Residential Solar Power Blog » Solar News

Forward-Thinking Milpitas, CA the Next Solar City?

Craig — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:37:48 +0000

Milpitas, an East Bay, CA city, is trying to create its own power source. Essentially, they would allow homeowners to pay for their solar installations the same way they pay for their sidewalks. The city raises capital upfront with municipal bonds and is then reimbursed through the tax system. The homeowner doesn’t need a big [...]

International Space Station to Receive Solar-Powered Cargo

Dan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:20:05 +0000

Whatever posturing or politicking might go on here at ground level, the International Space Station stands as a beacon of community between the world’s spacefaring nations. That community, or at least the Netherlands’ role in it, has grown a bit with the recent signing of a deal that will see Dutch Space B.V. provide solar [...]

Science Fiction or Reality? Japan Sets Goals for Space-Based Solar Power

Dan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:27:39 +0000

Japan recently made serious strides toward leading exploration and implementation of space-based solar power. While many countries (US excluded) have set goals for domestic renewable energy production, Japan has literally set loftier goals, announcing ambitions to collect solar power in space by 2030. Photo Credit: Greenlaunches That solar power would be harvested as part of Japan’s Space [...]

Falling Solar Stocks: What This Means for the Solar Industry and Homeowners

Dan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:55:31 +0000

The solar industry took another blow last week. Evergreen Solar stocks were downgraded by major investment firms, and subsequently fell further to less than $1.50 per share. Evergreen’s fall may be having the most direct effect in its home state of Massachusetts, but this decline is representative of a wider fall in solar stock prices, [...]

World’s Largest Solar Media Wall: Digital Media & Cutting-Edge Architecture

Dan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:39:23 +0000

How cool would it be if you could look out your window on a beautiful evening and see a giant LED media wall displaying the most popular concerts, shows and events going on that night? Better yet, what if the entire, tens-of-thousand square foot wall was powered only by the sun? Now that’s tuned-in technology! [...]

Virgina Tech Students’ LUMENHAUS is Fantastic Functionality

Dan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:33:45 +0000

The 2009 Solar Decathlon is over, and although Team Germany took home first prize this year, every one of the 20 competing teams is worthy of honorable mention. Not least of which is Virginia Tech’s LUMENHAUS. The house is made with super-efficient glass walls and doors with an open-floor design to allow maximum light [...]

Habitat for Humanity Builds Solar Housing for Oakland

Dan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:34:36 +0000

Habitat for Humanity is turning one Oakland brownfield into several green homes as part of its ongoing East Bay Project. With help from Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and a slew of volunteers, Habitat is building a 54-home development of affordable housing for low-income homeowners. The development site, a former battery salvage yard, was labeled [...]

eSolar Revolutionizes Solar Thermal Power Plants

Craig — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:03:34 +0000

eSolar has officially installed the nation’s first operational solar tower energy facility in the US. Expected to produce 5 megawatts of power for about 4,000 homes, the Lancaster, CA systems will start at 48 megawatts with 16 generating towers. The installation went up in 18 months, a time line, which, according to Pasadena mayor R. [...]

Future of US Solar Industry is Bright, a Recent Poll Shows

Craig — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:34:36 +0000

Well, solar industry leaders have spoken and they say the solar industry has weathered the recession positively. Nearly all companies expect growth in the next two years. Nearly 100 professionals in the industry participated in the US Solar Industry Monitor poll conducted by Droege & Comp., an international management consultancy, and Gibbs & Soell, [...]

Top 5 Coolest Solar-Powered Sports Stadiums

Dan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:36:21 +0000

Sports stadiums are a unique outlet for green building practices, most visibly solar power systems. Stadiums are massive energy drains for at least part of the year, so they’re prime candidates for energy-saving developments. But they also attract a huge mass of spectators, potentially a million in the span of a single year. There’s just no better green home tour than a stadium tour.

A handful of sports stadiums around the world are leading a growing trend toward green stadium building. Solar power is an easy match given the large roof structures on stadiums.

Here are the top 5 coolest solar-powered stadiums in the world today:

Dragon Stadium, World Games - Taiwan is home to the world’s first 100% solar-powered stadium. The 40,000-seat facility was built for the World Games in July of 2009 and is equipped with nearly 9,000 rooftop solar panels, creating more than enough electricity to power the stadium’s 3,300 lights and two giant scoreboard screens. It’s informally called the “Dragon” stadium for obvious reasons should you ever get a blimp’s-eye view of its impressive shape and solar electric “scales.”
Stade de Suisse - A 1.3-megawatt integrated solar array makes the Stade de Suisse in Bern, Switzerland the second most impressive solar stadium in the world. 7,930 Kyocera modules create over 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year for local soccer team, Young Boys Bern, as well as winter outdoor hockey games.
AT&T Park - San Francisco’s AT&T Park is a leader in Major League Baseball’s rapid embrace of green building and solar power panels. AT&T Park’s 120-kW solar array easily powers the Giants’ major league-sized scoreboard during baseball season, creating enough energy to run40 individual homes.
Nuremberg Soccer Stadium - It wouldn’t be a Top Solar list without Germany getting in on the action. In 2006, the Nuremberg Soccer Stadium was equipped with 140 kW of solar power by Siemens. The company needed just three weeks to install the system on over 1,000 square meters of stadium roof space.
Fenway Park - The Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park boast no solar electric power. However, a solar thermal system installed on the roof behind home plate offsets 37% of the gas typically used for water heating at the park. The Red Sox’ other environmental activities are significant, including well-timed irrigation, composting grass clippings, recycling and more. The recycling initiative also includes the Dream Team, a group of college-age kids that volunteer to roam the stadium during games retrieving recyclables – a great way to go green while enjoying a day at the ballpark.

Some Honorable Mentions

Here are some notable stadiums that would have been on this list had they existed… yet.

Stadium Franco Sensi, Rome – Set to be built in Rome, Stadium Sensi will be draped in integrated solar panels. Although, how much power they’ll actually produce remains up in the air.

Olympic Stadium, Tokyo - Tokyo didn’t win its bid to host the 2016 Olympics. Had they won, we could have seen their eco-stadium design come to fruition. It would’ve been powered by solar electricity but, alas, this futuristic stadium’s future is uncertain at best.

Photo Credits: Green Packs, Euro2008 Blog, Marriott, Wld Cup, & Detroit Athletic