Solar Technology

What I Wanted to See in Camera Tech

2011-01-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

CES is highlighting a few things people can expect from their digital cameras in 2011. This includes a few unusual initiatives, but mostly it's about smarter and smarter cameras.
The camera processor chip business is huge. These chips take the raw data from the CCD or CMOS sensor and make a good picture. A great deal of manipulation takes places between the sensor and the file finally stored on the memory card, much of which has to do with noise elimination.. This isn't just for the bigger, more expensive cameras anymore. The smaller, cheaper cameras now have amazing processing power and can produce startling pictures. But it's still the pixel count that seems to have the biggest effect on the image quality. People need to keep two things in mind: the total number of pixels and the pixel count per squared centimeter.
This science has led to some amazing pictures from cameras equipped with 35mm sized sensors, something I was assured a decade ago would never happen. I was told, "Oh, we will never see a full 35mm frame in a DSLR. It's not necessary. It's not practical."
Now these things have been around for years. This brings me to another prediction of mine that has been pooh-poohed by the camera engineers that I may as well make official: Expect to see DSLRs with three sensors for separate red, green and blue capture. The 3CCD video camera is nothing new, and when I first suggested it for still cameras years ago, I heard, "Oh, we will never see 3 CCD's in a DSLR. It's not necessary. It's not practical." By the time it actually happens, it will probably be 3 CMOS imagers, but no matter it's bound to happen.
Another thing I'd like to see is a digital Nimslo camera. Why hasn't someone done this? If anyone recalls the weird little Nimslo camera, it had four lenses which took a picture that could be turned into a 3D image on paper with a special ribbed layer over the top. This was an old fashioned way of doing 3D, and the pictures were always a kick. The camera pretty much faded from view after the advent of digital cameras, but it seems to me that the idea could easily be done with a four sensor digital mechanism with four little lenses. After all, numerous cameras (and phones for that matter) already have two lenses and two imagers, and there's a functional 3D camera from Fuji. But there is nothing to produce those unique 3D prints. I'm surprised nobody has done this.
While on the subject of 3D, I'm currently at the CES show looking for 3D glasses, and I haven't found them. I'm not talking about a pair of shuttered glasses that you can stare at a 3D flat panel with. I'm talking about stand-alone, 3D, stereoscopic glasses that you put on to look at pretty 3D images. You know, like those display glasses with a small LCD display inside that never caught on. Why not a product similar to the old View-Master set? You buy the glasses and get a bunch of little memory cards that have 3D pictures of the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, Paris, and other sorts of 3D sightseeing pictures. This product should have long since been on the market.
Finally, the one thing that I expected to be missing from the market has actually been announced by Panasonic, a digital movie camcorder that uses high quality DSLR lenses. The AG AF100 professional solid state video recorder uses micro 4/3 lenses and is very adaptable to almost every lens available to SLR cameras. This should be a huge winner. While this camera doesn't seem to be highlighted at this show, I think it's the clear winner on my list of things people should want. Everyone should copy this idea ASAP.
When we all re-analyze this years CES, I'm sure that some new photography-related trend will emerge. Right now, it just looks like more smart features and more pixels.

Solar PV Firm Bets on Bioplastic

2010-01-07T17:25:00.001-08:00

Shrink Nanotechnologies is one of several companies that is using bioplastics to find a new way of making devices that will minimize the use of increasingly-scarce rare metals.

The company’s OptiSol Solar Concentrator is billed as a nanotechnology-based plastic solar concentrator and solar photovoltaic cells film. Traditional silicon solar cells absorb only a small fraction of the total incident solar radiation potential, with a majority of the light either reflected or converted to thermal energy.

Based on electromagnetic non-optical principles and using a proprietary technology, the OptiSol enhances the capabilities and efficiency of existing solar cell designs by focusing and tuning the incident solar radiation from the sun for optimal silicon absorption, with less of the total spectrum lost as heat or reflection. The goal is to deliver immediate and significant improvements in efficiency and power output.

The product can also be made into clear view solar cells that can be used on windows and for exterior panel siding.

CleanTechies caught up with Shrink Nanotechnologies CEO Mark Baum for three questions.

CleanTechies: Do you have any working installations? Where and when were they deployed?

Mark Baum: We are currently building a final prototype functional OptiSol solar window with our working groups at UC Irvine and UC Merced. To our knowledge, this device — including the first two iterations — are the first functional quantum dot solar concentrators that do not rely on mirrors, lenses or tracking systems. They absorb ambient light at one wavelength and convert it into another (800-900 nm). We use very small amounts of silicon to absorb at the 8-900 nm wavelength, and the efficiency of the silicon is improved as a result of the window design system that the silicon cell is a part of. Our current designs absorb approximately 16% of the light shining onto it and are at an overall efficiency of 5.7%.

To our knowledge, the most efficient concentrator device ever made is at 7%. Relative to the present efficiency numbers we have achieved, the additional differences are in cost. The fact that our window designs are upgradable, allowing the consumer to benefit from better technologies over time, and environmental friendliness as we do not use harmful toxic elements to create these results.

How to Install a Solar Air Heater

2010-01-07T17:24:00.002-08:00

I am not as handy or have as much time on my hands as some.

Therefore I purchased a manufactured solar air heater / collector.

It is a good unit and is providing up to 80 degrees F temperature rise at its peak.

What I did do was to take meticulous notes and pictures of the installation process of the unit against the south wall of our walkout basement.

If you would like to review how we installed it, as well as of the unit itself, you can access our blog entries with lots of pictures here:

Solar Air Heating Installation Series

I will also say that, however, that before investing in any energy conservation product one should undertake the no cost and low cost energy conservation tasks first. This approach will also provide the funds over the short & medium term to pay for the higher cost energy conservation investments.

I hope this helps,

Efficiency of Solar Cells

2010-01-07T17:24:00.001-08:00

Since the introduction of the modern silicon solar cell, the efficiency of solar cells has improved significantly. The first silicon solar cell was created by Bell Labs and shown to the public for the first time on April 25, 1954. This solar cell was able to convert about 6% of the solar energy it collected to electricity.

The silicon solar cell followed the selenium solar cell, which was significantly less efficient. Selenium solar cells only converted about 0.5% of the sun’s energy.

Most research on solar cells since that time has focused mainly on improving efficiency and decreasing manufacturing costs. So far, researchers have succeeded in creating cells with up to 40% efficiency, using exotic materials. However, using these materials significantly increases the production cost; these high-efficiency cells can cost over 100 times as much as ordinary 8% efficient cells to produce. Decreasing production cost may be even more important than improving efficiency in relation to the goal of encouraging more users to adopt solar power.

The total amount of power provided by the sun under ideal conditions is around 1,000 watts per square meter. These are the conditions that are assumed when a specific solar cell’s output specifications are cited. Of course, there are a number of factors that can impact the intensity of sunlight, such as weather, elevation, pollution, and dust. Some events, such as volcanic eruptions, can even reduce sunlight on a worldwide basis for periods of a year or longer. Elevation has an impact on solar cell efficiency in that higher elevation actually brings greater efficiency. This is due to the fact that, as elevation gets higher, the air gets thinner, and the effects of dust and pollution are decreased.

