Green Technology

... "When completed next month, the three and one half acre solar array, containing more than 2,700 photovoltaic panels, will generate 500 KW of power, more than enough to serve power needs of the UNM-Taos campus. Any additional power will go into the grid. " ...

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 Zwahlen's is a local (Audubon PA) ice cream and chocolate establishment that just so happens to have the first commercial use of SRS Energy's Sole Power Tile Roof.

I was driving past the store last evening when my son told me about the sign on the front that  said --- something along the lines "the best ice cream under the sun is now powered by the sun".  I needed to check this out ...

" SRS Energy, ...installed ... the first building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing product designed for curved roofing systems, ... the first commercial installation of the Sole Power Tile(TM) system  ..."

"T...a great example of how time-tested traditions and cutting-edge technology can meet to create something beautiful," said Marty Low, CEO of SRS Energy and owner of Zwahlen's. "

" ... designed to blend seamlessly with several styles of US Tile's clay tiles, providing energy without the use of traditional solar panels that can compromise a building's roofline and curb appeal. ... preserves Zwahlen's charming Swiss chalet look."

"SRS Energy recently introduced the Sole Power Tile(TM) system to the greater Philadelphia region at the PV America show, held at the Pennsylvania Convention center during the week of June 7, 2009."

SRS Energy's Sole Power Tile can generate 500 Watts per sq ft.

Via:  EarthTimes  LINK

Via:  SRS Energy  LINK

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... "During the fall of 2008, SCE completed the first of what eventually will be about 150 sites making up this program, a 600,000-square-foot Fontana, Calif. distribution warehouse roof. The rooftop now holds 33,700 advanced thin-film solar panels with a generating capacity of 2.4 megawatts of direct current power, known as DC power – the largest single rooftop solar photovoltaic array in California. SCE already has begun construction of its second installation atop a 458,000-square-foot industrial building in Chino, Calif. First Solar of Tempe, Ariz. was the winning bidder to supply panels for these first two installations. " ...

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... "The Concept Tent’s solar shell uses this technology to full effect with three directional glides which can be moved throughout the day to maximise its solar efficiency, capturing the optimum amount of energy which can to be used throughout the tent in a variety of new and exciting ways. To avoid festival-goers ever losing their tent, the Concept Tent would be fitted with innovative glo-cation technology. Glo-cation works by enabling campers’ mobile phones to identify their tent using either an SMS message or automatic active RFID technology (a longer range version of that used in London Underground Oyster cards); both would trigger a distinctive glow in the tent helping identify it from a distance. " ...

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... "* Europe needs to dramatically increase the share of PV to meet its 20/20/20 energy goals; * A 12% market share for PV in Europe is a demanding, but achievable and desirable objective; ... " ...

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... "The plane, covered in almost 12,000 photovoltaic cells, has a wingspan of 63.4 meters, or roughly that of Airbus A340, and only weighs 1,600 kg, equivalent to that of a motor car. " ...

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Continue reading "Vashon Island Washington Solar Initiative Time Lapse" »

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... "This one-day workshop will provide a thorough overview of PV technology by one of the leading manufacturers of PV modules in the world. Sharp is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic modules. The company has a manufacturing facility in Tennessee. " ...

Continue reading "Photovoltaic Overview Workshop" »

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Taiwan has built a solar powered stadium that can generate 100% of it's powder needs and can send power to the grid when the stadium is not hosting an event.

" ... solar-powered stadium that can generate 100% of its electricity from the sun. ... can hold 50,000 spectators and is made with over 8,000 solar panels."

"...will officially open in July for the 2009 World Games. ... ntegrates many other sustainable features such as permeable paving and maximum use of domestic materials and local labor." 

" .... [when] not being used, the government plans to feed surplus energy into the local grid, where it will meet approximately 80% of the neighboring area's demand. This equates to approximately 660 tons of carbon dioxide per year! "

Via:  WholeTravel blog LINK

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... "This achievement by SANYO represents the first time that a photovoltaic manufacturer has broken through the 23% mark in conversion efficiency at the research-level for practical-sized solar cells, and further cements the leadership of SANYO’s HIT solar cell which is renowned for its high conversion efficiency. For now on SANYO will continue to advance its efforts into applying this research-level achievement into mass production, and promote further research into energy efficiency, as well as reductions in cost and materials. " ...

