Archinect - News

German study finds broad social acceptance of integrated PV panels

2024-11-22T07:40:00-05:00

New findings produced by the Institute of Psychology at the University of Freiburg and German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have shown the proven social acceptance of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) in different urban conditions.

According to techxplore.com, which first reported the news: "The conclusions showed that the acceptance of integrated photovoltaics in urban areas is generally very high and that PV on modern buildings is viewed more positively than on historic buildings."

Additionally, the study found that colored PV panels that match their buildings’ roof or facade design increased their rates of acceptance. Andreas Wessel, a PhD student and co-author of the study says: "The study provides initial insights into the social acceptance of PV systems on and around buildings. It confirms that the acceptance of PV systems can actually be increased through good visual integration with colored modules, especially for historic buildings."

Is the architectural design causing serious Wi-Fi issues at Google's new Bay View headquarters?

2024-03-26T17:28:00-04:00

Google has not publicly disclosed the reasons for the Wi-Fi problems, but workers say the 600,000-square-foot building’s swooping, wave-like rooftop swallows broadband like the Bermuda Triangle. [...] But, a Google spokeswoman acknowledged, "we’ve had Wi-Fi connectivity issues in Bay View." She said Google "made several improvements to address the issue," and the company hoped to have a fix in coming weeks.

The roof of the BIG and Heatherwick Studio-designed Bay View headquarters, which opened in 2022, is a key component of the building’s circular design strategy and features 90,000 "dragonscale" solar panels. Some believe they could be causing the interference.

Related on Archinect: Google's BIG + Heatherwick-designed Bay View HQ campus opens. Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of Google

The other culprit would be the building’s internal layout and configuration and the density of routers within it (H/t various Reddiors). Google would not publically address the source of the connectivity issues.

Operations at the company's other new headquarters inside the St. John’s Terminal in Manhattan, which opened in February, however, appear to be running a bit more smoothly.

The Pentagon will install solar panel array as part of $55 million DOD initiative

2024-02-03T08:00:00-05:00

The Pentagon has announced it will be installing a solar panel array on its roof in a historic first that’s part of a new $55 million Department of Defense clean energy initiative at military installations in the United States and Germany.

The DOD has been active in attempting to mitigate the large carbon footprint caused by the U.S. military with similar conservation strategies for several years. The money for the new solar panels is being sourced from a larger Department of Energy program that will spend $104 million in total on 31 projects affecting ten other federal agencies. The DOD says this is necessary to bolster its energy resilience and defense operational capabilities while also improving the quality of life for service members living and working at bases full-time.

"We have a moral obligation to the people that defend our nation, to their famili...

EU member states agree to major building emissions cuts at COP28

2023-12-12T18:21:00-05:00

If approved in its current form, the deal struck on Thursday night will also force member states to put solar panels on more buildings, starting with new public buildings and offices and expanding to include new homes by 2030. [...] It is a compromise on the European Commission’s original proposals to renovate the leakiest homes, which member states had fought fiercely.

The EU’s pledge mandates that all new buildings will have zero emissions from fossil fuels in that timeframe, with heating systems derived from fossil fuels phased out by 2040. The expansion of heat pump subsidies will be a decisive factor, along with the mandatory installation of solar panels on everything except heritage architecture, churches, and agricultural buildings by the decade’s end. Also at the conference, six other member states joined the U.S., Canada, and UK in pledging their commitments to the UNEP Buildings Breakthrough challenge that will further reduce emissions by 2030. Signatories will also have until 2035 to cut emissions in residential structures by at least 20%.

Still, the Climate Action Network’s Eva Brardinelli, told the Guardian: “The final agreement on the directive missed a significant opportunity to lift millions out of energy poverty and cut our dependence on fossil fuels.”

The changes are likely to be formally adopted via the European Parliament in th...

New construction video highlights AECOM's nearly complete Intuit Dome in Inglewood

2023-07-19T13:35:00-04:00

Following reports of its topping out in March, the AECOM-designed Intuit Dome, the future home of the Los Angeles Clippers, is taking shape ahead of its expected completion in 2024.

A new video depicts the status of the project as of June 2023, where its standout steel frame with diagrid geometry can be seen wrapping the structure. This building skin is formed from a series of diamond-shaped, interwoven metal panels with multiple uses. According to the architects, the frame was inspired by the form of a basketball net as a ball passes through it.

