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Offgrid, solar powered fridge, with no battery bank
2 days ago
- Fridge0 is an offgrid, solar-powered fridge design that uses a modified chest freezer and thermal mass instead of a battery bank.
- It stores solar power as cold to avoid the high cost and environmental impact of battery banks, requiring only minutes of battery power for shutdown and computer control.
- Commercial offgrid fridges are expensive due to features like vacuum insulation and still may need batteries, but modern cheap solar panels make conventional fridges viable with a kilowatt setup.
- The concept was developed by Joey Hess and has been tested successfully for nearly a year, though specific locale and weather conditions are not fully detailed in the text.
- Requests for real-world data, schematics, and testing conditions (e.g., in hot climates like Austin, Texas) are mentioned as desired by users.
Switzerland turned its train tracks into solar power plants
13 days ago
- Sun-Ways installed the world's first removable solar panels on an active railway in Buttes, Switzerland in April 2025.
- Over a year into a three-year pilot, the panels have endured over 11,000 trains at speeds up to 55 mph, remaining stable, safe, and productive.
- The installation has generated over 16,000 kWh of electricity, enough for 3-4 Swiss households annually, despite operational pauses.
- The pilot proves unused railway space can generate renewable energy without land purchase or tree removal, and without interfering with trains or maintenance.
- Sun-Ways aims for final approval to expand, with interest from Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, France, and Italy for potential pilot projects.
- Switzerland's rail network could generate up to 2% of the country's electricity, powering about 300,000 households.
Reflect Orbital gets FCC nod for inaugural solar reflector
15 days ago
- Reflect Orbital received FCC approval to launch its demo satellite, Earendil-1, into Low Earth Orbit.
- The satellite will test a steerable reflector to redirect sunlight from orbit to specific Earth locations.
- This technology aims to extend the operational hours of solar power installations.
Britain's biggest community solar farm forced to shut over grid overload fears
17 days ago
- Britain's largest community solar project in north Devon was forced to shut down during its first summer to prevent overloading the local grid with renewable energy.
- The shutdown, ordered by the National Energy System Operator (Neso) due to concerns of thermal overload from rooftop solar, will cost the cooperative's nearly 10,000 members about £2m in lost revenue.
- The shutdown was unexpected and enforced with no warning, occurring just before a heatwave, and will substantially impact the scheme's finances and near-term member payments.
- The problem arises from managing voltage surges from rooftop solar during sunny summer days; necessary equipment upgrades, delayed since 2023, are now due to be completed in September 2024.
- The project does not expect compensation for the lost revenue; it was funded by £20m from cooperative members and a £22m bank loan.
- Originally launched through Ripple Energy, which aimed to create a blueprint for consumer-owned solar parks, the project faced delays and Ripple's bankruptcy before being revived under a volunteer board.
- National Grid confirmed curtailing generation to keep the system secure after Neso's directive and is working with Neso on solutions for temporary constraints.
China's giant Gobi solar plant runs after dark on salt, not batteries
20 days ago
- China Three Gorges Corporation launched a 1-gigawatt hybrid solar plant in Xinjiang's Gobi Desert, combining PV panels with concentrated solar power using molten salt for thermal storage.
- The plant can generate power for up to eight hours after sunset without lithium batteries, with the 100 MW CSP unit providing dispatchable evening output.
- It features a linear Fresnel design for improved efficiency and has supplied over 6.54 million kWh to the grid since its 2025 connection, aiming for 2.07 TWh annually.
- The project surpasses Dubai's Noor Energy 1 as the world's largest CSP-PV hybrid, supporting China's renewable goals and reducing CO2 emissions by about 1.63 million tons per year.
- While CSP thermal storage offers large capacity and long discharge cycles, its cost competitiveness against falling lithium battery prices remains a key challenge for future scalability.
- China plans to expand hybrid solar capacity, including a 3 GW second phase at Hami, highlighting its focus on industrializing molten-salt storage at utility scale.

solar power

Offgrid, solar powered fridge, with no battery bank

Switzerland turned its train tracks into solar power plants

Reflect Orbital gets FCC nod for inaugural solar reflector

Britain's biggest community solar farm forced to shut over grid overload fears

China's giant Gobi solar plant runs after dark on salt, not batteries