A company out of Australia has developed transparent solar-cells that can be built into windows, vastly increasing the number of surfaces on which solar energy can be harvested.
selenized's story links

Transparent Solar Windows
(via www.inhabitat.com)
Submitted by selenized on Wed, 2008-04-16 17:00. | Tags: architecture | solar power

New Technology Foresees Trees, not Grain, in the Tank
(via www.spiegel.de)
On Thursday a small plant in the German town of Freiburg will go online, converting waste lumber into diesel. The plant is designed to convert waste lumber, and possibly straw, into synthesis gas and from that diesel, avoiding the use of potential food crops such as rapeseed and soy.
Submitted by selenized on Tue, 2008-04-15 20:35. | Tags: technology | Biodiesel | biofuel | lumber