Solar Energy // Current

Polymer solar cells to revolutionize solar energy efficiency

Imagine being able to purchase polymer solar cell sheets that you can apply to the roof of your car or the walls of your home to... more

JanforGore
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Solar power booming in California

This is the growth we need to see across America. Solar energy will become more competitive, cheaper, and in demand as more and... more

JanforGore
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Solar thermal comes out of the shadows

There is energy to be harvested in deserts of Southern California, Arizona, Spain and Africa: Sunlight focused so intensely it can... more

JanforGore
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Solar panel quantum leap: near-perfect light absorption possible

A major disadvantage with Solar Panels has been overcome! The material can absorb light with almost 100% efficiency, and at... more

anikhanj
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Solar power game-changer: "near perfect" absorption of sunlight, from all angles

There are some trade-offs but a really interesting and hopefully progressive step forward.

"A new solar panel coating developed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute significantly boosts absorption of different light spectrums with greater angular flexibility. (Photo: Inhabitat)
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered and demonstrated a new method for overcoming two major hurdles facing solar energy. By developing a new antireflective coating that boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels and allows those panels to absorb the entire solar spectrum from nearly any angle, the research team has moved academia and industry closer to realizing high-efficiency, cost-effective solar power.

"To get maximum efficiency when converting solar power into electricity, you want a solar panel that can absorb nearly every single photon of light, regardless of the sun's position in the sky," said Shawn-Yu Lin, professor of physics at Rensselaer and a member of the university's Future Chips Constellation, who led the research project. "Our new antireflective coating makes this possible."

An untreated silicon solar cell only absorbs 67.4 percent of sunlight shone upon it - meaning that nearly one-third of that sunlight is reflected away and thus unharvestable. From an economic and efficiency perspective, this unharvested light is wasted potential and a major barrier hampering the proliferation and widespread adoption of solar power.

After a silicon surface was treated with Lin's new nanoengineered reflective coating, however, the material absorbed 96.21 percent of sunlight shone upon it - meaning that only 3.79 percent of the sunlight was reflected and unharvested. This huge gain in absorption was consistent across the entire spectrum of sunlight, from UV to visible light and infrared, and moves solar power a significant step forward toward economic viability.

Lin's new coating also successfully tackles the tricky challenge of angles.

Most surfaces and coatings are designed to absorb light - i.e., be antireflective - and transmit light - i.e., allow the light to pass through it - from a specific range of angles. Eyeglass lenses, for example, will absorb and transmit quite a bit of light from a light source directly in front of them, but those same lenses would absorb and transmit considerably less light if the light source were off to the side or on the wearer's periphery.

This same is true of conventional solar panels, which is why some industrial solar arrays are mechanized to slowly move throughout the day so their panels are perfectly aligned with the sun's position in the sky. Without this automated movement, the panels would not be optimally positioned and would therefore absorb less sunlight. The tradeoff for this increased efficiency, however, is the energy needed to power the automation system, the cost of upkeeping this system, and the possibility of errors or misalignment."

Monday 03 November 2008

by: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
There are some trade-offs but a really interesting and hopefully progressive step forward. "A new solar panel coating... more

SeaJade
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23 responses

27 days ago

Solar Satellites in Space Beam Endless Energy to Earth... Science or Sci-fi?

Is beaming energy from space bound solar satellites the answer to our energy crisis? Harvard Professor and President Emeritas of... more

mgreener
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2 responses

1 month ago

Solar Windowbox Air Heater

A simple solar air heater that can fit in any sunny window.

gmoke
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0 responses

1 month ago

'Major discovery' from MIT primed to unleash solar revolution

Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively... more

christiangeo
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1 month ago

Solar powered rickshaws unveiled in New Delhi

A new solar-powered rickshaw could revolutionise journeys around busy cities. The newly developed bikes, favoured by tourists,... more

JanforGore
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1 month ago

Energy Economy Emerging in the United States

October 15, 2008 - 9

Copyright © 2008 Earth Policy Institute

New Energy Economy Emerging in the United States

Lester R. Brown

As fossil fuel prices rise, as oil insecurity deepens, and as concerns about climate change cast a shadow over the future of coal, a new energy economy is emerging in the United States. The old energy economy, fueled by oil, coal, and natural gas, is being replaced by one powered by wind, solar, and geothermal energy. The transition is moving at a pace and on a scale that we could not have imagined even a year ago.

