Solar Cells Info

Associated Press/Dec 18, 2006
source: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650216002,00.html

HONOLULU — Niihau’s only school will soon be powered by the sun. The privately owned island off the west coast of Kauai has only about 160 residents, and it’s school is currently powered only by generators. The new power system will allow the school to have a refrigerator and freezer as well as computers and printers for the first time, said Daniel Hamada, the district superintendent for the state Department of Education.

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by Gordon Feller, November 27, 2006
Source: Ecoworld.com
http://www.ecoworld.com/home/articles2.cfm?tid=408

Since 1967, up to 2.1 gigawatts of electricity has been generated from the Aswan High Dam. How soon will solar power match and exceed this prodigious output? To ensure adequate provision of electricity, the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company now projects requiring on average about 1,500 MW of new capacity each year. To ensure adequate provision of electricity, the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) — a near-monopolist responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity — now projects requiring on average about 1,500 MW of new capacity each year. The government says that renewable energy projects should play a part in Egypt’s generation plan. Indeed, 145 MW of wind-turbines have already been installed and are operational, performing well at an average capacity factor of 42%.

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With enough power for 1,000 average homes, Google’s will be the largest solar electricity installation of any company in the country.

By Mark LaPedus/ EE Times  Oct 17, 2006
source:
http://www.informationweek.com/industries/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193303376

SAN JOSE, Calif. — EI Solutions, the systems integration arm of Energy Innovations Inc., will begin constructing a solar electricity system for Google’s Mountain View, Calif.-based headquarters.

With a total capacity of 1.6 megawatts — enough to supply 1,000 average California homes — Google’s headquarters will be the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world, according to the search engine specialist.

The project will involve 9,212 solar panels provided by Sharp Electronics. A majority will be placed on the rooftops of some of the buildings in the “Googleplex” and parking lots. The solar energy will be used to power several of Google’s Mountain View office facilities.

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Voltwerk fires the starting pistol for a solar energy park with thin film technology

– One of the world’s biggest solar energy parks with thin film technology
– Investment volume amounting to around EUR 7 million

Hamburg, 07.June 2006:
Source: Voltwerk AG (http://www.voltwerk.de/en/)

Voltwerk AG of Hamburg has commissioned SunTechnics GmbH to build one of the world’s biggest solar energy parks with thin film technology. In the Bavarian town of Mering, to the south of Augsburg, the company will be installing by this summer, on an area of five hectares, solar modules with a total power output of 1.7 megawatts. The solar power plant, costing a total of around EUR 7 million, will then produce around 1.9 million kilowatt hours of solar power every year, and feed it into the national grid. Over 500 households could thus be provided with eco-friendly electricity all year round. With its 1,250 kilowatt hours of sunlight per square meter per year, the location offers ideal conditions for the exploitation of solar energy.

“Mering is in one of the sunniest regions in Germany. We are delighted that in the new solar energy park we are now also exploiting these favorable conditions for the purpose of power generation, and thus contributing to a rising proportion of electricity from regional sources,” explains Hans-Dieter Kandler, the Mayor of Mering.

Thin film technology is considered to be a promising supplement to conventional, silicon-based modules. A growing proportion of solar power installations are already being constructed using this technology, as a result of its resource-saving production process. Solar modules based on thin film technology generate more energy, particularly on cloudy days and at dawn and dusk. They also deliver better results than silicon modules at high temperatures. At times when there is a shortage of silicon, availability is an important argument for the use of thin film modules. “The use of thin film technology enables us to meet the high demand for lucrative capital in-vestments in the field of solar energy, and additionally to increase our project volumes,” explains Nikolaus Krane, CEO of voltwerk AG. In the case of thin film modules the material is vacuum metallized onto glass in a thin film, with the result that the solar-active film makes up only one percent of the finished module.