Solar Cells Info

by Martin LaMonica / May 29, 2008
Source: CNet News
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-9954708-54.html

Masdar, an Abu Dhabi-based clean-technology initiative, said on Wednesday that it will invest $2 billion to manufacture thin-film solar cells.  The money will significantly boost global solar cell production, potentially bringing prices down. It’s also a major bet on thin-film solar cells, which use less material than traditional silicon. (more…)

by Yvonne Jeffery, For the Calgary Herald, May 24, 2008
Source: Calgary Herald
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/lifeathome/
story.html?id=3db264d7-b479-45df-bd78-669346bfb729

A bank of panels is shining on the rooftop of Enmax’s corporate headquarters in Calgary, lighting the way to the not-so-distant future for city homeowners.  Imagine living in the heart of the city, generating your own heat and electricity from the sun and feeding electricity to the power grid when you’re producing more than you can use.  While a few pioneering souls in Calgary are using solar panels on their homes, Enmax is taking the industry and the city a step toward a distinctly greener future with the launch of its Solar Demonstration Centre. (more…)

Solar Industry Leaders Partner to Offer Homeowners Financing and System Innovations
San Francisco & Los Gatos, CA, May 9, 2008
Source: Akeena Solar Inc, press releaese /BusinessWire
http://www.akeena.net/cm/Investor%20Relations/Home.html

Akeena Solar, Inc., a leading designer and installer of solar power systems, and Sun Run, the nation’s first provider of residential solar service, today announced their partnership to provide homeowners with Akeena’s innovative Andalay solar power system and Sun Run’s pioneering solar service. (more…)

Source: ThanhnienNews, Vietnam /May 13, 2008
http://www.thanhniennews.com/education/?catid=4&newsid=38492

Southern Dong Nai is the first province in Vietnam to install a solar powered street lighting system.  Forty light posts in the province have been fitted with solar powered light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs mainly in downtown Bien Hoa Town.  The province has spent VND3 billion (US$187,500) for the solar lighting system since the project started mid last year.

According to the province’s traffic safety committee, each post is installed with a solar panel which can accumulate enough charge to supply the LEDs for 48 hours.  Dong Nai plans to expand the use of the system.

By Michael Hewlett, Sean Mussendenand James Romoser /Journal reporters
Lexinton, May 15, 2008
Source: Winston-Salem Journal  /
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/may/15/
bright-future-new-nc-utilities-law-generates-propo/?news

A proposed 21.5 megawatt solar farm in Davidson County would probably be “the largest in the United States” of its type, said Monique Harris, a spokeswoman for the Solar Energy Industries Association.  And such a project wouldn’t even be considered in North Carolina without a landmark state energy law passed last year, state legislators and energy experts said yesterday.
(more…)

Full-Scale Prototype Produced at 23.4 Percent
San Jose, CA., May 12, 2008
Source: SunPower Corp. press release/PRNewswire
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=309613

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR) a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, announced today that it has produced a full-scale, five inch prototype solar cell with an efficiency of 23.4 percent. This is a world-record for a large area solar cell. SunPower has reported improvements of its cell efficiency in the laboratory and in mass production since its first all-back contact solar cell prototype in 2003. (more…)

Thousand Oaks, CA., May 14, 2008
Source: SunPower Corp. press release /PRNewswire
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=310283
Hill Canyon Water Treatment Plant Will Save $100,000 Annually in Utility Costs
SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, and MMA Renewable Ventures, owner and operator of renewable energy facilities, today dedicated a 584-kilowatt solar electric power system at the City of Thousand Oaks’ Hill Canyon Water Treatment Plant. (more…)

Source: RedOrbit.com/ 14 May 2008
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1385094/
kohls_to_power_its_stores_with_solar_energy/

Kohl’s Department Stores has announced that it plans to convert more than 50 of its existing New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland locations to solar power, representing nearly 80% of its locations in these three states.  The company said that it currently operates 34 stores in New Jersey, 17 in Connecticut and 16 in Maryland.
(more…)

Source: San Francisco Business Times /May 14, 2008
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/05/12/daily39.html

The largest solar project in the San Francisco and the third largest in the country is coming to a city rooftop near you.  San Francisco Public Utilities Commission authorized a new 5 megawatt solar power project that will grace the roofs of the newly retrofitted Sunset Reservoir and the Pier 96 which houses the NorCal Recycling Center. (more…)

Tokyo, May 14, 2008
Source: FoxNews
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355737,00.html

Can lingerie really empower women?  That’s what one company apparently was thinking in its quest to design a solar-powered bra capable of generating enough electricity to charge a cell phone or iPod, Reuters reported.  Triumph International Japan showed off its “Solar Power Bra” on Wednesday in Tokyo, but it will not be in stores just yet.
(more…)