Ikea Group isn’t just for home-furnishings the company is also invested in wind and solar power after announcing on Friday that they have purchased a new wind farm in Scotland and plan to install 39,000 solar panels on their U.K. stores in order to gather more renewable energy from alternative sources.

The 12.3-megawatt wind farm in Huntly was purchased from Good Energies Capital Inc.

Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Howard told Bloomberg:

“That’s enough to cover 30 percent of Ikea’s U.K. electricity use. The solar panels, totaling 2.1 megawatts, will be fitted on 10 stores, providing an average of 5 percent of each shop’s power.”

Wind farms are not a new approach for Ikea which also owns farms in Denmark, France and Germany. According to reports the company loses approximately $1.7 billion per year due to fluctuating energy prices.

Howard explained:

“The principle strategy is to match the direct energy consumption of the business with electricity production from renewable assets,” while adding, “We can certainly see a point in time where renewables are likely to be the most cost-effective form of energy generation.”

The move to grab cheap renewable energy on a corporation level isn’t something new, Google last year acquired the rights to buy energy at wholesale prices and while they are not attempting to sell that power to customers, the move was seen as a smart business decision for powering the company’s data centers which require constant power in various parts of the world.

Ikea To Install 39,000 Solar Panels On Company Stores, Buys Scotland Wind Farm is a post from: The Inquisitr

“In June of this year we completed a 285K roof-mounted solar power system for Prime Time in the Palm Desert area. Following on that success we have begun the installation of a 221.16 Kilowatt system for Aqua Farming Tech, which is comprised of over 2000 pieces of thin film panels mounted in the ground.  We expect to complete installation of this high quality efficient system by the end of September,” said James Zhang, CEO of Sunvalley Solar.

For those of you in the dark, Aqua Farming, also known as Aquaculture, is simply the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish and even plants in a controlled environment.

The system that Sunvalley Solar is building will be comprised of 2,328 solar panels from Tianwei Solarfilms, one 260kW solar inverter from PV Powered, and is expected to generate 381,267 Kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

“The start of installation represents just one of many positive experiences we have had with Sunvalley Solar – they are extremely knowledgeable, cost conscious, reliable and above all professional. They offered us the best possible solar solution and we cannot wait to start powering our farm with clean, green energy. We will look toward Sunvalley for future solar solutions,” said Rocky French, owner of Aqua Farming Tech.

News of the new project reportedly has PETA supporters across the country cringing and “Greentechies” cheering.

Solar Power System for Aqua Farming Being Built is a post from: The Inquisitr

The team at Sanya wants customers to charge their electric vehicles (EVs) when their out on the town, spending time at a friends house or handling a myriad of other tasks and to make that charging a reality the company has created the Sanya Skypump.

The Skypump (pictured above), uses wind and solar power to give charges to vehicles when their plugged into the units which are powered using 150-watt solar panels and built-in windmills.

The stations are meant to offer a full charge in four to eight hours, which probably means a quick stop at Walgreens won’t help you grab enough power to drive home, but they could work for a quick charge while eating dinner or watching a movie, the units even power lights attached to their tops which provides an added safety measure in parking lots at night.

For those in the know, the Skypump is based off the Sanya Streetlamp design.

Here’s a demo of the Sanya Skypump in action:

Hopefully these stations will see the light of day, for now they’re still in the testing phase.

Sanya Skypump Brings EV Charging To Parking Lots, Uses Renewable Energy is a post from: The Inquisitr

Tour bus company’s looking to capitalize on lower fares while attracting a more “green and active audience” should start looking into the Bike Guided tour bus, a new concept that uses solar power to carry passengers and bicycles using a sleek compact design.

Designed in Seoul, South Korea the bus runs on solar power and carries bicycles which passengers sit on during the ride, when the bus stops at certain locations passengers can detach the bike to explore the location, once all passengers arrive back at the bus the bikes are placed back in their holders and the tour continues.

The idea is that tourists can explore the locations they stop at while the bus uses the sun to recharge batteries, allowing for a continuous and adventurous tour with no need for fuels for any kind.

At this time it’s only a concept but in terms of bringing a healthy lifestyle to touring it’s definitely a cool idea that could do well in areas where exploring a little bit further would be a benefit to tourists.

Here’s a video demonstration of the solar-powered tour bus in operation:

Would you be willing to put some leg power behind your green tour?

Bike Guided Tour Bus Concept Offers Green Technology And Exercise is a post from: The Inquisitr

“The idea was to put this online and deliver it to thousands of people at a time,” said One Block founder Dave Llorens, a man who sold solar panels prior to starting his new company. “For us, this campaign isn’t about selling solar. It’s about moving the U.S. economy forward.”

Llorens concept works like this: One Block finds locations nationwide solar panel installers are readily availiable – usually in places were there are generous subsidies for solar power. After screening said contractors and finding out if they’ll offer a discount for a “group deal,” the offer is then posted on One Block’s website.

If enough people agree buy the panels, the deal “tips,” meaning it takes place. Ordinary discounts will fall in the ball park of %15 and will be accompanied by a $500 rebate.

Sound familiar? It should, as the company is using a model almost identical to Groupon, and yeilding similar success as well. Started in 2008 by Dave Llorens with a little more than $1,000 of his own finances, 1BOG has now received over $5 million in investments from New Enterprise Associates, the same investor that backs Groupon.