Continue reading "Sanyo Solar HITs High Conversion Efficiency" »

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... "Arizona State University and Advent Solar will collaborate to develop next-generation solar technology based upon the architectural framework provided by Advent Solar Ventura Technology. This technology provides the blueprint for delivering the industry’s best value for silicon PV modules. Ventura Solar Technology combines the Emitter-Wrap Through (EWT) back-contact cell with Monolithic Module Assembly (MMA). It is an integrated cell-to-module architecture that delivers higher energy efficiency at lower production costs. " ...

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... "The fully automated facility will create more than 300 new jobs and, at capacity, produce 200 MW of solar modules annually. Its manufacturing process employs Abound Solar's proprietary continuous in-line semiconductor equipment to convert sheets of glass into solar panels in less than two hours. " ...

Continue reading "Colorado Solar Production Facility Opens" »

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... "Babcock Ranch is the first city planned to be powered by the sun, with the majority of its electric needs generated from the largest on-site solar photovoltaic energy facility powering any city on earth. " ...

Continue reading "Babcock Ranch Florida Solar City" »

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... "Specifically, SDSU’s involvement in this project centers on the development of a suite of maximum power point tracking algorithms that could improve the way photovoltaic devices transfer the energy they generate from sunlight into electrical networks. PV Powered is developing a new maximum power point tracking algorithm that can be fed into a microcomputer inside the power converter on a solar array. That can better enable the solar array to operate at that maximum power point. SDSU’s role is first to define the mathematics that describe the behavior of the solar array. " ...

Continue reading "Solar Array Power Point Algorithm" »

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... "Demonstrating patterning over larger areas is a key goal for future work, Bao said. The team also hopes to study whether the technique could allow for more cost-effective fabrication of devices such as solar cell panels that use inorganic and organic micro- or nanowires. " ...

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... "The recipient of the award is chosen by a panel of commissioners composed of scientists and presidents of several solar energy-related professional societies, a representative of the U.S. Secretary of Energy, the past recipient and a member of the B?er family. Scheer, who has been a member of the German Parliament since 1980, was named president of EUROSOLAR in 1988 and was made chairperson of the World Council for Renewable Energy in 2001. " ...

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... "By making thinner wafers, PV cell manufacturers can reduce the amount of silicon per wafer and lower the cost-per-watt of solar electricity. To produce thinner wafers, traditional wire saws must reduce the ingot length (load) and the cutting speed. The uniquely designed MaxEdge system delivers ultra-thin wafers without sacrificing throughput by enabling larger loads and using thinner wires at higher cutting speeds. " ...

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... "The pilot program at the university will demonstrate new production techniques that allow traditional panels to catch more light from the blue end of the spectrum, the short wavelengths. " ...

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... "The 20um solar-cell foil combines the advantages of the low poly utilization of thin-film PV with the high efficiency potential of mono c-Si PV. This sets the stage for dramatic reductions in overall production costs, leading to reduced $/W. It is anticipated that the 20um foil will extend the reach of conventional silicon PV absorber technology well into the future. This mono c-Si foil is the result of continuous development of recently demonstrated pilot line production of full size wafers with thicknesses of 150um and 50um. These pilot capabilities are now being used for development of high volume manufacturing equipment. The availability of 20um mono c-Si foils will allow PV cell manufacturers to explore new applications and formats with cost effective production. The kerf-free nature of the PolyMax system enables savings of material and the development of a new category using thinner mono c-Si wafers and foils. " ...

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... "Materialab, based out of Rensselaer, is working on integrated concentrated solar modules that are expected to convert 30 percent of the sun’s light into electricity and another 50 percent into heat. " ...

Continue reading "Concentrated Solar Research" »

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... "The type of solar-panel roof Westphal is using -- known as integrated because the panels are built into the roof rather than superimposed -- is booming in France thanks to legislation creating 20-year contracts with strong incentives to sell electricity to the grid. " ...

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... "Due to the characteristics of solar arrays, small amounts of shade (for example, shading of less than 10 percent of the surface area of a PV system) can lead to disproportionate power losses of more than 50 percent. National will introduce a technology later this spring which will allow installers and homeowners to embrace shade and recoup up to 50 percent of power losses associated with partial shading. Causes of shade include structural objects such as trees, chimneys and dormers, and intermittent debris including falling leaves, bird droppings and dust. In the case of structural shade, even correctly installed solar systems can be partially blocked from the sun at certain times of the day or during certain days of the year. " ...

