Solar Power Could Soon Compete with Oil
Aug 4, 2010 Read More: http://spacefellowship.com/news/art2...-with-oil.html Quote:
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Solar funnel
Anne Trafton, MIT News Office http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/templa...s/newslogo.gif Read More: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/s...enna-0913.html Quote:
This filament containing about 30 million carbon nanotubes absorbs energy from the sun as photons and then re-emits photons of lower energy, creating the fluorescence seen here. The red regions indicate highest energy intensity, and green and blue are lower intensity. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice//image...10095802-1.jpg |
'Jellyfish' smoothies offer solar solutions
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/inn....html?hpt=Sbin Quote:
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Researchers Develop Reactor to Make Fuel From Sunlight
Dec 27, 2010 By Damian Carrington Read More: http://shatterlimits.com/researchers...from-sunlight/ Quote:
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China turns out first solar-powered air conditioner
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Giant balloons floated as idea for Arctic lighting
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New reactor paves the way for efficiently producing fuel from sunlight
January 19, 2011 By Kathy Svitil http://cdn.physorg.com/tmpl/default/img/logo.gif Read More: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-...-sunlight.html Quote:
The ETH-Caltech solar reactor for producing H2 and CO from H2O and CO2 via the two-step thermochemical cycle with ceria redox reactions. http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/ne...wreactorpa.jpg This is the ETH-Caltech solar reactor for producing H2 and CO from H2O and CO2 via the two-step thermochemical cycle with ceria redox reactions. Credit: Courtesy of ETH http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/ne...wreactorpa.jpg |
Solar power enters the plastic age
January 24, 2011 By Matthew Knight http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element...globe-east.gif Read More: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/inn...ion/index.html Quote:
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'Tall Order' Sunlight-to-Hydrogen System Works, Neutron Analysis Confirms
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0203152544.htm Quote:
Neutron scattering analysis performed at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory reveals the lamellar structure of a hydrogen-producing, biohybrid composite material formed by the self-assembly of naturally occurring, light harvesting proteins with polymers. (Credit: Image courtesy of DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory) http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/2...2544-large.jpg |
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
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Solar Power May Already Rival Coal, Prompting Installation Surge
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U.S. Photovoltaic Project Order Backlog Now Surpasses 12 GW
in News Departments > New & Noteworthy by SI Staff on Wednesday 06 April 2011 http://www.solarindustrymag.com/e107...p?content.7645comments: 0 The solar photovoltaic project order backlog for the U.S. market has now soared past 12 GW, according to the latest edition of the Solarbuzz United States Deal Tracker report. Although the PV industry is facing the effects of large cuts in feed-in tariffs across Europe, the order backlog in the U.S. confirms that the country will be one of the most promising growth markets over the next 24 months, Solarbuzz says. The U.S. market doubled in size in 2010 and is forecast to do so again this year. The April edition of the report logs over 375 nonresidential projects in the U.S. project pipeline being planned or going through a request for proposal process. It also includes an additional 775 projects that total 0.7 GW of PV systems either installed or being installed since Jan. 1, 2010. Nonresidential PV systems in the US market range from just 50 kW up to hundreds of megawatts. Even with the growing utility presence in the market, the corporate and government sub-segments still have 76% of the completed projects since Jan. 1, 2010, Solarbuzz says. Utility-scale projects under development are found in 29 states, but four states account for 80% of this total (measured in MW). This segment is increasingly being serviced by specialist project developers, but also directly by major cell and module manufacturers acting in that role. The top 10 developers account for 57% of the utility pipeline in megawatt terms. "The nonresidential segment has traditionally been driven by corporate and government customers," says Craig Stevens, president of Solarbuzz. "As renewable portfolio standards take effect, utilities have become a key driver of medium-term market growth.” The top 10 states for non-residential PV projects are California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Nevada and Florida, according to the report. Over 260 different installation companies are servicing the identified 1,150 nonresidential projects that buy their modules either directly from manufacturers or through distributors. First Solar, Suntech Power, Sharp, Yingli Green Energy and SolarWorld are the most represented module manufacturers in this segment. The installed system pricing data shows that the largest US projects are now being completed in the range of $3 to 4 per watt DC. The reduction in nonresidential PV system prices is key to stimulating US market growth. SOURCE: Solarbuzz |
Cities Use Brownfields to Go Solar
April 13, 2011 http://sustainablecitiescollective.c...mages/logo.png Read More: http://sustainablecitiescollective.c...ields-go-solar Quote:
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MIT Researchers Use Army of Subjugated Viruses to Build Solar Cells
Jason Mick (Blog) - April 26, 2011 10:35 AM Read more: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=21468 All solar cells at a fundamental level rely on some sort of energy harvesting layer. For most cells today this layer is either a thin film or layers of elements deposited on a silicon substrate. Outside of solar cells, in the realm of nanomedicine and materials engineering, carbon nanotubes are a hot item. These nanoscopic tubes, composed of hexagonal units of bonded carbon, are super strong -- and in some cases -- highly conductive. Many researchers have considered tossing the tubes in solar cells, but early results were not promising. Undeterred the MIT team set out to find why. What they determined was that past efforts had failed as they deposited a mix of certain types of tubes that acted as conductors and certain types of tubes that acted as semiconductors. Worse, the tubes clumped together, further impairing the efficiency. In order to create the desired target -- a conductive nanotube layer -- the MIT team opted for a novel approach, enlisting the help of viral henchmen. Graduate students Xiangnan Dang and Hyunjung Yi, along with Energy Professor Angela Belcher [profile], found that a specific genetically engineered virus -- known as M13 -- improved the tube conductivity by reducing clumping and the number of semiconducting tubes. Since they were already going the unconventional route, the team decided to test the newly created material layer on a special type of cell, based on titanium dioxide. These TiO2 cells don't use a silicon substrate and are known commercially as "dye-sensitized" solar cells. Their advantages include that they can be less expensive to produce and are lighter than silicon substrate designs. Adding the nanotube layer improved the efficiency from 8 percent to 10.6 percent -- an increase of about a third. And that huge boost comes despite the fact that the virus/nanotube mix only takes up 0.1 percent of the finished cell's weight. Professor Belcher summarizes, "A little biology goes a long way." http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/19635_M13_Virus.jpg http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1...tube_Virus.png http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1...Sensitized.jpg |
Record efficiency of 18.7 percent for flexible CIGS solar cells on plastics
May 19, 2011 http://cdn.physorg.com/tmpl/v3/img/logo.gif Read more:http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-...igs-solar.html Scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have further boosted the energy conversion efficiency of flexible solar cells made of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (also known as CIGS) to a new world record of 18.7 percent -- a significant improvement over the previous record of 17.6 percent achieved by the same team in June 2010. The measurements have been independently certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany. http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/2011/15109.jpg |
Japan 'plans solar panels for all new buildings'
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Groundbreaking for Blythe Solar Power Project; World's Largest
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Solar PV Price Parity no longer years away (now months!)
