« A solar farm was built to make electricity, but the ground beneath the panels quietly began doing something no one planned for » ☀️

｢ Among them were the ones that matter most : bees. #Bees have been collapsing for years, squeezed out by vanishing meadows and the steady loss of the wild corners they depend on. Yet the very pollinators in trouble across the country were not merely hanging on beneath the panels. They were flourishing. ｣ 🐝

› ecoportal.net/en/solar-farm-bu…

#Solarpunk #PositiveNews

A solar farm was built to make electricity, but the ground beneath the panels quietly began doing something

For years, one worry has shadowed the rise of solar power. To make serious amounts of electricity, you need serious amounts of land.

^{Carlos Albero Rojas (ecoportal.net)}

A train line in western Switzerland now carries two kinds of traffic: passengers above, and sunlight below.

On a 100-meter stretch of active railway near the village of Buttes, 48 solar panels sit between the rails, low enough for trains to pass over them and removable enough for crews to take them away when the track needs work. The installation, developed by the Swiss startup Sun-Ways, is small. Its 18 kilowatts of capacity could generate about 16,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, roughly the annual use of a few European households.

But this is just a pilot program. If the system works safely on a busy rail line, it could point to a new way of expanding solar power without covering farmland, forests or mountain slopes with panels.

zmescience.com/science/news-sc…

#solarpunk

Trains in Switzerland Are Now Running Over Solar Panels in a First-of-Its-Kind Test

The pilot turns unused railway space into a small but closely watched solar test.

^{Tibi Puiu (ZME Science)}

#solarpunksunday #solarpunk #GreenEnergy #renewableenergy

In Australia, over 4 million people have rooftop solar and it provides so much power at peak times of the day, electricity prices go into the negative. So the Solar Sharer program will offer three hours of free electricity during off peak hours.

reuters.com/business/energy/au…

this is beautiful 😍

#solarpunk #zoefuturism

brightflame.com/zoefuturism-gu…

Zoefuturism: guest blog by Yen Ooi ⋆ BrightFlame

Everything is relational, a core concept of Zoefuturism, which aligns well with solarpunk and the notion of interconnection.

^BrightFlame

Hello friends!

A year or two ago I read a really lovely #solarpunk / #hopepunk / #anarchist short story where civilisation was quietly collapsing and nearby folks looked after each other. In particular, it featured folks taking shifts on bicycle generators to keep an oxygen generator running for an elderly couple.

I cannot find the story or remember its name, but it was sweet and lovely and I think of it often.

Does anyone have a link/author/title?

Many thanks!

—

Edit: Found!! Thank you, @lady_alys and @emma !

uncannymagazine.com/article/th…

The Year Without Sunshine - Uncanny Magazine

During one of the much smaller disasters that preceded the really big disaster, I met a lot of my neighbors online. I can’t remember if we set up the WhatsApp group because of the pandemic or the civil disorder or both.

^{Uncanny Magazine}

This is a little overwhelming, in a very pleasant way. About 20% raised within the first eight hours of this stretch goal to make a #solarpunk short film about a future without central governments, no politicians, and no #capitalism We start production in two weeks time and your support means a lot! Boost, or donate. )

110/500

Details: dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-s…

#mutualaid #sff #scifi #film #creativetoots #buyIntoArt #writing #writingcommunity #climate

Wind: A Solarpunk Short Film

I'll shoot this film in the first week of June. We had to create costumes, props, and construct sets from scratch, since it's set in the future and we can't use everyday items, and it punched a hole in the production budget, so I'm doing this last mi…

^{Dilman Dila}

I'm set to shoot #windShortFilm a #solarpunk comedy in June, so this last mile campaign is to cover basics like food, transport, etc. We made all costumes, props, and set constructions from scratch and it strained our budget since it is a futuristic story with no central governments, and no #capitalism Everyone participates in running the country. Help me make it!

120/500

Details: dilmandila.com/donate/wind-a-s…

#mutualaid #sff #scifi #buyIntoArt #creativetoots #crowdfund #writing #writingcommunity

Wind: A Solarpunk Short Film

I'll shoot this film in the first week of June. We had to create costumes, props, and construct sets from scratch, since it's set in the future and we can't use everyday items, and it punched a hole in the production budget, so I'm doing this last mi…

^{Dilman Dila}