Solar Projects that Amaze In a world obsessed with fossil fuels and other nonrenewable energy sources, it is refreshing to take a quick look at what the industries of renewable energy are accomplishing. Foremost in the renewable energy industry is the increased use and applications of solar power, and there are a few examples and stories from the realm of solar power that simply amaze either for their grandeur, as with the massive solar plants in the Mojave Desert, or with their simplicity in ingenuity to create a pollutant free world, such as the implantation of solar parking lots that power hybrid bicycles.
Solar Plant One of the first solar energy projects that inspires awe through its simple grandeur and massive scale is that project undertaken by the creators, developers, and laborers of the Ivanpah solar farm in the vast expanse of North Americas Mojave Desert. Recognizable by most through its appearance in the Hollywood movie “Sahara� the solar plant is much larger than it appears on screen (as only one section of the entire plant was displayed in the film) and boasts the capability of producing 377 megawatts of power, much more than a simple Phonosolar 300 watt panel.
Solar Ark Another awe inspiring feat of solar energy was accomplished by the innovators at Sanyo in Japan when they developed and built the Solar Ark, as it is called. The enormous and functional building, dubbed the Solar Ark due to its barge-like appearance, is made of over five thousand solar panels and produces over half a million kilowatts of energy per year. The Solar Ark, made as a tribute to solar energy and from dejected monocrystalline cells that the company was forced to recall, houses an interactive solar museum with multiple multi-media displays and a solar lab. By Sanyo is not stopping there in their pursuit of solar power ingenuity.
Solar Bicycles Sanyo has recently introduced its new solar powered bicycle parking lots in its native japan. Not just structures with solar powered lighting, although they are that too, the two bike lots actually recharge and power hybrid solar energy bicycles for use in the community, not only making clean energy available to commuters but also in a clean form of transportation.