A vast array of solar panels can also be spotted on the structure’s roof. Intuit Dome is set to operate 100% carbon-free, powered fully by batteries and solar power. The design team, alongside the Clippers organization, worked towards initiatives that will earn the stadium a LEED Platinum certification.

The $1.2 billion, 18,000-seat arena will be the centerpiece of a larger mixed-use project, including an 85,000-square-foot training faci...

Detroit pitches solar energy plan targeting vacant land across the city

2023-07-06T12:06:00-04:00

A new plan Mayor Mike Duggan is pitching would fill vacant land in the city, provide clean energy for the city, and give money back to community groups. After some consultation with solar companies, the plans should start to take shape this fall. Starting July 1, neighborhood groups will be able to submit a community interest form. If they need assistance with the proposal, they can request help from a solar energy expert.

The plan puts the Motor City squarely in line with Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and New York, whose attempt to power 250,000 homes by 2030 is still lagging. France also just commenced its own plan targeted at parking lots in the country at the beginning of the month, despite previous road bumps there.

Vacant parcels across Detroit have long been the subject of various renewal proposals. As of last September, there were a total of 62,781 registered in the city's Land Bank database. A total of 16.75% of the city's 88,800 overall acreage is considered vacant, according to statistics published in 2019 from Data Driven Detroit.

De Zwarte Hond designs flexible timber office park in Amsterdam

2023-06-22T11:30:00-04:00

De Zwarte Hond has designed a timber office building for Dutch energy company Alliander. Located on the Noordzeeweg in Amsterdam Westpoort, the new offices are described as circular and flexible, consisting of workshops, warehouses, test facilities, and educational and park buildings.

Image: Jaques Tillmans Foto Focus / De Zwarte Hond

Sustainability guided the design of the roughly 226,042-square-foot complex, which resulted in high flexibility, scalability, and modularity. Materials such as wood were used as much as possible, and harmful substances like glue, PU foam or sealant were minimized. The parking building’s detached set-up allows it to grow or shrink. In addition, the structure’s façades are made of weather-resistant Corten steel.

Image: Scagliola Brakkee / De Zwarte Hond

The office is gas-free and energy neutral due to approximately 37 square feet of solar panels and thermal energy storage. Its use of timber allowed the project to store 560 tons of carbon dioxide. Much con...

MVRDV's new demountable science building has over 120,000 reusable components

2023-05-25T19:36:00-04:00

Construction of MVRDV’s Matrix ONE project, a laboratory and office building in the heart of Amsterdam Science Park, has been completed.

The six-story, 140,000-square-foot structure is the largest of seven buildings that now make up the Matrix Innovation Center, a site for scientists and entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions for current and future issues.

Image: MVRDV / © Daria Scagliola

As the main hub at the Center, Matrix ONE aims to be a guiding example to the other buildings at the Amsterdam Science Park. The building was made to be demountable, in which connections such as screws and bolts allow elements to be detached and reused. In addition, its floors are made using prefabricated concrete slabs with no fixed connections.

Image: MVRDV / © Daria Scagliola

The platform Madaster was used to provide a material passport system that registers all the materials and products incorporated in the building. It provides insight into the carbon dioxide storage for over 120,000 ...

Chipotle launches new all-electric restaurant design pilot

2023-04-20T14:37:00-04:00

Chipotle Mexican Grill has unveiled a new fully electric restaurant design that aims to utilize 100% renewable energy and maximize energy efficiency in its equipment and systems.

The chain has recently opened restaurants with these new features in Gloucester, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida, with a third location set to open later this summer in Castle Rock, Colorado. This design pilot will help the company progress towards its sustainability targets, formed in alignment with Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), to reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.

Chipotle aims to have more than 100 of its new locations in 2024 utilize this new model. Its impact will be further extended as the company plans to eventually grow to 7,000 locations in North America. The design will continue to evolve as restaurants receive additional feedback and insights.

Key features of the new restaurant design include rooftop solar panels, all-electric...

New York City is still slow in meeting its 2030 solar pledge

2023-04-14T17:48:00-04:00

New York City has pledged to reach 1,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2030 — enough energy to power 250,000 homes, according to the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Justice. But state data shows that its current pace of installation will land short of that goal, leaving officials and advocates looking for ways to break down barriers to installation.

As Gothamist reported, 90% of the city’s energy grid is derived from fossil fuels. The effort to counteract this with rooftop photovoltaics is being stymied by the building codes and cost of installation, despite remarkable gains in solar capacity overall.

