This month has been particularly green as so many green gadgets have been launched. One such cool gadget is the Solargorilla, which is a portable solar charger. It has been launched by Powertraveller and can extend the life of laptops and other gadgets.

It can directly charge mobile phones, iPods, handheld consoles, and other gadgets which are small. It comes with two photovoltaic glass solar panels and when it is exposed to light, it produces electric current. Thanks to a tough rubber case, it can withstand water and can also be used in a rugged manner. It has a fold-up design thanks to which it can be carried easily wherever you want.

I would so love to get a gadget like this, as the price of electricity is increasing and moreover if we keep using gadgets at the rate we are using, then we shall use up all the energy. Thanks to its sleek and chic design, it can be used without any embarrassment in all the places. The Solargorilla won a prize at the British Innovations Awards and it certainly deserves that piece of cake. So go ahead and grab it the moment it is launched in the market.

Via: Gaj It

The planet may not be hospitable for very long if humans continue to abuse it, the way we have been doing for the past several decades. Taking the eco friendly path has become more than just a safe option or a way to save money, it’s even in style. So, whether you choose to be one of the elite or just someone looking to cut short your power bills, the SolarClover would sure appeal to you.

Created by Armageddon Energy, the SolarClover is a three-leafed power saver that will bring you tons of good luck (at least when it’s time to pay the power bill). The clovers are made of a triangular frame made from a Teflon medium, micro inverter and three lightweight silicon hexagonal solar panels. Setting up each SolarClover would only take a few minutes and the whole thing weighs less than 13 pounds so transferring them from one place to another would be a piece of cake.

Each SolarClover generates about 400 watts which wuld contribute to slashing off a huge amount from the power bills. Forget that, think about how much the environment would be thanking you every minute.

Via: ArmageddonEnergy

We might not be too far away from the days when we just work on holographic projections and 3D images instead of actual surfaces when it comes to pressing buttons and viewing images, but till the days of the Star Trek well and truly arrive, concept designs like the Mobile Script could be the ones that we need to work with. Not that this gorgeous and awesome futuristic design has anything wrong with it! Mobile Script consists of flexible displays, features that offer compact mobility, internet access, games and a dual screen feature that will ensure that your heart skips a beat the first time it rlls out in full magnificence.

Designed ever so elegantly and artistically by Aleksander Mukomelov, this creative master stroke sports a rigid small touchscreen and a flexible large OLED touchscreen that hides neatly behind the smaller screen in collapsed state. The moment you wish to operate or view the larger screen, all you need to do is roll it out and zap it with small voltage to keep it rigid and fully functional.

Powered by solar energy, you never need to plug in this baby and in case the weather gets too damp for too long (like the English summer) you can use its awesome wireless charging ‘rug’ to juice up the Mobile Script… Yup, too good to be true!

Industrialdesignserved

Excessive salt might ruin the taste of your food, but when it comes to solar energy, plenty of salt seems to be very good news- at least for the folk in California. Using a technology that will harness power through the sun and molten-salt, Solar Reserve, a California based solar firm intends to generate power round the clock in a green and clean fashion. The site chosen for this project is Rice, a town in San Bernadino County of California and the planned plant will have a 12-foot pedestal to which a total of 17,500 24 x 28 feet heliostats will be placed surrounding the Solar Power Tower. In a technology that is fast gaining popularity, heat from the sun will be concentrated and used to generate power.

The heat reflected from the vast set of heliostats onto the tower will be used to melt the4.4 million gallons of molten salt on top of the 100 meter tower. This molten salt will drive the attached turbines to generate power and to convert all that solar power into useful electricity. While this is not the first project to use molten salt, SolarReserve claims that their special technique of using synthetic oil along with the salt will make their plant 3-times more efficient than others before it.

So when can we see the plan at Rice operational? If all goes well the California can expect a salty tinge added to their electricity by 2013!

Goodcleantech

Another shining beacon for green architecture and energy conservation, the Cité du Design in Saint-Etienne has just opened its green gates for the world to step into and the view of this grand façade is truly mesmerizing for environmentalists and commoners alike. Designed by LIN, the energy efficient Cité du Design is powered by a vast solar roof that drives the energy needs inside and is supplemented by a heat exchange and recovery system to reduce energy used for heating. The €41.5 million latest eco-friendly design consists of a latticed 3D external wall that is composed up of 14,000 equilateral triangles. These triangular blocks act both as heat and light regulators along with some of them converting the solar power into electricity.

To further reduce its energy needs the Cité du Design pre-conditioned air from the internal gardens is circulated throughout to ensure that the heating needs of the building are kept to a minimum. Integrating old with the new and the traditional with the energy-efficient, the latest symmetric solar marvel of Saint-Etienne is alluring both for lovers of design and energy conservation.

