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I think this non-profit is pretty cool. They have drastically improved the lives of African women who used to risk their lives and waste many days looking for firewood or burning feces to cook, and so has the Aid For Africa, http://www.aidforafrica.org/member-charities/solar-cookers-international/ Solar cookers could also be built into the side of a home and used indoors! I am thinking of maybe getting or building one for my home to reduce our use of propane. We are mainly solar-powered but we have a gas range and a back up generator that run on propane and I really dislike that. This solar cooker could really help us out though there is a lot that it can't do. I still think it is interesting and worth looking into. Perhaps it is something that more of us could use.

How to Design a Solar -Powered Computing Device by Intel This article provides an introduction to solar powered devices that are on the horizon and how to design a solar powered computing device.

A brief overview of the possibility of more solar-powered automobiles in the near future due to the decreasing prices of solar and electric vehicles and the advancement in efficiency. An easy-read site which briefly explains the various types of electric cars available to consumers. It also maps the progress of the automobile companies involved in solar and electric cars.

Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts will be the first residential college to generate 100 percent of its electricity from solar panels. The site explains how the students have been involved from the start of the solar project. Inspirational site for solar power and sustainability followers.

This is a different page from the same website I posted about the Sunshot Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy. It was cool to find that this website has so many how-to guides for individuals and communities who are interested in solar energy projects. I was surprised that there is so much governmental support available.

Renewable Energy World delivers the newest innovations in renewable energy worldwide. This article debut's the first solar road way in the world! A solar bike path in the Netherlands- a start to global solar roadways.

Americans are familiar with with utilizing solar energy to heat water filled tubes for domestic hot water. Spain has laid claim to the world's first molten salt solar energy plant. Nearly 3,000 mirrors track the Sun, reflecting its rays at a centralized tower. Said tower raises salt, an already bountiful resource in Spain, to a temperature high enough to melt it. Amazingly, salt withholds its temperature rather well, emitting heat for nearly 15 hours past liquefaction. This heat is utilized for energy production.

Second town in CA to require "all new buildings and additions to put up solar voltaic panels."

We need these laws in Massachusetts!

This website shows an introduction and a glimpse into the future of solar road ways, beginning from a solar car park, to renditions of solar roadways possible in a very near future. It is exciting !

Solar Energy isn't just about soaking up the sun's rays to put power into a space or the grid. This article, albeit brief, gives a few examples of some interesting applications of our Sun's radiation.

I was not aware of this effort but found it interesting. Let me know what you think!

Fully sustainable or 'smart' houses are hard to imagine without renewable energy. This company is one of my heros in bringing solar energy to residential homes and making solar energy real, affordable and reliable

Is it possible for the sun to provide the only source of power for a complete water purification system in a portable bag? Until now we would not give the idea much thought. But why not? We make "sun tea" where you put tea bags in a container of water and place the container outside in the sun to naturally brew the tea.

A consumers guide from MSN's Real Estate webpage. Options for home use in mind, MSN offers three categories of best in show. Most efficient, most innovative, and best bang for the buck have examples of photovoltaic solar panels.

I feel like such communities are going to be a necessary and vital part of the future. I wonder if everyone will be living in communities like these in say 100 years?

This is actually an amazing company with the vision of creating sustainable solar electric cars. I have a friend who owns their roadster and it is amazing to ride in. The cars are VERY expensive now but I am hoping they will be more affordable in the future. The company's CEO is Elon Musk, http://elonmusk.com/ who I believe is a very interesting character in the "Green" world.

I found the Sunshot video on this website from the U.S. Department of Energy encouraging. The website explains, "...the SunShot Initiative, which seeks to make solar electricity cost-competitive with other sources of energy by 2020."

I utilized this program in my design work at Northeast Solar. What I really like about this application is 1. It's free and 2. You can share you Templates with the world. Oh, and 3. You have access to all the Free Templates from the World! Some great person shared a template (Template = a design package including tools, data, configurations, that you can utilize in the sketch up world) that I can use in unison with Google Earth, to design, plan, measure, size, and then show, what Solar electric (PV) opportunity they have for their building. It was really useful. SketchUp is 3D modeling software that's easy to learn and incredibly fun to use. Download SketchUp today for free and get started drawing in 3D.