Clipmarks | Naomi-K's 'photovoltaics' clips

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.

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.

Thin Film Photovoltaics

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:06:44 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Thin film photovoltaics are an interesting develpment.
Fuelled by a worldwide shortage of silicon (caused by a huge growth in demand for solar energy) thin film solar has risen in popularity.

While less efficient (now) than traditional solar panels, thin film is cheaper to produce.

Clip Source: solarstarter.org

I have found that there is new technology in photovoltaic cells called nanotechnology cells. The source tells me that there are kinds of chemicals that they basically “print” on to a surface and it can produce electricity. If is true then i would like to know what exactly these chemicals are and how this works. Would this be the same thing as Thin Film solar panels?

Nanotechnology is a term meaning “Technology development at the atomic, molecular, or macromolecular range of approximately 1-100 nanometers.”

Thin film photovoltaics are made of materials that are only a few micrometers thick. This has material cost saving advantages as well as fast production advantages.

So thin film technology is a part of nanotechnology. The crossover in terms may result from the name of one of the major thin-film manufacturers - Nanosolar.

Oil, Green Energy and the Bottom Line

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:24:39 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Very interesting. Abu Dhabi's investment in green technology shows a shift in thinking. This is especially significant as it comes from a major oil producing nation.

Clip Source: blogs.business2.com

Masdar City will be a tax-free zone in a bid to lure makers of photovoltaic equipment and other green energy manufacturers. When Al Jaber says Abu Dhabi wants to own the whole supply chain, he means that literally, beginning with polysilicon, the basic building block of solar cells. “We’re looking at manufacturing polysilicon, thin-film for photovoltaics, wind energy components,” he says. “We’re no longer interested in only being a consumer of technology or an off-taker of specific equipment. We want to transform ourselves into a more knowledge-based economy. “

“Abu Dhabi recognizes that the global energy markets are evolving and are evolving with substantial growth in alternative energy,” Al Jaber says. “It’s only going to go up. Does that make it a threat or an opportunity? It’s a great opportunity if we invest in it now.”

But he says he sees no irony in one of the world’s biggest oil-exporting nations going green. The bottom line: it’s all about power and markets.

Thin Film Photovoltaics

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:32:07 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: One of the fastest growing areas in the the solar panel industry.

Clip Source: hubpages.com

Thin Film Solar has several qualities that could be developed in surprising ways.

Firstly, the panels can be flexible. This makes seemingly way out ideas like solar sails for yachts a possibility.

Thin film light aborbing dye panels can also be transluscent. This leads to speculation on solar windows, skylights and billboards.

Thin film photovoltaics are also very light and portable. They have already been used in products like solar camera-bag chargers and portable cell phone chargers. As efficiency increases, portable solar may become much more widely used.

Simply put, thin film photovoltaics are solar panels. Very thin solar panels. In fact, some of them have layers of silicon only a few micrometers thick.

They produce electricity in a variety of ways, depending on what material they are made of.

Tags: thin film photovoltaics, solar energy, solar power, photovoltaics, solar panels

Thin Film Photovoltaics

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:16:22 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

Honda announced its plan to begin mass production in 2007, of an independently developed thin film solar cell composed of non-silicon compound materials, which requires 50% less energy, and thus generate 50% less CO2, during production compared to a conventional solar cell. A mass production plant with annual capacity of 27.5 megawatts will be established at Honda’s Kumamoto factory.