Merging visual delight with green needs, the complex of auditoriums, meeting rooms, exhibition space, media library, and indoor gardens with an observation tower, Cité du Design is another shining jewel in the eco-architecture crown.

Arplus/ Notcot

Inviting green technology and clean energy options into your home seems to be the best style statement possible these days and modern day designers are ensuring that you have an array of dazzling delights to choose from. Designer Mu-kai Shen has added another wonderful accessory to the solar line of products with the beautiful, stylish and sleek ‘Solar Table’ that promises to seamlessly merge with your minimalistic interior and offer clean energy as well. The table comes with a built-in solar panel on top that will harness the power of the sun during day time and will allow you to power up your gadgets at night.

Armed with a sensuous design, a wooden lining and leaf-like pattern of the table cloth on top, the Solar Table tries to add natural beauty to your concrete world. While setting one of this up in your living room might be a waste of time (unless you have a giant hole in your roof that is) the design is perfect for patios and those high balconies that get plenty of sunshine. Efficient, clean and chic, Mu-kai’s design is ‘cool’ in every sense of the word indeed!

Coroflot

Cleantech depends on energy policy. US President Obama deals with two core climate issues: meeting the larger goal of reducing carbon emissions, and finding a way of rescuing the renewables industry from Wall Street’s collapse. The benchmark of 450 ppm is a crucial figure issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. ‘Limiting concentration to 450 ppm requires halting emissions at current levels.’ This needs tremendous policy structure.

But Obama is unflinching and relentless in his pursuit of cleantech. He believes that clean energy is not only the path to the future but also the key to economic revival. He says, “To truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy.”

He puts the money where his mouth is. ‘The stimulus alone dumped $167 billion in grants and loan guarantees for clean-energy and other projects onto the Department of Energy, dwarfing its $27 billion annual budget to such a degree that its inspector general frantically warned that the department could buckle under the strain. There’s even talk of refitting the White House with solar panels.’

Clean technology is based on the principle that ‘the growing scarcity and higher cost of fossil fuels, coupled with environmental concerns, will drive society toward alternative sources of energy, with enormous wealth accruing to whoever can supply them.’ It is still a capitalistic venture for the sake of economy. Along with conjuring up images of ‘towering wind turbines, sleek electric cars, and acres of mirrors shimmering in the desert’ is the strategic viability of having these commercially available.

Only the commercial readiness of cleantech can transform it from advocacy campaign to green economy.

Via The Atlantic

You need to hang ReNu panels in sunlight and then drop into a variety of different portals to charge rechargeable batteries, which then charge your gadgets. The device ReNu can also be used to charge phones and task lighting. The battery can charge an iPhone twice over, which means you get double its original benefit. It will be out in the market early 2010. It may cost $ 199 USD.

Regen Inc plans to merge more sleek designs with solar technology for cutting-edge gadgets.
Via: Treehugger, Regen

According to a report issued by the international environmental group WWF, green technologies offer the hope in averting climate disaster but the ultimate deadline for committing to these technologies is 2014. The group has come up with the conclusion that should the world miss the said deadline, runaway global warming and economic meltdown are sure results.

WWF adds that ‘green technologies will have to grow by 22 per cent each year for the next four decades. Such growth would be the “fastest industrial revolution” witnessed in our history.’ Such an imperative move will result in a 63 percent decline in emissions of key greenhouse gases between 1990 and 2050. This crucial drop is ‘enough to prevent global warming exceeding the 2 °C limit agreed by the G8 industrial nations.’

This massive reindustrialization comes with a hefty cost: $17 trillion worldwide by 2050. Of this amount, $7 trillion will be dedicated to renewable energy technologies. The rest of the massive funds will go to harnessing energy efficiency, low-carbon agriculture, and sustainable forestry.

The report also reveals that ‘only three green energy technologies out of 20 assessed are growing fast enough: wind, solar photovoltaics and biodiesel.’

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Via NewScientist

Dell’s headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, now sport a swanky new shaded solar parking structure called the Solar Grove. Of course it hardly has an resemblance to a real wooded grove, but a step in that direction, it is.

The Grove, was built by Envision Solar, to produce solar energy that could help save 145,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions in a year. Dell tied up with McBride Electric Inc and BP Solar to design alongside Envision Solar. And it nearly works as a solar tree which gives the car some shade. The 516 panel solar structure is designed to generate 130,000 kilowatt hours of solar power annually.

The parking lot used by employees has two plug-in charging stations, which is an added feature.

Considering a computer major like Dell has done something small but significant in cutting energy consumption, it is time other corporates followed suit.
Via: Treehugger