Solar Cells Info

By Steve Connor, Science Editor, 11 July 2008
Source: The Independent UK
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/new-windows-double-as-solar-panels-865592.html

A new type of solar panel that allows light to pass through it like a pane of glass has been invented by scientists who said that it is 10 times more powerful than conventional methods of producing energy from sunlight. The discovery raises the prospect of using ordinary domestic windows to generate electricity with minimum structural alterations, although scientists have not yet worked out how much it would cost to convert a domestic home to a solar-powered generator. (more…)

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY / 27 July 2008
Source: USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/2008-07-27-solar-chips_N.htm

Semiconductor companies are rushing into the solar power business faster than a Pentium-driven computer, promising to turn a niche form of renewable energy into a mass-market product.  Since May, computer powerhouses Intel (INTC), IBM (IBM) and National Semiconductor (NSM) have barreled into solar energy, joining hundreds of fellow technology mainstays. Virtually every chipmaker is weighing a solar play, says Rhone Resch, head of the Solar Energy Industries Association.  “We have a classic Silicon Valley land rush,” says T.J. Rodgers, CEO of Cypress Semiconductor (CY), which owns 56% of SunPower.Drawing the stalwarts is solar’s 40% annual growth, says Gartner analyst Jim Hines. The 50-year-old chip business is expanding only about 5% annually after years of torrid growth. (more…)

Albquerque, N.M., July 25, 2008
Source: Emcore Corp. press release/
http://www.emcore.com/investor

EMCORE Corporation,  a leading provider of Semi-conductor-based components and subsystems for the broadband, fiber-optic, satellite and terrestrial solar power markets, announced today that its world record Inverted Metamorphic (IMM) solar cell technology has been chosen by R&D Magazine for an R&D 100 award. This prestigious award recognizes the IMM solar cell as one of the most innovative technologies of 2008. (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: GlassOnWeb.com
http://www.glassonweb.com/news/index/7986/

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…)

Konarka’s Flexible Photovoltaic Solar Cells Packaged with Commercial, Low-Cost Materials Demonstrate Outstanding High Lifetime under Accelerated Conditions
LOWELL, Mass. June 24, 2008
Source Konarka Technologies Inc, press release
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080624005191&newsLang=en

Konarka Technologies, Inc., an innovator in development and commercialization of Power Plastic®, a material that converts light to energy, today announced that the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) has verified that the company’s flexible organic based photovoltaic (PV) solar cells demonstrate outstanding high lifetime after comprehensive environmental testing under accelerated conditions, including high temperature storage and prolonged illumination. (more…)

Why is it so expensive? What subsidies are available? And answers to other questions for the perplexed.
By YULIYA CHERNOVA, June 30, 2008
Source: The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121432258309100153.html

The idea of solar power sounds so simple. And it seems like it should be cheap compared to other sources of energy. After all, the sun is there, and it’s free.  But despite federal and some state government subsidies that have helped push up demand, solar power still accounts for less than 1% of power generation in the U.S. That’s because even with subsidies, solar power remains expensive compared with energy based on traditional fuels like coal and natural gas. (more…)

Commentary: Intel, H-P and IBM are making bets, but payoff likely years away
By Therese Poletti, MarketWatch
San Francisco, CA, July 3, 2008
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/tech-giants-try-revolutionize-solar/
story.aspx?guid=%7BC03FEA26-8456-46E9-A80F-22A06340B2CF%7D&dist=msr_1

As companies like Intel Corp., IBM Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have made moves in the solar power space, many have wondered if these high-tech heavyweights could use either their manufacturing or intellectual muscle to push down costs and thereby lower the price of solar power. Perhaps eventually, but not quite so fast. (more…)

by Mami Akasaka, Tech-On! Jun 26, 2008
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080626/153907/

Intellectual Property Bank Corp (IPB), a company engaged in consulting related to intellectual property in Japan, has announced its “Applicant Highest Score Rankings” based on the company’s proprietary method to evaluate the quality of solar cell-related patents.  IPB evaluates patent quality by creating indices for actions concerning the patents made by applicants, examiners and rivals, it said. This time, the company released rankings of the patent that has won the highest score among the patents owned by each applicant. As a result, Sharp Corp, Hokkaido University and Canon Inc topped the rankings. (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…)

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…)