Clipmarks | Naomi-K's 'photovoltaics' clips

Sahara Forest Project Will Generate Fresh Water, Solar Power & Crops in African Desert

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:17:21 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: This sounds like a really good idea. I am sure it will cost a fraction of the defense budget of certain countries.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Last week, a trio of visionaries launched the Sahara Forest Project to combine two innovative technologies, concentrated solar power (CSP) and seawater greenhouses, to produce renewable energy, water and food in the Sahara -the hottest place on earth.

The Sahara Forest Project aims to provide a new source of fresh water, food and renewable energy in hot, arid regions, as well as providing conditions that enable re-vegetating areas of desert. The Sahara is used here as a metaphor for any desert that formerly supported vegetation and could do so again, given sufficient water.

Seawater Greenhouses have been built in some of the hottest regions on earth, Abu Dhabi and Oman for example, where they create freshwater from seawater, while providing cooler and more humid growing conditions

Concentrated solar power is increasingly seen as one of the most promising forms of renewable energy, producing electricity from sunlight at a fraction of the cost of photovoltaics.

Tags: renewable energy, fresh water, sahara

The Sahara Forest Project

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:52:06 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Clever plan. Would cost.

Clip Source: www.exploration-architecture.com

The Sahara Forest Project combines two proven technologies in a new way to create multiple benefits: producing large amounts of renewable energy, food and water as well as reversing desertification. A major element of the proposal is the Seawater Greenhouse - a brilliant invention that creates a cool growing environment in hot parts of the world and is a net producer of distilled water from seawater. The second technology, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) involves concentrating the sun's heat to create steam that drives conventional turbines, producing zero carbon electricity twice as efficiently as photovoltaics. The two technologoes have very promising synergies that make the economic case even more attractive.

Client - Seawater Greenhouse Limited

Architect - Exploration

Environmental Engineer - Max Fordham & Partners

Solar Will Beat Oil

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:29:06 GMT

clipped by: gingembre
clipper's remarks: This article gives me some hope.

A bit more: "Enough total solar energy shines on the earth during a 40-minute period of time to power the entire world economy for a year. We only need to harness a tiny portion of this sunshine to make a huge difference in the world: environmentally, politically and economically."

Clip Source: www.motherearthnews.com

This Habitat for Humanity house utilizes solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels turn sunlight directly into electricity, and production and conversion efficiencies of this hardware are skyrocketing

Industry analysts think the price of photovoltaics will drop to $1 per installed watt by 2010. That’s a magic number because it’s the point at which solar-generated electricity becomes competitive with electricity produced from fossil fuels

Several countries are right on top of this

March 2007, Spain began requiring all new, non-residential buildings to generate a portion of their electricity with photovoltaics

China is poised to become the world’s largest producer of photovoltaic cells this year

Germany now boasts more than 300,000 buildings with solar panels

as fossil fuels become more expensive and politically troublesome, those early “kick-start” subsidies offered by forward-looking governments will look like good investments indeed

Tags: solar power

Solar powered cars...coming soon i hope

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 18:01:53 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: The more progress we make in devloping alternative, renewable sources of energy, the more we stick it to the corrupt regemes in the middle east...if only that seemed like a priority of the Bush administration.

Clip Source: www.renewableenergyaccess.com

Grid-Connected Cars and Renewables: Understanding the Potential

Although solar photovoltaics (PV) is not viewed as cost-effective without significant subsidy when compared to grid power, it begins to look interesting when compared to the price of gasoline for transportation. Furthermore, the opportunity that solar hybrids offer is exciting, whereby a new generation of solar PV technology is developed specifically for vehicle integrated (VIPV) applications (see Solar Today, May/June 2006, Letendre, Perez, and Herig).

Tags: alternative energy, energy, solar, solar power, cars, oil

IBM Research Unveils Breakthrough In Solar Farm Technology

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:13:13 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

IBM today announced a research breakthrough in photovoltaics technology that could significantly reduce the cost of harnessing the Sun's power for electricity.

By mimicking the antics of a child using a magnifying glass to burn a leaf or a camper to start a fire, IBM scientists are using a large lens to concentrate the Sun’s power, capturing a record 230 watts onto a centimeter square solar cell, in a technology known as concentrator photovoltaics, or CPV. That energy is then converted into 70 watts of usable electrical power, about five times the electrical power density generated by typical cells using CPV technology in solar farms.

IBM believes it can significantly reduce the cost of a typical CPV based system. By using a much lower number of photovoltaic cells in a solar farm and concentrating more light onto each cell using larger lenses, IBM’s system enables a significant cost advantage in terms of a lesser number of total components.

Tags: energy, solar power

New Electric Car - Mitsubishi

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:35:46 GMT

clipped by: katura
clipper's remarks: This one will go into production 2009...

