Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Xcel switches on hybrid solar-coal power plant - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Xcel switches on hybrid solar-coal power plant - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

The mirrors focus the sun’s heat on a line of tubes filled with food-grade mineral oil. The oil is heated to about 575 degrees Fahrenheit, then the heat is transferred, heating water to about 360 degrees, according to Xcel.

The project includes eight rows of mirrors, 500 feet long, covering 6.4 acres, according to Xcel (NYSE: XEL).

The solar-heated water then is transferred to the 49-megawatt power plant’s existing coal-fired boiler, and heated to higher temperatures to produce the steam needed to spin turbine blades that generate electricity. Using solar-heated water cuts the amount of coal needed to produce steam, according to Xcel.

The combined, integrated use of solar power and coal is expected to increase the power plant’s efficiency by up to 5 percent, reduce the use of coal by 900 tons per year, and cut the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions by 2,000 tons per year.

20 Solar Cell Prototypes That Could Change the Future : TreeHugger

20 Solar Cell Prototypes That Could Change the Future : TreeHugger

algal_biofuels_roadmap.pdf BIOMASS PROGRAM this another form of Solar Energy

algal_biofuels_roadmap.pdf (application/pdf Object)

National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap
A technology roadmap resulting from the National Algal Biofuels Workshop
December 9-10, 2008
College Park, Maryland
Workshop and Roadmap sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office of the Biomass Program
Publication Date: May 2010

17.6% efficiency flexible CIGS solar cell on plastic developed at EMPA - Photovoltaics World

17.6% efficiency flexible CIGS solar cell on plastic developed at EMPA - Photovoltaics World

17.6% efficiency flexible CIGS solar cell on plastic developed at EMPA
http://www.pennenergy.com/etc/medialib/platform-7/pvworld/industry-news.Par.95156.Image.250.171.1.gif

Figure 1: Independently certified measurement of a 17.6% efficiency flexible CIGS solar cell under standard test condition performed at ISE Friburg, Germany.
(June 30, 2010) -- Flexible thin film solar cells on polymer film with a new record efficiency of 17.6% have been developed by the scientists at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology (EMPA). The 17.6% photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the flexible solar cells has been independently certified by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg, Germany.
http://www.pennenergy.com/etc/medialib/platform-7/pvworld/industry-news.Par.82965.Image.250.235.1.gif
Figure 2: Quantum efficiency measurement of a 17.6% efficiency flexible CIGS solar cell under standard test condition performed at ISE Friburg, Germany.

Scientists under the leadership of Dr. Ayodhya N. Tiwari at the Laboratory of Thin Film and Photovoltaics, EMPA, Dübendorf, Switzerland (http://www.empa.ch/tfpv) have been developing thin film solar cells based on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) semiconductor material, and the research group, while working at ETH Zurich in 2005, had developed 14.1% efficiency flexible CIGS solar cells on polymer film. Now, collaborating with FLISOM Company (www.flisom.ch), the group's process results in a 17.6% efficiency solar cell.

Development of high efficiency solar cells on plastic film is challenging because most of the polymer films used as substrate lack thermal stability for growth of high electronic and structural quality CIGS solar cell layers at high temperatures. High thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) of polymer causes a large stress in the layers deposited at high substrate temperature resulting in cracks and delamination of the solar cells from the substrate. Doctoral student Adrian Chirila and colleagues, working under the supervision of Dr. Tiwari, have been developing a vacuum evaporation process for growth of high-quality CIGS absorber layers at sufficiently low temperature of about 450C that is suitable for polyimide film as a flexible substrate for roll-to-roll manufacturing.

A large improvement in the efficiency of flexible cell, from a previous record value of 14.1% to a new record of 17.6% was achieved by reducing the optical and electronic losses in the CIGS solar cell structure. The most important factor was the optimisation of the composition gradient of Ga across the CIGS layer thickness and an appropriate incorporation of Na for doping during the final stage of the growth process. Consequently, an optimum band gap grading and larger grain size in CIGS layer resulted in a substantial increase in the efficiency of flexible solar cells. The photovoltaic measurements performed under the standard test condition at ISE Friburg confirmed 17.6% efficiency with Voc = 688 mV, Isc = 34.8 mA/cm2, FF = 73.6%.


