Rancho Cielo’s Construction and Sustainable Design Academy students’ solar-home won first place overall in Sustainability Decathlon

Award-winning solar powered house celebrated at Salinas event

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 The top-prize-winning Nexus_01 home and the Rancho Cielo team that designed, created and transported it to competition and back, was on proud display Thursday at the Rancho Cielo Open House celebrating those involved and the structure itself.
“It feels great to bring the project home, to bring the trophies home, to share the project with the community and really honor all the work that went into the project,” said Thomas Rettenweder, architect and educator. “It feels amazing.”
Rancho Cielo’s Construction and Sustainable Design Academy students’ home, Nexus_01, won first place overall in the inaugural Orange County Sustainability Decathlon in October in a challenge to design and build a model solar-powered home that addresses climate change and California’s housing needs, showcases innovation and ensures the home is market-ready and can educate the community about climate change challenges.

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Source: Monterey Herald

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Creighton University has equipped a new student residence with solar heat collectors generating an annual peak capacity of 69.9 kW thermal energy.

US university deploys high density solar thermal system

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Illinois-based ELM Solar, the US reseller of UK-based Naked Energy’s solar thermal and photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems, has installed 240 of the British company’s TÜV-certified collectors at a student dormitory at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

The university student residence installation is claimed to generate solar heat up to 120 C, with an annual peak capacity of 69.9 kW thermal energy. It is the first North American project for the British company.

The VirtuHOT HD collector uses a heat plate to absorb the sun’s energy and transfers it to the solar fluid to a high-efficiency heat plate. The absorber plate has a low emissivity coding reducing radiative heat loss. The vacuum in the glass tube reduces additional heat loss, resulting in a maximum of efficiency.

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Source: PV Magazine

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Electric RV startup Grounded revealed its new G2 Wednesday, claiming to be “the world’s first 250-mile range all-electric solar-equipped RV.”

This solar electric RV can travel 250 miles using GM’s Brightdrop EV platform

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Detroit-based electric RV startup Grounded revealed its new G2 Wednesday, claiming to be “the world’s first 250-mile range all-electric solar-equipped RV.” With long-range capabilities, the solar electric RV allows you to get closer to nature without harming it.

“The G2 is radically different from any other offering on the market,” Sam Shapiro, Grounded CEO and ex-senior software engineer at SpaceX, explained.

Built on GM’s BrightDrop Zevo 600 EV platform, the G2 electric RV provides 615 square feet of living space.

The interior is fully customizable. You can design the interior to fit your style with a selection of modules that can be added or removed for maximum flexibility.

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Source: electrek

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“The world’s first off-road solar-powered vehicle” could help connect remote areas “where roads are less developed and energy grids are not as reliable.

‘World’s first off-road solar SUV’ just drove across Morocco powered only by the sun

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Zero-emission cars are soaring in popularity but running an electric vehicle is next to impossible in places with limited charging infrastructure.

Stella Terra could change that.

The khaki-green SUV uses solar panels on its sloping roof to charge its electric battery, meaning it can drive long distances powered entirely by the sun.

Built by a team of students at Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE), “the world’s first off-road solar-powered vehicle” could help connect remote areas “where roads are less developed and energy grids are not as reliable,” and assist with emergency aid and deliveries, says Thieme Bosman, events manager for the team.

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Source: CNN

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Blue Innovations Group (BIG), the electric boat startup founded by a former Tesla executive, has just launched its first electric boat.

New Florida-built electric speedboat offers high power and solar charging

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Blue Innovations Group (BIG), the electric boat startup founded by a former Tesla executive, has just launched its first electric boat. The R30 falls somewhere between an electric powerboat and a day cruiser, offering impressive specs in a spacious 30-foot (9.4 meter) package large enough for 12 passengers to relax in comfort.

As founder and CEO John Vo shared during the announcement, “The R30 will provide the ultimate boating experience for customers with uncompromised safety, performance, style, and value while being environmentally friendly.”

