And you thought it stopped at solar panels? Trace Dominguez has the lowdown on some strange new ways to harness the sun’s rays. Read More: “Three floating solar islands to launch on Swiss lake this year” www.wired.co.uk “Two Swiss companies have teamed up to build three floating “solar islands”, each with 100 photovoltaic panels, on Lake Neuchâtel this year.” “Solar Island–A Groundbreaking Concept” www.nolaris.ch “A Solar Island is a floating circular island (a tracking platform) with a diameter of up to 200 m. It consists of an outer torus and a membrane, on which the solar receivers are placed. ” “Is Solar Energy Totally Bogus or Something that Gives Hope?” scienceblogs.com “I recently posted a simple Internet meme suggesting that if we subsidized solar energy like we subsidized fossil fuels that this could be good.” “How Solar Thermal Power Works” science.howstuffworks.com “Most of us don’t think much about where our electricity comes from, only that it’s available and plentiful.” “Space Energy: Is Space Solar Power Feasible?” news.discovery.com “With the end of “cheap oil” rumored to be rapidly approaching (if not already upon us), not to mention the effects of fossil fuel use upon the environment and climate, sources of alternate, clean and renewable energy appear to be the unavoidable wave of the future.” “Power Plants: Artificial Trees That Harvest Sun and Wind to Generate Electricity” www.scientificamerican.com “A start-up proposes forests of fake trees with …