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... "They showed that iron pyrite is several orders of magnitude better than any alternative on important metrics of both cost and abundance. " ...

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" ... SolFocus ... has signed an agreement in Greece to produce electricity from its concentrated solar arrays ... will produce 1.6 megawatts, enough to power about a town of about 2,500 residents at any given moment. ..."

" ... SolFocus, ... one of the leading companies in a race to validate concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology for utility use. ... the most common design uses mirrors to focus sunlight onto expensive, high-performance solar cells. Typically, they have mounting systems that track the sun over the course of the day.

" ... these arrays squeeze more electricity out of solar cells. SolFocus' 1100S ... concentrates the light 500 times, allowing it to convert 25 percent of sunlight into electricity."

Via:  CNet News  LINK

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... "For high-power solar cells the issue boils down to a single element used in their manufacture: indium. While PV cells are manufactured a little like any other semiconductor device on a silicon frame, the power efficiency of silicon-only cells is pretty limited. " ...

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... "After targeting solar and renewable energy over the past few years, the state clinched several projects in this niche, including Solar World in Hillsboro ... " ...

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... "The researchers at Fraunhofer ISE have succeeded in overcoming this obstacle. They have managed to localize the defects in a region of the solar cell that is not electrically active. As a result, the active regions of the solar cell remain relatively free of defects – a prerequisite for achieving the highest efficiencies. " ...

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... "Toshiba will secure orders for large solar power generation systems by drawing on its competitive advantages. In components, the company's expertise includes high-efficiency power conditioning systems and the SCiB - the Super Charge ion Battery - Toshiba's breakthrough rechargeable battery that offers excellent safety, long life and rapid charging. In system integration, Toshiba can point to world-class capabilities in system integration, particularly in connecting generation systems to distribution systems; in microgrids that connect and manage dispersed small-scale power generation sources, including renewable energy sources; and in large plant system engineering capabilities. " ...

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... using innovative optics ... SolFocus systems dramatically reduce the amount of expensive and often supply-constrained solar material used in the system."

"SolFocus CPV solar panels are the only CPV technology listed by the California Energy Commission as qualified for California Solar Initiative (CSI) incentives. ... panels are constructed primarily of readily available and cost-effective materials such as aluminum and glass resulting in systems which are over 95-percent recyclable. ...has a very low carbon footprint in manufacturing and short energy payback period. "

Via:  SolFocus  Link

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... "The 3MW building integrated rooftop solar systems will be designed, developed and installed by Suntech's in-house system integration team. World Expo Shanghai 2010 will be held from May 1 - October 31, 2010 in Shanghai, China. " ...

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... "Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport has installed solar energy cells that will feed energy back to the state power grid. " ...

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... "The plant will generate an estimated electrical power of 4.35 million kilowatt hours per year, which corresponds to an annual reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of more than 3,800 tons. Based on the current feed-in-tariff of 43,99 cent/kWh the installation will generate revenues of more than EUR 1.9 million per year. Next to the extremely quick installation of the power plant, another highlight during construction was the airlift of modules. Due to costs and efficiency, 10,000 of the total 64,000 First Solar solar modules to be installed were lifted to the roof by helicopter. With a roof area of approx. 224,000 sqm, this special way of module transport enabled enormous time savings. " ...

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... "Solar panels have been installed on the roofs of the Science Center and 3 Sacramento St., and at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass. The forest’s extensive photovoltaic array actually feeds electricity back into the local grid when its output exceeds the forest’s energy needs. " ...

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... "OPEL’s Mk-I HCPV panels concentrate the light from the sun more than 500 times and have conversion efficiencies up to twice that of conventional silicon solar panels and more than three times that of thin film solar panels. OPEL’s solar trackers can be used in conjunction with both concentrating panels, as well as with conventional silicon ones. When these trackers are used in conjunction with conventional silicon panels, the resulting electricity generation can be increased by as much as 40% with respect to conventional fixed panel installations. " ...

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... "Yang Yang, a professor of materials science and engineering, and colleagues describe the design and synthesis of a new polymer, or plastic, for use in solar cells that has significantly greater sunlight absorption and conversion capabilities than previous polymers. The research team found that substituting a silicon atom for carbon atom in the backbone of the polymer markedly improved the material's photovoltaic properties. This silole-containing polymer can also be crystalline, giving it great potential as an ingredient for high-efficiency solar cells. " ...

