The sun could power the whole of South Africa, claims Solarplaza.Com, a Rotterdam, Netherlands-based solar-analysis company.

According to SolarPlaza.Com, after the Sahara and some parts of Australia, ‘The Rainbow Nation’ has the most stable and reliable solar radiation output in the world and is blessed with ample space and plenty of solar hours.

"We think South Africa's solar power potential is enormous,” says Edwin Koot, CEO of SolarPlaza. “Apart from a superb radiation output, the country is developing at a relatively fast pace, and has ample space. We think South Africa could generate all of its electricity from the sun, that is how big the resource is."

[Photo Credit: WattNext.Com]

Florida may not be a leader in solar power in the U.S. despite being dubbed “The Sunshine State”. However, slowly but surely, progress is being made in one of the best places for sun in the U.S.

For example, WattNext, an innovative renewable energy company which describes itself as “creating the infrastructure that connects solar power, electric vehicles, and the ‘smart grid’,” recently installed a so-called RubeStation in Eustis, Fla.

The RubeStation is a prototype EV charging station complete with solar panels and benches. The cost: $30,000.

Tesla Motors is running a Facebook contest in which it’s asking people to come up with the best caption for a photo of a Tesla Roadster plugged into a solar-EV charging station [see photo above].

As of Jan. 21, more than 600 people had offered possible captions for the photo. We read all 663 suggestions -- other than some un-paid interns at Tesla Motors, we're pretty sure we're the only ones who’ve read them all ;-) -- and we found the suggestions fall into seven basic categories:

• Solar EV Envy
• The Future
• Driving on Sunshine
• Environmental Benefits
• Fueling Independence
• Goodbye Oil!
• Tongue-and-cheek

A view of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, which now has its first solar EV charging station. [Photo Credit: Wikipedia.Org Creative Commons Photo]

Bulgaria has its first solar-powered EV charging station. According to a press release recently published at RenewableEnergyWorld.Com, A1 Co., Ltd. and BIES Ltd. opened the country’s first solar-powered EV charging station in Sofia in early January 2012.

One of the American Petroleum Institute's 'I'm an Energy Voter' ads which have been running recently in major American newspapers.

If you’re a regular newspaper reader, as I am, you may have seen the American Petroleum Institute’s latest ad campaign to drum up support for fossil fuels in America, the so-called “Vote 4 Energy” campaign.

Every time I see one of these ads I wish I had the money to buy my own full-page USA Today spread and take on the API’s smarmy rhetoric not to mention the canned ad models – does anyone actually believe the people pictured in these ads are real, average, everyday Americans?

Since I don’t have that kind of money , I’ll have to settle for a short blog entry on SolarChargedDriving.Com.

So, here goes, my response ad to the API’s “I’m an energy voter” ads. The ad’s original content is in black-colored type, my alterations and additions are in – you guessed it ;-) – green-->