At approximately 14-19% efficiency, multicrystalline solar cells are the most efficient cells currently on the market. However, this kind of cell is not expected to improve much beyond that benchmark. Amorphous silicon cells, on the other hand, although currently about 8% efficient, are widely thought to be the next big thing in solar cell technology.

What is the chemical process that takes place in a solar panel?

2010-01-07T17:23:00.002-08:00

On a chemical level, how does a solar panel work? What are the chemicals inside it that react with one another, and how are the chemicals arranged and assembled with the other materials?

Specifically, I’m trying to determine if I could build a solar cell at home, even if it is very inefficient. Any information is appreciated.

Nothing chemical at all – solid state physics at the quantum level – photon of light knock electrons off silicon which are freed to form an electrical circuit that we can use as power.
Because nearly pure silicon is required, there is no way you can build one of these at home.
Heating solar panels are not chemical either – just physical.

Solar Boiler

Global Solar Energy Adds Two New Portable Solar Chargers

2010-01-07T17:23:00.001-08:00

Portable solar chargers are an up and coming items for those seeking eco-friendly means of portable power on the go. Here at the Consumer Electronics Show this week Global Solar Energy, a manufacturer of Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) thin film solar products, is showcasing a few new models from its SUNLINQ line. These are known as the USB Mini and USB Plus.

The SUNLINQ USB Mini and SUNLINQ USB Plus portable solar chargers are designed to harness the sun’s energy to charge mobile devices like phones, PDAs, iPods, and electronic readers. These chargers deliver energy to these devices directly through a USB port, charging their internal batteries directly rather than storing energy in an internal battery of its own for later charging.

Features of these portable solar chargers include flexible solar energy cells so that the chargers can be laid out or attached to better optimize sunlight, a weather resistant, nylon rip-stop backing, 5-volt standardized USB power and charging under even cloudy or overcast skies.

Advantages for Residential Solar Power

2009-11-20T15:48:00.004-08:00

As soon as you hear of solar electricity what is that which strikes you first? It is the sun. So, solar electricity is electricity that comes from the power of the sun. We all know that first off there is a huge crisis of non-renewable energy sources.

As a result of that, more and more persons are changing for alternative sources of energy which will help run the world just the same. Residential Solar Power has emerged as the most important of all alternative energy sources that mankind has thought about and so the big hype in opting for solar electricity over conventional forms of electricity.

Solar electricity has become incredibly popular because it offers a wide range of good options and benefits to the people who use it. It is true that solar electricity may not be much effective in running buses or cars but when you concentrate on domestic use, residential solar power is the most beneficial. You can benefit for its efficiency for many resons, one is the cost factor.

True that the initial investment in the system is slightly expensive but considering the fact that it can run smoothly and with minimum maintenance for more than thirty years at a stretch, the cost is nothing. Besides, the set up will pay for itself in about five year’s time. I mention this because in any average home the total cumulative of monthly energy bills for five years is more than the cost of the solar power system, if it was installed by a third party company, but if you installed your own residential solar power system the cost will be far less.

It is also a hundred percent environment friendly resort. This means that residential solar power actually helps you keep your planet green for a longer period of time by not adding to all the decomposition that is happening all around. Moreover, it is a source of energy which will work even when the electric lines are down. Say, during a storm trees are extracted and all the electric cables get torn away.

At such a time, people using electricity from the state board for electricity will suffer and have no power in their homes. Nonetheless, you who are using residential solar power, will have light in your home because you are not joined to these cables. So, practically, solar power has more practicality than the state electricity board.

Also, as I said earlier, you can build your own residential solar power provider and reduce the expenditure behind your solar panels effectively. You can then use this system to heat water, do your laundry, dry your clothes, cook food, light your entire house as well as run your choice channels in the television.

Now, isn’t that fantastic? So get rid of your electricity agreement and go for Residential Solar Power today!.

Pre-build Solar Water Systems

2009-11-20T15:48:00.003-08:00

Solar water systems for free hot water: an lucrative choice to expensive specialized suppliers

Building your own DIY hot water solar installation is a wonderful job. But you probably won´t each day have the time to start-up a new Homemade project or now and again you just want to skip the hard parts.

When you get a ´pre-build´ hot water solar kit, all parts are made ´ready for installation´. A really detailed manual that comes with the Solar water systems can help you link the solar system to your existing hot water boiler. And this will be far less time consuming than building the installation wholly by yourself from the beginning. I selected two pre-build Hot solar water kits. The one that is best for you largely depends on whether you live in an area where temperatures go below freezing often, or in an area where it hardly ever freezes.

Designed for cool temperatures: The cold Climate Solar hot water kits

If your area is prone to freezing, then a cold climate “closed loop” installation is asked for. In these Solar water systems, a specific non-toxic, freeze-resistant fluid is used, in the place of water, to transport the warmth. This method protects your system from burst pipes during winter or cold nights and provides greater durability and trouble-free process. A closed-loop system is as well recommended in places where the water is hard, because it prevents scaling in the tubes. It´s on the market in a flush or rack mount.

Benefits cool Climate Solar water systems
• “Plug & Play” system
• Has all parts included (excluding piping & storage boiler)
• Can frequently be connected to existing hot water tank
• Wholly protected from too much heat and freezing

The big benefit of the cool Climate Solar hot water kits is it´s effective process. As soon as there is plenty heat to be drawn from the collectors, the controller automatically sets of the pumps. Heated solar fluid is then flowing from the collectors, through the heat exchanger, where its heat is transferred to water in the storage boiler. The solar fluid is then pumped back to the collectors to once more be heated. This circulation loop can go on as long as there is warmth to be drawn from the collectors. In periods when there is little or no sun, a backup heating system can be started to offer adequate hot water.

For warm climates: Warm Climate Solar hot water kits

Warm Climate Solar hot water kits will be an outstanding pick for areas where freezing is not a important worry. In this open loop system, water circulates directly from the solar collector to the reservoir where the water is stored. The simplicity of the Warm Climate system makes it quite inexpensive (in comparison to specialized solar hot water suppliers), however you slash these costs when done entirely Homemade!

Advantages Warm Climate Solar hot water kits
• It´s simple system and Incredibly few components
• will often be mounted to existing water boiler
• Economical solution
• Mild freeze-protection included to a low of 40° F

The huge advantage of Warm Climate Solar water systems is their efficient process. When there is adequate warmth to be drawn from the collectors, the controller automatically turns on a pump, which will pull cold water from the storage tank through the collectors to be heated. Once heated, the water is pumped back down into the storage solar boiler for usage. This process can carry on as long as there is heat to be drawn from the collectors. During times when there is little or no sun, the backup heating panels is going to be turned on to supply sufficient warm water.

. If you wish to decrease costs the bare minimum and decide to go for a Homemade task, get yourself a Homemade solar hot water guide.

Dye-Sensitized Solar to Go

2009-11-20T15:48:00.001-08:00

The first commercial product to incorporate dye-sensitized thin-film solar cells will soon be on the market. Backpacks coated with the cheap, lightweight, and flexible solar cell, for on-the-go recharging of portable gadgets, were unveiled at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair last week.