Continue reading "Polymer Solar Cells Increase Sunlight Absorption" »

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... "In the next five years, solar energy will be an affordable option for you and your neighbors. Until now, the materials and the process of producing solar cells to convert into solar energy have been too costly for widespread adoption. But now this is changing with the creation of thin-film solar cells, a new type of cost-efficient solar cell that can be 100 times thinner than silicon-wafer cells and produced at a lower cost. These new thin-film solar cells can be printed and arranged on a flexible backing, suitable for not only the tops, but also the sides of buildings, tinted windows, cell phones, notebook computers, cars, and even clothing. " ...

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... "An untreated silicon solar cell only absorbs 67.4 percent of sunlight shone upon it - meaning that nearly one-third of that sunlight is reflected away and thus unharvestable. From an economic and efficiency perspective, this unharvested light is wasted potential and a major barrier hampering the proliferation and widespread adoption of solar power. After a silicon surface was treated with Lin’s new nanoengineered reflective coating, however, the material absorbed 96.21 percent of sunlight shone upon it - meaning that only 3.79 percent of the sunlight was reflected and unharvested. " ...

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Continue reading "Printing Solar Photovoltaics" »

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... "Suntech continues to invest in cost reduction technologies, the company is also increasing its efforts to seek out those balance-of-system components that best meet customer demand for a truly integrated offering. This vertical integration will enable Suntech to optimize solar system composition and performance, and drive down costs throughout the solar value chain. As a result of these initiatives, Suntech plans to triple sales to the U.S. in 2009. " ...

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... "In partnership with the University of Oxford and Wafer Technology, and with partial funding from the UK Technology Strategy Board and EPSRC, a successful three year collaborative research project has delivered first generation single-junction cells with energy conversion efficiencies up to 12%. This compares to 9% from existing, commercially available devices. TPVs are similar to solar cells, but operate at infrared rather than visible wavelengths, generating electricity directly from heat. " ...

Continue reading "Energy Conversion Record for Thermo-Photovoltaic Cells" »

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... "Successful development in wind energy has allowed B&B to acquire all the competencies and skills necessary along the solar value chain for a successful entrance (i.e., site identification, engineering, project management, procurement and project finance) " ...

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... "With this U.S. based manufacturing location, Konarka further expands its presence in Massachusetts and accelerates its aggressive plans to develop and commercialize its polymer-based organic photovoltaic (OPV) technologies worldwide. In addition to acquiring the fully automated roll-to-roll manufacturing line, the company has also hired the leading technology and process engineering teams from Polaroid, with plans to hire over 100 additional employees as production increases toward capacity over the next two to three years. Konarka’s advanced photovoltaic technology started with the work of the late Dr. Sukant Tripathy, an internationally known polymer materials scientist, provost at UMASS Lowell and founder of the Plastic Innovation Center and Dr. Alan Heeger, Konarka’s chief scientist, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2000. " ...

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... "Solyndra's panels employ cylindrical modules which capture sunlight across a 360-degree photovoltaic surface capable of converting direct, diffuse and reflected sunlight into electricity. This self-tracking design allows Solyndra's PV systems to capture significantly more sunlight than traditional flat-surfaced solar panels, which require costly tilted mounting devices to improve the capture of direct light, offer poor collection of diffuse light and fail to collect reflected light from rooftops or other installation surfaces. Conventional flat PV panels must be mounted at an angle and spaced apart for optimum energy production. The sunlight striking the spaces between the panels is not collected and thus is wasted. Solyndra's panels perform optimally when mounted horizontally and packed closely together, thereby covering significantly more of the available roof area and producing more electricity per rooftop on an annual basis than a conventional panel installation. " ...

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... "The 40-kilowatt solar panels, the largest photovoltaic system on campus, were energized earlier this month with the flip of a switch that sent photovoltaic electricity flowing to the house and the PG&E grid. The 252 polycrystalline solar panels, manufactured by Evergreen Solar and installed by REC Solar, are mounted on the flat roof of a partially buried water tank (known as the San Juan Reservoir) near the house. The multiple levels and terraces of the historical house, built by Herbert Hoover and his wife in 1920, before he became president, make it impractical to place the panels there. The project is an example of smart sustainability that works both environmentally and financially, said Joe Stagner, Stanford sustainability czar. " ...

