Brooklyn-based design company SMIT (Sustainable Minded Interactive Technology) is doing its part to take advantage of the summer sun to make the world a greener place. Their Tensile Solar product is much like a solar power fabric that provides both shade and planet-friendly electricity to those beneath it.
The Tensile Solar system is a modular membrane that allows each solar panel to be traded out without any effect on the overall system. If one panel is damaged or occluded, the rest of the system continues to work as usual.
The panels are CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium and Selenide) photovoltaic cells which perform well in low-light and cloudy conditions. They are also produced in a very eco-friendly way, requiring less power and heat than the traditional silicon photovoltaic cells.
Holding the photovoltaic cells is a lightweight, breathable, super-strong fabric that is strong enough to withstand harsh weather and high winds. When it finally outlives its usefulness and has to be discarded, the fabric is fully recyclable, rounding out Tensile Solar’s ultra-green profile.
Besides providing shaded areas for relaxing or doing business under, the various configurations of Tensile Solar arrays would provide clean renewable energy. According to the designers, the systems will be available in a number of pre-determined configurations and can also be customized for larger areas.