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

i-MIEV SPORT: Mitsubishi Launches New Electric Sports Car

One of the most innovative electric sports cars by Mitsubishi, the i-MIEV Sport, was just shown off at the Tokyo Motor Show. This cute and sporty beetle-esque electric car comes with optional photovoltaics for solar power, and will be powered by a pack of Li-ions that will allow drivers to go about 100 miles before needing to recharge. While concept electric vehicles are released every year that never make it into production, this snappy little vehicle gives us hope for the future, because it will go into production in 2009.

Tags: new, car, electric, environment

Solar breakthrough: now households can power the grid

Tue, 01 May 2007 16:54:52 GMT

clipped by: Wadard
clipper's remarks: Australia's future energy may be secured by a grid of good, old fashioned, trusty nuclear. Nuclear families, that is, and the roofs over their heads linked into a giant electranet, if the following breakthrough in photovoltaic cells holds true to its market promise.

Clip Source: www.theage.com.au

Researchers at the University of New South Wales ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence have developed a means of increasing the cell's light-trapping ability by up to 50 per cent.

such improvement to an electric solar system could power an average house with panels covering 10 square metres.

"Overall, our new solar cells increase power generated by 30 per cent," said Dr Kylie Catchpole, co-author of the study.

Prices for an installed solar system for an average house could fall 25 per cent from $20,000 to $15,000 once the technology filters through, the researchers say.

There are only 30,000 Australian households - out of eight million - which have solar panels for electricity.

If this solar system is used with a solar heating system for water and cooking, the excess power generated can be sent back to the power grid.

Tags: solar power

Alternative Energy News

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:09:40 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator
clipper's remarks: This site is an open source for news and information about renewable energy technologies. Browse the articles and press releases, the latest news, discussion forums, and mix-up of other media from sources like Flickr and YouTube. Our goal is to raise awareness about clean energy sources using any means necessary. Got an idea? Contact us.

Clip Source: www.alternative-energy-news.info

Alternative Energy News

Clip Source: www.alternative-energy-news.info

Latest News

Solar Cell Production Jumps 50 Percent in 2007

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:49:39 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.earth-policy.org

Production of photovoltaics (PV) jumped to 3,800 megawatts worldwide in 2007, up an estimated 50 percent over 2006. At the end of the year, according to preliminary data, cumulative global production stood at 12,400 megawatts, enough to power 2.4 million U.S. homes. Growing by an impressive average of 48 percent each year since 2002, PV production has been doubling every two years, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy source.

A key force driving the advancement of thin-film technologies is a polysilicon shortage that began in April 2004.

The top five PV-producing countries are Japan, China, Germany, Taiwan, and the United States. (See data.) Recent growth in China is most astonishing: after almost tripling its PV production in 2006, it is believed to have more than doubled output in 2007.

Germany has been the leading market for PV installations since it overtook Japan in 2004. In 2006, Germany, adding 1,050 megawatts

Tags: energy, solar, i-supply, i-increase, i-acceleration

Solar Cell Breaks Conversion Record

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 23:15:46 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Superefficient, Cost-Effective Solar Cell Breaks Conversion Records

A tiny solar cell doubles the efficiency of common photovoltaics' conversion of sunlight to electricity by capturing the energy from a broader spectrum of light.


	Image: COURTESY OF SPECTROLAB
	SOLAR EFFICIENCY: New solar cells capture more of the energy in sunlight by layering semiconducting material on top of germanium wafers, pictured here.

A tiny chip similar to the solar cells carried by many satellites and other spacecraft today--including the surprisingly long-lived Mars Rovers--has shattered previous records for maximum efficiency in producing electricity from sunlight. "This is the photovoltaic equivalent of the four-minute mile," affirms Larry Kazmerski, director of the Department of Energy's National Center for Photovoltaics in Colorado. "This is a disruptive technology that eventually could provide us, at least in the Southwest, with cost-competitive electricity fairly quickly."

The specifics: a germanium wafer is spun at high speeds and subjected to various gases that encourage the growth of layers of semiconducting material such as gallium arsenide. "We have somewhere between 20 and 30 layers of semiconductor material," explains David Lillington, president of Spectrolab, Inc., which developed the new cell. The resulting layers in one single solar device respond to different spectra of light. The top layer, for example, captures the energy of blue light while the middle layer absorbs green and the bottom uses red. Such triple-junction solar cells are specially tuned to work with concentrated light, in this case the wattage of 240 suns.

Tags: solar cells, environment

Photovoltaics - How they Work

Fri, 09 May 2008 11:30:20 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: It'd be nice to see a video of this....
The photovoltaic effect was first discovered in 1839.
The first photovoltaic cells were made in 1918.

Since then Einstein developed photovoltaics. There was a lot of research and development during the 1960's Space Race, when satellites were powered by solar panels.

The 1970's saw the beginning of residential solar use. For houses living far off the electricity grid, photovoltaics made financial sense.

Prices have since fallen from $30 a watt down to $7 a watt for residential installations.

Now due to technology advancing and power costs rising, the price of solar energy is still falling. The future of solar energy looks bright indeed.

