Brisbane now houses the world's largest solar-powered footbridge, featuring panels that will power its LED lights while feeding the main grid with juice, helping the government Down Under save up to 38 tons of CO2 each year. This bridge is tipped to see around 36,000 people walking/biking over it each week. Would be intereesting if they could incorporate some sort of mechanism to take advantage of all the kinetic energy generated by ordinary people walking across it.

One look at the picture here and you’ll certainly know that it’s a concept car, and it’s certainly a frightening looking one at that. You can thank 24-year old German designer, Anne Forschner, for this concept car called the Lovos (Lifestyle of Voluntary Simplicity). Despite the name, the car looks anything but simple. The scales pictured on the body of the car are replaceable and turn constantly to align with the sun, and they’re also covered with solar cells. One thing you might but curious is that there doesn’t seem to be a door for you to enter the car though, which does seem a tad funny.

There is nothing quite like having the power of the sun to keep your devices juiced up as with the Solar Powered Courtesy Light. Perfect for dark areas around your home (especially outdoors), it is able to throw out more than 26 feet of bright light thanks to its LED light that is equal to that of a 60-watt bulb. When triggered, it offers a full minute's worth of light thanks to its 100 degree infrared motion detection field, while others might prefer to turn its 3-way switch to “on” for an all nighter. Gizoo is carrying it for $32 a pop.

Once in a while, Brando comes up with some really nifty stuff, and now is one of those times. Their solar powered Bluetooth headset is one of them, where it will rely on the sun's rays to keep your headset charged indefinitely. If you decide to pick up a couple of these and wear them simultaneously, you will be able to enjoy stereo Bluetooth connectivity thanks to multiple pairing. Go green with the solar powered Bluetooth headset from Brando for $67 a pop, although it would be nice to see the design be more fashion forward.

Picnic Plus has come up with a Cooladio Solar Cooler that helps keep your carefully prepared picnic content nice and warm all the way to your favorite spot on the park. It does so thanks to a built-in solar-power docking station, where thermal insulated foil helps keep your food warm (or cold, if that's your cup of tea), while you also have the option of plugging in any device that needs some juice on the spot. The Cooladio comes with a couple of speakers, allowing you to connect your favorite MP3 players thanks to a built-in headphone jack. Sports Authority is carrying the Cooladio Solar Picnic Plus Bag for approximately $84.99.

Concept phones are mostly cool, and it is nice to see this Korean-inspired Leaf wearable bracelet phone fall under that category. What makes it so special, you ask? Well, the handset will feature solar cells on its front panel that allows one to keep it recharged whenever exposed to the sun. For those who want a faster recharge rate, you can always dock it onto a cradle that boasts solar cells on the back as well. Should the weather be a real downer with threatening black skies, then it would be best to plug it straight to a power outlet.

The SUCK Solar Clock that you see here won't run out of juice as long as you leave it to suck up enough solar juice throughout the day. Well, this ought to work just nice for folks who get plenty of sunlight in their bedrooms, as the SUCK Solar Clock can bask in the sun after getting you up, ready to work for a full day before nudging you awake once again. It comes with a simple solar panel on the front, but the design might be a wee bit too simple for something that costs £25.

[Mobile World Congress] Better Energy Systems has introduced its Solio Communicator at Mobile World Congress 2009, tackling the going green issue with new gusto. The Solio Communicator hopes to provide virtually unlimited talk-time by harnessing the power of the sun, doing away with the need for pesky car kits, although the latter will come in handy if you tend to do a whole lot of traveling at night. The Solio Communicator also doubles up as a speakerphone, letting you continue conversing on your handset while driving without having to remove either hand from the wheel. The integrated solar panel on the Solion Communicator will store energy from the sun within its internal Lithium-ion battery, and is capable of holding it for up to a year. It tips the scales at just 150 grams, allowing you to place it across a variety of surfaces including the dashboard, visor or window. Other features include a high fidelity directional microphone. Alternatively when the sun is out, you can use a cigarette lighter socket or a USB port to juice this puppy up. It works with virtually all Bluetooth-enabled cell phones and will be released sometime in the middle of this year for 79.99 Euros a pop. [Press Release]

It’s simple, and cool, literally. In theory, this would be a great way to cool yourself but in practice you might look like too nerdy. It doesn’t need any battery, since it's solar-powered and what better place to get sunlight than a cap visor? It might kill attacking mosquitoes too... Brando is currently selling it for $10.

General Motors will be partnering with Clairvoyant Energy, Veolia Environmental and the Government of Aragon to install the World's Largest rooftop solar array on its Zaragosa assembly plant in Spain. According to GM, the array will be 12MW, dwarfing the size of the previous record holder by 9.64MW(Atlantic Convention Centre at 2.36MW) and will cover 2 million square feet with its 85,000 panels. GM hopes that this project will help reduce their cost as well as provide “clean power” to the local power grid. Clairvoyant Energy and Veolia Environmental's part in this project will be to operate and maintain the installation. GM also operates two of its California warehouses that are installed with solar panels, which provides up to 50% of the electricity usage in these facilities. 

I have seen all kinds of devices like that. Living in an urban area, I have little use for it, but it has a solar panel, so it sparked my interest. It turns solar energy into electricity that is used to generate a sonic tone that is supposed to deter animals like moles from squatting in your garden.

The key Chain solar charger is meant to slow down the drain of your battery, but if you’re patient enough, you might be able to charge it, although I guess that it would take a few days for a full charge (if the phone is turned off).

The manufacturer had some kind of marketing gimmick around “being green”, but that’s crap: more carbon will be generated by creating, shipping and disposing of this device than it will ever save. Price: $22

I guess it makes perfect sense that nobody would want to mow the lawn when it is raining, so the premise for a solar-powered lawnmower is a no-brainer. Husqvarna has rolled out its automatic electric solar-powered hybrid robotic lawn mower that claims to be the first of its kind in the world, offering a professionally cut lawn every time at a steep price - £2,000, to be exact. Well, I guess as long as the sun shines this piece of machinery will keep on going, but just how robust and tough are the insides? This lawnmower can clear 2,300 square meters of grass and is programmable to work only at certain times or days of the week. It has a battery life of approximately 40 minutes before a 40 minute charging time juices it up, but on a sunny day, its cutting time can be extended by another 50%.