After a year of preparation, the SNEC International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference and Exhibition will begin today at the Shanghai New International Expo Center.

Scientists from the University of Southern California have been working on a way to make solar energy more efficient, affordable, and convenient. As with other forms of alternative energy, solar energy is often criticized as having numerous flaws. Researchers from USC believe that some of the problems that are inherent in solar energy systems can be remedied through the development of new solar cells.

The title of the Georgia Tech news release, “Stable Electrodes for Improving Printed Electronics,” might not have caught your eye, but this is some totally cool research. Here’s more from Georgia Tech.

On May 3rd, 2012, representatives of leading international companies in the solar photovoltaic industry announced the founding of the Global Solar Council, a CEO‐level industry coalition whose aim is to expand the global deployment of solar energy in a sustainable and cost‐competitive way.

Grasslands around airports can be used as solar panel fields or sources of grass-based biofuels, according to a new USDA report.

Honda has unveiled a demonstration house in Saitama, Japan, to showcase and test its new Honda Smart Home System (HSHS).

Researchers are developing a technique that uses nanotechnology to harvest energy from hot pipes or engine components to potentially recover energy wasted in factories, power plants and cars.

New concepts such as the Multi Duored gearbox and the HydridDrive are being developed to combine compact design, high efficiency and easy maintenance.

This rather novel solar collector draws inspiration from the lotus flower to provide small-scale solar energy - both electric and thermal - to domestic and small business users.

Butterfly wings are not just beautiful. They are also sophisticated collectors of solar energy that help butterflies stay warm, and researchers say that their shinglelike structure could provide valuable clues into developing better solar technology.

Last month Apple unveiled that it plans to build both a massive fuel cell farm and a huge solar farm at its data center in Maiden, North Carolina.

The report also comes just days after two new reports from analyst firms Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Clean Energy Pipeline both calculated that clean energy investment reached its lowest level in several years during the first quarter of 2012, primarily as a result of policy uncertainty in the EU and US.

While we’ve looked at the development of solar cell technologies that employ nanoscale 3D structures to trap light and increase the amount of solar energy absorbed, MIT researchers have now used 3D on the macro scale to achieve power output that is up to 20 times greater than traditional fixed flat solar panels with the same base area.

Altaeros Energies have created a floating wind turbine that produces low cost, renewable energy

Qatar will build a smart national power grid to facilitate intelligent and reliable energy distribution as part of its World Cup 2022 strategy, said a senior official.

A researcher from Adelaide's Flinders University has developed a prototype solar cell that uses a layer of transparent carbon nanotubes sandwiched between conductive glass to collect solar energy

Speaking at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, Ibrahim Khamis, Ph.D., described how heat from existing nuclear plants could be used in the more economical production of hydrogen, with future plants custom-built for hydrogen production. He is with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria.

Fuentes De Andalucia, Spain - A unique thermosolar power station in southern Spain can shrug off cloudy days: energy stored when the sun shines lets it produce electricity even during the night.

On the sidelines of the second international exhibition for Renewable and Decentralised Energy Solutions (ENEREXPRO 2012), the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Department of Science and Technology Phan Cong Hop talked to Vietnam Economic News’ Lan Phuong about solutions to develop renewable energy projects.

Tanzania probably doesn’t come to mind when you think about solar power leaders. But it’s actually working on a solar power project worthy of global notice, I think. The solar project will put solar power on “45 secondary schools, 10 health centres, 120 dispensaries, municipal buildings and businesses across 25 village market centres currently without access to the electricity grid.”

The global market for green technologies is set to grow to $396 billion (£245 billion) over the next decade, according to a new report by leading US analyst firm Clean Edge.

CAPE TOWN, March 14 – South Africa yesterday launched its first verified wind atlas which maps out potential hotspots as a tool for wind farm developers as the coal-hungry country pushes toward renewable energy.

Solar-powered electricity prices could soon approach those of power from coal or natural gas thanks to collaborative research with solar start-up Ampulse Corporation at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).