Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 3:57:07 PM - by Danny Vo

A Massachusetts company has reportedly developed technology that puts a whole new twist on the term "solar energy."

A report on the Wall Street Journal website focuses on Joule Biotechnologies and its solar fuel, which is actually a biofuel created from microorganisms apparently using nothing more than sunlight and carbon dioxide.

"We're not a biofuel company, because biofuels are biomass-derived; our technology leverages a highly synthetic organism to create transportation fuels and chemicals. We don't have an intermediary that has to be grown or transported, it's a direct-to-product process," the report quoted Joule chief executive Bill Sims as saying.

Around the world, companies have been finding a growing variety of ways to meet the world's energy needs with sunlight. The trend has also allowed more uses than ever for solar energy, particularly in the transportation industry.

More homeowners have also been investing in solar energy resources as the technology becomes more widespread and efficient. This is especially the case in light of state and federal tax incentives that allow such investments to pay for themselves faster than ever.