Consider Texas. Long the leading oil-producing state, it is now also the leading generator of electricity from wind, having overtaken California two years ago. Texas now has nearly 6,000 megawatts of wind-generating capacity online and a staggering 39,000 megawatts in the construction and planning stages. When all this is completed, Texas will have 45,000 megawatts of wind-generating capacity (think 45 coal-fired power plants). This will more than satisfy the residential needs of the state’s 24 million people, enabling Texas to feed electricity to nearby states such as Louisiana and Mississippi.

After Texas and California, the other leaders among the 30 states with commercial-scale wind farms are Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, and Colorado. And other states are emerging as wind superpowers. Clipper Windpower and BP are teaming up to build the 5,050-megawatt Titan wind farm, the world’s largest, in eastern South Dakota. Already under development, Titan will generate five times as much electricity as the state’s 780,000 residents currently use. This project includes building a transmission line along an abandoned rail line across Iowa, feeding electricity into Illinois and the country’s industrial heartland.

Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz is developing a 2,000-megawatt wind farm in south central Wyoming. He already has secured the rights to build a 900-mile high-voltage transmission line to California. With this investment, the door will be opened to developing scores of huge wind farms in Wyoming, a wind-rich state with few people. Another transmission line under development will run north-south, linking eastern Wyoming’s wind resources with the fast-growing Colorado cities of Fort Collins, Denver, and Colorado Springs. Wind-rich Kansas and Oklahoma are looking to build a transmission line to the U.S. Southeast to export their wealth of cheap wind energy.

Continued in stream below... or at link above

October 15, 2008 - 9 Copyright © 2008 Earth Policy Institute New Energy Economy Emerging in the United States ... more

SeaJade
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5 responses

1 month ago

New solar panel less fussy about where the sun shines from

SOLAR power should be a cheap and simple way of making electricity, but like any technology the practicalities tend to get in the... more

Draper
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0 responses

1 month ago

52-inch Sharp TV Runs on Solar Power, Encourages Couch Potatoes

Sounds like potential? Rather idiotically though, Sharp appears to have forgotten to attach a battery to this thing, meaning that... more

purplefox
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1 month ago

BioSolar reduces cost of solar power with cotton and castor beans

BioSolar surprised attendees at the SPIE Symposium on Solar Applications and Energy in San Diego by revealing that materials derived from cotton and castor beans compose the company's proprietary BioBacksheet, a protective covering, traditionally made from expensive petroleum-based film, used in the back of virtually all photovoltaic solar cells.
"This information has remained highly-guarded over the past 18 months as BioSolar established academic and industry credibility," said BioSolar Chairman and CEO, Dr. David Lee. "Now that our technology is strongly protected both domestically and abroad, we are able to share this exciting news with the public."

While not revealing core proprietary or patent-pending elements of the intellectual property, BioSolar's Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Stan Levy, divulged in his presentation that the bio-based components are a composite of cellulosic material derived from cotton, combined with an arcane nylon (nylon 11) derived from castor beans.

Dr. Levy detailed the procedures and results of the company's 18-month product development effort to engineer the BioBacksheet from non-food, plant-based materials. He provided an in-depth look at the science and applied technology behind the unique bio-sustainable formulation and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes used to create the company's BioBacksheet product.

The two sustainably sourced components are combined utilizing the company's proprietary manufacturing process.

"We have demonstrated that functional photovoltaic backsheets can be produced from renewable resources," said Dr. Levy. "We believe that the BioBacksheet is a viable alternative to backsheets currently in use. Not only is this product produced from sustainable and renewable resources, but is expected to be more cost effective than the current backsheets."

"Also, manufacturers currently enduring a six-month wait for materials like DuPont's petroleum-based Tedlar protective material will undoubtedly be interested in this development," added Dr. Lee.
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Take that DuPont. Clean, renewable, efficient, and economical solar energy. That IS the future.BioSolar surprised attendees at the SPIE Symposium on Solar Applications and Energy in San Diego by revealing that materials... more

JanforGore
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13 responses

1 month ago

Wind and Solar Tax Credits Could Ride Into Law in Bailout Bill

Maybe the tenth time will be a charm. Last night was the tenth time since June 2007 that an extension of wind and solar tax... more

starr111
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0 responses

2 months ago

PV and thermal- a new approach to solar energy

One of the limitations of solar photovoltaic systems is that, at the current state of the technology, no more than a quarter of the energy from the sun is converted to electric current. Most of the rest of the energy is lost as waste heat.

