UNM-Taos solar power; Scania Concept truck; Honda’s ultra-cheap hybrids; Solar-powered yacht; Combining wind power with electric vehicles

UNM-Taos’ new solar array will provide for all of the school’s electric needs. The local branch of the University of New Mexico here in Taos is about to go all-solar. The 500-kilowatt array, which is comprised of 2,700 solar panels that are 52 inches by 38 inches, takes up 3.5 acres near the school and is expected to power all the schools’ electric needs.

Scania Concept eco-friendly 18-wheeler. The future of the tractor-trailer truck might just be this concept truck. It has a diesel-hybrid engine, LED lights, and is incredibly streamlined to keep down air resistance. Of course, it would look good going down the highway, too!

Honda working on ultra-cheap hybrids. This could spell trouble for the reigning hybrid champ, Toyota. Honda is planning on making a hybrid version of their incredibly popular Fit (which is a car I love) that could retail for $17,000 – much less than hybrids cost now. This could go a long way to encouraging people to buy hybrids by making them more affordable.

Solar-powered speedboat yachts. Love living the high life on a yacht, but want to do it the eco-friendly way? How about a solar-powered speedboat? Code-X AG Yachts run on fossil fuel and solar-power. No word on price, but you can bet they won’t be cheap.

Denmark combining wind power with vehicle-to-grid tests. Using electric vehicles as a storage medium when the wind turbines stop turning, the Danes are testing the use of feeding power stored in the cars to feed back into the grid. Some places in Denmark already get 40 percent of their electricity needs from wind power; this could increase that percentage even more.