The solar cells, made by Cardiff, U.K.-based G24 Innovations, are based on technology invented by Michael Grätzel, a chemistry professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

In this type of solar cell, dye-coated semiconductor nanocrystals are sandwiched between glass panels or embedded in plastic along with an electrolyte. The dye absorbs light and creates electrons, which are transferred to the semiconductor and then out into a circuit. Dye-sensitized cells have lower light-to-electricity conversion efficiencies than the best thin-film solar cells, but they are considerably cheaper to manufacture and can also be printed on flexible surfaces.

Grätzel says that dye-sensitized solar cells have further practical advantages over other thin-film solar technologies. Amorphous silicon thin-film cells degrade in sunlight over time, and their efficiency also goes down if sunlight hits them at an angle. Dye-based cells work well at wide angles and are longer lasting. Plus, they work more efficiently in indoor light, because the dye absorbs diffuse sunlight and fluorescent lighting well.

G24 Innovations says that it uses a low-cost, roll-to-roll process to make its flexible solar modules, which produce 0.5 watts of power under direct sunlight. Last week, the company shipped its first solar-module shipment to Hong Kong-based company Mascotte Industrial Associates, which makes the new bags. G24 uses ruthenium dyes coated on titanium dioxide nanocrystals and an iodide-containing nonvolatile electrolyte. The company's cells are over 12 percent efficient at converting light into electricity.

G24 plans to market modules that could be patched on clothing, tents, and awnings. The modules could also be cheaply incorporated into power-generating windows and billboards. "It's definitely a great moment for us," Grätzel says. "There has been talk of when the first commercial product will be coming out, and this has happened now."

Only one other company, Dyesol, is close to making commercial dye-sensitized solar-cell products. In October 2008, Dyesol opened a factory in Queanbeyan, Australia, to make tiles that can be integrated into building facades. Electronics giant Sony is also conducting research on dye-sensitized solar cells and announced last year that it had reached efficiencies of 10 percent--a level necessary for commercial products. The electronics maker showcased conceptual lamps based on these cells, but it doesn't have commercial products in the pipeline yet.

The solar cells may have a small niche in the market right now. But, says Michael McGehee, materials science and engineering professor at Stanford University, "in the future we may see this technology compete with the more traditional thin-film solar technologies based on amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and cadmium indium gallium arsenide if the combination of efficiency, cost, and durability improves."

"It's an exciting time for dye-sensitized solar cells," Grätzel says, adding that he expects to see many more products on the market soon.

Solar Air Heating

2009-11-20T15:47:00.002-08:00

Solar air heaters are products which use the direct sun light to generate heat for the home, cottage or any type of building.

As they generate heat, the only form of energy they consume is a minor amount of electricity to run the internal fan to take the cool air from inside the home, push it out to the solar air heater on the south facing wall or roof, cause it to be heated within the solar air heater and then push it back now heated into the home.

And, some of these products use a small solar panel to run the internal fan.

We had many, many visitors to our site, DailyHomeRenoTips.com, throughout the publishing of this series of articles last fall.

So, we thought we would provide on one page all of the links to all of the articles. Since autumn is upon us, now is the time to be planning and ordering such units if you are hoping to have it installed before the snow comes.

And, if you have used a commercially available solar air heater, we would like to hear from your on your experiences, so do drop us a line to Dan@DailyHomeRenoTips.com.

Remember, I am not a professional contractor; I am merely an average home owner writing about our home renovation, maintenance and energy & clean water conservation experiences to help others. Do your own research and analysis as you would before you spend any money on your home.

India to Spend $900 Million on Solar

2009-11-20T15:47:00.001-08:00

A worker arranges the photovoltaic cell components of a solar module panel at a factory near Bangalore.

Ending months of speculation about exactly what it was planning to do to boost the use of renewable sources of energy, India said this week that it will spend about $900 million on solar energy.

The Indian cabinet approved a plan on Thursday that sets out to increase energy production from solar technology to 20 gigawatts by 2022, up from six megawatts today. The government will spend about 43 billion rupees ($922 million) in the first of three phases of the program. The total cost for all three phases could approach $20 billion.

The government had signaled its intention to invest more heavily in solar technology earlier this year, but had been reluctant to share details. Its latest announcement comes less than three weeks before world leaders are set to meet at Copenhagen to discuss climate change.

Though Indian policy makers have softened their tone on the meeting, they are adamant that they will not agree to any mandated reductions in emissions and have said any targets should be calculated on a per capita basis, something that the United States and other Western powers have resisted.

While India’s stated target for solar power appears ambitious — the United States had nine gigawatts of solar energy capacity at the end of last year — there is significant skepticism about whether the country can meet that target.

India has been very slow to add conventional electricity generating capacity. Government officials estimate that they will fall 20 percent short of their target for new power capacity for the five years that end in 2012. Many Indians have only intermittent power and most industrial users build their own captive power plants to ensure that they have a continuous supply of electricity.

Another big challenge will be reducing the cost of solar power to make it relatively competitive with coal, which is India’s main fuel for power plants. In India, power produced by solar cells costs about 2 and a half times as much as power from coal. The Indian government will likely have to subsidize makers of solar equipment for some time if it wants to achieve its target. The country already subsidies fuels like diesel, kerosene and petroleum for drivers and household use.

Cash Incentives for Solar Energy in California

2009-11-10T00:08:00.003-08:00

It seems the California Governor is making an all-out effort to encourage people to switch over the renewable source of energy. Assembly Bill 920, authored by Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-Marin, and signed by the governor of California, requires utilities to pay solar customers who produce more energy than they use.

Currently homeowners that produce more solar energy than they produce can zero their bills but they’re not paid for the extra energy they feed back into the grid. The payment for producing extra energy is known as “feed-in tariffs” and such an incentive has seen great success in European countries like German and Spain.

Under the new law, the California Public Utilities Commission is required to set the rate for the paybacks by Jan. 1, 2011.

The idea aims to utilize the empty and unused lots like rooftops, water house roofs and parking areas for the purpose of producing solar energy. Aside from these there remain many unused private properties that can be easily converted into solar power generating units, bringing in extra cash for the home owners.

Wrapping Solar Cells around an Optical Fiber

2009-11-10T00:08:00.001-08:00

Dye-sensitized solar cells are flexible and cheap to make, but they tend to be inefficient at converting light into electricity. One way to boost the performance of any solar cell is to increase the surface area available to incoming light. So a group of researchers at Georgia Tech has made dye-sensitized solar cells with a much higher effective surface area by wrapping the cells around optical fibers. These fiber solar cells are six times more efficient than a zinc oxide solar cell with the same surface area, and if they can be built using cheap polymer fibers, they shouldn't be significantly more expensive to make.

The advantage of a fiber-optic solar-cell system over a planar one is that light bounces around inside an optical fiber as it travels along its length, providing more opportunities to interact with the solar cell on its inner surface and producing more current. "For a given real estate, the total area of the cell is higher, and increased surface area means improved light harvesting and more energy," says Max Shtein, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Michigan who was not involved with the research.

Fiber-optic solar cells could also be used in ways that aren't possible currently. Zhong Lin Wang, professor of materials science and engineering at Georgia Tech, says fiber solar cells would take up less roof area than planar cells because long lengths of the fibers could be nestled into the walls of a house like electrical wiring.