Figure 3: Scanning electron microscopic image of the cross-section of a typical CIGS solar cell. http://www.pennenergy.com/etc/medialib/platform-7/pvworld/industry-news.Par.41469.Image.200.172.1.gif
The low temperature process for CIGS deposition offers a unique advantage that the same process and equipment can be used for polymer as well as metal foils. Flexible CIGS solar cells on metal foils with highest efficiency of ca 17.5% are generally grown at high temperatures above 550°C, while lower efficiencies were obtained on polymer films because of lower deposition temperature. The successful development of 17.6% efficiency flexible CIGS solar cell on polymer with a low temperature process has closed the efficiency gap between the solar cells on polymer and metal foils. This solar cell processing can be adapted for roll-to-roll manufacturing of monolithically connected solar modules on polymer films. Lower thermal budget and roll-to-roll manufacturing of high efficiency flexible CIGS solar cells will pave the way for substantial reduction in production cost of next generation of solar modules produced on large industrial scale in future.
Figure 4: Image of flexible CIGS solar cells on lightweight polymer film.
Figure 4: Image of flexible CIGS solar cells on lightweight polymer film.

Preliminary results of the flexible CIGS solar cell development were presented at the recent IEEE Photovoltaic Specialist Conference, June 21-25, Honolulu, HI, where Adrian Chirila also received a Student Award for the development of high-efficiency flexible CIGS solar cells and monolithically connected solar modules developed in collaboration with FLISOM Company.

For more information, contact Prof. Dr. Ayodhya N. Tiwari, Head, Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics (Abt. 130), EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology), Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; +41-44-8234130 (Direct); ayodhya.tiwari@empa.ch; www.empa.ch/tfpv

Source:
Photovoltaics World

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Solar Update - all the latest solar & PV news

"http://www.solarupdate.com/solar-pv-news.php">Solar Update - all the latest solar & PV news

MONITORING 27 SOLAR & PV NEWS SITES... http://www.solarupdate.com/solar-pv-news.php

Solar Industry Mag http://www.solarindustrymag.com/
PV Tech http://www.pv-tech.org/
IPVEA http://www.ipvea.com/
Renewable Energy World http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/
Solar Plaza http://www.solarplaza.com/
Renewable Energy Focus http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/
Photovoltaik http://www.photovoltaik.eu/
Forbes Solar News http://www.forbes.com/
Thin Film Today http://social.thinfilmtoday.com/
Thin Film Today sen.jpg Solar Energy Directory
Build-It Solar Solar Energy Directory
Solveclimate Blog http://solveclimate.com/
Intersolar DE http://www.intersolar.de/
Global Solar Technology - Industry http://globalsolartechnology.com/
Global Solar Technology - Technology http://globalsolartechnology.com/
Global Solar Technology - Trade Shows http://globalsolartechnology.com/
Renewable Energy Magazine http://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/
Pv Society-Breaking http://www.pvsociety.com/
Science Daily http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Google Solar News http://news.google.com/
Google PV News http://news.google.com/
Google Solar Blogsearch http://blogsearch.google.com/
Google PV Blogsearch http://blogsearch.google.com/
CalFinder http://solar.calfinder.com/
Solar Energy News http://www.esolarenergynews.com/
Topix http://www.topix.com/
Solar Energy Directory http://solarenergydirectory.com/

Sacramento Solar Company Hopes to Achieve Cost Parity With Nuclear, Coal | Get Solar.com

Sacramento Solar Company Hopes to Achieve Cost Parity With Nuclear, Coal | Get Solar.com

That's on par with nuclear and coal,

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Is Ivanpah the World's Most Efficient Solar Plant? : Greentech Media

Is Ivanpah the World's Most Efficient Solar Plant? : Greentech Media

domain-b.com : Efforts commence to convert waste CO2 into diesel fuel using solar energy

domain-b.com : Efforts commence to convert waste CO2 into diesel fuel using solar energy

An alliance of industry, academic and government organisations, formed to commercialise technologies that will utilise concentrated solar energy to convert waste carbon dioxide into diesel fuel, will soon be underway.