According to Reuters, One Block Off the Grid has installed panels on over 1,500 rooftops to date.

via CNNMoney

Solar Power Group Deals Could Yield Huge Discounts is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Samsung NC215S Solar Powered  Netbook was put  up for pre-order just yesterday and now we’re learning that the unit has already been delayed.

Word is Samsung is pushing the netbook back to “sometime in mid to late August” despite earlier promises of a July 3rd shipping date.

The move shouldn’t surprise Samsung users who have become accustomed to delays from the tech firm.

According to Liliputing the delay is due to hold ups involving the machine’s custom panels.

The sun may be setting on another summer before the ability to grab this solar powered system is available. Are you willing to wait another month for the NC215S to reach market?

Samsung NC215S Solar Powered Netbook Delayed Until August is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ever wondered how you could take you fancy gadgets to the beach and not worry about running out of battery power?

Well, if you have $200 and a lady who loves her gadgets just as you do you can buy her this fancy solar-powered bikini created by New York designer Andrew Schneider. Called the iKini (what else would you expect it to be called) and comes equipped with four hidden pockets for carrying anything from a cellphone to an iPod.

As well Schneider says it is water save as long as you make sure the suit is dry before trying to plug anything in.

via Geeks are Sexy

Hey ladies, prove how green you are with this solar-powered bikini is a post from: The Inquisitr

We don’t often think of huge companies like Walmart as being the most green of companies, unless you think greenbacks when you hear the word green, but the fact is t hat Walmart has been working hard on changing that perception.

It’s newest move in this direction has been the installation of solar panels on the roofs of 30 or their stores which is believed to produce 20% to 30% of their power needs. The panels are being installed, operated and maintained by SolarCity. Unlike the typical solar panels Walmart is going with some new technology that utilizes what is called thin film solar panel design.

Walmart’s panels will also generate up to 22.5 million kilowatt hours of clean energy per year—enough to power 1,750 homes annually—and avoid the production of over 11,650 metric tons of CO2 equivalent each year.

Why thin film? The one micron-thick semiconducters found on thin film solar panels are less energy-intensive to produce than crystalline silicon wafers. They’re light weight, work well in fog and smog, and lie completely flat, so they don’t interfere with skylights.

Source: Fast Company

And Walmart isn’t alone in this initative as more companies are looking into utilizing this technology.

image courtesy of Fast Company

Walmart investing heavily on solar powered rooftops is a post from: The Inquisitr

Solar is all the rage these days with everyone from home owners to big corporations getting in on the act. So when it comes to news about solar projects one can get kind of jaded and then this comes along.

The ‘this’ that I am talking about is PlanetSolar which is billing itself as the world’s largest solar powered boat. As a boat it is a catamaran that measures 101ft long, 49ft wide and is designed to reach a top speed of 15 knots (17 mph). It is also supposed to be able to carry 50 passengers.

Power wise the PlanetSolar gets all its running power from 5,381 sq ft of photovoltaic solar cells which will be used in a planned trip around the world in 2011. Until then here’s a few images to give you an idea of the size of this beast.

hat tip to My Modern Metropolis

5 Pics of one huge big-assed solar boat – and I mean big is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Desoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center is about to go live with 25 megawatts of power at a cost of nearly $150 million. The plant, for the time being will be the largest Solar Power producing facility in the states. Although it is only one of three solar plant projects developed by Florida Power & Light.

The plant, located in Florida may look huge in the photograph on this page, but it’s only a fraction of the under construction neighboring plant also being built by Florida Power & Light  in neighboring Arcadia which will offer three times the size at 75 mega watts when completed.

When the plant goes live on Tuesday President Barack Obama is expected to be in attendance and take a tour of the new plant which will provide power to a fraction of the regions nearly 4 million customers.

While the Florida projects are large, new plants soon to be announced by Texas and California are expected to eclipse the size of Florida projects.

Largest Solar Panel Plant In U.S. Gets Ready To Go Live is a post from: The Inquisitr

That’s the really cool thing about trying to find ways to make new technology an integral part of our lives, we get to see all kinds of interesting ideas.

However – it is also the cause of really mind numbing, head shaking, smacking one’s head against the desk reasons where we wonder just how far we really have progressed.

There is no doubt that solar power is going to be an important part of our energy mix. Yes it still needs a lot of work in order to make it truly cost effective for mass use; but we’re getting there. Slowly but surely we are getting there. Then along comes some company with an idea that even on the face of it is down right stupid.

A solar powered submarine.

Yes folks you heard me right. apparently a company in Switzerland is looking for investors to carry the tab of $10 million to develop a submarine that would be powered from a floating solar array. The company behind Project Goldfish; BKW, does have an interesting track record when it comes to solar energy but in this case I’m sorry this is one idea that shouldn’t even leave the dock.

Initially the purpose of this Project Goldfish submarine will to be used for underwater sightseeing excursion of Lake Thun in Switzerland. the technology though would supposedly find later applications in different marine settings.

Ya okay … whatever ….

[hat tip to Business Green]

I’m serious – It’s a solar powered submarine is a post from: The Inquisitr