Dye-sensitized solar cells use dye molecules to absorb light and generate electrons. The Georgia Tech group first removes the cladding from optical fibers and then grows zinc-oxide nanowires along their surface, like bristles on a pipe cleaner. Next, the fibers are treated with dye molecules, which the zinc-oxide structures absorb. The advantage of coating nanowires, rather than a smooth surface, with the dye is that the wires collectively have a very large surface area. The more dye molecules there are over a given area of such a cell, the more light it can absorb, says Wang. The dye-coated fibers are then surrounded by an electrolyte and a metal film that carries electrons off the device.

Ausra wins solar steam boiler contract for 100MW Jordan thermal project

2009-11-10T00:07:00.000-08:00

California concentrated solar developer Ausra has been awarded a contract to supply a solar boiler supplier for the JOAN1 100MW concentrated solar project under development in Ma’an, Jordan by German developers MENA Cleantech.

Expected to be operational by 2013, JOAN1 will be the largest concentrated solar power in the world using direct solar steam generation, and will be fitted with a back-up fossil fuel boiler to guarantee 24 hour coverage. Ausra is to install a manufacturing facility in Jordan to supply the plant with solar steam boilers. According to the company, the project is scheduled for financial close at the end of 2010, with construction beginning in 2011.

Samer Zureikat, managing director of MENA Cleantech, said ‘Ausra’s robust and cost-effective solar boiler technology, its team of experienced power industry veterans, as well as its OEM business model make it the most suitable solar steam boiler company to provide equipment for this landmark project.

Regarding the choice of Ma’an as the site for the world’s first large-scale direct steam CSP plant, Zureikat noted that, “Jordan’s modern investment laws and progressive regulatory climate coupled with its unparalleled solar resource make Ma’an one of the best locations in the world to build a Concentrating Solar Power plant.’

In late 2008, the Ausra launched a 5MW solar plant in California, the first in the state for nearly 20 years.

First floating wind turbine buoyed off Norway

2009-07-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Development of offshore wind farms has been restricted to places where turbines can be attached to the sea bed.

But earlier this week, Siemens and energy company StatoilHydro installed what they call the first large-scale floating turbine. The installation is off the coast of Norway, and testing is expected to last for two years.

The Hywind turbine will still have a ballast that is tied to the sea floor with cables. Wires will transfer the electricity produced to the mainland grid starting in July.

If successful, the project could open up offshore wind to countries that don't have relatively shallow waters of 100 feet to 165 feet off their coasts. The Hywind is suitable for depths of about 400 feet to more than 2,200 feet.

"Hywind could open...new opportunities for exploitation of offshore wind power, as the turbines could be placed much more freely than before," Henrik Stiesdal, chief technology of the Siemens' Wind Power business unit, said in a statement.

The turbine in Norway will be 7.4 miles offshore where the water is 721 feet deep. It will be utility-size turbine, with a hub height of about 100 feet, capable of generating 2.3 megawatts of electricity.

To address the conditions of the deep sea, the turbine will have a specially designed control system that will seek to dampen the motion from waves.

Norway home to world’s first floating wind turbine

2009-07-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

The Norwegian-based energy giant, Statoil, has opened the lines on the world’s first floating wind turbine off the coast of Norway. The water-based sustainable electricity generator could become a model for future energy development if it proves as efficient as Statoil claims.

Known as Hywind, the idea of putting wind turbines out at sea could create an energy trend for the future. Alexandra Beck Gjorv of Statoil told reporters that the innovative floating wind power station: “Should help move offshore wind farms out of sight.”

Gjorv reckons Hywind could spark a movement across the sustainable power industry to relocate land-based wind farms to locations miles out at sea where they will have no impact on land use. By moving the turbines out to sea, military radar operations, fisheries, the shipping industry, tourism and even birdlife will benefit.

But the energy industry will also greatly benefit as: “The wind is stronger and more consistent [and] areas are large,” Gjorv contends. The floating turbines are connected to the mainland power grids by underwater seabed cables. The cost of these strong high-capacity cables is expensive, however, so this will limit how far offshore the turbines can be placed.

Hywind, which was built by the German firm Siemens AG, is capable of producing 2.3 megawatts of power annually. Statoil will conduct a 2-year trial period off the Norwegian coast before deciding on the large-scale commercial viability of the concept.

Can a Homemade Solar Water Heater System Save Antarctica?

2009-06-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

With all of the fervor these days about the dangers of global warming many people are concerned about the fate of Antarctica. In fact, there is a growing trend of concerned citizens turning to homemade solar water heater systems to help our sick earth. A more dedicate sector of the population is committing to homemade solar water heater and that is the homemade solar generator. If you are going to do this, make sure you do your research. Electrical energy is not for kids. Start by reading homemade solar water heater system and solar generator reviews. Doing this gives you the power to save the earth and Antartica. If it weren’t for our massive reliance on polluting sources of energy, there is fear that Antarctica would not be in such trouble. The fears are that the ice that makes up the continent is melting faster than normal and not freezing back as it usually does with a very even ebb and flow. The concerns are that this will eventually raise the sea level enough to put major cities and land masses under water and leave millions of people homeless and/or even dead.

So who are making these claims? There are many scientists who are looking at the earth’s weather patters and systems for a long time in an attempt to interpret them. The initial reason for doing this was not to calculate that implications of the greenhouse gases that are intensifying the sun’s intensity and preventing the heat from escaping. They originally wanted to learn about the earth so that they could by recognizing signs be could warn of natural disasters like earth quakes and hurricanes and tsunamis. Since they have kept data to look for these signs they have noticed disturbing trends in things like the average temperature and the increasing sea level and other things like the sized of the ice cap over Antarctica and they seem to only be going in one direction which spells trouble.

Then they start looking for why this is happening, and the buzzword is generally global warming. They reference the surge in gases like carbon dioxide which are allegedly increasing because of the millions of cars and machinery that burn oil based products worldwide. Supposedly this changes the qualities of the atmosphere that hold in the energy from the sun much like a green house does. What people don’t realize is that these are all theories to explain trends in the environment that no one has any clue about. It is a fact that Antarctica melts in areas and at different times. Since we have begun keeping records of these events, there is evidence that the land mass is shrinking, but this is very erroneous thinking.

Of course it has only been a few decades since we have had the ability to make specialized measurements like this. It may seem like that is enough time to make good predictions about the earth which is millions of year old (some say billions). You just can’t make definitive statements about trends that may just be natural cycles that are 500 years in length. No one has yet even measured 100 or 50 year cycles. So we must cool our jets and not take ourselves so seriously. We know a lot less about the melting Antarctica and many other things that seem to be slowly headed toward disaster than we think. We may not know the truth but that should not stop you from making a difference by putting in a homemade solar water heater or solar generator. Make and impact today.

More Efficient Air Conditioning for Cars

2009-06-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

In order to squeeze more mileage out of a gallon of gas, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado are working to improve the efficiency of a critical but often overlooked piece of automotive equipment: the air conditioner.

