Scientists are turning the term "power plant" on its head. A team of researchers has developed a system that taps into photosynthetic processes to produce efficient and inexpensive energy.

Consistent appraisals of real estate outfitted with photovoltaic installations are a challenge for the nation's real estate industry, but a new tool addresses that issue.

Solar flares are giant explosions on the sun that send energy, light and high speed particles into space. These flares are often associated with solar magnetic storms known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). While these are the most common solar events, the sun can also emit streams of very fast protons -- known as solar energetic particle (SEP) events -- and disturbances in the solar wind known as corotating interaction regions (CIRs). All of these can produce a variety of "storms" on Earth that can -- if strong enough -- interfere with short wave radio communications, GPS signals, and Earth's power grid, among other things.

Research by chemists could impact worldwide efforts to produce clean, safe nuclear energy and reduce radioactive waste. They have used metal-organic frameworks to capture and remove volatile radioactive gas from spent nuclear fuel.

By looking at the stability of the atmosphere, wind farm operators could gain greater insight into the amount of power generated at any given time. Power generated by a wind turbine largely depends on the wind speed. In a wind farm in which the turbines experience the same wind speeds but different shapes (such as turbulence) to the wind profile, a turbine will produce different amounts of power. This variable power can be predicted by looking at atmospheric stability, according to new research.

A new sunflower-inspired pattern increases concentrated solar efficiency.

A new photovoltaic module allows electricity to be generated without greenhouse crops being affected by over-shading.

An interactive tool developed by researchers from the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station will help wind energy facility operators make informed decisions on efficient ways to reduce impacts on migratory bats.

New research suggests that China's impressive feat of cutting Beijing's pollution up to 50 percent for the 2008 Summer Olympics had some help from Mother Nature. Rain just at the beginning and wind during the Olympics likely contributed about half of the effort needed to clean up the skies, scientists found. The results also suggest emission controls need to be more widely implemented than in 2008 if pollution levels are to be reduced permanently.

If all the UK's discarded wrapping paper and Christmas cards were collected and fermented, they could make enough biofuel to run a double-decker bus to the moon and back more than 20 times, according to the researchers behind a new scientific study.