Solar Cells Info

by Windsor Genova – AHN News Writer, New York, September 12, 2008
Source: AllHeadNews.com
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012276449

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon took a solar-powered cab to work on Friday to raise awareness about climate change and to promote environmentally-friendly technologies.  The ride on the Swiss-built Solartaxi took Ban from his home in New York to the UN Secretariat building. Louis Palmer, the Solartaxi’s inventor, drove him to his office. (more…)

Solar Projects Would Supply Enough Renewable Energy Equivalent to the Energy Needs of 239,000 Californian Homes
San Franscisco, CA., Aug 14, 2008
Source: SunPower Corp. press release
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=328221

Pacific Gas and Electric Company today announced it has entered into two utility-scale, photovoltaic (PV) solar power contracts for a total of 800 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy. This significant commitment to photovoltaic technology will deliver cumulatively 1.65 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy annually. This would be equivalent to the amount of energy needed to serve approximately 239,000 residential homes each year. PG&E entered into an agreement with Topaz Solar Farms LLC, a subsidiary of OptiSolar Inc., for 550 MW of thin-film PV solar power. The utility also signed a contract with High Plains Ranch II, LLC, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), for 250 MW of high-efficiency PV solar power. (more…)

San Jose, CA., Sept 09, 2008
Source: SunPower Corp. press release
http://investors.sunpowercorp.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=333249

SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency, solar cells, solar panels, and solar systems, today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has installed a 205-kilowatt SunPower solar-electric system atop the roof of the Forrestal Building in Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman dedicated the system at a ceremony being held at the facility today. (more…)

Source: EETimes Asia, 21 Aug 2008
http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800540499_765245_NT_811c0820.HTM

The large-scale photovoltaic (PV) demonstration project is now being prepared after the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Energy Division, Prime Minister’s Office (EDPMO) and Mitsubishi Corp. in Brunei Darussalam. In this project, a PV system with a capacity of 1.2MW, which is the largest in Southeast Asia, will be built at Seria Power Station in Belait District, Brunei. Verification tests and evaluations for three years will be made after the start of the PV system installation and will be supervised by the combined efforts of EDPMO, the Department of Electrical Services and Mitsubishi. This is part of the MOU of the PV system agreement in Brunei Darussalam. (more…)

Source: ET Solar group press release / July 9, 2008
http://www.etsolar.com/en/ns_305__759.html

ET Solar Group Corp. (“ET Solar”), a Nanjing-based vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products including ingots, wafers, modules, and state-of-the-art dual-axis tracking systems with manufacturing facilities located in Taizhou, China, announced today a module sales agreement with Techwin Co Ltd. (“Techwin”), a leading Korean company in plant engineering and environmental technology development.  Under the contract, ET Solar will supply 500 kilowatt of PV modules to Techwin, in the third quarter of this year. (more…)

Source: ET Solar Group Corp. press release/ Aug. 8, 2008

ET Solar Group Corp. (“ET Solar”), a Nanjing-based vertically integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products including ingots, wafers, modules, and state-of-the-art dual-axis tracking systems with manufacturing facilities located in Taizhou, China, announced today that it has donated multiple PV systems to eight remote Tibetan villages.  ET Solar donated multiple PV systems worth nearly one million RMB, which will provide electricity for the eight Tibetan villages. These villages are located in a remote rural area that is more than 4,000 meters high and not connected to any electricity grid system. (more…)

Nanjing, China, Aug. 29, 2008
Source: ET Solar Group Corp. press release
http://www.etsolar.com/en/ns_305__777.html

ET Solar Group Corp. (“ET Solar”), a Nanjing-based solar power solution provider and integrated manufacturer of photovoltaic products including ingot, wafer, module, and state-of-the-art dual-axis tracking systems with manufacturing facilities located in Taizhou, China, announced today a master agreement for the turn-key construction of solar power plants for Wattner Group of Cologne (“Wattner”), a German initiator of closed-end energy and infrastructure funds.  Under the agreement, ET Solutions AG, the solar power solution arm of ET Solar, will deliver solar installations to Wattner worth of 200 million EUR. The solar power plants will be realized primarily in Southern Europe within the next 5 years. (more…)

By William Pentland, Forbes, August 29, 2008 Source: CBCNews.ca http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/08/27/f-forbes-saudisolar.html

In the wake of the first Gulf War, the U.S. Army assessed Saudi Arabia’s solar energy resource potential in a classified effort to determine how oil fires had affected the region. The results were clear and surprising. In addition to being a vast petroleum repository, the desert nation was also the heart of the most potentially productive region on the planet for harvesting power from the sun. In other words, Saudi Arabia was the Saudi Arabia of solar energy. (more…)

by Mark Selfe / 02 September 2008
Source: RedHerring.com
http://www.redherring.com/blogs/24784

It was the Greek philosopher Plato who first coined the phrase ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and given the current global food shortage and ever increasing population trend, his old adage could never be more appropriately illustrated than with the latest plan to bring life to the barren sands of the Sahara.  The ingenious plan, known as the Sahara Forest Project is simple: combine huge greenhouses with concentrated solar power (CSP) and plain old seawater. The solar power provides electricity for the farm of greenhouses, the desalination of the seawater provides both the freshwater and cooling required to grow a wide variety of crops. (more…)

Source: http://www.artemide.us/    Sept. 4, 2008
http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/solar_tree_to_debut_in_venice_10997.asp

Solar Tree, created by Ross Lovegrove, was developed and produced by Artemide in collaboration with Sharp Solar, world leader in solar cells production. This revolutionary urban lighting project works with the most advanced solar technology respecting not only environmental issues but also cultural and social aspects of today’s world. Solar Tree demanded very complex studies and analyses which Artemide has conducted with great commitment and sensitivity regarding ecological demands.

“Artemide has been considering social responsibility and sustainability for a long while now” says Ernesto Gismondi, the President of Artemide. “Respecting life, environment and all the natural resources available means facing the energy saving issue in a very serious way. Consequently advanced and high technical capacity technologies are created”. “Solar Tree is a project that celebrates design, nature and art”, says Ross Lovegrove, one of the most famous contemporary designers.

“Solar Tree represents the DNA of our time and it also shows it is possible to create beautiful things using the most advanced technology” Solar Tree is a sinuous tree made of steel pipes each one supporting a light bubble, to which there are 38 sophisticated solar cells connected to a battery system and to an electronic device hidden in its base. The light source consists of an array of LEDs which is the most advanced technology in lighting today.

After the great success obtained at MAK in Vienna (October 2007), in one of the most prestigious squares in Milano – Piazza della Scala – (November 2007) and in the wonderful Champs Elysees in Paris (February 2008), Solar Tree’s european tour continues. From April 6th will be in Frankfurt-am-Main at Light + Building 2008

Ross Lovegrove’s Solar Trees have been on tour in cities across Europe and make their next stop in Venice at the Biennale dell’ Architettura. Designed to resemble a bouquet of flowers, the petals are lined with LED bulbs and photovoltaic cells. During the day the flower absorbs energy to recharge a battery pack which illuminates the LED bulbs at dusk.

Arguably this is not a new idea, every year designers and design students pump out their version of this concept but it seems it’s going to take the efforts of prominent design figure Lovegrove and heavyweight lighting manufacture Artemide to raise the public awareness.