According to N.R.E.L.’s findings, seven billion gallons of gasoline – a volume representing nearly six percent of total fuel consumption in the United States – are used annually to run the air conditioners of passenger vehicles. Beyond fuel use, the Environmental Protection Agency reports that refrigerant leaks from auto air conditioning units add an additional 50 million metric tons of carbon emissions to the atmosphere each year.

The overall goal, said N.R.E.L.’s senior engineer and project head, John Rugh, is to improve the efficiency of conventional car air-conditioners by 33 percent.

While the approach is piecemeal, Mr. Rugh sees his work as critical to the larger effort to increase the fuel efficiency of American-built cars. New fuel efficiency standards, announced last month by President Obama, call for American auto manufacturers to achieve an average fuel efficiency of 35.5 miles per gallon.

The plan, which will cover cars built between 2012 and 2016, is projected to save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and reduce greenhouse emissions by 900 million metric tons, according to White House estimates.

E.P.A. credits for greenhouse gas reductions will also “encourage more efficient air conditioning systems,” said Mr. Rugh. “There is increasing attention on our work because of that.”

N.R.E.L. is testing will test an alternative air conditioning system that uses thermoelectrics, a kind of semiconductor that produces a hot and cold side when an electrical current is passed through it.

Small thermoelectric modules placed throughout the car, said Mr. Rugh, could potentially replace augment the power-robbing pumps and condensers of conventional air conditioners. It would also eliminate the potential for refrigerant leaks, he said.

One drawback to the use of thermoelectrics, however, is the scarcity of the material – bismuth telluride – that is used to manufacture the modules.

Beyond the wholesale re-engineering of air conditioning systems, the N.R.E.L. team is looking at simpler ways to reduce air-conditioning use. By installing solar-reflective glass and paint, for example, the N.R.E.L. team reportedly reduced interior air temperatures in a passenger car by 34 percent and seat temperatures 35 percent.

The research team, part of N.R.E.L.’s “Vehicle Ancillary Load Reduction” group, will be partnering later this summer with the Ford Motor Company, which, in December, was awarded $4.2 million by Energy Department to improve conventional air conditioning efficiency and develop a thermoelectric air-conditioning system.

Battery Breakthrough ?

2009-06-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what you hear in the drive-by DNC parrot media, development work is ongoing on alternate energy sources, especially battery and solar technologies. The wide array of recent portable devices could not be possible if it weren’t for battery technology advances. Work is continuing at a furious pace in all sectors of electrical power, electricity powers the world. And you thought it was gasoline. Energy end use in the USA has long since crossed the line from majority fossil fuels to majority electricity. Well yes, of course, fossil fuels generate electricity, converting one form of energy to another, but it’s the ‘end use’ that has crossed over.

Now comes MIT, touting a discovery that they have made that they say will supply solar power 24/7, rain or shine. Is this the photovoltaic breakthrough that has been pursued ever since the first solar cells went for a space ride? Maybe, maybe not … Time will tell if it works out when the processes are converted to volume manufacturing.

MIT claims 24/7 Solar Power

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have combined a liquid catalyst with photovoltaic cells to achieve what they claim is a solar energy system that could generate electricity around the clock.

A liquid catalyst was added to water before electrolysis to achieve what the researchers claim is almost 100-percent efficiency. When combined with photovoltaic cells to store energy chemically, the resulting solar energy systems could generate electricity around the clock, the MIT team said.

“The hard part of getting water to split is not the hydrogen — platinum as a catalyst works fine for the hydrogen. But platinum works very poorly for oxygen, making you use much more energy,” said MIT chemistry professor Daniel Nocera. “What we have done is made a catalyst work for the oxygen part without any extra energy. In fact, with our catalyst almost 100 percent of the current used for electrolysis goes into making oxygen and hydrogen.”

Nickel oxide catalysts are currently used to boost the efficiency of electrolyzers, and they worked equally well in MIT’s formulation, Nocera acknowledged. He added that the toxicity of nickel oxide forces the use of expensive, hermetically-sealed water containers. MIT’s patented catalyst formulation is “green,” Nocera said, and can be used in inexpensive open containers.

“Nickel oxide can’t be used around anything else in the environment because of corrosion — even the carbon dioxide in the air will react with it to make carbonates,” said Nocera. “But our catalyst uses abundant materials that don’t react with environment.”

MIT’s patented formulation of cobalt phosphate was dissolved in water. When the electrical current is passed through it to initiate electrolysis, the catalyst attached itself to the oxygen electrode to increase its efficiency. When the electrical current was turned off, the cobalt phosphate dissolved back into water.

The simplicity of the process enables basic electrolyzers to be used, the researchers said.

“Because our catalyst is green, the machines that perform electrolysis can be much less expensive than they are today, since they don’t need to be protected from environmental contaminants,” said Nocera.

Currently, MIT is working with photovoltaic cell manufacturers to incorporate electrolysis using their catalyst into solar energy systems. By combining the two, excess capacity during the day could be stored as hydrogen and oxygen, then used in fuel cells at night when needed.

“Solar cell makers can add super-cheap electrolyzers to their system so that they work 24/7 — during the day making hydrogen and oxygen, then at night recombining it in fuel cells to generate electricity,” Nocera predicted.

Matthew Kanan, a MIT postdoctoral fellow, assisted in the research. Funding was provided by the MIT Energy Initiative, the Chesonis Family Foundation, the Solar Revolution Project and the National Science Foundation.

CaliSolar shines with $60M for photovoltaic cells

2009-06-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

CaliSolar, a Sunnyvale, Calif. maker of solar cells has brought in $60 million in equity, rights and securities, reports VentureWire. This is a good amount for a company that just landed $101.8 million in November. It plans to use the new financing for a plant that makes cells out of metallurgical-grade silicon — a much cheaper material than pure silicon.

Hudson Clean Energy Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners provided the recent round.

photovoltaic cells

Solar Charged Lawn Mower

2009-05-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

With the ever increasing focus on energy conservation and solar power generation due to global warming concerns, it’s sometimes easier to make a ‘contribution to the cause’ by doing the little things. Install a home solar panel system for your home to meet all of your electricity needs? Are you kidding me? Not in Canada, eh, with the absence of viable governmental funding. The last thing I need is yet another mortgage on my house.

So, what little things can the average home owner do to ‘contribute to the cause’ of environmental consciousness that will also save them money and not force the home owner to take out a new loan?

Let me ask you the following question: what type of lawn mower do you use? Does your lawn mower run on gas? Or, does your lawn mower use a 50 or 100 foot extension cord plugged into your home? Are you finding it increasingly difficult to push your manual lawn mower up and down your lawn yet do not want to consume non-renewable resources directly (gas) or indirectly (electric plug-in)?

From this year going forward, when you are ready to replace your current lawn mower, or when you are ready to buy your first lawn mower for those first time home owners, you can now purchase a solar powered lawn mower.

