Clipmarks | Naomi-K's 'solar power' clips

Solar Desert Land Grab

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:53:17 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: A very interesting use for otherwise less valuable desert land.

That's putting it mildly. A solar land rush is rolling across the desert Southwest. Goldman Sachs, utilities PG&E and FPL, Silicon Valley startups, Israeli and German solar firms, Chevron, speculators - all are scrambling to lock up hundreds of thousands of acres of long-worthless land now coveted as sites for solar power plants.

It's not just a federal-land grab either. Buyers are also vying for private property. Some are paying upwards of $10,000 an acre for desert dirt that a few years ago would have sold for $500.

No doubt the prospect of potential riches is overheating expectations. But California and surrounding states have mandated massive increases in renewable energy in the next few years. That has led some experts at Emerging Energy Research of Cambridge, Mass., to predict that Big Solar could be a $45 billion market by 2020.

Solar Energy in India and the Rise of Global Awareness

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:59:33 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Very interesting: "per capita emissions." Does this mean that in the future, you could be taxed differently than your neighbour depending on what car you drive, how far you commute, how much you recycle.

It's already slightly that way, for instance you can get tax rebates for buying solar panels.

If it was broken down into 'per capita emissions' though, this would be a very different story.

Clip Source: www.newkerala.com

New Delhi, June 30 : India will put solar energy generation at the forefront of its battle against climate change, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced here Monday while releasing the national action plan on climate change.

Emphasising the primacy of developing solar power, Manmohan Singh promised to "pool our scientific, technical and managerial talent, with sufficient financial resources, to develop solar energy as a source of abundant energy to power our economy and to transform the lives of our people".

He felt success in developing solar energy "will change the face of India. It would also enable India to help change the destinies of people around the world. The plan intends to go beyond government to draw upon these assets".

"Every citizen of this planet must have an equal share of the planetary atmospheric space. Long-term convergence of per capita emissions is, therefore, the only equitable basis for a global compact on climate change.

Solar Energy Speed to Market

Fri, 30 May 2008 08:11:34 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: A Nuclear Energy Plant takes 10 years to build. Solar Energy is very fast.
This installation: 2.25 kilowatts' worth (enough to power half a home) of their proprietary Lumeta PowerPly modules on a roof in San Leandro in just under 35 minutes.

Clip Source: www.triplepundit.com

The key innovation in the Lumeta PowerPly is the use of standard roofing adhesives to affix the modules to the roof, rather than traditional racking systems. There are two advantages here - one, roofers everywhere work with these adhesives, and so are familiar with their performance and how to use and install them; and two, by eliminating the drilling and bolts associated with a racking system, the contractor not only saves a ton of time (did I mention this installation went up fast?), but also saves the integrity of the roof system: the last thing you should want to pay for is to have someone go up on your roof and put a bunch of holes in it.

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.

Where the Real Power Lies- in the Distribution Network

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:14:00 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: This article touches on one of the great strengths of solar energy - the ability to produce power in many de-centralized locations and distribute it widely with very little loss.

And as in the spread of telephones, electricity, tv and railway, the real power is held by those who own the distribution network.

What's especially interesting here is that you can draw parallels between solar power and the biggest network around at the moment - the internet.

The way in which both these mediums are alike is that they inherently resist centralized control.

While you can build giant solar power stations, there is still the capability for a homeowner to have their own mini-power station on their roof.

This democratization, of information by the internet, and electricity by solar power, is, I think ,a good thing. Both for the environment and for the individual.

Clip Source: www.cleantechblog.com

Mr. O’Donnell made the point that building roads in the U.S. was a local phenomenon subject to a patchwork of regulations and constraints – until President Eisenhower broke down the barriers with the creation of the Interstate Highway System in the 1950’s. He further noted that high voltage DC technologies now readily available – such as those offered by ABB (NYSE: ABB) – could transmit large blocks of power across the whole continent with losses of only about 11% (excluding the conversion facilities at each terminal).

We in the cleantech community haven’t talked much about it, instead focusing on the sexy/cool generation/storage/consumption technologies, but maybe it’s time to ratchet the discussion about the so-called “smart grid” up to another level.

Built-in Obsolescence in Solar Tariffs Creates Growth

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:45:16 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: By removing the major obstacle to solar energy - high start-up costs - solar has grown tremendously in Spain.

