Utilities

World's largest Solar Power Tower Plant now on-line

By Paul Evans

18:33 May 1, 2009 PDT

Made up of more than 1200 mirrored heliostats surrounding a huge 54 story high tower, the world's largest solar power tower plant is now on-line near Seville in Spain. Developed by Spanish engineering company Abengoa, the PS20 plant generates 20 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply 10,000 homes. Concentrating solar thermal technology has been used in desert areas in Spain and the southwest U.S. for decades and is seeing a resurgence as utilities seek to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Read More

750kW CIGS thin film solar array goes online in Arizona

By Emily Clark

22:34 December 9, 2008 PST

Arizona is now home to the world’s largest solar array using Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells. The 750-kilowatt (kW) system, located at Global Solar’s manufacturing facility in Tuscon, is the first commercial-scale deployment of the company’s CIGS technology. Read More

LifeVillage modular housing solution for remote communities

By Emily Clark

22:10 September 28, 2008 PDT

Designed to address the problem of access to critical utilities in remote areas and developing nations that lack the necessary infrastructure, Envision Solar's modular self-contained LifeVillage integrates clean power and water treatment into buildings and communities, no matter what the location. Read More

Power Utility launches energy saving software

By Emily Clark

23:06 April 7, 2008 PDT

South Jersey Gas is now offering its customers the ability to manage their energy consumption, practice energy efficiency and reduce their energy costs using a free web-based service. Developed by Aclara Software, the new service gives customers access to energy information relating to their utility bills. Read More

Record 65 million square foot solar panel installation for California

By Emily Clark

20:44 March 27, 2008 PDT

March 28, 2008 California’s biggest electricity utility, Southern California Edison (SCE), has launched a project which will account for the largest solar cell installation in the United States. A massive 250 megawatts of advanced photovoltaic generating technology will be placed over 65 million square feet of roofs of Southern California commercial buildings – enough power to serve around 162,000 homes. Read More

Tiny but mighty - the Kubota RTV1100 luxury mini-utility

By Loz Blain

June 21, 2007 Sitting somewhere between a golf cart, an ATV and a tiny utility, Kubota's RTV1100 is a curious-looking vehicle. But this fun little diesel-powered 1123cc getabout delivers a new level of quiet, air-conditioned comfort, hard-working, all-terrain performance and roll-cage safety. These and other practical innovations should combine to make it a very popular vehicle for those who work on large, spread-out properties. Read More