Before reviewing the specifics of this particular brand I’d like first to simply review why, when you are actually ready to purchase a mower for your lawn, it makes sense to at least look at any solar powered lawn mower by looking at some of the disadvantages of the other three main types of lawn mowers:

* Gas Mower
o Environmental - Consumes a non-renewable resource (gasoline)
o Environmental - Spillage of gasoline during refueling
o Environmental & Usability - Noise pollution
o Cost - Ongoing purchase cost of gasoline
o Cost - Frequent engine maintenance
* Electric Mower
o Environmental - Consumes home electricity generated by consumption of non-renewable resources (natural gas, coal, etc.)
o Cost - Ongoing cost of home electricity consumption
o Cost - Replacement of cut power cords
o Usability - Frequent stopping to move the 50 or 100 foot extension cord out of the way of your mowing direction
* Manual
o Usability - Full manual effort to push a manual lawn mower
o Usability - No automatic bagging; need to rake and bag clippings
o Usability - Arguably, no mulching of clipping

All of the above disadvantages of the above types of lawn mowers does not apply to a solar powered lawn mower. Each of the above disadvantages are advantages for a solar powered lawn mower. It’s really that simple.

Floating Liquid Solar Arrays

2009-05-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

There’s a lot of surface area on this planet for solar panels. The ocean’s are a vast area to utilize this solar technology. But, the weather can make the installation and use of floating solar arrays difficult. That’s not the case with LSAs (Liquid Solar Arrays) by Sunengy Pty LTD .

“The LSA system is based on floating solar collectors made mostly of plastic. Each has a very small area of silicon photovoltaic cells at the water surface with a large, thin plastic focussing lens rotating slowly above to track the sun. The water cools the silicon cells and in bad weather the lens is protected by rotating it fully under the water to avoid damage in high winds. ”

ICP Solar Announces Business Update

2009-04-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

ICP Solar Technologies Inc. (OTCBB: ICPR.OB, FRANKFURT: K1U.F), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of proprietary solar panels and products, today announced that it continues to see traction in its path to profitability this year. Since the beginning of 2009, the Company has further reduced overhead expenses and increased gross margins, while its order book remains strong. In light of these operational improvements, the Company anticipates holding its first ever earnings conference call on or around April 29th for its fiscal year end. Additional details will be forthcoming.

"We are pleased to report continued improvement in our performance and the underlying fundamentals of our business," said Sass Peress, CEO. "Our order book remains healthy, and we have seen new orders stay relatively constant as the year progresses. In addition, our Sunsei(R) GreenMeter(R) distribution has gone according to plan, and we have several installations up and running flawlessly - with many new products set to be launched in the months ahead thanks to the substantial research and development conducted during the past year. In challenging times such as these, we are gratified to see consumers remain steadfast in their choice of the high-quality Sunsei(R) and well-recognized Coleman(R) brands, which fit the needs for versatility, durability, and ease of use in a variety of solar energy applications. ICP Solar sees fiscal 2010 as starting off well, and we look forward to holding our first ever earnings call later next month."

About ICP Solar Technologies, Inc.

ICP Solar is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of solar panels, solar cell based products, solar monitoring software and solar power management solutions. Through the application of its own intellectual property and next-generation technologies, the Company aims to be the solar industry's innovation leader. For the past 20 years, ICP Solar has been a lead innovator in the consumer solar market and has now begun to apply that same innovation philosophy to the OEM, rooftop and power generation segment of the solar industry. ICP Solar's management has over 50 years of experience in the renewable energy sector. ICP Solar markets its products under its Sunsei(R) brand of solar products and is the North American licensee of the Coleman(R) brand in the solar charger category. ICP Solar is also helping the environment by offering these solar technologies and green solutions to the renewable energy sector. The company's headquarters are located in Montreal, Canada, with an R&D center in St. John's Canada and additional locations in the USA, Ireland, France and the UK. Additional information may be found at www.icpsolar.com

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects," "plans," "estimates," "intends," "believes," "could," "might," "will" or variations of such words and phrases. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of ICP Solar Technologies Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which are described under the caption "Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements" and "Key Information - Risk Factors" and elsewhere in ICP Solar Technologies Inc.'s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended January 31,2008, as filed on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. The risk factors identified in ICP Solar Technologies Inc. Annual Report are not intended to represent a complete list of factors that could affect ICP Solar Technologies Inc. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. ICP Solar Technologies Inc. does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

ASU, CarbonFree Technology Complete Solar System

2009-04-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Arizona State University (ASU) has marked the completion of the first phase of its plan to install 12 MW of solar power systems across its campuses. The five installations in this phase have a combined capacity of 1.88 MW and represent the largest solar portfolio on a single U.S. university campus, ASU says.

Solar project developer CarbonFree Technology developed three of the five installations, which have a combined capacity of 1.7 MW. The installations include single-axis tracking canopies mounted on top of ASU’s Apache and Stadium parking structures, and a fixed-tilt installation on the roof of Lattie F. Coor Hall.

For the projects developed by CarbonFree, ASU elected to enter into a photovoltaic system services management agreement. The university will pay a monthly fee for the electricity generated and related services. The systems are owned and operated by Sun Devil Solar LLC, a subsidiary of Integrys Energy Services Inc. Under the agreement, ASU has an annual option to buy the system outright starting at the end of the sixth year.

SOURCES: Arizona State University, CarbonFree Technology

Mikhail Gorbachev sings in the solar choir

2009-04-01T09:06:00.000-07:00

Gorby has an idea about the sun. And a pretty good one, too.

We’re all wound up, the ranks of the working press — lights, cameras, notepads, and an arrogant wire-service man in argyle socks — waiting. We’re waiting to hear the former president of the former Soviet state (not quite as united or nearly as socialist as some would have liked) pontificate on our planetary well-being.

Had he been here a week ago, Gorby would have made a terrific interview for “Last Chance for a Slow Dance.”

As he is settles into a chair beneath an American flag and stark Green Cross/Global Green banner and slowly takes control of the podium, I realize he’ll do just fine to reinforce the article’s conclusion that the world must jump now to avoid possible worst-case runaway global warming. Maybe.

In a somewhat dragging baritone, the 78-year-old insists, much as President Barack Obama has been want to do, that the economy can be revived by deep and rapid deployment of green technology, something that will also uplift the less prosperous nations of the world. That solar, in fact, can save the world.

Though he was criticized in some quarters for delaying the then-radical economic reforms of the mid-1980s that ultimately brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev said that “If we act late now, all of us will be the losers … If we do not take this opportunity, this will be a big mistake.”

So here in the industrial lull of our current global recession it is time to get serious about solar power. Folks with the U.S. DOE-hosted Solar American Cities meeting, gathering in downtown Alamo City tonight, have got to love that.

Thankfully (if we can speak of gratitude as millions are pushed toward poverty and gunmen blast away at innocents almost daily), as the machines of production slow, so too does our output of greenhouse gases. An initial report out of the Northeastern U.S. suggests we may be seeing emissions finally declining after years of greenhouse gains in spite of all the heated rhetoric about saving the planet. However, this period will end and production and all associated heat and gas will return.

At this momentous crossroads, hoping to lure some of Big Oil’s investment dollars and draw some media attention, Gorbachev is taking this possibly heretical message not only to Texas but straight to the beast itself, addressing the 33rd annual meeting of the International Petrochemical Conference wrapping up in San Antonio tomorrow.

