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One of the most innovative sustainable business ideas has combined the two environmental problems of solar energy solutions and food waste.

One of the most innovative sustainable business ideas has combined the two environmental problems of solar energy solutions and food waste.

I know these seem totally unrelated, but student Carvey Ehren Maigue has developed a solution that uses agricultural crop waste for solar panel cladding. 

What this student has been able to achieve with his AuReus cladding material is to harvest energy from invisible UV rays, rather than the traditional approach of gathering the visible light in EV cells.

Dezeen has some detailed background to this story. 

“When applied as a kind of fluorescent covering to windows or facades, AuReus can capture UV rays bouncing off of pavements and the surrounding architecture, turning entire buildings into vertical solar farms.”

Standard solar panels are able to produce energy about 20% of the time, depending on the weather and the angle of the sun.

But this new technology enables productivity times to go up to 50%.

It’s innovative solutions like these that make the future incredibly bright full of solutions that will help to battle climate change. 


Chris is one of GreenCitizen’s writers who has been a long-time advocate of individual responsibility when it comes to the environment. He shares GreenCitizen's passion for making the world a better place every day of the year.

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