Futuristic Buildings

Scientists from the Thueringian Regional Institute for Agriculture, the German Biomass Research Center, and the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research have concluded that common straw could be used to provide power and heat to millions of homes throughout Germany. Before this idea can take off, technology must be developed to ensure environmentally friendly untilization because there's still some reservation on its potential carbon footprint.

Researchers from the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) have developed an organic solar cell with an increased level of transparency and solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency that could turn entire buildings into powerful energy generators.“ICFO’s discovery opens the path for innovation to other industrial applications of transparent photovoltaics.

In an effort to address these kinds of seasonal and weather variations, Japan is developing an innovative new system for collecting solar energy from space. The solar stations would consist of geostationary satellites sitting 36,000 km above the Earth, which would transmit collected energy back down to the planet in the form of laser beams or microwaves.