A proposed new program called Public Solar NYC could offer solutions, along with a slate of regulatory changes. The city’s tax burden is notoriously tough on low-income families, adding to the frustration that the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance's Daniel Chu and others feel as the deadline draws near.

“Most of the power plants in New York City are located within environmental justice communities with overwhelming numbers of affordable housing or NYCHA projects,” he told the blog. “They are currently missing out on the opportunities that other folks in wealthier communities and non-disadvantaged communities can take advantage of. We need to prioritize disadvantaged communities in the process of transitioning out and building t...

Robotics company unveils world’s first autonomous system for installing solar farm foundations

2023-03-17T08:30:00-04:00

San Francisco-based Built Robotics has announced the development of the “world’s first fully autonomous solar piling system.” The system, named RPD 35, is capable of constructing foundations for solar panel arrays up to five times faster than the traditional method.

The system was designed for integration into utility-scale solar projects, which require the support of steel H-beams measuring 12-16 feet in length. A typical solar farm requires tens of thousands of piles to be installed, each of which is driven approximately eight feet into the ground and positioned at an accuracy of less than an inch.

According to its creators, RPD 35 uses AI to conduct all steps in the piling process, including surveying, pile distribution, pile driving, and inspection. As a result, the system can enable a two-person crew to install over 300 piles per day.

"Solar piling is a tough, repetitive job, one well suited to automation," explained the company’s CEO and founder Noah Ready-Campbell. "Our pili...

France now requires all large parking lots to be covered by solar panels

2022-11-11T08:43:00-05:00

In France, solar just got a huge boost from new legislation approved through the Senate this week that requires all parking lots with spaces for at least 80 vehicles – both existing and new – be covered by solar panels.

Starting on July 1, 2023, parking lots that have between 80 and 400 spaces will have five years to comply with the new measures. Those with more than 400 spaces will need to comply within three years, with at least half of the surface area of the parking lot needing to be covered in solar panels. Parking lots that accommodate trucks carrying heavy goods or parking areas in historic or protected areas are exempt from the measures.

This move is part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to multiply the amount of solar energy produced in France by 10. The initiative also aims to double the power from land-based wind farms. As reported by electrek, the government claims this plan could generate up to 11 gigawatts, which can power millions of homes.

Underfunded public schools are looking to solar upgrades as a source of much-needed cost savings

2022-09-20T09:00:00-04:00

As solar energy gains traction across the country, one beneficiary have been schools, particularly those in cash-strapped districts contending with dwindling tax bases. The savings in electric bills from schools with solar panels often topped millions in each district, and many have been able to adopt the technology without shouldering any costs up front.

According to White House statistics, energy costs rank second to only teachers' salaries on a list of the largest expenses the approximately 130,000 public schools across the country are faced with annually. Their emissions are equivalent to the CO2 output of about 16 coal-fired power plants, making K-12 solar upgrades one of the more salient provisions included in the recent Federal Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Acts.

Some districts that have already installed solar panels are seeing immediate savings as a result of the rising energy costs related to inflation and the war in Ukraine. At least 30 states have some of the basic framework that allows for the third-party ownership agreements often necessary for their installations to be enacted. Advocates say it isn’t nearly enough, but the 8,400 schools that do have solar installations offer a dramatic tri-fold increase when compared to statistics from 2014.

Researchers develop colorful solar panels to allow for more attractive design options

2022-08-17T15:00:00-04:00

Researchers from the American Chemical Society have developed solar panels that can take on a range of colors without sacrificing their efficiency, improving their attractiveness and, thus, their marketability.

As the popularity of solar panels has grown, their application isn’t solely reserved for rooftops anymore but building façades and other more visible parts of buildings. Their standard black hue, however, limits how visually appealing buildings can be, with some architects describing solar panels as ugly and difficult to integrate into projects.

Solar panels take their dark color to absorb as much light as possible. However, other attempts to add color to them have produced less power, higher costs, and an undesirable iridescence.

The team of researchers, including Tao Ma, Ruzhu Wang, and colleagues, aimed to develop a way to color solar panels using a structural material that...