“Moving toward a low-carbon economy is an urgent task, both political and economic,” Gorby tells us through his translator. “The leaders of a number of countries have already taken steps to make the economy less carbon dependent.” You see it in Obama’s plans for green jobs, he says, and in the European Union, and, more recently, from Russia and China.

After addressing our small group of newsers and activists, the grades are delivered.

Unsurprisingly, the Green Cross International gives the U.S. fairly low marks for failing to invest substantially in solar technologies (C+). But, hey, the Ruskies and Poles are way down in the potato cellar. Too bad competitive nationalistic gloating won’t hack a way out of this here global-warming calamity.

Then again, when the subject is solar-power investment and planning, a little gloating couldn’t hurt.

Crowdsourcing Generates Passive Solar Technology

2009-04-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ten brains are better than one, right? Crowdsourcing will always make projects go faster. That's why The Energy Crowd, a crowd-sourced based Web site for renewable energy technologies, is moving so quickly with its first project.

The Energy Crowd Web site has collectively designed a passive solar system less than a month after announcing plans to reduce the cost of home heating by using technology that captures and stores energy from a sustainable source.

The system, designed to convert sunlight into heat during the winter, uses Pilkington's energy-efficient glazing along with Manrose domestic ventilation equipment. The passive solar system also uses a chimney to avoid over-glazing--a major problem for most passive solar systems.

Once The Energy Crowd's technology is ready to be commercialized, it will be made available via a General Public License (GPL) like the one that covers Linux use in the technology sector.

I have my doubts that crowdsourced alternative energy projects will become a trend, simply because there aren't any monetary incentives involved. But if The Energy Crowd manages to commercialize its technology--and if it becomes popular--perhaps I'll change my tune.

Polk Sees Surge in Businesses' Use of Solar Power

2009-03-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

LAKELAND | On a recent morning at Publix Super Markets headquarters, the sun was beating on the roof of a nondescript electrical plant building.

This is good news for Publix, which recently embarked on the latest phase of a solar power experiment.

The plant's roof is covered with 4,000 square feet of thin photovoltaic (solar) laminates. Nearby on the ground, a 15-foot-by-20-foot array of solar panels is soaking up some rays, aided by a tracking system that can turn the panels according to weather patterns.

"This is just a test for us. We're figuring out how we can best utilize this," says Shannon Patten, a Publix spokeswoman. "We love to learn today about what's going to help us tomorrow."

Publix is among the largest area businesses to adopt solar power in recent years, but this is hardly new to Polk County.

The converts include everything from an apartment complex in north Lakeland to a mini-storage facility in Winter Haven.

Lakeland Electric and Tampa Electric are planning major initiatives as well.

What's spurring the commercial use of solar?

Observers say it's a combination of incentives, falling costs and a growing emphasis on alternative energy.

"The biggest resource we have in Florida is our rooftops, and particularly commercial rooftops, because they're so large and flat and not shaded by trees," said Bob Reedy, director of the solar energy division at the University of Central Florida's Solar Energy Center. "It's really a major power source."

Publix's solar effort began last summer when the company installed panels on the roofs of two stores in South Florida.

Officials estimate the panels generate 4 percent of the total power needs at each store; roughly 2 percent is generated by solar at the corporate offices.

Patten says the results are being monitored for the possibility of future expansion.

Bill Cook, who owns a construction business and mini-storage facility on Dundee Road in Winter Haven, installed 213 solar panels on his roof last summer.

Between the panels and high-efficiency LED lighting, Cook said he has eliminated a $1,500 monthly power bill and racked up credits with Tampa Electric through an energy-sharing incentive program.

"The last four months, TECO owes us money," Cook said. "We couldn't be happier."

Cambridge Cove apartments, off Mall Hill Road in Lakeland, recently flipped the switch on an array of panels mounted atop the complex's carports, supplying power to the main office and common areas.

Cambridge's owner, Winter Park-based Atlantic Housing Partners, has installed solar systems at two other complexes in Central Florida, and has three more in the permitting stage.

"We're designing systems for other communities that haven't come online yet," said Scott Culp, Atlantic's executive vice president. "We want to be out ahead of the technology."

The list goes on. Mulberry-based Community First Credit Union will soon finish work on a new South Lakeland branch that features a roof blanketed with solar panels.

Earlier this month, TECO announced plans for a solar plant near Mulberry that will have the capacity to power more than 3,400 homes.

In addition, Lakeland Electric has signed an agreement with Maryland firm Sun Edison to install more than 80 solar power systems here during the next decade.

Sun Edison will front all installation costs and sell the energy to Lakeland Electric, said Jeff Curry, the utility's alternative-energy coordinator.

Some of the systems could be mounted on the roofs of local businesses, which would receive credits on their power bills.

Yet in many cases solar remains a tough sell, with price tags stretching into tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of dollars.

Cook, the Winter Haven businessman, said he spent about $50,000 on his system, after incentives. Atlantic spent roughly $500,000 total for the carports and panels at Cambridge Cove, Culp said.

But "the capital cost of buying and installing systems is diving exponentially," said Reedy, of UCF's Florida Solar Energy Center.

That's mainly because of a surge in demand and sales of solar technology.

In the United States, shipments of photovoltaic components more than doubled between 2005 and 2007, following a federal tax credit that went into effect in January 2006, according to the government's Energy Information Administration.

A $5 million budget for solar rebates in Florida - earning commercial adopters up to $100,000 apiece - was completely expended last year after it attracted a "large volume" of applications, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said.

Both Reedy and Curry say they expect solar to be priced competitively with coal power within the next decade, especially as higher sales volumes lead to lower prices. Reedy said that could happen by 2015, if not sooner.

Curry said a Lakeland Electric program that gives credits to solar users had just five participants, both commercial and residential, two years ago, but has nearly tripled since then.

"We all recognize that legislators are breathing heavy when it comes to renewable energy," Curry said. "We know it's becoming a cultural requirement."

Progress Energy's installed solar capacity reaches 1000 KW

2009-03-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

ST. PETERSBURG, - The solar photovoltaic (PV) generation systems dotted across Progress Energy Florida's service territory are relatively small individually.

But earlier this month, the total capacity from these customer- and utility-owned solar systems reached 1,000 kilowatts (1 megawatt).

"This milestone is significant because it represents real solar power interconnected with the electricity grid and is the result of years of collaboration with our customers," said Jeff Lyash, president and chief executive officer of Progress Energy Florida. "We believe that cost-effective, reliable solar power will play an important role in our balanced strategy to address the challenge of global climate change."

The milestone was achieved with the interconnection of a customer-owned 60-kilowatt (kW) solar PV system in Oviedo on March 9. There are more than 140 residential and commercial customer-owned solar PV systems interconnected to Progress Energy Florida's electric grid. They range in size from 1.2 kW to 60 kW and most were installed since 2004. Interconnection agreements allow these customers to sell any excess generation from these systems back to the utility to serve other customers. For more information on selling renewable energy to Progress Energy Florida, please visit www.progress-energy.com/renewables.

In addition to the customer-owned PV systems, Progress Energy Florida sponsors more than 20 solar PV projects around its service territory. This includes 14 solar PV arrays installed at schools as part of the SolarWise for Schools and SunSmart Schools programs, which provide students with interactive learning opportunities to explore alternative energy sources. These school solar systems have a total capacity of 40 kW.