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Source: electrek

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MIT scientists have designed a solar-powered desalination system that turns saltwater into drinkable water at a higher volume and lower cost.

MIT scientists used solar power to make drinking water cheaper than tap water

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MIT scientists have designed a solar-powered desalination system that turns saltwater into drinkable water at a higher volume – and lower cost.

Researchers from MIT and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have published a paper, “Extreme salt-resisting multistage solar distillation with thermohaline convection,” in the journal Joule about a study that has the potential to make a big leap forward in reducing the cost of water production because it doesn’t require electricity to run.

The device they built creates circular currents of water known as eddies that look like small whirlpools that function similarly to the ocean’s much larger thermohaline circulation. This circulation, combined with the sun’s heat, drives water to evaporate, leaving salt behind.

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Source: electrek

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Here are the five fast and effective renewable energy innovations that could help countries meet emissions targets.

5 smart renewable energy innovations

The need for renewable energy innovation has never been greater.

In its 2023 report, Fostering Effective Energy Transition, the World Economic Forum says that 95% of countries have improved their total Energy Transition Index score over the past decade, but there has been only “marginal growth” in the past three years.

Greenhouse gas emissions need to be almost halved by 2030 if warming is to be limited to 1.5°C, warns the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its Sixth Assessment Report.

So, it’s encouraging that innovators continue to pioneer fresh approaches that are making the goal of switching the world to renewable energy more achievable. Here are five such energy innovations.

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Source: World Economic Forum

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Researchers in England have devised a concept for a new type of solar panel they call a “solar leaf”, a hybrid, bio-inspired concept.

Researchers invented a ‘solar leaf’ that harvests 13% more energy from the sun

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Researchers in England have devised a concept for a new type of solar panel they call a “solar leaf.” The technology is a hybrid, bio-inspired concept that features a leaf-like shape, the ability for transpiration, and can use extra thermal energy, allowing it to capture more sunlight than the average solar cells currently in use.

The researchers believe this development could increase the solar leaf’s electrical output drastically compared to previous-generation solar panels. A chief part of that success is tied to the transpiration feature found within the new tech. Transpiration is a system most commonly seen in plants, and it is used to move water from the roots of the plant to its leaves, allowing it to cool itself.

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Source: BGR

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A group of researchers from Switzerland is driving across the US solely on sun power to prove that many bright solutions to reduce greenhouse gases are right at the world’s fingertips.

Swiss-made ‘solar butterfly’ alights in Atlanta to promote clean-energy solutions

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Reversing climate change can often seem like a herculean effort requiring massive investment in futuristic technologies. 

But a group of four researchers from Switzerland is driving across the U.S. solely on sun power to prove that many bright solutions to reduce greenhouse gases are right at the world’s fingertips. 

The group brought the Solar Butterfly — a solar-powered tiny house pulled by a Tesla — through Lawrenceville last Tuesday on the second continental leg of what will be a 90-country world tour.

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Source: Global Atlanta

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University of Seville scientists have invented a solar-powered bus stop that can lower the temperature by 20C to keep pedestrians cool.

This solar-powered bus stop cools off pedestrians in extreme heat

University of Seville scientists have invented a solar-powered bus stop that can lower the temperature by 20C to keep pedestrians cool.

The innovative system has a top unit with solar panels that provide energy to pump water, an underground cistern that stores fresh water at night, a closed circuit that circulates water during the hottest times of day, and temperature sensors that also detect when pedestrians are present.

Here’s how the solar-powered bus stop works: When the sensors detect that a pedestrian has arrived at the bus stop, the pumping system activates. It draws water from the cistern and circulates it, and that lowers the temperature of the bus stop to between 20 and 24C (68 and 75F) by releasing cool air through small holes. The cooling process lasts for 10 to 20 minutes, then the water returns to the cistern. The water flows through the shelter’s roof at night to cool down.

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Source: electrek

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