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... "The solar photovoltaic (PV) project, which is situated in one of the highest areas of solar irradiation in Spain, is being built under a framework agreement between Santander Investment S.A., the equity arm of Grupo Santander, and BP Solar, which has already seen them construct eleven projects to date. Bank of Scotland is acting as sole mandated lead arranger on the transaction. BP Solar will be in charge of the operation and maintenance of the park guaranteeing a minimum energy production. Construction of the park started in mid-February and is scheduled to be completed by the end of August 2008. " ...

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... "Three types of thin film modules are commercially available. These are manufactured from amorphous silicon (a-Si), copper indium diselenide and cadmium telluride. All of these technologies have active layers in the thickness range of less than a few microns. " ...

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... "The PV system will be operational at the end of September 2008 and is comprised of roughly 85,000 thin film solar panels that will be connected to Satcon PowerGate Plus Inverters. Once fully operationally, the solar installation will generate 10 MW of peak power output and 15.1 million kilowatt hours of power annually. " ...

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... "I’ve been working with Prof. Vladimir Bulovic in electrical engineering to put these quantum dots in both light-emitting devices as well as to look at solar photovoltaic applications, which is very a propos. " ...

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... "When complete, UC San Diego’s system will consist of 5,790 Kyocera KD205 solar modules that will be mounted on the Price Center, the Gilman parking structure and other buildings across the 1,200-acre campus. This system will contribute to the 29 million kilowatt hours per year of green energy that UC San Diego expects its overall efforts to produce, which is enough electricity to power more than 4,500 homes. UC San Diego’s program will offset approximately 10,500 tons of carbon emissions, which is the equivalent of removing 1,500 cars from the road every year. " ...

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... "The capacity of annually installed solar power systems would reach 281 GW by 2030. About 60% of this would be in the grid-connected market, mainly in industrialised countries. The total number of people by then covering their own electricity from a gridconnected solar system would reach 1,280 million. Although the key markets are currently located mainly in the industrialised world, a global shift will result in a significant share - about 20% or an annual market of 56 GW - being taken by the developing world for rural electrification in 2030. " ...

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... "OptiSolar’s Topaz Solar Farm : The 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm project» would utilize relatively low-cost, thin-film PV panels designed and manufactured by OptiSolar in Hayward and Sacramento. Located in San Luis Obispo County, California, the project would deliver an average of 1,100,000 megawatt-hours annually of renewable electricity. The project is expected to begin power delivery in 2011 and be fully operational by 2013. " ...

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... "The audience learned that CPV, while not a new technology, is now coming into its own in the marketplace. All three companies are experiencing the same very positive customer response and looking forward to expansion of the CPV market. " ...

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... "Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 was $69.7 million or $0.85 per share on a fully diluted basis, compared to net income of $46.6 million or $0.57 per share on a fully diluted basis for the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was $44.4 million or $0.58 per share on a fully diluted basis, which included a one-time income tax benefit of $39.2 million that resulted from the reversal of valuation allowances against previously established U.S. deferred income tax assets. " ...

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... "Yankun Liu, director of the Kunming Science Bureau, said the municipal government will put in place favorable policies and a special fund to encourage private sector participation in the city's solar energy-based infrastructure development. The fund, which will be included in the municipal government's annual budget, will particularly finance LED for public lighting, solar photovoltaic projects, and the propagation of energy saving projects. " ...

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... "Sempra Generation will be the developer for the project, and will own and operate the PV power plant once completed. Construction began in July, and the 10 MW PV power plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2008. The solar modules to be deployed in this ground-mount project will be produced at First Solar's manufacturing facility in Perrysburg, Ohio. " ...

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... "This revolutionary solar cell technology provides a platform for EMCORE's next generation photovoltaic products for space and terrestrial solar power applications. Solar cells built using IMM technology recently achieved world record conversion efficiency of 33% used in space, and it is anticipated that efficiency levels in the 42%-45% range will be achieved when adapted for use under the 500-1500X concentrated illumination, typical in terrestrial concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems. Once commercialized, the CPV systems that are powered with EMCORE's IMM based products will see a reduction in the cost of power generated by approximately 10% to 20%. EMCORE expects to commercialize this technology for both space and terrestrial applications in 2009. Developed in conjunction with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Vehicle Systems Directorate of the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the IMM design is comprised of a novel combination of compound semiconductors that enables a superior response to the solar spectrum as compared to conventional multi-junction architecture. Due to its unique design, the IMM cell is approximately one fifteenth the thickness of the conventional multi-junction solar cell and will enable a new class of extremely lightweight, high-efficiency, and flexible solar arrays for space applications. " ...