An Obama-era renewable energy project is finally about to break ground in Southern California

2022-06-17T19:05:00-04:00

The massive plot of land reserved for renewable energy production by an aging federal policy in Southern California’s Inyo County has finally gotten the go-ahead for development years after its initial announcement by the Obama Administration.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finally approved the start of construction of the two first projects contained in the 10.8 million-acre Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) after an elongated environment review and years of political toggling. The photovoltaic arrays are said to be capable of powering up to 130,000 homes and generating $5.9 million in what the Bureau calls “annual operational economic benefits” to the landlocked region.

Previously on Archinect: California to build solar panels over canals following UC graduate’s research

Construction will begin as early as the week of June 13 and could soon be followed by a potential third project pending BLM approval. The agency estimated that the plan requires a total invest...

President Biden invokes Defense Production Act to stimulate domestic clean energy construction

2022-06-08T17:33:00-04:00

President Joe Biden is using his executive powers Monday to boost the domestic production of solar panels and their parts and will issue a 24-month tariff exemption on imports of the products from several countries. The White House said Biden will authorize the use of the Defense Production Act to accelerate manufacturing of solar panels in the United States as a way to strengthen the administration's efforts to shift the country toward clean energy.

Invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) allows the President to order private businesses to prioritize the production of materials deemed necessary for national defense. Aside from accelerating the domestic production of solar panels, Biden is using the Act to rapidly expand American manufacturing of building insulation, heat pumps for buildings, equipment for making and using clean electricity-generated fuels, and critical power grid infrastructure.

Previously on Archinect: U.S. Department of Energy says solar energy has the potential to produce 40% of the nation's electricity by 2035

The White House also signaled its intention to direct the development of master supply agreements to increase the speed and efficiency by which domestic clean electricity providers can sell their products to the U.S. Government.

Furthermore, this move includes an order to establish a two-year tariff exemption for solar panel imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam in order to meet th...

New first-of-its-kind office tower in Melbourne sports an integrated solar façade

2022-06-07T17:55:00-04:00

Australia’s first office tower with a “solar skin” is expected to be built next year in a landmark moment for the construction industry and decarbonisation efforts. The eight-storey building at 550-558 Spencer Street in West Melbourne will cost $40m and has been designed by the architecture firm Kennon on behalf of Dr Bella Freeman.

The first-of-its-kind structure for Australia will be covered by 1,182 solar panels with the equivalent thickness of a conventional glass façade. The cladding is called Skala, developed by German solar energy technology company Avancis. The system utilizes a thin-film PV module that sits atop a network that channels the generated electricity into the building’s power supply. As reported by The Guardian, it has the ability to produce 50 times the energy of an average rooftop photovoltaic array used in residential housing.

When the building is completed, the solar skin will reportedly provide nearly all its energy needs. The addition of extra roof panels will cut almost all ongoing power costs, and after a few years, the site is expected to be carbon-neutral. While involved in projects in Europe, the technology is a first for Australia, given its strict building codes. It is currently undergoing a final round of testing before it can be approved, which would make Skala available to u...

Fallingwater gets an offsetting new upgrade

2022-05-27T16:22:00-04:00

Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic 87-year-old Fallingwater historic site is getting a very necessary modern upgrade according to a press release issued last month by Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the organization responsible for its stewardship.

In order to supplement sustainability goals tied to the home’s current preservation needs, Fallingwater and the surrounding Bear Run Nature Reserve will now offset a full 100% of the structure’s energy use via a network of 540 individual 5 x 3-foot bifacial solar panels said to produce 254,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a year. The Conservancy says their installation will offset the overall usage of the broader site by 25% annually.

Image courtesy Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC).

“In designing Fallingwater, Wright sought to create a harmonious relationship between architecture and nature. He was inspired by the natural features of the woodland landscape for the house’s colors, materials and design motifs, and oriented the buildi...

Google's BIG + Heatherwick-designed Bay View HQ campus opens

2022-05-17T18:55:00-04:00

Google has announced the opening of its new Bay View campus in Mountain View, California, with the neighboring Charleston East project in its final phase of construction. Together, they form the latest additions to Google's headquarters.

Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of Google

The web giant celebrates the first time it led the concept and construction of one of its own major campuses, boasting an extensive list of human-centered, sustainable features.

According to Google's project announcement, Bay View is an all-electric, net-water-positive facility with the largest geothermal installation in North America. Both projects report being the largest buildings in the world to pursue LEED-NC v4 Platinum and the largest to pursue elements of the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) Living Building Challenge (LBC) Petal Certification.

Photo: Iwan Baan, courtesy of Google

Designed in collaboration with Bjarke Ingels Group and Heatherwick Studio, the campus officially broke ground in 2...

