Solar Cells Info

Source: EV World Blog, July 19, 2009
http://evworld.com/blogs/index.cfm?authorid=12&blogid=780&archive=1

Dr. Richard Komp sent the following report from Pakistan today. Since he’s been a guest in my house and I’ve spent a fair amount of time with him when he was here in Omaha, I thought I’d share his email with you. You can watch the multi-part video I shot of one of his presentations at the King Magnet School on YouTube.

The monsoons have arrived. For days now it had been hot and muggy (Like southern Indiana in the summer) but on Friday the rains started. Just sprinkles at first but Friday night a big storm came in with lots of thunder and lightning and torrential rain. On Saturday, Faizan’s father Irfan and I went out looking for the thin, tin plated copper ribbon we use to solder the solar cells together to make the PV modules we are building. There was flooding at some of the intersections but it wasn’t too bad getting around when we started out. (more…)

2,262 roofs can generate 19.4 megawatts of electricity
By Mike Lee, Union-Tribune Staff Writer, San Diego , July 16, 2009
Source: San Diego Tribune
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jul/16/1m16solar001246-city-leads-california-solar-instal/?metro&zIndex=132821

The sun might seem to shine a little brighter in San Diego today with the release of an independent analysis that shows the city has the most solar roofs and greatest solar-power capacity in place statewide.  The nonprofit group Environment California ranked San Diego tops in its “California’s Solar Cities” report, ahead of Los Angeles, a much larger city, and San Francisco, which has a reputation for all things green. (more…)

byNuying Huang, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES 18 June 2009

Major Taiwan-based solar cell makers Motech Industries, E-Ton Solar Tech, Gintech Energy, Neo Solar Power and Solartech Energy have recently seen significant increases in utilization rates, according to the companies.

Major Taiwan-based solar cell makers’ current utilization rates
Company   —   Utilization rate, Remark
Motech   —70-80% in Taiwan, 100% in eastern China ,
Utilization in Taiwan expected to rise in July
E-Ton   — About 80%  , Utilization likely to rise in 3Q09
Gintech –  Nearly 100% , May reach full capacity in July
Neo Solar  –  Over 80% ,  May reach full capacity in July
Solartech  –  About 50%, Utilization expected to reach 70-80% in 3Q09
Source: Companies, compiled by Digitimes, June 2009

By Chris BryantBerlin, July 15 2009
Source: Financial Times.com
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fb4cc69e-70d4-11de-9717-00144feabdc0.html

Q-Cells, the world’s biggest manufacturer of solar cells, yesterday blamed tough market conditions for its decision to scrap its full-year sales outlook and warned it would post a big loss in the second quarter. The update shocked investors, leaving the stock more than 14 per cent lower at €11.32 at the close after the German company revealed that an anticipated seasonal upturn in demand had not materialised. Competition from Asian producers has caused an over-supply of solar components, while financing for big projects remains in short supply. (more…)

Japanese electronics company Sharp is seeking tieups overseas, improved technology, and ramped-up business at home to boost its solar power business
By Kenji Hall, Asia /July 20, 2009,
(BusinessWeek’s technology correspondent in Tokyo)
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2009/gb20090720_163441.htm

In late 2007, not long after stepping in as president of Sharp, Mikio Katayama learned an important lesson about the energy industry. Katayama was meeting with diplomats in Japan and government officials overseas to discuss Sharp’s business producing photovoltaic solar panels. He had figured mounting evidence about global warming would be a wake-up call for countries to invest more in clean energy technologies. But instead, officials talked about solar energy in terms of national security. “That’s when we realized that it wasn’t just about saving the environment,” he recalled in a recent interview. (more…)

Source: ScienceDaily, July 11, 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707131901.htm
Adapted from materials provided by University of California – Los Angeles.

Though the solar industry today predominately produces solar panels made from crystalline silicon, they remain relatively expensive to make. New players in the solar industry have instead been looking at panels that can harvest energy with CIGS (copper-indium-gallium-selenide) or CIGS-related materials. CIGS panels have a high efficiency potential, may be cheaper to produce and would use less raw materials than silicon solar panels. (more…)

By R.M. Schneiderman, GreenInc -New York Times /July 20, 2009
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/for-solar-green-jobs-may-depend-on-green-automation/?hp

SolarAgence France-Presse Analysts suggest that the production of solar cells will need to become more automated if the industry is to become truly competitive.  Aside from its environmental benefits, solar energy is frequently touted for its job creation potential. But for solar manufacturers themselves, machines — not employees — may be the key to their long-term survival. (more…)

by EcoGeneration — July/August 2009
http://ecogeneration.com.au/news/australias_increasing_pv_power/001335/

Australia’s PV power market grew substantially in 2008, bringing Australia’s total installed capacity to 104.5 MW. The figures come from a key report into Australia’s photovoltaic (PV) power market – National Survey Report of PV Power Applications in Australia 2008, prepared by Dr Muriel Watt on behalf of the Australian PV Association (APVA) and published in May this year. The report found an 80 per cent increase in total megawatts (MW) of installed PV above 2007 levels, with 22.02 MW of PV installed from 1 January to 31 December last year. (more…)

Source: SteelGuru.com, 13 Jun 2009
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/06/13/OTgyNjU3D/
Dyesol_takes_a_step_toward_integrating_solar_cells_onto_strip_steel.html

Dyesol said that it is another step closer to the commercial production of Dye Solar Cells integrated onto strip steel in a coil coating line. The joint project between Dyesol and Corus Colors is supported by the UK’s Welsh Assembly Government. The partners are creating a pilot production line for the technology at the PV Accelerator in North Wales. (more…)

by Edward Morgan, 23 June 2009
Source: Royal Soc. of Chemistry /Chemical Technology
http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/ChemTech/Volume/2009/08/Lateral_solar_cells.asp
A new way of anchoring dyes in organic solar cells improves their performance, say an international team of scientists.

Dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs) contain an organic dye that releases electrons when excited by sunlight. The electrons are transferred to a semiconductor to generate electricity. The dye consists of a donor unit and an acceptor unit separated by a spacer group. Most DSCs use cyanoacrylic acid coupled to the acceptor unit to anchor the dye to the semiconductor. However, this makes it difficult to modify the dye’s structure to improve the cell’s performance. (more…)