Farmers carefully position solar panels to provide shade, thereby doing away with the need for netting and the expensive labor to deploy it.

Throwing shade is solar energy’s new superpower

In rural America, the shoulder-high corn is increasingly competing with a new cash crop: solar power. Acres of solar panels shine brightly in fields along interstates and rural byways, signaling a change in how America’s farming country generates income. The need for a happy marriage between these old and new industries has inspired a burst of innovation and a new word to describe the combination: Agrivoltaics.

The Inflation Reduction Act includes billions of dollars in renewable energy funds that will accelerate the adoption of solar and other renewables. Some of the new solar panels will land on rooftops, but most will be concentrated in large utility-scale arrays that the US Department of Energy claims could eventually cover an area roughly equivalent in size to Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

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Source: The Washington Post

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As global temperatures rise, the panels can help to conserve dwindling freshwater supplies by reducing evaporation from both plants and soil.

Agrivoltaic solar farms offer “shocking” benefits beyond producing energy

Next-gen solar parks that enable energy and food production as well as water conservation to work in synergy on the same plot can help to solve solar’s growing land-use issue, according to the researchers making them a reality.

“There is this big debate around using land for solar versus using it for agriculture,” said Colorado State University researcher Jennifer Bousselot. “And I just roll my eyes because you don’t have to pick. They can be combined.”

“This will be absolutely vital to the future of the energy industry,” added Richard Randle-Boggis from the University of Sheffield. “Especially somewhere like the UK, where sustainable land use is a critical challenge.”

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Source: dezeen

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Lilypad was one of four projects funded by EGLE and the OFME to address climate, energy, and mobility challenges in the Great Lakes region through innovative maritime solutions.

A Lilypad for humans: solar powered boat features clean energy, sustainable design

The West Michigan beach town of Saugatuck is known for its historic riverfront nestled among critical dune habitat at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River.  Saugatuck and its neighbor Douglas straddle the river and for more than a century people have found creative ways to navigate the waterway.

One of the most popular is a hand-cranked chain ferry. Believed to be the last of its kind in the country, the ferry “Diane” has operated on and off since 1857 and is arguably the most ecofriendly way to move a couple dozen beachgoers across the river to Saugatuck’s famed Oval Beach on the shores of Lake Michigan.

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Source: Michigan Gov

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A 5.5-miles-long solar panel bike path sitting in the middle of an eight-lane highway connects Daejeon and Sejong city in South Korea.

Solar panel bike lane generates eco-friendly energy in South Korea

There is a five-and-a-half mile bike path sitting in the middle of an eight-lane highway, topped with a solar panel that lights up the streets below in South Korea.

But this is no regular bike path. What started as an idea to produce clean energy while simultaneously giving people a place to exercise, South Korea built this eco-friendly cycle lane that connects the cities of Daejeon to Sejong — the administrative capital of South Korea — in 2014.

The 13-foot-wide path set in the middle of a highway is unique in South Korea, where most bicycle paths are built adjacent to pedestrian roads. But what really makes the path stand out is its one-of-a-kind feature — a solar panel-lined roof.

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Source: ABC News

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Cream on Chrome has created the Solar Energy Kiosk to demonstrate how much solar power is needed to complete simple tasks.

Solar Energy Kiosk by Cream on Chrome serves orange juice made using solar power

Dutch design studio Cream on Chrome has created the Solar Energy Kiosk, which uses sun rays to make orange juice as a way of demonstrating how much solar power is needed to complete simple tasks like squeezing fruit.

The installation was commissioned for The Energy Show in Rotterdam, part of The Solar Biennale festival. It was first previewed at Milan’s Salone del Mobile design fair in June.

Intended to explore what the world would look like if it ran purely on solar energy, Cream on Chrome’s kiosk resembles a conventional drinks van with two large, curved solar panels attached to its roof.

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Source: dezeen

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The solar cold stores will boost seasonal income for Ghana's farmers by more than $10 million and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 15%

How Ghana’s farmers are benefiting from solar-powered cold storage

Finding ways to store freshly harvested fruit and vegetables is a big problem for smallholder farmers in Ghana in West Africa.

Produce can rot quickly in outdoor temperatures, and transporting it to market isn’t an option for many small-scale farmers.

Almost 90% of smallholder farmers in Ghana sell their produce at the farm gate, news site Business Ghana reports.

Now a company called AkoFresh is providing solar-powered refrigerated storage that it says extends the shelf life of perishable crops from about 5 days to 21 days.

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Source: World Economic Forum

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Sono Motor has revealed a range of solar trailers designed to help reduce emissions in the commercial vehicle sector.

Sono reveals solar trailers that use the sun’s heat to keep things cool

Sono Motors, the German start-up that is working on a ‘solar EV for the masses’, has revealed a range of solar trailers designed to help reduce emissions in the commercial vehicle sector.

The Munich firm specializes in applying solar technology to vehicles, and already claims to have received more than 20,000 orders for the Sono Sion, an electric saloon with range-extending solar panels that is priced from £21,600.

The firm has also previously showcased a retrofit solution to add solar panels to existing buses, helping to reduce the amount of diesel that they consume.

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Source: Move Electric

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The Gamma prototype solar-electric vehicle made its public debut at the Fully Charged Live 2022 expo in San Diego

Aptera solar EV prototype makes public debut in San Diego

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We’ve been following an automotive startup’s journey to get its three-wheeled solar-electric vehicle on the road for more than 15 years, and now the latest teardrop-shaped Aptera prototype has made its public debut in San Diego.

The eye-catching Gamma prototype comes from the latest incarnation of Aptera Motors, which began as Accelerated Composites in the early noughties before running out of funds in 2011 and relaunching a few years back.

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Source: New Atlas

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With soaring energy prices at the pumps and in homes, the solar-powered car could well be the solution for transport

Solar-powered cars: Solving the issue of high fuel prices and low EV charging capacity

With bans on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles coming as soon as 2030 in several countries, the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) has some way to go before it is capable of meeting demand. Furthermore, there is also the issue of the extra strain on the national grid placed by more EVs being connected to it.

These problems can be avoided thanks to Netherlands-based company Lightyear, which has developed an EV that gets the majority of its energy via solar panels built into the roof and bonnet. The vehicle can go for months without requiring the battery to be plugged in for a charge, meaning that drivers do not have to plan their routes based on access to charge points.

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Source: Verdict

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Japan developed the system for remote control cyborg cockroaches, with wireless control module, rechargeable batteries and tiny solar cell.

Cyborg cockroaches stay charged by carrying tiny solar panels

An international team of researchers have refined a remote-control cyborg cockroach.

You can get down off the table – they’re not in the wild yet. But it’s reasonable to ask why they’d do such a thing.

It’s not because they have a nasty streak. Animals fitted with electronic devices can get into places that humans can’t go.

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Source: COSMOS

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