California to build solar panels over canals following UC graduate’s research

2022-02-14T11:26:00-05:00

A consortium in California has announced its ambition to construct a network of solar panels over a segment of the state’s canal system. The project, named Project Nexus, will build on research by a UC Merced environmental engineering graduate, which we originally reported on back in May 2021.

The graduate, Brandi McKuin, was part of a team who demonstrated that covering California’s 4,000 miles of water canals in solar panels could potentially reduce water evaporation by 82%. This reduction would save 63 billion gallons of water per year, enough to irrigate 50,000 acres of farmland or meet the residential water needs of 2 million people.

Covering the entire state’s canal system in solar panels would also generate 13 gigawatts of renewable energy, equal to 17% of the state’s current solar capacity. The move would deliver half of the projected new solar capacity required by California ...

Researchers have mapped every large solar plant in the world

2021-11-01T14:19:00-04:00

Researchers from the United States and United Kingdom have used machine learning to map every large solar plant in the world. The team behind the map sees it as an opportunity to consider the future trajectory of solar expansion and to inform decisions on what land uses can be best supplanted by solar farms by looking at historic trends. The findings were published in the journal Nature by researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK, Descartes Labs Inc in San Francisco, and the World Resources Institute in Washington DC.

A map of all the large solar facilities detected up to 2018 (lighter colors = more recent). Image: Kruitwagen et al, Nature via The Conversation

The map was made possible by the construction of a machine learning system which could detect solar facilities in satellite imagery; a system that the researchers scaled to a planet-wide search using 550 terabytes of imagery. To streamline their results, the researchers limited their search to solar facilities which ...

U.S. Department of Energy says solar energy has the potential to produce 40% of the nation's electricity by 2035

2021-09-08T13:13:00-04:00

A new study released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) highlights the role solar energy could play in decarbonizing the country’s power grid.

The Solar Futures Study shows that by 2035, solar energy has the potential to power 40% of the nation’s electricity and employ as much as 1.5 million people, without raising electricity prices. This comes following the installation of a record amount of solar in 2020, which currently accounts for 3% of the country’s electricity supply.

The study shows that by 2035, the U.S. would need to quadruple its yearly solar capacity and provide 1,000 GW of power to ensure a renewable-dominant grid. The report goes further to say that by 2050, solar energy could provide 1,600 GW for a zero-carbon grid.

Solar Deployment 2020–2050, according to the Solar Futures Study. Image: DOE.

“The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the U.S. ...

California to mandate solar panels for new buildings

2021-08-12T13:26:00-04:00

California is set to mandate the inclusion of solar panels and battery storage for new buildings. Following a unanimous vote of approval by the California Energy Commission, the measure is expected to be included in an overall revision of the state’s building code in December of this year, before coming into effect on January 1st, 2023. The move, made as part of the new 2022 California Energy Code, will make California the first state in the U.S. to mandate solar panels and battery storage for new commercial and high-rise residential buildings.

The new measures will apply to a wide range of buildings, including hotels, offices, retail, restaurants, schools, grocery stores, and civic spaces such as theaters, auditoriums, and convention centers. The measures would also require new homes in California to be wired in an accessible way, to enable the future transition of heating and appliances away from natural gas and towards electric sources. Other measures include the encouragement of...

Idea of building solar panels over California’s canals floated by researchers

2021-05-05T12:05:00-04:00

Researchers from UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced have proposed a “solar canal solution” to address the state’s water shortages, energy needs, and climate goals. In what they describe as a “win-win” for both water and climate in California, the researchers outlined the benefits of covering 4000 miles of canals across California in solar panels, including promoting renewable energy development, conserving water, and improving the quality of the natural environment. The solution is proposed by Roger Bales (Distinguished Professor of Engineering, University of California, Merced) and Brandi McKuin (Postdoctoral Researcher in Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz).

Unsurprisingly, the initiative would generate massive volumes of electricity. The researchers estimate that the system could provide 13 gigawatts of renewable energy, which is roughly half of the new sources the state needs to add to meets its clean energy goals: 60% from carbon-free sources by 2030 and 100% ...

UN Studio brings a responsive solar skin to an existing office tower in Seoul

2020-05-08T16:10:00-04:00

Dutch architects UNStudio have recently completed the top-to-bottom renovation and re-skinning of an existing office tower in Seoul for corporation company Hanwha.