Dr. Farooq Abdullah Unveils Guidelines of Schemes under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission

Energetica-India : International Magazine on Renewable & Conventional Power Generation | Transmission | Distribution

The Minister pointed out that merely by distributing solar lanterns in remote areas and to nomadic populations, we can light up over a million homes. Similarly 1 million streetlights can illuminate streets in over one lakh villages. These efforts, he said, will also save the environment as 10 million lanterns can save 50 crore litres of kerosene in a year, which in turn can mitigate a potential subsidy bill of Rs. 1,000 to 1,500 crores in a year. Further, the huge entrepreneurial potentialities thrown up by the rapid adoption of these systems will create thousands of jobs as well as self-employment opportunities

Shri Solanki said that to ramp up capacity of grid-connected solar power generation to 1000 MW within three years – by 2013; an additional 3000 MW by 2017 through the mandatory use of the renewable purchase obligation by utilities backed with a preferential tariff are the programmes on the agenda. He said this capacity can be more than doubled – reaching 10,000 MW installed power by 2017 or more, depending upon the enhanced and enabled international finance and technology transfer. The ambitious target of the Mission for 2022 of 20,000 MW or more, will be dependent on the ‘learning’ of the first two phases, which if successful, could lead to conditions of grid-competitive solar power

SolarPV.TV - Business Of Solar PV In 2010 And BEYOND: Growth, Trends And Hot Spots -SolarPV.TV Monthly Market Update With ISuppli

SolarPV.TV - Business Of Solar PV In 2010 And BEYOND: Growth, Trends And Hot Spots -SolarPV.TV Monthly Market Update With ISuppli

Business of Solar PV in 2010 and BEYOND: Growth, Trends and Hot Spots -SolarPV.TV Monthly Market Update March 2010 with iSuppli

SunPower Sets Solar Cell Efficiency Record at 24.2% | Renewable Energy World

SunPower Sets Solar Cell Efficiency Record at 24.2% | Renewable Energy World


SunPower also announced that has reached a deal with French retailer Casino Group for the supply of 20 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic panels for solar power installations on Casino Group properties in mainland France.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Global Coal price is Rising.

Global Coal price is Rising.docx - Google Docs

Global Coal price is Rising


http://www.globalcoal.com/data/sample/englishCoalReport.pdf

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Friday, June 18, 2010

FITs: The ecstasy and the agony - Photovoltaics World

FITs: The ecstasy and the agony - Photovoltaics World



Figure 3: Demand in Germany vs. the rest of the world, 2000-2010



Figure 4 highlights demand in 2000, the birth of the solar FiT, along with 2009.

Figure 4: Global demand, 2000-2009

First Solar Continues to Raise the Performance Bar : Greentech Media

First Solar Continues to Raise the Performance Bar : Greentech Media

  • 2014 roadmap goal of 52 cents per watt at the panel level -- accomplished through efficiency gains and improvements in throughput
  • 14% module efficiency in 2014
  • Capex at 65 cents per watt factory capacity.
  • It takes only 2.5 hours for the factory to go from glass to module
  • 2012 production capacity will be 2 gigawatts
  • Energy Payback Time (EPBT) is .65 .8 years (EPBT includes manufacturing and installation). Garabedian challenged the silicon guys to lower their silicon consumption to keep up with the First Solar EPBT.
  • Q1 conversion efficiency was 11.1 percent, Q1 manufacturing cost was 81 cents per watt, Q1 revenue was $568 million

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Mass Production of the Innovative Pluto™ Solar Cell Technology

pluto_whitepaper.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Pluto Cell Technology: The Next Generation of Solar

After six years of intensive R&D, the world record holding PERL solar cell design from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has been successfully commercialized to Suntech’s production lines as Pluto™ solar cells and HiPerforma™ solar modules. Well exceeding efficiencies achieved by conventional screen-printing processes, Pluto technology has been independently verified to reach efficiencies of greater than 19% in mass production.

WESTERN WIND AND SOLAR INTEGRATION STUDY May 2010

wwsis_final_report.pdf (application/pdf Object)

WESTERN WIND AND SOLAR INTEGRATION STUDY May 2010


Wind was found to have capacity values of 10-15%;
Solar PV was 25-30%; and CSP with 6 hours of thermal energy storage was 90-95%
.

Highly efficient solar cells could result from quantum dot research

Highly efficient solar cells could result from quantum dot research
The maximum efficiency of the silicon solar cell in use today is about 31 percent. That's because much of the energy from sunlight hitting a solar cell is too high to be turned into usable electricity. That energy, in the form of so-called "hot electrons," is lost as heat.

