.D. student Anders Nottrott. http://phys.org/news194024683.html Technology Tue, 25 May 2010 16:45:00 EST news194024683 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new way to make valuable chemicals and more affordable “green” fuel from solar power, bacteria and carbon dioxide could be "truly transformative" for our society if it works on a commercial scale, says microbiologist Derek Lovley, head of a research group developing the method at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. http://phys.org/news194022765.html Biology Tue, 25 May 2010 16:13:08 EST news194022765 Russian scientists acknowledged Monday that solar research satellite Koronas-Foton has been lost due to technical problems, barely a year after its launch. http://phys.org/news190881887.html Space & Earth Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:10:07 EST news190881887 The smart grid idea aims to save money, reduce pollution, lower costs, and create new "green" jobs. Smart grid is a phrase that refers to a number of things at the same time. It refers to the modernization of the electrical grid itself -- the way electricity is transmitted over long distances and then brought to customers. It refers to things in the home, such as appliances that turn themselves off and on at certain hours in order to save energy. And it can refer to the effect electricity will have on other parts of the economy, such as transportation. http://phys.org/news190307137.html Technology Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:06:09 EST news190307137 Clean, renewable wind and solar power may be the most-preferred fossil fuel alternatives, but their land-hungry collecting requirements make them difficult options for replacing more conventional power sources, according to a British energy expert. http://phys.org/news189754099.html Technology Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:28:56 EST news189754099 (PhysOrg.com) -- A closer look at a promising nanotube coating that might one day improve solar cells has turned up a few unexpected wrinkles, according to new research* conducted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and North Dakota State University -- research that also may help scientists iron out a solution. http://phys.org/news189274964.html Nanotechnology Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:30:01 EST news189274964 A German solar energy firm said Monday it would build South-East Asia's largest commercial solar power plant, based around 70 kilometres (45 miles) north of Thailand's capital Bangkok. http://phys.org/news188483388.html Technology Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:50:03 EST news188483388 Europe's most powerful solar power plant is set to start operations in Italy later this year, the US company building the installation on an area as large as 120 football pitches said on Thursday. http://phys.org/news187555663.html Technology Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:20:02 EST news187555663 The United States could source 10 percent of its electricity from solar power by 2030, a report said Tuesday, winning support from a US lawmaker who wants to boost the number of US solar panels. http://phys.org/news187445269.html Technology Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:08:02 EST news187445269 If harnessing the unlimited solar power of the sun were easy, we wouldn't still have the greenhouse gas problem that results from the use of fossil fuel. And while solar energy systems work moderately well in hot desert climates, they are still inefficient and contribute only a small percentage of the general energy demand. A new solution may be coming from an unexpected source ― a source that may be on your dinner plate tonight. http://phys.org/news186922541.html Chemistry Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:02:41 EST news186922541 French energy giant EDF is building the world's biggest photovoltaic solar power plant at an abandoned NATO air base and plans to have it open by 2012, a spokesman said Tuesday. http://phys.org/news186770590.html Technology Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:44:08 EST news186770590 A skipper hoping to become the first to sail round the world using solar power said his catamaran could carve a wake for pollution-free shipping as he unveiled the record-breaking yacht Thursday. http://phys.org/news186331842.html Technology Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:51:14 EST news186331842 When we needed a new "pre-owned" car, we knew the drill. We searched the Web, visited the auto mall, settled on a model, did some haggling, vetted the price by phone, and haggled a bit more. Within a couple of days, we had a deal. http://phys.org/news185207891.html Technology Sun, 14 Feb 2010 08:40:01 EST news185207891 (PhysOrg.com) -- As fossil fuels increasingly fall out of favor, many are looking into alternative energy sources to help us power our lives with a smaller impact on the environment. You already know about solar power and wind energy, and hydro-electric power and nuclear power have been around for decades. But scientists are increasingly looking to the natural world for additional solutions. http://phys.org/news184508468.html Technology Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:21:33 