Solar Cells Info

Waterloo, August 13, 2007
Nicole O’Reilley, Record Staff
Source: TheRecord.com
http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/227560

Nineteen years after a solar-powered car was unveiled for the first time at University of Waterloo, the newest incarnation of the car has taken a practical twist.  “It’s not as fast, or as sleek as in past years, but it’s much more practical,” project manager Cameron Bruce said of Midnight Sun IX.

Bruce, a 2007 graduate in mechanical engineering, was part of the 15-member team that unveiled the solar car yesterday at a UW parking lot.  The team will drive Midnight Sun IX in the World Solar Challenge from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28 in Australia.
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By Tessa Salazar, Inquirer /with Cyril L. Bonabente, Inquirer Research
Manila, Philippines, August 8, 2007
Source: Inquirer.net
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/sports/view_article.php?article_id=81411

In an ironical twist, tropical storm “Chedeng” postponed the scheduled unveiling on Wednesday of a Philippine-made solar-powered car named Sinag (sun ray), designed to compete in a 3,000-kilometer race in Australia.  But despite the shadow of Chedeng — also Filipino street slang for a Mercedez Benz — Sinag’s creators from the De La Salle University (DSLU) still feel sunny about their chances in the 20th Panasonic World Solar Challenge, an eight-day race across the Australian outback this October.
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By: Briony Smith, IT World Canada , 17 Aug 2007
Source: ITWorld Canada.com
http://www.itworldcanada.com/a/News/cd6b854b-b9b1-4f7a-887f-621edbc3b47c.html

Queen’s University’s solar-powered vehicle program just got a great boost in its quest to craft the best solar vehicle in the world, thanks to Lenovo’s donation of some high-end hardware.  Queen’s has a long-standing stake in the world of solar-powered vehicle racing, having hosted a team for the last two decades. The university’s Solar Vehicle Team, led by senior engineering student Jonathan Mash, is in the process of putting the finishing touches on Aurum, the university’s eleventh solar vehicle. Come autumn, the eight-man team will maneuver the vehicle 3,000 km down the length of Australia, from Darwin to Adelaide, in the World Solar Challenge.
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Entrepreneurs race to claim title of largest power plant
August 15, 2007
By Viktor Velek, Staff Writer
Source: Prague Post Online
http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2007/08/15/

Czechs, who for a long-time have been inert to the energy potential of the sun, are suddenly turning into solar energy enthusiasts. Although the country is covered by an oft-clouded sky that allows in relatively modest sunlight, more and more companies are seeking to harness the sun, leading to a boom of solar powe plant construction. Sun farms are mushrooming as the use of renewable energy sources has become a matter of state concern — and state funding. Companies have been leapfrogging one another in a race for what each invariably calls “the biggest Czech solar power plant.” (more…)

By Matthew Knight for CNN
London, England (CNN), August 15, 2007
Source: CNN Future
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/08/15/fs.solarbikini/

Over the past 20 years technology has been shrinking in size as fast as it has been expanding our communication and entertainment horizons.  Designer and inventor of the solar bikini Andrew Schneider estimates that you can charge your iPod shuffle in around two hours.  Today’s latest gadgets are so refined and petite that they clip on to a belt or slip easily into a pocket or a bag. The next challenge confronting designers and engineers is to make technology not only portable but also wearable.
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Tucson, Az, July 30, 2007
Source: Tucson Electric Power, press release
http://www.tucsonelectric.com/Company/News/PressReleases/ReleaseTemplate.asp?idRec=281

Tucson Electric Power (TEP) has been awarded a $100,000 federal grant for developing new methods to evaluate how effectively solar energy systems can replace traditional utility generating resources. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Initiative, which supports research and development efforts to encourage the use of solar energy. (more…)

By  Suhas Sreedhar /16 July 2007
Source. spectrum.ieee.org
http://spectrum.ieee.org/jul07/5370
Technique combines different photovoltaic materials to increase efficiency

Scientists in Korea and California have invented a new way of boosting the efficiency of cheap plastic solar cells, making them more competitive with traditional silicon solar cells. The key is to make the solar cells in pairs. The tandem cells, as they are called, consist of two layers of different types of light-absorbing, electron-emitting plastics, and the combination converts a broader spectrum of light into energy than either could do alone.
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Private equity drying up for thin film solar cell startups, says The Information Network
TIN – July 17, 2007
Source: Tekrati.com
http://www.tekrati.com/research/News.asp?id=9116

A severe shortage of polysilicon used for solar cell production led to a stampede of startups trying to enter the market using thin film technology, according to a market study by The Information Network examining opportunities in the solar cell market for thin film technology.  “We’ve literally had a hundred individuals purchasing our report to use as part of a business plan to enter the market,” said Dr. Robert Castellano, founder and president of The Information Network. “Nearly everyone asked about starting a 20MW production plant for $40 million in equipment, and the vast majority wanted to start a CIGS line.”

Private equity money is drying up, according to the report, for a number of reasons. The much ballyhooed startup Nanosolar is notable for grabbing $120 million to use CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide) technology. However, the company was started in 2002 and production is scheduled for late 2007 at a former Cisco manufacturing facility in San Jose, California. That translates to a development time of more than 5 years.
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Thin Film’s Time in the Sun : First Solar’s thin-film technology is now challenging silicon panels at large-scale solar-power facilities.
By Peter Fairley, July 27, 2007
Source: Technologyreview.com
http://www.technologyreview.com/Biztech/19095/

The low manufacturing cost of photovoltaics that employ thin films of cadmium-telluride semiconductor have long been seen as having the potential for lifting solar power from its niche status as a very expensive power source, delivering less than a twentieth of 1 percent of U.S. electricity.  Now, after two decades in which cadmium-telluride technology was dogged by low power output and reliability problems, it’s suddenly elbowing its way into renewable-energy markets and competing with today’s dominant solar technology: silicon solar panels. The company behind this technology turnaround is Phoenix-based First Solar, which says that the technology could eventually be cost competitive with conventional fossil-fuel sources of electricity.
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Glen Allen, Virginia / August 6, 2007
Source: Nanomarkets.net
http://www.nanomarkets.net/news/pr_detail.cfm?PRID=215

The world thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) market is forecast to reach $7.2 billion by 2015, compared to just over $1.0 billion today, according to a new report that is being released this week by NanoMarkets LC, an industry analyst firm based here. Additional details are available on the firm’s website at www.nanomarkets.net. Accredited press may request an Executive
Summary of the report. (more…)