Researchers at the University of California have developed a  smart phone chip that could spur a new generation of more efficient mobile electronic devices.  In turn, a more energy efficient device would enable the more widespread use of solar energy and other forms of renewable energy for battery recharging.

The new chip is based on the use of “dark silicon.” Dark silicon is shorthand for the growing portion of silicon on transistors that is underused because there is not enough power available to run them all of the transistors at once. The new chip, called GreenDroid, is designed to use about 11 times less energy than a typical processor.

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In a last-minute race to the finish-line, the CEC has approved a staggering 2,800 MW (or 3 GW) of solar projects this month in California.

Among them are Tessera Solar’s 709 MW Imperial Valley Solar project in Imperial County (scaled down from 750 MW, by BLM request) and NextEra Energy’s 250 MW Beacon Solar Energy Project, the first large-scale solar-thermal power projects permitted in California in two decades.

During the same time, only one 760 MW fossil plant was approved: Mirant Corp.’s 760-MW Marsh Landing Generating Station.

This ratio of clean energy approvals to dirty energy approvals reverses the pattern over the last ten years.

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Solar industry powerhouse Sunpower Corp. is busy creating new green jobs in the renewable energy sector, the latest endeavor being a group of contracts for a minimum of 20 megawatts in new solar installations for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, General Services Administration and National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  All together, SunPower estimates that the construction work will create about 1,000 new green jobs in the local communities where the installations are located, in addition to saving taxpayers money by helping to shift the U.S. military into a more stable, low risk form of energy.

The new projects also illustrate how the Obama administration has stepped up the pace of solar installations at government facilities. SunPower has been installing solar arrays at U.S. government facilities since 1999, for a total of 20 megawatts to date. That’s equal to the minimum amount of solar capacity that will be installed under the new contracts.

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A team of scientists from Australia and Germany has discovered what could be a new, previously unknown form of chlorophyll. As we all know chlorophyll is the green-pigmented substance that plants and certain forms of bacteria use to convert sunlight into energy. This new form appears to be a kind of “scavenger” that harvests part of the light spectrum that other forms of chlorophyll don’t absorb.

The discovery is significant because it could help push forward the development of new strains of algae that can use a larger part of the light spectrum to produce biofuel oils, which in turn would help to make renewable biofuel production cheaper and more competitive with fossil fuels.

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With great sewage comes great responsibility, so it’s no suprise that some of the more forward thinking cities in the U.S. are beginning to transform their wastewater treatment facilities into community resources. The latest example comes from Olympia, Washington, where a sewage treatment plant features a brand new LEED Platinum-aspiring education center complete with a green roof, ornamental pond and fountain sculpture fed by reclaimed water from the treatment plant. The reclaimed water also irrigates the roof and grounds, and is used to operate toilets in the new facility, so visitors get a mini-lesson in wastewater reclamation with every flush.

Another example is the gigantic Newtown Creek sewage treatment plant in New York City, which added a public nature walk to its grounds in 2007.  Just this spring,  Newtown Creek opened a new visitor center featuring a water sculpture sculpture by famed artist Vito Acconci (as if the plant’s dramatic digester eggs needed any more help!). The  city plans to make multi-purpose rooms in the visitor center, along with their sweeping views of the facility, available for community organizations and other groups.

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Dust,  dirt, and the occasional bird-bomb can chip away at the efficiency of solar panels.  Hand washing is fine for home-scale installations but that can add up to a huge problem for large installations that  cover multiple acres of ground or roofs.  Now scientists from Boston University have come up with a solution: self-cleaning solar panels based on technology used in missions to Mars.

The problem of dust-clogged solar panels is exacerbated by the tendency to site large-scale installations in desert areas, where water for washing is scarce and windswept dust can accumulate for long periods without rain to wash it away. The hunt is on for low cost, high efficiency ways to keep the panels clean without expending more energy in the process.

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Eliosolar takes advantage of the idea that if you need a pool, you are likely in a climate where you also need some shading devices for windows to reduce your AC needs as well.

This invention solves both problems at once. These exterior louvres act to shade the house, and make hot water. Exterior shading is far more energy efficient (and pleasant!) than simply pulling the curtains or lowering blinds on hot days.

Unlike solar electricity, solar hot water heating pipes actually do not need to be on the roof. They need to be exposed to sun, yes, but they can be vertically placed on the sun side of the house, and heat up just as much. They can heat up water just as effectively on a sunshade or awning – and leave you the space that you need on the roof for electricity farming.

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The French government announced a huge investment package for renewable energy last week, totaling €1.35 billion ($1.73 billion). The money is to be invested over the next 4 years.

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The French government announced a huge investment package for renewable energy last week, totaling €1.35 billion ($173 billion). The money is to be invested over the next 4 years.

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One of the biggest misconceptions people have about solar is that it is just about to become so cheap that you better not get any now, because in a few years it will be much cheaper. A common belief is that an astounding technological breakthrough is just around the corner and about to make solar cheaper.

While it is true that technological breakthroughs happen all the time, most are at the lab research stage. That does not guarantee that any of them will ever actually make it past the “valley of death” as VC funders call it, to actually go into production, so that someone can actually buy them, in the US.

Then, because they are radical new technology, they have to be tested and certified by the state (at least in California, which pays the rebates based on “expected performance”) as able to last 40 years or so. The original crystalline solar developed in the Carter years is the only solar that has been proved to last 40 years, because, in the real world, it has. For at least the next decade, tried and tested solar tech that is on the market now is your best bet.

You also have to consider what the future might hold for renewable energy, politically, in this country.  Rebates and incentives that now lower your costs might soon be a thing of the past.

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