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... "The 5X concentrator is based on several innovative proprietary technologies: 5X~7X solar concentrator design, High temperature, ultra clear encapsulant, TRAXLE solar tracker, Bifacial concentrator solar cell, and PV panel cooling ... " ...

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... "rather than covering a roof with expensive solar cells (the semiconductor devices that transform sunlight into electricity), the cells only need to be around the edges of a flat glass panel. In addition, the focused light increases the electrical power obtained from each solar cell by a factor of over 40 ... " ...

Continue reading "Solar Energy Window Boosts Power" »

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... "For typical glass panels, depending on the time of day 4% to 15+% of the incoming light is lost from reflections and thus, is not available to generate electricity. Applying an anti-reflective coating to the cover glass of the module will reduce these reflections and increase the module’s output power. " ...

Continue reading "Increase Solar Efficiency with Anti-Reflective Coating" »

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... "Together, the three sites will prevent the release of nearly 3.5 million tons of greenhouses gases over the life of the projects, which is the equivalent of removing 25,000 cars from the road per year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, photovoltaic solar systems, which convert sunlight directly to electricity, consume no fuel, use no water, and produce no waste. Solar thermal systems, which use the power of the sun to produce electricity from steam, use no fossil fuel, no additional cooling water and produce zero greenhouse gas emissions. The 110 megawatts of photovoltaic solar and solar thermal power announced by FPL today is in addition to 250 megawatts of solar thermal power announced by FPL Energy on March 26. Together, the projects will dramatically extend FPL Group's lead as the world's No. 1 producer of solar energy. FPL Group is also the nation's No. 1 producer of wind power. " ...

Continue reading "Florida Solar Photovoltaic Capacity Planned" »

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... "Two key factors position Saflex to be the leading encapsulant supplier to the thin-film solar panel market. The first is technology: our advanced third-generation chemistry and material science is effective and stable for use with coated glass and is proven to be durable in applications where the edges of the laminate are exposed to the elements. The second is capacity: no other interlayer provider is investing in new PVB capacity at the rate of Saflex. " ...

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... "Today’s solar installations are disproportionately impacted by non-uniformities, caused by shading, panel mismatches or dirt accumulation. For example, a small amount of shading in the array can cut the energy harvest of a system in half. This significantly limits the energy output, design and location of typical residential solar installations. Shading conditions can even invalidate local utility and governmental incentives, making certain installations cost-prohibitive. National’s SolarMagic technology recoups up to 50 percent of the lost energy thereby minimizing the economic impact of shading and other real-world conditions. " ...

Continue reading "SolarMagic is Made in the Shade" »

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... "enXco will own and operate the system and supply the project's output to Hall's Corporation under a Power Purchase Agreement on a net-metering basis. enXco will begin construction shortly and expects the project will produce energy in early November 2008. The roof mounted fixed tilt solar array, to be built on Hall's Warehouses located on Kentile Road, will consist of approximately 25,000 First Solar modules deployed from EDF EN's global supply agreement with First Solar. 1.3 MW will be installed at the 501 Kentile Road facility with the remaining panels on 601 Kentile Road. The installation is estimated to save Hall's Corp. $1 million in energy costs over the life of the project. The project will qualify for New Jersey Renewable Energy Credits which are essential to the economics of the project. " ...

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... "Covering five acres, the 1-megawatt photovoltaic (PV) solar array will feature SunPower Tracker solar tracking systems. The Tracker tilts toward the sun as it moves across the sky, increasing energy capture by up to 25 percent over fixed systems while reducing land-use requirements. SAS’ solar farm is estimated to generate 1.7 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over 1,600 tons annually. This is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption of more than 167,000 gallons of gasoline. " ...

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... "Self-Reliance is offering a 40-hour installation course for those looking for hands-on training with photovoltaic technology. The course will run from 6 - 9 pm on July 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 and from 9 am to 5 pm on July 12 and 19. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of photovoltaic system design and installation procedures. The class will be divided between indoor classroom activities and fieldwork ... " ...

Continue reading "Photovoltaics Training" »

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... "The Management Board of ersol AG welcomes the proposed transaction and considers Bosch to be an excellent partner for the continued successful development of the Thuringian photovoltaic company. At the announcement of the transaction Dr Claus Beneking, CEO of ersol Solar Energy AG said he will be retiring from the Management Board of ersol AG for personal reasons in the next few months. " ...

