Solar Cells Info

Saeko Kushitani, Nikkei Automotive Technology Jul 2, 2008
Source: Tech-On – Tech News Straight from Asia
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080702/154232/

Mitsubishi Corp and the Tokyo Institute of Technology announced that they will cooperate on the development of infrastructure systems for charging electric vehicles with renewable energy.  To reduce the consumption of thermal and atomic power, the two parties plan to develop a system to charge electric vehicles with power generated by renewable energy such as sunlight, solar heat and wind power. And they aim to establish an infrastructure system that can reduce the total environmental load from the time of power generation to the time of driving. (more…)

Mami Akasaka, Tech-On!, Jul 4, 2008
Source: Tech-On Nikkei
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080704/154329/

Fuji Keizai Co Ltd, a Japanese market research firm, released the results of a survey on the market for energy-related systems in Japan. According to the survey, the solar cell system market in Japan will shrink in the future. Solar cell-related sales in Japan in fiscal 2007 (April 2007- March 2008) is ¥148.7 billion ($1,392 million). But this will drop to ¥114.3 billion in fiscal 2016. (more…)

Daily Trust (Abuja), 4 July 2008
Source: AllAfrica.com
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807040570.html

The cost of solar panels is very high so we decided to learn how to build solar panels plans of our own. In order to run our off rid home we would need about 3000 watts of production power and that would cost us in excess of N1.3million to buy new. Now I don’t know about you but that is a lot of money for this family.  Building our own seemed like a better option for us. All we had to do was figure out where to find the parts we needed and how to put them together. We had figured out how to build a wind generator before this, which turned out great so we figured we could do this too. (more…)

Swiss teacher travels around the world in three-wheeled, solar-powered car
by Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun, July 04, 2008
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/
story.html?id=d710575e-8941-45bd-88ee-452964a389d0

As a teen, Louis Palmer dreamed about circling the globe in a solar-powered vehicle.  On Thursday — with his dream all but realized — the 36-year-old Swiss citizen rolled into Vancouver in a three-wheeled, two-seat car that’s powered entirely by electricity produced by the sun. He’s starting the North American leg of an 18-month tour that’s taking him 50,000 kilometres through 40 countries.  “I’m showing people that we have a solution to global warming,” Palmer said in an interview. “Does it go up hills? No problem. It’s a Swiss car. At night, I travel 300 kilometres on solar power. And it’s like an ordinary car. It’s very stable and has a maximum speed of 90 km/h.” (more…)

July 07, 2008
Source: WWW.gmn Gambia News Community
http://wow.gm/africa/gambia/bwiam/article/2008/7/7/boost-for-sulayman-junkung-general-hospital

Power Up Gambia, an organisation founded by Kathryn Cunningham, a 22-year old undergraduate student, recently donated a solar system to the Sulayman Junkung General Hospital in Bwiam. The organisation which was created after its founder participated in a Cross Road Program in that hospital during the summer of 2006 has been fundraising since October 2006 for a solar system for the hospital. The organization has over this short period grown rapidly and was able to raise $260,000 towards their $300,000 goal of bringing solar power to Sulayman Junkung General Hospital. (more…)

Tokyo, Japan, 7 July 2008
Source: PR-inside.com
http://www.pr-inside.com/report-toyota-plans-solar-powered-air-r688943.htm

Toyota’s ecological Prius gas-electric hybrid will become even greener next year with solar-powered air conditioning on some high-end models, The Nikkei reported Monday.  The solar panels on the roof of the new Prius model will provide 2 to 5 kilowatts of electricity, the major Japanese business daily said in a report without citing sources. Toyota Motor Corp. plans to purchase the panels from Japanese electronics maker Kyocera Corp., the newspaper said. (more…)

by: Ucilia Wang. June 23, 2008
source: GreentechMedia.com

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/japan-wants-to-resurrect-solar-incentives-1037.html
Japan may bring back solar subsidies to boost its solar panel makers’ competitive edge in the world market, two ministry officials told Reuters on Monday. Japan, the first country to introduce federal solar subsidies, eliminated them in 2005. Since then, it has witnessed some of its solar-cell makers getting beat in the global market. Q-Cells in Germany overtook Sharp as the world’s largest supplier in 2007, and Suntech Power in China kicked Kyocera out of the third place. (more…)

Los Gatos, CA, June 3, 2008
Source: Tigo Energy press release/Businesswire
http://www.tigoenergy.com/news.html

Tigo Energy, a solar company whose technology enables increased efficiency in commercial and residential solar installations, announced today it has raised $6 million in a round co-led by Matrix Partners and OVP Venture Partners.  “This investment will allow us to deliver lower cost of ownership and increased output power on solar installations, resulting in faster return on investment for our customers,” said Sam Arditi, co-founder and CEO of Tigo Energy. (more…)

by: Jennifer Kho. June 23, 2008
Source: GreetechMedia.com
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/solar-installers-race-for-sf-subsidies-1038.html

Just a week after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom officially signed a new incentive program into law, the race is on to take advantage of it.  The program, the largest municipal solar-incentive program in the United States, will provide rebates of $3,000 to $6,000 for residential solar installations and up to $10,000 for commercial installations when it takes effect July 1. With the incentives capped at $3 million total for both residential and commercial installations, plus an additional $1.5 million in incentives specifically for solar projects at low-income and affordable housing approved last week, San Francisco could subsidize between 383 and 1,500 installations, depending on the size of each of the rebates. (more…)

Thin-film solar cells are cheaper than traditional solar panels, such as those made of polycrystalline silicon, but the yield is lower. However, the combination of these properties is promising according to the Thin-Film Future conference organized recently by SolarPlaza in Munich. An impression of the heavily attended gathering.
By: Rijkert Knoppers
Source: InvesterIdeas.com
http://renewableenergystocks.com/News/r062408c.asp

A solar installation over 6,000 m2 has been built in a field near to the German town of Waltenhofen. Its total power is 0.4 MW. Seven kilometers of electrical cable is required to transport the power generated by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry thin-film solar panels. Another solar power plant has been produced next to this field in the same amount of space, but in this case using crystalline silicon solar panels. At 0.7 MV, the power from this plant is almost twice as much as that from the other installation. (more…)