Phasing out this tariff gradually over time is also wise. This decreases dependence on these tariffs - which could destabilise the solar energy market

Clip Source: www.azcentral.com

But the scene is even more unworldly: 624 giant mirrors surround the tower, focusing the sun's radiation at the very top.

The heat there reaches almost 500 degrees, making steam to run an electric turbine. The 11-megawatt system can produce enough power for 6,000 homes.

The tower, which just completed its first year of regular operation, is part of a major solar-electric complex that Abengoa is building near Seville.

One reason for the big push into solar, Fernandez says, is long-term self-interest: "Spain has no natural energy sources."

But the real story here isn't the staggering technology.

It's the financial tool that made it possible - and one that we could adopt here.

Spain has a "feed-in tariff ": Utilities must buy a certain amount of electricity at a guaranteed price from companies that produce electricity from solar and other renewable sources.

The price is designed to cover the extra expense of renewables. But it declines over time, so the crutch is only temporary.

Solar Energy in Bangladesh

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:21:44 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Large government investment in Bangladesh grows solar industry.

In remote rural areas, solar panel installations can rapidly improve living conditions. These reduce the urgency for large electricity infrastructures to be built.

Clip Source: energybangla.com

Bangladesh Govt. Goes All Out to Explore Renewable Energy Sources

He said, "As per declaration we plan to reach a 100 MW production target from hydro-sources. We are also keen to see the evaluation report on the Kutubdia wind pilot project as the fate of this project will say what we could do with our islands in so far as electricity is concerned.

The Power Cell in a study paper has said that around 2,200 MW of power could be generated by using alternative energy sources. It said that currently 4 MW of power is being produced by home solar systems and the future prospect of power generation by using solar energy is around 300 MW.

It has been learnt that different non-government organisations have helped to install 75,000 home solar systems in remote rural areas under a rural electrification and renewable energy development project.

Solar TPower in Africa

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:41:03 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: An interesting economic proposition . Countries that were previously disadvantaged by desert and arid land have the potential to become the main suppliers of solar energy.

Clip Source: www.bdafrica.com

David Mataen
March 19, 2008: Never in the history of modern civilisation was there so great need for energy like now.

Ironically, the most abundant, most renewable, most free of all renewable resources is the sun. Emerging every day unfailingly from the east, shinning all of 13 hours at the equator and discharging on average 300 watts per square metre.

A plant in Acciona in Las Vegas, United States, called “Nevada Solar One” can generate up to 64 megawatts, equal to the capacity of Olkaria II at Naivasha.

CSP provides an answer to PV’s main pitfalls, it does not involve expensive silicon wafers and wide, shiny, inviting panels open to abuse and vandalism.

Some designs provide power round the clock by storing energy in the form of molten salt. Undoubtedly, this is the solution that Kenya and in deed Africa has been waiting for.

A technological quantum leap, a classic revolution in energy affairs.

Free Enterprise and Solar Energy

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:14:51 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: Excellent argument for market generated solar development.

Clip Source: www.yumasun.com

While the idea of using solar energy is an attractive prospect in our state, what is unattractive about these proposals is the common theme of coercion and taxpayer-supported incentives rather than a reliance on choice.

In order for solar power to truly be successful, it must stand on its own merits. Consumers must want it because they see its value to them, just like any other marketplace option.

In fact, public incentives are likely to discourage the solar industry from developing less costly technology that would be accepted by consumers. Why bother when they know the taxpayers will help subsidize their more costly equipment?

The reality is that there are already market forces at work which are likely to encourage more affordable alternative energy sources, including solar power.

Given time, alternative energy sources will find a more prominent place through the marketplace rather than through coercion or government subsidies.

Camel Back Solar Power

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:42:51 GMT

clipped by: Naomi-K
clipper's remarks: 2 billion people have no electricity. That's about one third of the world's population.

Clip Source: solarpowerwegrant.blogspot.com

Clip Source: www.edn.com

One of the monumental health projects of our time has to be the effort to bring vaccines into remote, rural regions of the world. Vaccines must be kept cool, and in remote rural regions where it’s too darn hot to begin with, a reliable source of electricity is usually not a feature.

A Finnish company, NAPS Systems, addressed this need in the 1980’s with this mobile camel-solar-powered refrigerator. This version evolved into a more boring, but presumably more universal system, today’s CFS49IS.

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