Solar Cells Info

By Greg Bluestein, 11 April 2007
source: International Business Times
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070411/techbit-better-solar-panel.htm

Sunlight has never really caught fire as a power source, mostly because generating electricity with solar cells is more expensive and less efficient than some conventional sources.   But a new solar panel unveiled this month by the Georgia Tech Research Institute hopes to brighten the future of the energy source.  The difference is in the design. Traditional solar panels are often flat and bulky. The new design features an array of nano-towers – like microscopic blades of grass – that add surface area and trap more sunlight. (more…)

Source:  Green Energy News
April 17, 2007 – Vol.12 No.4
http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2007/20070051.html

Honda is developing them, so is Shell in its venture it calls Avancis. Less familiar names are also working on what could be the next generation of solar cells and thus solar products: DayStar Technologies, HelioVolt, Nanosolar, W¸rth Solar and Odersun.   Those next-gen cells, CIS (Copper Indium Selenide), and their close cousins CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide), offer solar-to-electric conversion efficiencies about the same as silicon solar (efficiencies in the mid to high teens) but conceivably could be offered at a much lower cost.

The reason? CIS and CIGS are very thin, thin-film solar technologies, a 100th or thinner than traditional silicon. Very thin equates to very little material is needed to make them: The less material, the less cost. Yet the commercialization of CIS and CIGS technologies has been slowed by adequate high speed production methods. CIS and CIGS cells are difficult to make. Difficult to produce means high costs despite the lower cost of materials.
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By DAMON DARLIN, New York Times,  April 14, 2007
Source: The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/business/14money.html?ref=science

With a $2,000 federal tax credit and generous rebates from states like New Jersey and California, it has never cost less to install a solar power system.  And it still makes no economic sense. You might want photovoltaic solar panels to generate your own electricity out of a belief that you will save the planet. But, as is the case with hybrid vehicles, you certainly should not do it to save money.  An online calculator (www.findsolar.com/index.php?page=rightforme) created by solar power advocates and the Department of Energy demonstrates just how hard it is to justify the switch.
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Posted by Steph Yiu April 18, 2007 09:30AM
Source: Oregonlive.com
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/04/

Here’s one way to get attention for a cause: Strap a 20-pound solar panel to your back and walk from Portland to Salem.  That’s just what a couple of marchers did in recent days, with company from 10 others. The dozen left an environmental rally Saturday in downtown Portland for the 53.5-mile walk to the Capitol. They wanted to raise awareness about global warming. (more…)

Press Association and Evening Standard  /19 April 2007
Source:  Thisismoney.co.uk
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/consumer/caring/article.html?in_article_id=419527&in_page_id=511

Britain’s biggest household energy supplier said today it is launching a ‘New Energy’ service aimed at winning over customers worried about their carbon footprint or keen to save money by generating or saving their own power.  British Gas New Energy will sell and help install rooftop solar heating panels for customers to heat their own water, and will give people the chance to offset their CO2 emissions through schemes that buy credits from other firms or countries that have exceeded their own targets.

In addition, customers who buy the solar panelling in some areas will be able to earn a discount of up to £500 on their council tax bills through an agreement between British Gas and the local authorities. The solar panel scheme is currently running in Salford, Conwy in North Wales, South Cambridgeshire, Taunton Deane in Somerset, Runnymede in Middlesex and Braintree in Essex, but British Gas said it expected it to be adopted by more local authorities in time. Centrica’s hot water solar panels cost from £4,300.
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By Associated Press. /Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Source: Boston Herald
http://news.bostonherald.com/national/south/view.bg?articleid=195441

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Former Vice President Al Gore’s upscale neighborhood granted the environmental activist approval Tuesday to install 33 solar panels on the roof of his mansion. Belle Meade had blocked his application until new rules were approved unanimously late Tuesday, said Gore spokesman Chris Song. The city located within metropolitan Nashville said the panels must be placed in areas where they can’t be seen by neighbors.
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Kyocera to invest 30 billion yen (about $250 million) globally, raise annual production capacity to 500 megawatts by 2011

source: Kyocera Solar /press release /April 18, 2007
http://www.kyocerasolar.com/news/news_detail.cfm?key=361
San Diego, CA – April 18, 2007 – Kyocera Corporation today announced plans to expand its annual solar module manufacturing capacity to 500 megawatts (MW) by the end of March 2011 — more than double its current annual capacity of 240MW — in response to global demand.  The company has secured supply contracts with silicon producers to ensure the steady increase in production capacity.  “For the last two years, as we endured a shortage of solar-grade silicon, Kyocera has focused on improving solar-cell quality and energy conversion efficiency,” stated Tatsumi Maeda, senior managing executive officer of Kyocera Corp. and general manager of the company’s Corporate Solar Energy Group.  “Among the world’s fully integrated suppliers that manage every stage of the process, from casting silicon ingot to engineering and supplying complete solar electric generating systems, our goal is to lead the industry in both quality and quantity.”
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April 16, 2007
Source:
http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/companies/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&lvl2=comp&ArticleID=1518-1783_2099331

Abu Dhabi – The United Arab Emirates is still sitting on huge reserves of oil and natural gas, but now it plans to harness yet another of its abundant natural resources – the year-round sunshine.  In the vast desert surrounding the capital Abu Dhabi, the authorities are planning to spread arrays of solar panels to transform the blazing sun into energy.

The plan may be expensive, but the handsome surpluses currently earned from oil revenues can cover the cost. “In the UAE today we do not suffer from a lack of energy security, but we never want to suffer from it,” said Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Adfec).  “We are thinking ahead of ourselves,” he told AFP as he explained Adfec’s initiative to develop alternative energy – branded Masdar, or “source” in Arabic.
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13 Apr 2007 ANNAPOLIS, Md.
source:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/51645.html

Legislation passed in Maryland will require 1,500 megawatts of solar energy in the state by 2022.  Solar corporations BP Solar and Sun Edison have their headquarters in the state, which falls just behind New Jersey in state solar rankings, Renewable Energy Access reported. The bill also raises the net metering cap from 200 kilowatts to 2 megawatts.
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April 16, 2007
source:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/04/prweb518788.htm

Hampshire, U.K. (PRWEB) April 16, 2007 — Just Imagine UK Limited are unveiling at the 35th Annual Geneva Technology Exhibition, their new emergency solar powered charger for cell phones, iPods, mp3s and cameras. This new product delivers power via thin solar membrane cells and a flexible lanyard.  The first phone call, lasting two minutes, was made from one cell phone to another cell phone using solar energy captured from a flexible lanyard/strap. This is a first for Just Imagine UK Limited.  Roark McMaster of Just Imagine in Emsworth, and Mark Coughlan of London have together developed this new product over the past 12 months.
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