If the higher energy sunlight, or more specifically the hot electrons, could be captured, solar-to-electric power conversion efficiency could be increased theoretically to as high as 66 percent.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Uni-Solar plots technology roadmap: 12% efficiencies at 95 cents per watt - Photovoltaics International

Uni-Solar plots technology roadmap: 12% efficiencies at 95 cents per watt - Photovoltaics International

GTM Research publishes 2009 PV cell and panel production analysis - Photovoltaics International

GTM Research publishes 2009 PV cell and panel production analysis - Photovoltaics International

SolFocus, CPV, Solar Systems, photovoltaic, solar tracker, solar panel manufacturers

SolFocus, CPV, Solar Systems, photovoltaic, solar tracker, solar panel manufacturers

Cap collects some Gulf oil; crude washes into Fla. - Yahoo! News

Cap collects some Gulf oil; crude washes into Fla. - Yahoo! News

ROV footage - live stream and Present position

Oil still leaking

"http://mxl.fi/bpfeeds2/"

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Solar cell - Bing Wikipedia

Solar cell - Bing Wikipedia

Japan's Shimizu Corporation Proposes Solar Power MegaProject for the Moon

Japan's Shimizu Corporation Proposes Solar Power MegaProject for the Moon The Shimizu Corporation, a Japanese construction firm, has proposed building tens of thousands of square kilometers of solar cells on the moon.

National Semiconductor's SolarMagic Chipset Makes Solar Panels "Smarter"

National Semiconductor's SolarMagic Chipset Makes Solar Panels "Smarter" Pricing and Availability
Pricing for National’s SM3320-1A1 board-level system and SM3320-REF chipset is based on the solar industry standard measure of dollar-per-watt. National’s SM3320 is available now and is priced at less than 12 cents per watt, depending on volume. For more information about National’s SolarMagic products or to place an order, visit http://www.solarmagic.com.

SolarMagic Raises Solar Panel Efficiency by 20% | Fast Company

SolarMagic Raises Solar Panel Efficiency by 20% | Fast Company Solar panels suffer from being an imperfect tech, and differences between the quality of each individual cell can even affect how efficiently the whole thing works. Enter National Semiconductor, with smart solar optimizer chips.

The electronics in National Semi's "SolarMagic" chips are the "solar industry's first" in-panel solution to optimizing the electrical light-to-power efficiency of photovoltaic solar panels, according to the press release, and NS is going as far as saying this means there's a whole new class of solar panel now: Smart panels.

SolarMagic's designed to circumvent the inefficiencies caused by "age, mismatch and shade" between the different photovoltaic cells that comprise a complete solar panel. Since each cell is typically a random arrangement of large semiconducting crystals, these

Is a Solar PPA Right for you.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Is a Solar PPA Right for you.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Rahus_SPPACustomersGuide_v20081005LR.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Rahus_SPPACustomersGuide_v20081005LR.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Roundtable: Bringing Down the Installed Cost of PV - Renewable Energy Video

Roundtable: Bringing Down the Installed Cost of PV - Renewable Energy Video

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

JA Solar to introduce new solar cell at Intersolar 2010

JA Solar to introduce new cost-effective, high-efficiency solar cell at Intersolar 2010. solar cell at Intersolar 2010

JA Solar to introduce new solar cell at Intersolar 2010 | AltEnergyMag Press Release

JA Solar to introduce new solar cell at Intersolar 2010 | AltEnergyMag Press Release

Ausra Co-Founder Returns With Solar Air Conditioner : Greentech Media

Ausra Co-Founder Returns With Solar Air Conditioner Multifunctional solar devices harvest both light and heat from the sun. Traditional PV cells only harvest light and are only around 23 percent efficient in converting photos to electric power. Solar thermal systems collect heat, and are about 48 percent efficient at best. Utility-scale solar thermal systems are closer to 20 percent efficient because the captured heat gets converted to electricity.

Chromasun's device is 75 percent efficient. The device – at 10 foot by 4 foot sealed box – is essentially a utility scale solar thermal plant and a utility-scale concentrating solar PV plant in miniature. It contains mirrors, receivers and a concentrator for generating solar thermal energy as well as silicon solar cells.: Greentech Media

Solar energy plant to be integrated to power grid - POWER-GEN WorldWide

Solar energy plant 850 MW to be integrated to power grid by SunCatcher solar dish- POWER-GEN WorldWide

Construction on coal-fired power plant deferred - POWER-GEN WorldWide

Construction on coal-fired power plant deferred - POWER-GEN WorldWide

Coal-fired power plants to be idled - POWER-GEN WorldWide

Coal-fired power plants to be idled - POWER-GEN WorldWide

Coal-fired IGCC power plant to be built after all, Miss. Power says - POWER-GEN WorldWide

Coal-fired IGCC power plant to be built after all, Miss. Power says - POWER-GEN WorldWide