Energy efficiency is the ultimate goal of the Solar Decathlon, but the surPLUShome's good looks and functionality helped the German Team beat out the early favorites from California. Nearly all the available surface area of the surPlushome is covered in solar panels with a few stylish wood panels thrown in for good measure. Those and the windows are really the only things keeping the house from looking like an oversized 2001: A Space Odyssey prop.

Congrats to the winners! You can check out other entries from the competition at the link. [Inhabitat]

As a teenager in a rural village in Nepal, Milan Karki knows just how desperately developing countries need an affordable, renewable energy source. But rather than whine about the availability of electricity or the cost of batteries, he sat down and came up with a solution: Low-cost solar panels with human hair conductors.

Solar energy isn't anything new, but solar panels themselves can be pricey to produce due to using silicon. Karki solved the cost issue by using human hair instead since it turns out that Melanin, a color pigment in hair, is a good conductor. Oh, and did we mention that it's cheaper than silicon?

Half a kilo of hair can be bought for only 16p in Nepal and lasts a few months, whereas a pack of batteries would cost 50p and last a few nights.

I don't know why they're selling hair by the kilo, but this idea is absolutely brilliant and I can't wait to see if it turns into something widely used. [Daily Mail]

They are SunCatchers, allegedly the most power efficient sun energy distiller in existence. Using precision curved mirrors, they can concentrate the sunlight over its custom Power Conversion Unit. The PCU is a closed-circuit engine, which uses an internal fluid to move four cylinders at high speed. This cylinders' motion is then converted into a electricity using a dynamo.

According to the company, they are going to deploy new designs, 5000 pounds lighter than the original, with less parts, and better optics. They will start deployment of the new units in 2010. [DesignBoom]

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company, servicing northern California, has signed a contract with Californian-by-way-of-Armenia company Solaren for the latter to provide 200MW of energy with their space panels. The solar panels, possibly as large as a square kilometer, absorb solar energy and beam it back to Earth by converting it to radio waves, which will then be converted back to energy and fed into the power grid. It's a nice idea, since solar panels will be far more efficient without clouds and other junk to get in the way of the sun's rays, but the tech's original purpose was something quite different.

Satellites armed with solar panels were originally thought to have possible use in the control of weather systems. Yeah, you read that right. Space-controlled weather. The beams would be used to change the temperature or wind patterns of weather formations, thus lessening, or strengthening, natural events like hurricanes and rainstorms. This could be used to create a lovely microclimate for a wealthy city, or to rain down God's own fury onto one's enemies. Eep.

Solaren is confident in their solar energy strategy and hopes to start beaming down some juice within 7 years. They also insist that the radio waves will not be harmful to people, animals, crops, or even airplanes that pass through them, although we really just have to take their word for it at this point. Who knew green energy and super-villainy would mix so well? [The Guardian via BLDGBLOG]

Unfortunately, there is some assembly required, but it'll teach the young'ns about how monkeys need to often be under direct sunlight. The solar chimp will cost you about £14.19 ($20), and while the product description says its suitable for kids over 8, I don't think anyone over the age of 8 is going be lining up, Hannah Montana tickets style. Your best bet is to hang it by a window and hope your toddler can comprehend "photovoltaic arrays" even though their thoughts will be more, "where's my DS?" [Select Solar via DVICE]

You can attach them in the usual way with a nail gun, and then feel all eco-goody-goody about yourself as they generate power for you. Sometimes the pace of technology is amazing, and often that's bad for the environment: not in this case. Hopefully available soon, at an estimated price of around $17,500 for a 3kW system. [SRSEnergy via Treehugger]

The sheet of solar panels is similar in size and weight to a sheet of plastic wrap But like any breakthrough, this is still in the theoretical stage, as researchers have only simulated the function of the solar cells and design tweaks still need to be made. [Idaho National Laboratory via Eco Geek via Oh Gizmo via New Launches]

Just snag the coolant grill from an old refrigerator that you might have lying around, or maybe visit the local redneck section of town and there might be one sitting in the yard. It takes about three hours to construct the device after you've found all the necessary parts, and then, before you know it, the water coming out of that grill is hot enough to burn you. If that water's had time to sit in there for a while and it's a sunny day, that is.

One problem with this idea is when water is moving through that grill, it doesn't get quite as hot. Also, you'll have to take your showers and use hot water only on sunny days. The water heater's creator admits this device is probably only good for camping or for a science experiment, but it's a good demonstration of the simplicity of solar energy. [Instructables, via Tree Hugger]

They vow to "do significantly better than 6.5% in the near future." Other scientists agree, saying that 10% efficiency is likely very soon. Others say phooey. University of Denver scientist Sean Shaheen calls efficiency estimates "notoriously unreliable," accusing scientists of tweaking the solar spectrum to make their results look good. Others say that these dual-layer plastic solar cells will be trickier to manufacture than the single-layer plastic cells that are being prototyped today.