The eye-catching project is notable due to the fact that the extensive renovation and re-cladding were executed while the building remained occupied by the company and its workforce. According to a press release describing the project, construction teams worked three floors at a time, starting at the ground floor lobby and surrounding landscaped spaces and moving up to the tower's new top-floor restaurants and office suites.

Gansam Partners served as the Executive Architect while Loos van Vliet provided landscape design services for the project. Additionally, ARUP Hong Kong provided facade and sustainability expertise and AG Licht acted as lighting consultant.

For the...

New York's roofs may get a lot greener soon

2020-03-19T08:00:00-04:00

Local Laws 92 and 94, which went into effect on November 15, 2019, require all new buildings and major roof alterations to be capped with a green roof, solar panels, or some combination of the two. If successful, the new policies could transform New York’s skyline.

In their publication Urban Omnibus, The Architectural League of New York asked experts from the Green Roof Researchers Alliance to elaborate on the implications of NYC's ambitious decarbonization legislation, the Climate Mobilization Act, which — since November 2019 — requires all new buildings and major roof alterations to feature either a green roof, solar panels, or a combined solution.

Green roof live cam on Javits Center. Stream via Javits Center on YouTube.

"Green roofs are so important for New York City in the changing climate," explains Danielle Spiegel-Feld, an urban environmental law and sustainable energy policy researcher and professor at New York University School of Law, in the interview. "They’re so important for stormwater mitigation. They’re so important for water management, which becomes increasingly crucial as rain flows become heavier in the summer. They’re so important for the urban heat island effect. They’re a critical part of our adaptation strategy, so we ...

California's solar energy achievements present new challenges for the state's energy grid

2019-12-17T12:43:00-05:00

Now that California has reached 1 million solar roofs, some activists are looking at battery storage as the next frontier for lawmakers. Dan Jacobson, director of Environment California, thinks the state should aim to install 1 million batteries by 2025. Those systems could store solar power for use in the evening — and help homes keep the lights on when utility companies intentionally shut off power to reduce the risk of wildfire ignitions.

Writing in The Los Angeles Times, Sammy Roth reports on California's 1 million solar rooftop achievement, the culmination of a solar incentive plan initiated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. According to the report, there are now more than 1,046,792 solar installations in the state, many on private households and businesses.

Now that the state's solar capacity is increasing at a healthy clip, clean energy advocates are beginning a similar push to increase solar battery capacity, an effort that could transform the nature of the state's power grid as the need for collective infrastructure begins to be replaced by distributed power generation approaches.

America's first solar-powered airport has arrived

2019-08-14T19:45:00-04:00

Earlier this month, the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport announced that it had hit a much-anticipated milestone in becoming the first airfield in the United States powered by 100% solar energy. The end result of an ambitious project that started seven years ago, the airport's 2.64-megawatt solar farm was completed with about $5 million of funding from the Federal Aviation Administration.

First solar road fails to live up to expectations

2019-07-24T15:17:00-04:00

The world’s first solar road in Normandy, northern France, which opened in 2016, has failed to meet expectations. The 2.8 square km of solar panels is in part damaged beyond repair and the 1km road did not produce the power the manufacturer Wattway had promised. Panels were worn out by traffic and joints between the panels were shattered.

After less than three years in operation, the high-profile 1-kilometer trial stretch of the world's first photovoltaic road in northern France has failed to meet expectations.

Instead of delivering the promised 790kWh per day, the first year's actual daily power output was only half that amount, with a total of 149,459 kWh during that year. Only 37,900kWh were generated since the beginning of this year.

According to Energy Reporters, the project's manufacturer, Wattway, which also installed dozens of other, smaller solar roads, admitted that "our system is not mature for inter-urban traffic."

World's largest single-site solar project goes online in Abu Dhabi

2019-07-09T13:16:00-04:00

Abu Dhabi is claiming the title of the world's largest single-site solar project, having hit the go-button on the Noor Abu Dhabi project this week, with a reported capacity of 1.177 gigawatts, eclipsing Dubai's Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park – for now at least. The United Arab Emirates doesn't have a great record when it comes to per-capita carbon footprint, but projects like this show that it's serious about addressing the issue head-on.

"According to the Abu Dhabi media office, the project has sufficient capacity to supply 90,000 people and is expected to reduce Abu Dhabi's CO2 emissions by one million metric tons, or the equivalent of removing 200,000 cars from the road," reports New Atlas.