Solar Cells Info

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.
(more…)

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.
(more…)

New Vision (Kampala), April 9, 2007
Juliet Waiswa, Kampala
source:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200704100203.html

AS the country prepares for the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November, Winafrique Alternative Power Limited (WAP) in collaboration with Kampala City Council, have installed a new street lighting system along Entebbe Road.  The reliable system of lighting comes in handy when the hydro-electric power from UMEME is increasingly becoming unreliable, yet with high charges. The lighting system has come in as a pilot project, first along Entebbe Road, and if successful will spread to other roads, especially in Kampala.
(more…)

MotorHome /April 9, 2007
source: Motorhome Magazine
http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/output.cfm?ID=1227565

Coachmen Industries Inc. recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Natural Source Energy Systems Inc. (NSESI) to research and develop recreational vehicles and systems-built structures that take advantage of environmentally friendly biodiesel fuel and solar power.

Coachmen Industries is providing NSESI with a Sportscoach Class A diesel pusher, a Coachmen Class C diesel motorhome and a Coachmen fifth-wheel trailer. NSESI will adapt the Coachmen units to incorporate new state-of-the-art, high-efficiency solar panels. Once the prototypes are ready, the companies will put the RVs through extensive testing using solar energy and biodiesel fuel across the country.
(more…)

Photovoltaic panels atop parking shelters for 700 vehicles will meet 20% of campus electricity base demand

FRESNO, Calif., March 22, 2007
source: Chevron Eenrgy Solutions /press release
http://www.chevronenergy.com/news_room/default.asp?pr=pr_20070323.asp

Construction has begun at California State University, Fresno on a solar panel-topped parking structure system being built by Chevron Energy Solutions, a Chevron (NYSE: CVX) subsidiary, that will be the largest of its kind at any university in the United States.  Photovoltaic panels installed atop 10 metal shelters that will shade more than 700 parking spaces from the San Joaquin Valley sun, will convert the sun’s energy into 1 megawatt of electricity. That’s about 20 percent of the university’s base demand and equivalent to the power needs of 1,000 homes, said Cynthia Teniente-Matson, Fresno State vice president for administration and chief financial officer.
(more…)

11 April 2007
source: BBC News
http://www.newbuilder.co.uk/news/NewsFullStory.asp?ID=1925

Bus shelters in Manchester, UK are to be revamped and fitted with solar-powered panels in order to improve passenger safety and energy efficiency. Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) has agreed to spend £100,000 on 49 bus shelters. Roof-mounted solar panels will generate electricity during the day which is then stored in batteries to light up the bus shelter at night-time. The new shelters were first trialled at two bus stops last year.
(more…)

14 March 2007
http://www.spectrawatermakers.com/
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/productstory?id=47756

If a natural disaster strikes, clean drinking water and emergency electricity can now be made readily available through the Solar Cube. Completely portable and easily assembled on site, the Solar Cube is powered by sunlight and wind, and can provide up to 3,500 gallons of clean drinking water per day from polluted water or salt water – enough to sustain hundreds of families during a disaster.  It can also provide enough energy for emergency disaster officials to power refrigeration for emergency medical supplies, keep a laptop on-line, or ensure that crisis communications equipment remains operational.
(more…)

Source: Reuters /April 4, 2007
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/04/05/10116002.html

London: The British government published plans yesterday to rip the red tape out of home electricity generation such as wind and solar power to help householders play their part in the fight against global warming.  The Department for Communities and Local Government’s consultation document proposed changes to short circuit planning regulations that currently make actions like installing a rooftop wind turbine a bureaucratic quagmire.
(more…)

Geneva, April 2, 2007
Source: Powerlight Crop/ Press Release
http://www.powerlight.com/about/press2006_page.php?id=60

PowerLight, a leading global provider of large scale solar power systems and a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR), announced today that its Swiss subsidiary, PowerLight Systems S.A., has entered into an agreement with Agrupacion Solar Llerena-Badajoz 1, A.I.E. and Solarpack Corporacion Tecnologica, S.L., to design and build a solar electric power plant in Llerena, Spain. The plant is expected to generate approximately 4.8 megawatts of peak power.
(more…)

source: Azobuildnews /April 2, 2007
http://www.azobuild.com/news.asp?newsID=3344

Spread across a hillside pasture amid olive trees, 52,000 shimmering photovoltaic modules in one of the world’s largest solar power plants have begun generating enough electricity for 8,000 homes, GE, PowerLight Corp. and Catavento SA announced today.  After eight months of construction and testing, GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric, PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation and Catavento dedicated the 11-megawatt Serpa solar power plant today, on schedule. The facility — a model of clean power generation integrated with agriculture — is in one of Europe’s sunniest areas, in Portugal’s Alentejo agricultural region in the town of Serpa, 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Lisbon.
(more…)