These guys have big plans for the technology, but before they bring this tandem cell to market, they'll first use those single-layer plastic solar cells in portable battery chargers that they hope to put on the market next year. But those will have only 5% efficiency. The holy grail is to place plastic solar cells on roofs, which they say will require at least 7% efficiency to be cost effective. That's where these tandem layer solar cells with upwards of 10% efficiency could prove to be a breakthrough.

[Technology Review]

When you're settling in for the night, plug in all your devices to its electrical outlet that resembles a car's cigarette lighter, and you can also hook stuff up to its USB port. At the same time, if it's a sunny or windy day, the trailer is still generating energy to charge up its battery. Made of recyclable materials, let's hope this contraption is light enough so that it won't be too much of a burden on its rider.

Navitas bicycle trailer/generator concept [Bicycle Design]

We like the subtlety of this Zegna Sport Solar JKT with its solar panel that's smoothly incorporated into its collar. All the electrical juice is conducted through special textile cables, and you can plug your cellphone or MP3 player directly into the jacket, or it can charge up an onboard battery in eight hours that you can use to replenish power to your devices, too.

There's no way of knowing if this self-assured model dude is actually a geek or not, but with this chic cloak, he'll probably have an easy time laying all our girlfriends. But he'll have to wait until next summer for that, 'cause it's going to take those sporty Italian clothiers that long to de-geekify this jacket. – Charlie White

ZegnaSport Solar JKT Jacket to power your phone and iPod [Unwired View]

Lenses inside these lightweight trough-like panels direct light to highly efficient solar cells, and the best news is that somehow these Solient guys have figured out how to manufacture these suckers at a price that's half as much as those old-timey solar panels we're using today.

But wait, that ain't nothin' yet—wait until you see the next-generation design, after the jump.

This one is even more sophisticated, because instead of those slats that look like adjustable blinds, this solar array has little rectangular concentrators that can tilt vertically and horizontally, more accurately tracking the sun as its position changes in the sky throughout the day. Solient says this design, due by 2010, will require even fewer solar cells, and the panel itself will cost just a quarter the price of today's solar arrays.

So maybe our dream of going off-grid by 2012 without suffering at all isn't so far-fetched after all. This could be some disruptive technology that will cause us to alter our blueprints once again. Back to the old drawing board, but we mean that in the best possible way. – Charlie White

Solar Power at Half the Cost [Technology review]

The 600 mirrors beam sunlight at the tower, which converts the solar energy into steam. The steam is stored in tanks and used to drive turbines, and before you know it you're powering 6,000 homes. Overall, this is super cool and one lucky BBC reporter even got a tour of the tower. Check out the link, it's worth the read. – Louis Ramirez

Power Station Harnesses Sun's Rays [BBC via Gadget Lab]

This is a great hybrid system, and an especially nice idea for lights that might be situated in darker areas of your house. Weed growers will love this, where its reduced power usage won't be as likely to raise a red flag down at the government-supervised power company. Plus, you get a 30% federal tax credit if you install it this year or next. Can't beat that. – Charlie White

Take a look at the Discovery Channel video segment, after the jump.

Product page [Sunlight Direct, via SlashGear]

If they overcome some of the hurdles still presented by the laws of physics, at least one colleague at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory believes material scientists Wladek Walukiewicz and Kin Man Yu's research represents a "breakthrough" in solar energy generation technology.

New Semiconductor Material Produces More Efficient Solar Cells [treehugger]

But if you need lots more power, choose the SolarRoll 14 ($399) which is a 12"x57" solar panel when unrolled, and outputs—you guessed it—14 watts and 15.4 volts/900 mA. That's enough to charge up your laptop or DV camcorder. If that's not enough power, you can daisy chain these together for even more output. Included is a storage case so you can carry your power with you on the road or trail.

Product Page
[Brunton via ber gizmo]

The Himawari Sunlight System is a solariffic way to light your house that won't add a cent to your electric bill. There's a solar collector you put on the roof (on left above) that tracks the sun all day, and distributes that light via fiber optic cable to any room in the house. You can get a variety of special fixtures that emit that light inside. There's one that looks like a sunflower (picture at right), but there are also other recessed fixtures and spotlights that look just like conventional lights. And, all the ultraviolet and infrared rays are left outside. It's the light without the heat. I am complete.

From Himawari

"Epoch Making" Solar Collection System [Tree Hugger]