Blogs

This week’s record-breaking night flight by the Solar Impulse aircraft has been widely acclaimed, but few of us are ever likely to fly in such a plane.

Solar thermal power could be close to a breakthrough in the U.S. market, but only if developers can shave costs to beat back competition from photovoltaic solar systems and attract the huge sums needed to finance the renewable energy plants

The Solar Impulse, an experimental solar-powered airplane, landed in Switzerland on Thursday after completing a successful 26-hour test flight. The flight was a proof-of-concept displaying that a solar-powered aircraft can accumulate enough power from the sun during the day to power it through the night. The team that designed and built the aircraft believes that, in theory, the plane could fly indefinitely, given that there is enough sunlight to power it.

See how much you can save with LEDs and CFLs over regular old incandescents. Then preorder the book Green Lighting.

President Barack Obama, under pressure to spur job growth, said on Saturday two solar energy companies will get nearly $2 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to create as many as 5,000 green jobs.