The company is aggressively pursuing new large-scale solar opportunities that make sense for customers and the state. Current solar technology is limited by high cost and intermittent generating capability. The company expects to sign large-scale renewable energy contracts in the future, as the technology continues to develop, and as state leaders determine the state's policy on renewable energy.

Progress Energy Florida is actively working to make renewable energy more cost-effective and reliable. For example, one project that will help unlock the full potential of intermittent renewable technologies is the Sustainable Electric Energy Delivery System, or S.E.E.D.S., partnership with the University of South Florida's Power Center for Utility Explorations.

Two solar arrays are installed - one on the USF St. Petersburg campus and the other in Albert Whitted Park in St. Petersburg - and the output of these solar arrays is stored in an advanced battery system known as a Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System. The stored solar energy will be used to help reduce other forms of generation needed to meet peak demands during summer and winter. More information on the company's renewable energy projects can be found at www.progress-energy.com/environment.

Nightfall Comes to Solar Land

2009-03-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

A YEAR AGO, REFINED silicon for solar cells cost 450 bucks a kilo on the spot market. You can have it today for closer to 100 and if you wait a month it may be cheaper still. Thanks to the workings of international capitalism, the 90% margins available in last year's market spurred silicon-factory expansions around the planet. But the new supply arrived just as end-market demand for solar panels got eclipsed by faltering government incentives, lower oil prices and the world financial freeze.

Cheaper solar silicon is of course a great thing for the planet's living creatures. But solar companies and investors who planned for silicon that was scarce and high-priced must adjust their business models for a glut that looms larger than most anyone expected. New government subsidies will help in the U.S. and in China, which energized solar stocks last week with a plan to help China's struggling photovoltaic industry. Lower prices will also stimulate sales volumes as solar panels become cost-competitive with fossil-fueled power. The question is whether solar energy's volume producers will end up resembling the high-margined Intel or the profitless memory-chip makers. "An industry with 30 suppliers would be a nightmare," says analyst Dan Ries of the brokerage firm Collins Stewart. The "flash-memory market managed to be a nightmare with just 2½ suppliers."

The memory-chip analogy seems most apt. Barron's duly warned readers last summer ("Forecast: Clouds With Sunshine," July 21) that supply/demand shifts would hit silicon producers like MEMC Electronic Materials (ticker: WFR), which subsequently lost two-thirds of its value. But we supposed that some solar power firms would escape harm. Now it looks as if silicon panels could become so cheap that they even take share from technologies that were lower-cost substitutes -- namely, the "thin film" solar panels promoted by First Solar (FSLR) and Energy Conversion Devices (ENER).

A key selling point of thin-film panels is their reduced use of costly materials like silicon: a 97% reduction, in most thin-film technologies. Now that silicon is cheaper, First Solar is hustling around to investor conferences explaining how it aims to fly under silicon's descending cloud ceiling (see the bottom chart to the left). Some silicon panels have already become cheaper than the products of Energy Conversion. Sadly, First Solar's margins and its premium stock multiple of 22 times this year's estimates seem fated to decline. Energy Conversion will likely revert to the losses that dogged it for almost 50 years, leaving little solid value in the 15.77 stock except its net cash of $3.30 a share. Neither company responded to our repeated inquiries about cheap silicon.

From the start of the transistor era in the 1950s, the price of purified silicon mainly rose and fell with the tides of the semiconductor industry. Then in 2003, Germany jump-started a worldwide solar boom with an environmental imperative that its utilities subsidize solar-power providers. That one nation's utility customers underwrote half the world's solar panel sales until 2008, when even richer incentives appeared in Spain. In just August and September of last year, Spain's solar developers hooked up over a gigawatt of solar modules -- equivalent to the output of a small nuclear plant. "Spain last year was essentially Germany on steroids," says Daniel Englander, a researcher with Greentech Media. "They were willing to pay a euro per watt more than the Germans were...which totally messed-up pricing."

Those guarantees sent developers scrambling for solar panels, and sent solar-panel makers like SunPower (SPWRA), Q-Cells (QCEL) and Suntech Power (STP) scrambling for silicon. In the three years through June of last year, module maker Yingli Green Energy (YGE) reported that its contract price for silicon rose over 400%. It was a heady time to be a silicon refiner. With production costs of $30 to $40 per kilo, sales at spot- market prices of $450 could yield 90% margins for low-cost producers like Hemlock Semiconductor (a joint venture of Dow Corning and Japanese partners), Wacker-Chemie (WCH.Germany) or MEMC. Cash-flow margins for Munich-based Wacker rose last year from 40% to 50%. Even a new manufacturer like China's GCL Silicon Technology Holdings showed gross margins of more than 75% when it filed a registration to come public in the U.S.

Central Australia solar technology could light up India

2009-03-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Children living in rural India may soon be able to study at night, thanks to technology developed in Central Australia.

The Centre for Appropriate Technologies' Bushlight program has worked in the NorthernTerritory to provide renewable energy sources for Aboriginal communities.

Joe Madiath is from an organisation based in the Indian state of Harissa, which is interested in adapting the program.

"We feel that taking solar energy into these villages, these people would have a better quality of life in the form that their evenings can be lengthened and there can be sanitation and water supply."

Bend solar energy firm gets presidential nod

2009-03-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

In President Obama's speech on clean energy and technology Monday, a local company got a big mention.

Barack Obama named PV Powered, a solar technology company right here in Bend, as part of his larger message on how investing in renewable energy will turn our economy around.

Before he was elected to the highest national office, and before he called The White House home, Senator Obama was hitting the campaign trail.

In a visit to Central Oregon last May, he visited PV Powered, one of the nation's leading makers of solar energy equipment. The company makes solar inverters, which take power from solar panels, and convert it into usable energy.

In his speech from the White House, President Obama recalled visiting a Seattle company making schools and businesses more energy efficient, and a renewable electricity company in Las Vegas. Then, it was our turn.

"I visited another company, PV Powered," Obama said. "A company developing more reliable solar technology in Bend, Oregon."

PV Powered CEO. and Chairman Gregg Patterson said Tuesday that the national nod was very exciting.

"(The president) understands that we've got to shift gears, away from classic fossil fuels, and into a much more sustainable future," Patterson said.

Obama is pledging an historic investment in energy technologies - $150 billion over the next 10 years.

A national report finds that for every government dollar spent on energy, it returns 40-fold into the economy, meaning these huge investments could put the country back on the road to lasting economic growth.

"Innovators like you are creating the jobs that will foster our recovery, and creating the technologies that will power our long-term prosperity," the president said Monday.

Obama says investing in energy technologies will help double our country's supply of renewable energy, kick our dependence on foreign oil, and create some 300,000 jobs in the areas of energy research and production.

"It's said that necessity is the mother of invention," the president said. "At this moment of necessity, we need you."

With plans to expand, and potentially add new jobs later this year, PV Powered is ready.

"The confidence is high," Patterson said. "I mean, you wouldn't see all this construction and production happening if this market wasn't ready to take off, and we're seeing it already."

The solar industry has grown an estimated 30 percent every year for the last seven years, and that trend is expected to continue for the next 20 years or more.