Image sourced from: extremetech.com

Your home windows or electric car windows, or simply your smartphone, could easily turn into power generators thanks to transparent solar cells. At Ubiquitous Energy, MIT startup co-founded by researchers Barr, Lunt, Bulović, and Bart, they are continuing development work to optimize their transparent PVs. These new solar cells selectively absorb only infrared and ultraviolet light, which are invisible to the eye, while “visible light passes through the cells unimpeded, so our eyes don’t know they’re there” (Stauffer).

Balancing the grid is hard. There has always been waste in the system because running into deficit could cause total collapse. However, there are people looking for good solutions. The grid previously relied on peaker plants, burning fossil fuels during high demand times so most of the time it only what was needed was run.

With over 65,000 associates and 300 distribution facilities serving 500,000 customer locations, there's no doubt that Sysco has some high energy needs. On June 6th, the company signed a ten-year renewable energy agreement; subsequently, three solar garden sites are being constructed in Texas, which will provide about 10% of Sysco’s U.S. electricity usage.

SolBid Founders Nate Raymond and Ian Ricci were interviewed on Building the Future Radio by host, Kevin Horek. They discussed the inner workings of SolBid and provided insight into how they got SolBid to where is at today. In case you missed it, listen to it here! #BuildingTheFuture #SolBid #Solar

Just when you thought everything had already been invented, researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology introduced a scientific breakthrough to the world. Researchers at RMIT are “painting the town red” with solar paint, a new product they’ve engineered to produce fuel.

Although the electric car was introduced over 100 years ago, only a fraction of cars sold to U.S. customers today are considered electric vehicles (EVs). Due to the environmental benefits of EVs, there has historically been some efforts to incentivize EV development. Now, Massachusetts's proportion of EVs may begin to climb due to a proposal set forth by Mass. Attorney General Maura Healey.

It is evident that the key to success for clean energy businesses, or any businesses for that matter, is to specifically cater to Millennials. This may not come as a surprise, but Millennials (people about 18-35 years old) are growing up and becoming the leaders and big investors in the United States. This means that understanding the needs and values of this generation, and then molding business practices to that, is crucial.

From coast to coast, colleges and universities have increased their energy efficiency exponentially throughout the years. Recently, we see bigger projects being undertaken. These projects are important in the renewable energy field because not only is it helping increase their facilities energy efficiency and decreasing their carbon footprint, but it also allows the leaders of the future to experience and learn about clean energy.

Recently, large-scale gas and electric utilities are making commitments to a carbon-neutral future. Their motivations, however, are not rooted in corporate responsibility; instead, economic trends are pointing to renewables for competitive advantage.

Dr. Mark Penning, Vice President of Animals, Science and Environment at Disney Parks, announced in late April Disney's plan to bring a new 50-megawatt solar facility online by the end of the year; which would generate enough renewable clean energy to power two of its four theme parks in Florida.

Last May, Atlanta became the 27th city in the United States, and the largest Southern city to commit to 100% renewable energy. Introduced by Councilman Kwanza Hall, the Atlanta City Council unanimously approved a measure that establishes a community-wide goal of transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035.