Solar Generators – Clean Energy At Home
Maybe you dream of living off-grid? If you don't have the wind, you will need the sun. The pros and cons of buying a solar generator.
solar power
Power tips for off-grid living
There is something romantic about living off the grid and off our own devices. Every summer I go to Northern Canada with my kids and experiment with off-grid living ideas and applications. While we own 200 acres and the last home on the grid for miles and miles, it is tempting to cut off from the polluting power industry and power our own needs from the sun and Mother Earth.
11 million jobs filled in renewables and solar is on top!
The annual breakdown from the international energy group, Irena, on jobs in renewable energy.
Renewable energies now more cost effective than oil
Renewable power is the cheapest source of electricity in many parts of the world already today, the latest report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows. The report contributes to the international discussion on raising climate action worldwide, ahead of Abu Dhabi’s global preparatory meeting for the United Nations Climate Action Summit in September. […]
Clean Electricity Flows From The Negev Desert
Close to 60% of Israel’s land mass lies under desert. Lots of sand. And lots of sun. Resolving to view how Israel exploits that solar abundance, I traveled through the Negev on a late-winter day in March with Ofer Tsimmering, head of the demographics department of the Ramat HaNegev Regional Council. I watched the highway […]
SmartFlower plug and play mobile solar array for power on the go
Solving solar power has enabled this renewable energy technology Smart Flower to create Middle East solar projects for West Bank farmers and other energy poor locations. It is also providing solar power for curing post-revolution darkness in countries like Yemen. While many solar energy projects involve covering large open areas with solar array panels, smaller personal solar energy equipment […]
KarmSolar is first Egyptian company to sell solar power off-grid
In a region where the renewable energy market is still small, despite a natural and seemingly perpetual gas shortage, one startup is making big strides. KarmSolar is an Egyptian company dedicated to bolstering solar energy use. It is now the first company in Egypt with official permission to sell solar power off-grid. The Egyptian Electricity […]
Solar retreat in the Liwa Desert – futuristic functionality or rich man’s folly?
An unnamed client hired London-based Baharash Architecture to design a luxury home that could fully function off the energy grid. That’s a tall order for any residence in Abu Dhabi, now consider the challenges for one sited in the punishing clime of the hyper-arid Liwa Desert where summer temperatures top 100°F.
Solar-powered plane’s round-the-world journey underway!
We’ve all heard of the benefits of solar power and the emergence of innovative new projects that are making use of the sun’s energy. But one is soaring above the rest of them – a solar-powered plane attempting to fly round the world! Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab […]
New 50MW solar park near Israel’s Timna copper mines seeks partners
The Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Initiative announced yesterday that a tender will be issued to set up and operate the Timna Solar Park, a new 50 Megawatt PV Tracker solar energy field in southern Israel. This is expected to be the first phase of a 170MW project.
Feed-in tariffs – save, export, earn money
If you have been looking for ways to cut down on your energy spending while contributing to salvaging the environment, the government has offered you an opportunity with its Feed-In tariffs (FIT) scheme.
OAXIS: solar-powered hydroponic food belt proposed for the Arabian Peninsula
Most Gulf countries import up to 90 percent of their food, which neither bodes well for food security no climate change – since the food that is brought in from Europe and elsewhere has a lot of what are called “food miles.” True to their name, Forward Thinking Architecture proposes a solar-powered hydroponic food belt as […]
Israel’s 420 MW leads the Middle East in solar installations by a landslide
While solar power plant installations jump to a new annual record this year, according to the Worldwatch Institute, global trends show that despite all the batabata bing bing (announcements, agreements, tea ceremonies, hand-shaking), the Middle East is doing miserably in taking advantage of the sun –– one country is the exception there and it is Israel.
Turkey’s Designnobis turns plastic bottles into solar-powered lanterns
If you live in the Middle East, surely you are accustomed to seeing plastic bottles lining city streets and even far-flung desert areas. While a tiny fraction of these might be recycled in some countries, most of them will languish for years in informal and formal landfills.
LEED-seeking eco mosque recycles precious ablution water in Dubai
A new “eco-mosque” that seeks LEED silver certification has recently opened in Dubai. Designed to set an example for other mosques and local residents, the Port Saeed mosque can accommodate 3,500 worshippers.