EST news184508468 (PhysOrg.com) -- EADS Astrium, Europe's biggest space company, plans to put a solar power satellite in orbit to demonstrate the collection of solar power in space and its transmission via infrared laser to provide electricity on Earth. http://phys.org/news183278937.html Technology Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:50:01 EST news183278937 Germany, the world's biggest market for solar cells, is poised to slash its subsidies for solar power by as much as 17 percent, Economy Minister Rainer Bruederle said on Tuesday. http://phys.org/news183132571.html Technology Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:30:01 EST news183132571 When a Redwood City company called Codexis disclosed Monday that it had filed documents in preparation of a Wall Street offering, some people said, "Co-who?" http://phys.org/news182156471.html Technology Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:01:34 EST news182156471 (AP) -- On a strip of California's Mojave Desert, two dozen rare tortoises could stand in the way of a sprawling solar-energy complex in a case that highlights mounting tensions between wilderness conservation and the nation's quest for cleaner power. http://phys.org/news181628212.html Technology Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:50:02 EST news181628212 Taiwan has unveiled what it calls Asia's biggest solar power plant as the island, which imports almost all its energy, seeks to tap into clean renewable resources, the government said Wednesday. http://phys.org/news180766588.html Technology Wed, 23 Dec 2009 05:40:03 EST news180766588 They seem to turn heads wherever they're installed: new solar-powered trash compactors that are meant to save time and energy. http://phys.org/news180617265.html Technology Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:40:02 EST news180617265 Boston College researchers have observed the "hot electron" effect in a solar cell for the first time and successfully harvested the elusive charges using ultra-thin solar cells, opening a potential avenue to improved solar power efficiency, the authors report in the current online edition of Applied Physics Letters. http://phys.org/news179739056.html Physics Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:31:22 EST news179739056 The World Bank announced Wednesday 5.5 billion dollars would be invested in solar energy projects in five countries of the Middle East and North Africa in a bid to combat climate change. http://phys.org/news179607351.html Technology Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:56:51 EST news179607351 With the sun setting before 5 p.m., solar power may be the last thing on your mind these days. But declining panel prices ans a federal tax credit make now a good time to at least investigate whether solar power might make sense for your home -- and your budget. http://phys.org/news179137753.html Technology Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:29:54 EST news179137753 The prototype of Solar Impulse, a pioneering Swiss bid to fly around the world on solar power, briefly took off for the first time on Thursday but under battery power, the organisers said. http://phys.org/news179075027.html Technology Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:13:37 EST news179075027 In Trina Solar's brilliant white factory in eastern China, masked workers in lab coats turn silicon wafers into solar power cells capable of harnessing the sun's clean and limitless energy. http://phys.org/news179042795.html Technology Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:07:16 EST news179042795 It may sound like a sci-fi vision, but Japan's space agency is dead serious: by 2030 it wants to collect solar power in space and zap it down to Earth, using laser beams or microwaves. http://phys.org/news176879161.html Technology Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:50:01 EST news176879161 (PhysOrg.com) -- Europe has long been interested in developing alternative energy sources. And, one of the more interesting places that some Europeans are looking for solar power is the Sahara. With the vast amounts of sun beating down on the Saharan desert, it seems an ideal place for solar panels. The Desertec Industrial Initiative, a consortium of 12 companies, including Siemens and Deutsche Bank, aims to make Saharan solar power for Europe a reality. But it won't exactly be easy. http://phys.org/news176541300.html Technology Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:00:02 EST news176541300 (AP) -- Greg Bove steps into his pickup truck and drives down a sandy path to where the future of Florida's renewable energy plans begin: Acres of open land filled with solar panels that will soon power thousands of homes and business. http://phys.org/news175584369.html Technology Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:26:50 EST news175584369 Every hour, the sun floods Earth with more energy than the entire world consumes in a year. Yet solar power accounts for less than 0.002 percent of all electricity generated in the United States, primarily because photovoltaic cells remain expensive and relatively inefficient. http://phys.org/news175195934.html Nanotechnology Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:32:55 EST news175195934