Greentech Media broke news today of a prototype rooftop solar system made for simplicity, shipability, and affordability.  The system is being developed by Armageddon Energy and is aptly called a "clover."  The clover includes three hexagonal solar panels, a micro-inverter, and a triangular frame.  It's lightweight (check out the regular folks below doing installation work) and can generate roughly 400 watts.  The company just finished early stage testing and is readying a beta program for further testing. 

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Transportation is inextricably linked with (green) buildings.  And for a number of reasons — peak oil, national security, price gouging, and concern for the environment — the current oil-based transportation system is dying.  Its death started with hybrids, and to a certain extent, continued with natural gas vehicles.  With the advent of electrical vehicles, we will all witness the slow, prolonged, and painful death of oil-based transportation.  Tonight Dateline NBC gave us a glimpse of the next generation of transportation in Tesla Motors.  The future of electrical cars is bright, but let's be clear: it's complicated, too.

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This is ChargePoint, an electrical plug-in station that’s powered and monitored through a smart network. It was developed by Coulomb Technologies, who recently teamed up with Carbon Day Automotive to add a new little twist. Coulomb and CDA coupled the ChargePoint with a solar photovoltaic array to create one of the nation’s first Solar Plug-in Stations. These pictures show a Solar Plug-in Station provided for the City of Chicago. You may be interested in knowing that this Solar Plug-in Station was designed by Chicago’s own Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (you know, the Eco-Bridge and Clean Technology Tower).

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Solarsmith, a green building firm out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, recently helped Betsy Armstrong and Richard Barr build an eco-friendly, traditional southwest-style home in the foothills of Santa Fe.  The residence's roof is filled with solar panels, which are tied into the grid, helping to heat water for the radiant floors, exercise pool and appliances.  Excess energy is fed to neighboring homes.

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With the glut of commercial space available today and the promise of stimulus money, some developers are looking at green building as a way to stand out.  Brushing up on catch-phrases just isn't going to cut it; in the new construction space, they're competing with early adopters who have already embraced sustainable design, energy efficiency, and LEED and the like.  They'll be competing with commercial projects like this. 

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