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... "The solar panels for these two contracts will be manufactured at the company's Devens, Massachusetts facility, which will begin panel production in July, and represent approximately 35 percent of the expected 160MW of annual production capacity at Devens through 2013. In addition to these two new contracts, Evergreen Solar has six other customer contracts with a current total backlog of approximately $850 million, which will primarily be supplied by EverQ, its German-based joint venture. " ...

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... "Addressing these needs and concerns, the Alternative Energy Banner Center will offer two core programs in photovoltaic (solar electricity) and solar thermal (solar hot water and pool heating) technologies. Both programs will be designed for students at any level, regardless of previous skill level. The results from the initial program offerings will be analyzed and used as feedback to update and finalize the curriculum. After the first year, the plan will be expanded and offered throughout Florida at other community colleges and technical centers. " ...

Continue reading "Alternative Energy Education Programs Focus on Solar Technologies" »

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... "The trick lies in IBM's ability to cool the tiny solar cell. Concentrating the equivalent of 2000 suns on such a small area generates enough heat to melt stainless steel, something the researchers experienced first hand in their experiments. But by borrowing innovations from its own R&D in cooling computer chips, the team was able to cool the solar cell from greater than 1600 degrees Celsius to just 85 degrees Celsius. " ...

Continue reading "Liquid Metal Solar Photovoltaic Concentrator" »

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... "The University now buys 10 percent of its electrical power from renewable sources - mostly wind and biogas energy - through the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation's NatureWise program. Mary Ann Cofrin Hall on campus also uses solar power to generate electricity for the building and incorporates other energy-saving technologies. Special roofing materials and a thin film of photovoltaic material in the glass of the Wintergarden Atrium produce the electricity. " ...

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... "The Department of Energy’s SAI program, which took form at the request of President George W. Bush, aims to make solar energy cost-competitive with more conventional forms of electricity. The program has the goal of bringing solar energy’s price down to the 5 cents to 10 cents per kilowatt-hour range by 2015. The ASU grant is one of 11 awarded to university-industry teams in this round of funding. " ...

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... "Yes! Solar Solutions has taken an innovative retail approach to making PV solar energy more accessible to homeowners and businesses. As the Company continues to roll out its franchise plan, it will seek to centrally locate additional retail franchise operations within communities where economic factors, like higher energy costs, make solar power alternatives attractive. Like the Roseville, California store, future Yes! energy outlets will be designed to educate consumers and businesses on the economic and environmental benefits of solar power and provide solutions that will help them reduce their electricity costs. " ...

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... "Solar photovoltaic panels generate more power on summer afternoons when the sun is shining most intensely, which is also when the value of electricity is higher for most U.S. electricity systems, Borenstein noted. " ...

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... "This acquisition is a key step in our goal to become the leading equipment supplier to the solar industry, said Mike Splinter, president and CEO of Applied Materials. With our broad portfolio of advanced solar cell manufacturing technologies, we plan to reduce the production costs for both crystalline silicon cell and thin film modules, while also decreasing the grams-per-watt usage of silicon material. ... " ...

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... "Thin film is cheaper to produce, more durable and less unsightly than bulky solar panels, which are often called eyesores. The transparent sheets can serve as facades for skyscrapers and house roofs, where they turn sunshine into energy." ...

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Continue reading "Germany Solar Experience Exports" »

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... "The nations first solar-powered billboard is prominently located at 1000 Brannan Street in San Francisco, visible from the Highway 101 9th Street exit. It is outfitted with 20 solar modules that can provide up to 3.4 kilowatts of renewable solar energy to the PG&E grid. The power generated by the system exceeds the power used at night to illuminate the billboards lights. In addition to installing solar, PG&E replaced the billboards halophane light fixtures with energy-efficient LED lights. " ...

Continue reading "Saving Energy One Billboard at a Time" »

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... "The researchers fabricated the transistors by depositing C60 molecules from the vapor phase into a thin film atop a silicon substrate onto which a gate electrode and gate dielectric had already been fabricated. The source and drain electrodes were then deposited on top of the C60 films through a shadow mask. Kippelens team has been working with C60 for nearly ten years, and is also using the material in photovoltaic cells. " ...

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... "CV21's solution was to place each of the one-millimeter-diameter silicon spheres in its own hexagonal aluminium reflector. " ...

