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Germany shows that solar energy can play a key role in the energy mix

By Sunhive | June 3rd, 2012

An inspiring article by The Guardian shows that solar energy can play a key role in the energy mix of industrialised societies. Never before anywhere has a country produced as much photovoltaic electricity,” Allnoch told Reuters. “Germany came close to the 20 gigawatt mark a few times in recent weeks. But this was the first [...]

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Community Project in Lewes Installs 445 Solar Panels on Roof of Brewery

By Sunhive | January 8th, 2012

The Transition initiativein Lewes raised more than £350,000 in July to build their own community-owned solar power station, the first of its kind. The 98 kW solar array consists of 445 solar PV panels and was fitted to the top of a local brewery, Harvey’s. The money was raised in just two months by local [...]

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Blackfriars Bridge to Have a Solar Makeover

By Sunhive | January 4th, 2012

New plans have been approved for Blackfriars Bridge in London to fit 4,400 solar panels across the roof of the station. The panels cover in total, will be 6000 m2 London’s largest solar array and the world’s largest solar bridge. The bridge is estimated by the company overseeing it, Solarcentury, to produce 900,000kWh per year [...]

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MP Caroline Lucas Speaks Out On UK Pollution Problem

By LaylaR | July 14th, 2011

Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton and Hove has made an appeal this week for more to be done about the ignored issue of pollution in the UK. She condemned the government for continued inaction, despite a law suit being filed against us by the Europ ean Commission. Lucas revealed we are in the [...]

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Energy consumed vs energy produced by solar PV panels

By Sunhive | June 4th, 2011

It is commonly believed that a major problem with solar panels is that they consume such a significant amount of energy in their manufacture that the energy they produce is negligible in comparison. So how much energy does it take to make a solar panel and is it still worth it considering how much energy [...]

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Why is solar power a good idea?

By Sunhive | April 20th, 2011

Solar panels are a great way to produce environmentally friendly renewable energy and save money at the same time. Most traditional forms of electricity generation work by burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil. These fuels are getting more expensive all the time and also emit large amounts of carbon dioxide gas, a major [...]

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New and up-coming solar technology

By Sunhive | April 3rd, 2011

Solar technology is rapidly advancing, with new innovations constantly being developed. Micro-inverters and ‘hairy’ solar panels could greatly increase the efficiency of solar PV systems, and there are even plans to locate solar stations in space to capture the maximum amount of light possible. Micro-inverters Solar panels rely on light to produce electricity, meaning that [...]

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Five innovative uses of solar power

By Sunhive | March 31st, 2011

Placing solar panels on your roof is only one option for using the enormous amount of energy the Sun provides. Solar technology can also be incorporated into everyday objects, as well as in more unusual situations! This solar powered keyboard has no wires and doesn’t even need its batteries changing – all the energy it [...]

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Different types of solar PV technology

By Sunhive | March 26th, 2011

There are many technologies available to capture and use energy from the sun. Some use this energy in heating systems, some produce electricity and some can do both at the same time (see new technology). For domestic solar electric installations, photovoltaic (PV) technology is used. This uses layers of silicon to convert energy from the [...]

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How is electricity generated by solar panels?

By Sunhive | March 26th, 2011

Solar panels capture energy from sunlight and generate electricity using the photovoltaic effect, which was first discovered by Alexandre Edmond Becquerel, a French physicist, in 1839. Each solar panel is made up of many solar cells (typically 60) that each generates a small amount of electricity. Photons (which make up sunlight) hit the solar panel [...]

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