Solar Cells Info

By Tim O’Connor Senior Writer    / 6 March 2007
source: Purdue Univ Exponent
http://www.purdueexponent.org/index.php?module=article&story_id=4690

Countless hours of work, $200,000 and a multidisciplinary team will soon produce better ways to harness the power of the sun.  The Purdue Solar Racing team is working on a brand new car in preparation for the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, a cross-country race.  The car will cost about $200,000, twice as much as the 2005 model it’s replacing. Despite the budget increase, Purdue’s car will still have trouble competing with rivals like Michigan and Stanford that can afford more efficient and more expensive solar cells.
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Pennington,N.J.-(Business Wire), March 5, 2007
Source: Worldwater & Power Corp. press release

WorldWater & Power Corp. (OTC BB: WWAT), developer and marketer of proprietary high-power solar systems, today announced that it has been awarded a contract worth $5.7 million by Bayshore Recycling Corp. for installation of a 700 kilowatt system at the company’s Keasbey, New Jersey, headquarters. Bayshore, a large regional recycler of construction debris, will utilize the solar installation to power a significant portion of its operations. The firm recycles concrete, asphalt, brick, block, and slag, which are processed and transformed into marketable products. The contract is subject to finanacing by the customer and approval of a rebate by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
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Solar panels in Australia following German shades.  Sunburnt country has few solar panels.
Peter Hannam /March 5, 2007
Source: Theage.com
http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/solar-panels-in-german-shades/2007/03/04/1172943275976.html

SOLAR power may score near the top of any carbon-correctness measure but its potential to ease Australia’s looming electricity shortages is its main selling point, according to BP Solar, the country’s biggest producer of photovoltaic (PV) panels.  “The uncaptured value of solar PV is in peak electricity with the additional benefit that it’s carbon-free,” said Mark Twidell, regional director of BP Solar Australasia.  Peak load demand is now growing at four times the pace of base, or average, demand in some states, according to BP Solar, driven by the wider use of air-conditioning and warmer summers. Federal government estimates put the peak load investment needs at $25 billion, Mr Twidell said.
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By New Mexico State University, 5 March 2007
Source:  Las Cruces Sun News
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_5357794

New Mexico State University’s Institute for Energy and the Environment recently completed installation of a data acquisition system and information kiosk at PNM’s new Sunflower solar panel array at Algodones.  The 23-kilowatt photovoltaic generating facility is located near Interstate 25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The location was chosen to increase public awareness that a clean alternative, renewable energy resource is being used by the state’s largest utility. The array was designed to resemble environmentally friendly sunflowers.
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March 2, 2007 /Written by The Naib, The Sietch Blog
http://www.blog.thesietch.org/2007/03/02/city-of-san-diego-unveils-1-megawatt-solar-system-at-citys-alvarado-water-treatment-plant/

City of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders today launched a new 1.135 megawatt solar power installation at San Diego’s Alvarado Water Treatment Plant. The panels produce about 20 percent of the plant’s power, with annual electricity savings estimated at $40,000.  The Alvarado photovoltaic installation was built under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with SunEdison, North America’s largest solar services company. Under the agreement, San Diego citizens benefit from clean, solar energy with no upfront cost, thereby avoiding an estimated $6.5 million in capital installation. SunEdison built, owns and will maintain the solar system. SunEdison will sell the solar energy to the City’s Water Department at costs lower than SDG&E rates.
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Darron Kloster
Source: Carmanah.com
http://www.carmanah.com/content/investors/showmediaclipping.aspx?id=070302

A Victoria company has been awarded a contract by the federal government to build the largest solar power project in Canada. Carmanah Technologies Corp. (TSX:CMH) confirmed yesterday it will begin erecting a 108-kilowatt solar power system on the roof of a federal building in Charlottetown, P.E.I. starting May 1.  The contract with Public Works and Government Services Canada is worth $1.42 million and will eclipse the capacity of a 100-kilowatt system that Carmanah installed at Exhibition Place in Toronto last year.
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By Andy McSmith /03 March 2007
Source:  Independent Newspaper UK
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2323404.ece

Ministers who imposed a cap on the number of homes that qualify for grants for “green” energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines following a sharp rise in consumer demand have come under pressure to scrap the monthly limit. The cap on grants was imposed last December as ministers became alarmed by the rising cost, pushed up by the willingness of home owners to spend money to reduce global warming.
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2 March 2007
Source:
http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=33373

Motoring accessory market leader, Projecta , has released an 80-watt solar panel, packed in a complete and practical travel kit ideal for campers and outback travellers wanting to power a compressor fridge. Providing the complete solution with a charging controller and two hinged solar panels, each 545 x 675 mm, the whole kit fits easily into the boot of a car.
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Feb 24, 2007
Source: The Molokai Times
http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/7224132618.asp

Governor Linda Lingle has released $5 million for photovoltaic systems to be installed in at least one public school in each of the four Hawai’i counties, as part of the state’s ongoing effort to increase Hawai’i’s energy self-sufficiency. A pilot program to determine the cost-effectiveness of solar panel systems in schools throughout the state will begin in March 2007. The Department of Education (DOE) will rate all public schools to determine the best locations to install the alternate energy systems, based on criterion such as solar mapping, area electrical rates and other scheduled maintenance.
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by Arabian Business Staff, 25 February 2007
source: ArabianBusiness.com
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8284

The government of Abu Dhabi will build a US$350m solar power plant, the first of its kind in the world’s biggest oil exporting region, an investor in the project has said. The 500 megawatt plant, expected to begin operations in 2009, is part of Abu Dhabi’s drive to cut dependence on hydrocarbon power generation, said Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive of state-owned Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.
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