Applied Materials sees critical inflection point reached in the cost of solar energy:banana:
A key point from Applied Materials third annual solar energy survey, undertaking to coincide with the summer solstice (June 21st) in the northern hemisphere is that electricity produced by solar PV panels will cost the same as traditional sources of residential power in 19 countries, including Italy and Spain and Brazil, and California by the end of 2011. Module prices have dropped 70% since 2008, according to the major equipment supplier and are expected to reach US$1 per watt in the next couple of years, echoing recent reports from market research firms such as IHS iSuppli. "We've reached a critical inflection point in the cost of solar energy,” noted Dr. Charlie Gay, president of the Applied Materials Solar division. “In 2010, 32 megawatts of solar PV were installed worldwide, which is equal to the total amount of solar capacity installed in the history of the technology. This tremendous growth, coupled with new technologies that are making panels more efficient and scalable, has made solar power more affordable than ever before." Applied Materials is forecasting that by the year 2020, more than 100 countries will have access to solar power at the same cost as current residential power. This would include 98% of the world's population and 99.7% of the world's Gross Domestic Product and 99.2% of energy-related CO2 emissions. The latest survey found that 32% of Americans polled, believed solar energy was the most efficient renewable energy source that was most easily converted from a raw material into useable energy. However there was a perception disconnect as one-fifth (21%) of Americans believe the U.S. is the solar energy leader. As the report pointed out, Germany, Spain, Japan and Italy use more solar power than the US. Not withstanding that over 50% of PV manufacturing was located in China. The report said that 51% of Americans believe solar energy makes up more than 5% of total U.S. energy consumption, while the truth is less than one percent. More incentives, especially in reducing up-front costs would see greater willingness from Americans to adopt solar, even though the survey said more than a quarter (27%) of Americans would consider installing solar panels on their home. The vast majority of consumers (72%) would expect the energy savings from solar panels installed on their homes to equal the cost of installation in 10 years or less. Leading factors that would make consumers more likely to install solar panels include: • Government incentives to help offset the installation costs (65%) • Increase in the home's value (54%) • Having more information (49%) • Ability to sell excess power to an energy company (47%) The survey also noted that younger consumers were more attracted to solar than other age groups. Almost one-third (32%) of those 18 to 44 would consider installing solar, compared to 27% of those 45 to 64 years old. and 15% of Americans age 65 and older (15%). http://www.pv-tech.org/news/applied_...he_cost_of_sol |
Double solar world record
July 7, 2011 http://cdn.physorg.com/tmpl/v3/img/logo.gif (PhysOrg.com) -- A world record double by UNSW solar cell researchers promises to make solar power more affordable, with world-beating new technology delivering substantial efficiency gains at minimal extra cost. Using a patented laser process, researchers from UNSW’s Photovoltaics Technology Transfer Team, working with solar technology firm Centrotherm, achieved a new world benchmark of 19.3 percent efficiency in May for a mass-produced, crystalline silicon solar cell. They improved that result in June to advance the record to 19.4 per cent. The previous record for cells created with this process was 18.9 per cent. The new cells compare favourably with the 18 per cent-efficient cells commonly used in rooftop solar panels. http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/ne...ublesolarw.gif http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-07-solar-world.html |
New MIT-developed materials make it possible to produce photovoltaic cells on paper or fabric
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Lgvc2n35X4...i7E4/nbf10.jpg The technique represents a major departure from the systems used until now to create most solar cells, which require exposing the substrates to potentially damaging conditions, either in the form of liquids or high temperatures. The new printing process uses vapors, not liquids, and temperatures less than 120 degrees Celsius. These “gentle” conditions make it possible to use ordinary untreated paper, cloth or plastic as the substrate on which the solar cells can be printed. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WrFoPgd4iP...papersolar.jpg http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/07/new...s-make-it.html |
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