Via MIT's Technology Review: Silicon Beads

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... "Wadia spends many daylight hours in a chemistry lab, synthesizing super-small nanoparticles in a three-necked flask apparatus a technique so simple, he claims, that anyone who feels comfortable in a kitchen could do it then coating his solution on a glass substrate and analyzing his new device for photocurrent. " ...

Continue reading "Solar Thomas Edison Synthesizes Photo Active Nano Particles" »

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Continue reading "Zero Emission Manufacturing Vision Achieved" »

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... "Faculty in Chemical Engineering will be able to study advanced catalysts for energy conversion and pollution control, durable fuel cells and defect free Ge/Si for low-cost photovoltaics. " ...

Continue reading "Nanomachining Photovoltaics with Ion Beams" »

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... "On a clear day around noon, incident solar radiation is approximately 100 Watts/square foot (1,000 W/square meter). Mono-crystalline (single crystal) and multi-crystalline solar panels change about 15-18% of the incident sunlight into electricity. Therefore it takes roughly 70 to 60 square feet of roof area respectively for a 1 kW solar electric system. Thin film technologies such as amorphous silicon panels are approximately 8% efficient and a 1 kW array would take up twice the area of a crystalline array. " ...

Continue reading "Photovoltaic Power Conversion" »

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... "Through this new reclamation process IBM is now able to more efficiently remove the intellectual property from the wafer surface, making these wafers available either for reuse in internal manufacturing calibration as monitor wafers or for sale to the solar cell industry, which must meet a growing demand for the same silicon material to produce photovoltaic cells for solar panels. When monitors wafers reach end of life they are sold to the solar industry. Depending on how a specific solar cell manufacturer chooses to process a batch of reclaimed wafers - they could save between 30 - 90% of the energy that they would have needed if they'd used a new silicon material source. These estimated energy savings translate into an overall reduction of the carbon footprint for both the Semiconductor and Solar industries. " ...

Continue reading "Solar Silicon Supply Boosted by Wafer Recycling at IBM" »

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Continue reading "Plug n Play Solar" »

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... "In a curtain-wall construction method, custom-manufactured thin-film photovoltaic panels replace mirror glass spandrels from the 37th to 43rd floors on the south and east faces of the tower. The modules were triple laminated for additional strength and cut to size to integrate seamlessly into the building’s original design. " ...

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... "Compared to solar modules in the market today, Innovalight has developed a proprietary technology that utilizes liquid processing of silicon to produce high-efficiency solar cells that have the potential to reduce solar costs by more than 50 percent. " ...

Continue reading "Solar Printed Silicon Inks Offer Opportunity" »

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Interesting insights into power generation in silicon photonics.  ...

... "The team's research shows that silicon Raman amplifiers possess nonlinear photovoltaic properties, a phenomenon related to power generation in solar cells. " ...

Continue reading "Silicon Photovoltaic Effect" »

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... "Suzhou Solar Demonstration Park is a project that converts a deserted area into a municipality recreation site featuring a 300KW grid-connected solar power system. The park will also serve as a long-term outdoor reliability testing and demonstration ground for CSI modules using various new technologies. " ...

Via Canadian Solar: 300KW Suzhou Solar Demonstration Park

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United Solar Ovonics agrees to supply up to 30 Mega-watts of thin-film solar photovoltaic laminate to EDF Energies Nouvelles, who plans to use the materials for commercial installations, targeting the building-integrated market segment. ... United Solar (PDF)

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... "HelioVolt is commercializing its FASST process to manufacture CIGS, nature's most efficient photovoltaic material. Recently lauded as a 2006 Wall Street Journal Innovation of the Year and a Time Magazine Best Invention of 2006, HelioVolt's CIGS thin film technology is 100 times thinner, and 100 times more absorbent, than traditional silicon and 10 times faster to produce than alternative CIGS manufacturing methods. " ...

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... "The Tata BP Solar board expects the total investment required to achieve the plant’s full designed potential of 300MW to be in the order of US$300 million by 2010, generating a sizable number of jobs directly and many more indirectly. This investment will ensure Tata BP Solar, already a leader in cell manufacture and the design of solar solutions, retains its position as the largest manufacturer of solar PV products in the Indian sub-continent. " ...

Via BP: Solar Mega Plant in Bangalore to Meet Demands of Indian and Global Solar PV

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