Greece has laid out a new plan to get itself out of a recession and to spread renewable energy through the country and the EU.  The new plan called Project Helios would see the country expanding its solar power capacity to 10 GW by 2050 through financing by international investors.

Greece is hoping to capitalize on one of it's great resources:  the country gets 300 sunny days a year.  Greece would lease out land to investors to build solar installations as a way to generate income and add jobs. To make the deal more attractive to investors, the country is promising to greatly ease licensing obstacles and cut out most of the red tape involved in building these projects.

The solar power systems would be connected to the mainland, islands and to the rest of continent, which would help other EU countries meet the renewable energy mandate that requires member countries to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2020.  The set up would be similar to the huge DESERTEC project in North Africa, but on a smaller scale within the EU.

The project would see 2.2 GW of capacity installed by 2020, 10 GW by 2050 and ultimately the country would become an exporter of renewable energy.

via Greentech Media

The roof is typically the best and biggest part of most homes for energy collection. But most of the available systems for gathering this energy are unsightly. That's not a concern for these roof tiles from a Swedish company, SolTech Energy, that are made from glass.

With a roof made from these tiles, it is possible to produce 300-500 kWh per square meter per year (28-46 kWh per square foot per year). Heated air collects under the glass tiles like a greenhouse, and is then drawn in and concentrated to transfer the heat to a hot fluid for use in heating the building. The system is ideal for use with a heat pump or a boiler where a hot water storage tank stores the collected heat. Then, when heat is needed, the heat pump or boiler has pre-heated water available, so that less external energy is needed to heat the space.

In addition to the energy benefits, glass tiles are expected to have a longer lifespan than traditional clay or concrete roof tiles. And because the glass is a smooth material, snow tends to slide off more readily, so that the system keeps itself cleared and in operating condition more of the time. The tiles also match common tile shape so that the glass roof system can be incorporated into a conventional tile roof.

via: Sweets News and Products