But Vinod Khosla, the founder of Sun Microsystems and now a technology entrepreneur and alternative-energy venture capitalist, says he’s found a solution that doubles or even triples the energy yield — a gargantuan leap in a field where engineers exult over the most incremental gains.

Mr. Khosla is funding a company called PVT Solar, of Berkeley, Calif., where engineers two years ago began trying to harness that wasted heat. In a sense, it was already being collected, either in the solar modules themselves, or underneath. (Solar arrays are often installed at an angle, to face the sun, thus creating a wedge-shaped space below for heat to collect.)

PVT’s founders decided the heat could be harnessed and pumped into the home for climate control, water heating and other uses. It is a sort of combined cycle for solar — a marriage of solar photovoltaic technology and solar thermal systems, which gather the sun’s energy in the form of heat.

Vinod Khosla, the former tech mogul and now energy venture capitalist, sees potential in PVT Solar. (Photo: Bloomberg)The company is currently testing electronic controllers that play traffic cop for the collected heat, pumping it automatically, using a small fan, to the basement hot-water heater, for example, or to individual rooms, or even to the swimming pool, as needs arise. If the heat is not needed in the building, the fan vents it to the outside.

Because solar panels perform better at cooler temperatures, removing heat from around the panels also has the effect of increasing their production on hot days — adding to the overall efficiency gains for the system.

And given that the system requires little or no additional infrastructure, it can be deployed with only a small amount of added cost.
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If taxpayers are to look now to support anything, shouldn't it be renewable energy that will pay them back in years to come with a sustainable planet for their children and granchildren with cheaper energy prices, more and better jobs, and cleaner safer choices? Joining phototvoltaics to thermal solar is a great way to do just that. So while we are getting all wrapped up in the 'financial crisis,' realize the other crisis this planet now faces that is even more urgent that is related to our economy and the ways in which we can make positive changes.

The solution comes up every morning.One of the limitations of solar photovoltaic systems is that, at the current state of the technology, no more than a quarter of... more

JanforGore
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10 responses

2 months ago

Old Solar: 1980 Barnraised Solar Air Heater

Describing a volunteer-built solar air heater in Cambridge, MA constructed in 1980 and still working today.

gmoke
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0 responses

2 months ago

Live Earth in India to help boost solar energy

India will host the next Live Earth concert to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not have access to electricity, organizers said.

The December event will see rocker Jon Bon Jovi and Bollywood's biggest superstar, Amitabh Bachchan share the stage, and is described by organizers as one of the biggest events held in India.

The concert will be held in India's financial capital Mumbai on December 7, Live Earth founder Kevin Wall said in Mumbai.

"(Former Vice President) Al Gore asked me whether we could do this in India, and I said yes," Wall told Reuters in Mumbai. "This is going to be huge."

"Jon Bon Jovi is just one name and Mr Bachchan is just one name, but there will be a lot of international artists," he said.

Wall, who organized a series of concerts last year with the former vice-president, said the event in India would be telecast live in more than 100 countries.

Gore, who spoke via satellite this week during a news conference held in Mumbai on Thursday said India could provide the leadership required to bring about changes in world policies on climate change.

The proceeds from the concert will go to the "Light A Billion Lives campaign," supported by Nobel Prize-winner Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the United Nation's Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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Photo credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26162736@N07/2469499562/
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We can work around the world to mitigate the climate crisis. We must not be myopic in our view or distressed thinking that only one person sitting in a white house in Washington Dc can or will do it. This goes so far beyond just one president, one American election, one year, or one time. This crisis must make us see our similarities as humans on this Earth which is the only home we will have and act together.

While political will in Washington Dc is indeed a great part of that progress, it is not in my view something to place all hopes on. We can and must take it upon ourselves to do all in our power to bring solar energy and other alternate sources to other developing countries like India so that their economic progress will begin on a more sustainable footing, and hopefully that message will then spread around the globe including our own country. This is the good message Live Earth brings and the message we must take upon ourselves to spread to others. We are the ones with the power, and with that power we can do great things when mobilizing for a good and noble cause. India will host the next Live Earth concert to raise funds for lighting homes with solar energy in places where people do not... more