Solar Cells Info

Residents can defer cost of installation
By Tanya Mannes Union-Tribune Staff Writer
Solana Beach, CA, January 20, 2009
Source: San Diego Union Tribune
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jan/20/
1m20solar23155-city-offers-solar-financing/

Edging ahead of San Diego, Solana Beach has become the first city in the region – and the third statewide – to launch a financing program that eventually will help homeowners and small businesses buy solar panels without paying the full price upfront.  The program will allow residents to pay for the “clean energy” systems over 20 years, with interest, through their property tax bills.  Solana Beach is part of a growing number of local governments trying to take advantage of Assembly Bill 811, a state solar law passed in July that authorizes cities and counties to establish the long-term payment plans. (more…)

by Alternative Energy Resource AER Staff, 06 January 2009 /Solar City
http://www.aer-online.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.2225

One Block off the Grid (1BOG), a San Francisco consumer advocacy group for residential renewable energy, and Foster City, Calif.-based SolarCity have announced a new community purchase program designed to extend special pricing and affordable financing options on residential solar systems to residents of the entire San Francisco Bay area. (more…)

Menlo Park, CA,
Source: ABCTV KGO TV -Local News
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_side&id=6482965

Lots of people would like to put solar panels on their homes, but find the investment is too great. But there is a way to do it without the big upfront costs.  It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to buy a solar power system. But what if you could rent them instead? A Bay Area company lets you do just that, and possibly save you a lot of money along the way.  Yvette and Steve Widdicombe enjoy their backyard swimming pool, but not the huge electric bills they got by running the pool pump. (more…)

Pueblo, Colorado, January 16, 2009
Source: Environmental News Service ENS
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2009/2009-01-16-094.asp

A new solar power system has been installed at Colorado State University-Pueblo that will provide more than 10 percent of the future power needs on campus.  The 1.2-megawatt solar power system, one of the largest at an educational institution in the United States, will help the university control utility costs as prices and usage increase over time.  The system was built on the east side of the Pueblo campus near the university’s physical plant complex and softball fields. The solar array covers 4.3 acres with more than 6,800 photovoltaic panels, and can generate about 1,800 megawatt hours of electricity per year. (more…)

The latest estimates from the Spanish government show that the new capacity added last year exceeded some expectations by as much as threefold.
by: Ucilia Wang, January 16, 2009
Source: GreenTechMedia.com
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/
spain-installed-more-than-3gw-of-solar-in-2008-5545.html

How big was the Spanish solar market in 2008? Three times bigger than many analysts have anticipated.  Spain’s National Energy Commission (CNE) this week estimated that about 3.1 gigawatts of solar power were connected to the grid from January through November 2008, said Gordon Johnson, head of the alternative energy research at Hapoalim Securities in New York City.  Since the Spanish program began, around 3.75 gigawatts have been installed there. (more…)

by Martin LaMonica, Indiana Wells, CA, January 21, 2009
Source: CNet News
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10146968-54.html?tag=mncol;title

Pacific Gas & Electric, one of the country’s largest and most progressive utilities, will invest directly in solar power plants and solar panels distributed in different California communities.  CEO Peter Darbee said the move represents the first time that PG&E–already a large purchaser of solar and other renewable energy technologies–will build and own solar installations. Right now, the utility purchases clean energy from third parties. (more…)

By Matt Nauman, 20 Jan 2009
Source: Sajn Jose Mercury News
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/
ci_11503149?nclick_check=1

Solar-industry executives paint a bright future for their industry, one where photovoltaic panels adorn roofs of homes and businesses and huge power plants capture the sun’s rays to generate electricity. But the industry currently finds itself under cloudy skies and buffeted by threatening winds.  The solar tax credits approved late last year gave the industry a boost, and its leaders are hopeful for an even bigger boost by President Barack Obama, who has promised to promote clean technologies and energy alternatives to oil. But it’s far from clear just how much help will come, and when. (more…)

More efficient, cost-effective and durable thin-film solar cells could be made by adapting the sputtering technique used to create anti-reflection glass.
Siobhan Wagner, 14 January 2009
Source: The Engineer
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/309530/
Salford%27s+single-step+solar.htm

Researchers at Salford University believe the method is ideal for the large-scale deposition of copper indium diselenide (CIS) — a thin-film photovoltaic material that is seen as a more efficient alternative to amorphous silicon.  CIS cells absorb 99 per cent of the sunlight that hits them and have the potential to convert 20 per cent of this into useful electrical power. They are also better able to withstand damage from solar radiation, so are ideal for use in space-based applications. (more…)

•  To buy up to 60 Megawatts of solar cells
•  ‘A true strategic relationship with strong mutual benefit’
Roseville, January 5, 2009
Source: CentralValleyBusinessTimes.com
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=10774

Roseville-based Solar Power Inc. (OTCBB: SOPW) says it has signed a contract with JA Solar Holding Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) for up to 60 Megawatts of polycrystalline photovoltaic cells.  Solar Power says it needs the cells to meet increased customer demand in Europe, Asia, and for turnkey systems in the United States. The cells will go into SPI’s solar modules.  Based in Hebei, China, JA Solar is one of the world’s largest producers of high-performance solar cells. (more…)

To make solar cells more efficient, sprinkle them with silver
Source: The Economist, Jan 8th 2009
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12887225

MAKERS of solar cells face a dilemma. Purified silicon, the basic material of such cells, is expensive. The temptation, therefore, is to use less of it. As a result, the makers have developed a generation of cells whose silicon layers are only a micron or two deep, as opposed to the usual thickness of 200-300 microns. The thinner the cell, however, the less efficient it is. In particular, thin cells fail to capture much light at the red end of the spectrum. That means they produce up to 20% less electricity than standard cells of equivalent area. And that negates some of the advantage of their initial cheapness. (more…)