For those facing water shortages, there is much to be thankful for when it comes to the inventive spirit. Thanks to young Australian inventor Edward Linacre, there may one day be no such thing as a water shortage for Australian farmers.

It is estimated that almost 1.6 billion people on this planet live without electricity. That means to have any kind of light in the darkness (12 hours of darkness in countries near the equator), toxic fuels such as kerosene are used to fuel lanterns for reading or cooking. While they provide much needed light, they also pollute habitats and endanger the health of those living inside.

The WaveRoller arrived on January 2nd at Portugal’s Peniche Shipyard for a much anticipated pilot test this summer off the coast of Portugal, one of the best testing sites in Europe for ocean energy. The scaled-up version for the pilot test is to be tested in the same waters near the sea shore of Peniche where its smaller prototype showed promise (Previous: WaveRoller Uses Swinging Door for Underwater Wave Energy.)

Cellphones. We all (well, most of us) have one, and we all charge them frequently. In fact, modern smartphones are so power-greedy many of us charge them every night. All this sucks up domestic (and sometimes, if we’re being cheeky, office) power.

If this doesn’t sound like a dream come true, I don’t know what does. The German government is testing a new design for a low-energy home packed with renewable energy generation systems, dubbed the Efficiency House Plus. If the design works as it should, it’ll not only produce enough electricity to meet all its own needs, but it’ll produce enough spare juice to charge a family car.

Solar home systems are bringing the benefits of electrical power to millions in rural Bangladesh, a testament to the numerous and varied benefits access to cheap, clean and renewable distributed solar PV can have in developing countries. Microfinance provider Grameen Shakti’s efforts to market and sell solar home systems (SHS) in rural areas across the country that lack grid access have proved extremely successful.