Clip Source: solartradingpost.com

To understand how photovoltaics work, you first need to understand a bit about solar energy. Basically, sunlight is loaded with photons. Think of these as little packages of solar energy. Photovoltaics are panels that turn this sun power into electricity. They are usually made from silicon and small amounts of boron.

When the photons from sunlight hit a silicon molecule, they knock loose one of its free-floating electrons. This electron hits another silicon molecule, shunting it's electron out of it's molecule. This starts a chain reaction, rather like one domino striking another, which knocks over another, and another....

The final result of this chain reaction is what is known as an flow of electrons, or an electrical current.

China's Fuel Efficiency Kicks America's Butt

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 06:16:49 GMT

clipped by: Rasmus

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

The Toronto Star reported an alarming factoid earlier this month:

No gasoline-powered car assembled in North America would meet China's current fuel-efficiency standard.

That's mainly because:

Their standard is much higher than ours is currently.
Their standard is a minimum-allowable efficiency standard, not a "fleet-average" standard like ours.
Our lame car companies don't make their (relatively few) most efficient vehicles in this country.

As for our much-hyped new 35-mpg (average) standard -- it will take us in 2020 to where the Chinese are now (but not even to where Japan and Europe were six years ago). If we don't rescind it, that is. So whether you believe in human-caused global warming or peak oil, America remains unprepared to capture the huge explosion in jobs this century for clean, fuel-efficient cars.

Oh, and by 2010, China will be the world leader in wind turbine manufacturing and solar photovoltaics manufacturing.

Tags: fuel efficiency, cafe, global warming, china, climate change

Cheaper than Coal...

Sat, 24 May 2008 10:37:43 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Several solar companies have announced that they can produce solar panels that have a cheaper dollars per watt price tag than coal.

While these don't seem to have reached the domestic market yet, it's and interesting development.

Clip Source: www.solartradingpost.com

I think that’s probably the first question that comes into people’s minds when considering buying solar panels for their home.

How much will it cost? And will it save me more than it costs?

To know this, you will need to calculate the photovoltaic cost per kilowatt for a home.

Because the cost of photovoltaics, or any solar panel, is not just the initial cost. It’s calculated over its lifetime. It’s rather like buying a house. You could say ‘is this an expensive house?’

Similarly, solar energy prices are relative. As other energy prices change (like coal, gas or hydro-electric,) solar energy becomes relatively more or less expensive. So at the moment oil prices are rising. That makes solar electricity a bit cheaper compared with oil. However coal is still relatively less per watt than solar.

Solar US Cities

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 13:24:52 GMT

clipped by: Lubaska

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

12 New Solar America Cities Chosen

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 12 new Solar America Cities, bringing the number from 13 to 25 in total, and moving along the $2.4 million initiative to provide up to $200,000 per city to build solid solar infrastructures. The announcement came at the New Frontiers in Energy Summit 2008 in Denver, Colorado, which is among the 2008 Solar America Initiative (SAI) cities. The overall program goals are to facilitate adoption of solar technology by individuals and businesses and to make solar electricity from photovoltaics a cost-competitive energy choice by 2015.

The newly selected Solar America Cities are Denver, Colorado; Houston, Texas; Knoxville, Tennessee; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Minneapolis - St. Paul, Minnesota; Orlando, Florida; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, Washington; and three cities in California including San Jose, Santa Rosa and Sacramento.

Tags: usa, cities, solar energy

Solar Cell Industry -- 26 gigawatts by 2015

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:54:23 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

Clip Source: www.renewableenergyworld.com

According to NanoMarkets, a leading industry analyst firm based here, the thin-film photovoltaics (TFPV) market will produce the equivalent of 26 gigawatts (GW) by 2015 and will generate well over $20 billion in revenues in that same time frame.

• The recent success of cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar cells is likely to continue and by 2015 NanoMarkets expects that this will be the single largest segment of the TFPV market considered by active material with $8.7 billion in revenues.

Clipmarks | Naomi-K's 'photovoltaics' clips

Sahara Forest Project Will Generate Fresh Water, Solar Power & Crops in African Desert

The Sahara Forest Project

Solar Will Beat Oil

Solar powered cars...coming soon i hope

Grid-Connected Cars and Renewables: Understanding the Potential

IBM Research Unveils Breakthrough In Solar Farm Technology

New Electric Car - Mitsubishi

Solar breakthrough: now households can power the grid

Alternative Energy News

Alternative Energy News

Latest News

Categories

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Harnessing the Power of Highways

Turning Airborne Carbon Into Fuel

Space-based Solar Power

Floating Offshore Wind Turbines

The Toyota Bus-Train

Affordable DIY Solar Heating System

Wind Turbine Concept Inspired by Jet Engines

The Triac: An Affordable Electric Car

Are Rising Oil Prices a Blessing in Disguise?

Solar Cell Production Jumps 50 Percent in 2007

Solar Cell Breaks Conversion Record

Photovoltaics - How they Work

China's Fuel Efficiency Kicks America's Butt

Cheaper than Coal...

Solar US Cities

12 New Solar America Cities Chosen

Solar Cell Industry -- 26 gigawatts by 2015