HP sponsored teams have taken first and second place in the Panasonic World Solar Challenge — a biannual 3000 km solar car race from Darwin to Adelaide in Australia.

Solar power may soon be used in common homes all across the globe. Several of such homes powered by the sun have already been assembled in the National Mall, a park in the shadow of the Washington Monument. The novelty became a great attraction for people during the past weekend. Many of them came to the Mall to see what these technology-filled homes were all about.

A Spanish company, Avanzalia Solar, has launched the world's largest solar power plant in Salamanca, the company said in a press release Wednesday.

General Motors announced today it is adding one of the largest solar power installations in corporate use in the United States to the roof of its Service and Parts Operations (SPO) warehouse in Fontana, California. The solar power array will provide about half of the electricity needed to run the facility and will feed enough extra electricity back to the grid to power over 300 California homes for a year.

At the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition this week, SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR), a US-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, is launching a range of solar products and systems for the Italian residential, commercial and solar power plant markets.

Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets. “The process is simple,” said lead researcher and author Somenath Mitra, PhD, professor and acting chair of NJIT’s Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences.

Frost & Sullivan Commends Geratherm for its Noteworthy Contribution to the Field of Vital Signs Monitoring

Frost & Sullivan has recognized Geratherm Medical AG with the 2007 European Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation for developing a unique solar-powered clinical thermometer that offers an ecofriendly alternative to standard temperature measurement methods.

Hi-Tech Wealth, Inc. (OTCBB: HITW), a leading consumer sales and marketing company engaged in the development and distribution of proprietary and branded digital mobile devices, today announced the launch of the world's first commercialized solar-powered mobile phone, the "S116."

A thin film of plastic which conducts electricity and produces solar power could be the basis for a revolution in the way we light our homes and design clothes.