The UK government has announced the arrival of plug-in solar panels that can be fitted onto balconies to reduce household energy costs. More about Plug-in solar panels to be available in UK by end of summer
Designer Audrey Levy has reimagined a common household appliance with her project How to Grow a Refrigerator, applying sustainable insulating and cooling technologies that take advantage of the power of bacteria and the sun. More about Student grows fuzzy fridge from bacteria to challenge norms around cooling
Canadian studio Montgomery Sisam Architects has designed a university research and teaching centre with an exposed mass-timber structure that contributes to its ambitious net-zero carbon and energy goals in Oak Ridges Moraine, Ontario. More about Montgomery Sisam Architects creates "lantern-like" Ontario research centre
Brazilian studio Architects Office has designed the undulating, solar panel-covered World Trade Center building for Brasilia's Biotic development to "reprogram" what the studio sees as the rigid infrastructure of the city. More about Canopy-covered World Trade Center proposed for long-stalled Brasilia development
Sydney Fish Market, which claims to be the largest fish market in the southern hemisphere and features an undulating 20,000-square-metre roof canopy, has opened its doors in "an underutilised harbour area" in Sydney. More about 3XN-designed Sydney Fish Market opens to the public
Architecture studio BIG has announced a milestone in the ongoing construction of parks along the East River in New York with a timber-clad building with built-in solar infrastructure. More about BIG completes solar education centre for renewed East River park in New York
Fashion designer Pauline van Dongen has created a flexible, solar-energy-generating textile called Heliotex, which forms the canopy of her Dutch Design Week pavilion. More about Pauline van Dongen tops kite-like Umbra Pavilion with solar-powered textile
Design studio Departamento del Distrito has installed a photovoltaic pavilion at the Craft Contemporary museum in Los Angeles that powers the electrical needs of the courtyard in which it sits. More about Departamento del Distrito creates solar-powered pavilion in Los Angeles to cool visitors
Royal Mail has given Britain's recognisable red pillar postbox the "biggest redesign in its 175-year history", integrating solar panels to power digitally activated drawers for larger parcels. More about Royal Mail introduces solar-powered postboxes
The US Environmental Protection Agency has cancelled the Solar For All program, a $7 billion initiative that supported nationwide programs to provide solar energy for low and middle-income homeowners, which experts say may negatively affect the solar industry in general. More about Cancellation of Solar For All program "deeply disappointing" say advocates
In this week's comments update, readers are discussing a micro home made from a section of a decommissioned wind turbine, created by Dutch design studio Blade-Made. More about "Many would love to live in this," says commenter
Dutch design studio Blade-Made has converted a section of a decommissioned wind turbine into a micro home featuring a simple, wood-lined interior and renewable solar-powered electricity. More about Blade-Made transforms former wind turbine into tiny house
The latest edition of our weekly Dezeen Agenda newsletter features a solar-powered sauna. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda now. More about Dezeen Agenda features America's "first off-grid solar-powered sauna"
Architecture studio Schmidt Hammer Lassen has completed a power plant in Shenzhen, China, that is topped with a rooftop walkway. More about Schmidt Hammer Lassen tops Shenzhen Energy Ring with rooftop walkway
Texas-based wellness company Thermasol has designed Solaris, which it claims is the first solar-powered, off-grid sauna in the US. More about Thermasol unveils "first off-grid solar-powered sauna" in the US
A team of researchers at Cornell University led by designer Jenny Sabin is developing a flexible solar material called HelioSkin that is integrated with sun-tracking capabilities similar to the biomechanics of sunflowers. More about Cornell researchers are developing flexible "sun-tracking" material
Swiss bathroom brand Laufen has worked with designer Yves Béhar to craft the inaugural product made in a first-of-its-kind electric kiln at the brand's factory: a water-saving washbasin, now on display at Milan design week. More about Yves Béhar designs first Laufen sink to be made in electric kiln
UK architecture studio Foster + Partners has released designs of a solar panel-lined tower for use on the moon as part of a project with NASA and 3D printing studio Branch Technology. More about Foster + Partners designs 50-metre-tall "solar energy tower" for moon infrastructure
A Solar Biennale exhibition has opened at the EPFL Campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, showcasing architecture designed to harness light, heat or power from the sun. More about Sun Shines on Architecture exhibition celebrates solar buildings from across history
The second edition of the Solar Biennale has opened at Mudac in Lausanne, Switzerland. Exhibits include an artificial sun canopy, orbiting solar panels and a time capsule for plants. More about Solar Biennale explores how the sun can "transform the world and generate new worlds"