Solar Power // Current TV

Tallest Solar Tower Set for Arizona

In the western desert state of Arizona, a company called EnviroMission is planning to... more

Dagum
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Ecotech Institute’s Wind Energy Technology Program Adds New Simulators and More to Labs

Ecotech Institute today announced that it is bolstering the wind energy training and... more

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3 months ago
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A limitless power source for the indefinite future

There may be hope after all...can we do it? Hey I might got to live in an O'Neal... more

Kelly_Balthrop
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3 months ago
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IEA’s Philibert discusses scenarios for the future of the global energy

Now we have to consider something else, which when you do a comparison on the basis of... more

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3 months ago
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Solar Scandal: Fox News Slanders SunPower

In an attempt to create a “solar scandal” that will be “even bigger... more

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4 months ago
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Solar and Wind Could Power the West Right Now, All of America in 2026

The Germans have installed over 10,000 megawatts of solar panels in the past two years, enough to power 2 million American homes (or most of Los Angeles, CA). If Americans installed local solar at the same torrid pace, we could already power most of the Mountain West, could have a 100 percent solar nation by 2026, while enriching thousands of local communities with new development and jobs.

The following map shows what could have happened had the U.S. kept pace with Germany on solar power in the past two years (installed the same megawatts on a per capita basis). Sunshine could power 10 states!

Solar Would Power the Mountain West if The U.S. Kept Pace with Germany

The spread of solar has also been in harmony with environmental goals. Rather than covering natural areas or fertile land with solar panels, 80 percent of the solar installed in Germany was on rooftops and built to a local scale (100 kilowatts or smaller – the roof of a church or a Home Depot store). Solar in the U.S. also can use existing space. The following map shows the amount of a state’s electricity that could come from rooftop solar alone, from our 2009 report Energy Self-Reliant States.

While the local rooftop solar potential of these states varies from 19 to 51 percent, there’s much more land available for solar without covering parks or crops. Once again, data from Energy Self-Reliant States (p. 13):

“On either side of 4 million miles of roads, the U.S. has approximately 60 million acres (90,000 square miles) of right of way. If 10 percent the right of way could be used, over 2 million MW of roadside solar PV could provide close to 100 percent of the electricity consumption in the country. In California, solar PV on a quarter of the 230,000 acres of right of way could supply 27% of state consumption.”

Such local solar power also provides enormous economic benefits. For every megawatt of solar installed, as many as 8 jobs are created. But the economic multiplier is significantly higher for locally owned projects, made possible when solar is built at a local scale as the Germans have done.

With local ownership, making America a 100% solar nation could create nearly 10 million jobs, and add as much as $450 billion to the U.S. economy.

The Germans have found the profitable marriage between their energy and environmental policy. It’s time for America to discover the same.

– John Farrel, via CleanTechnica. This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project.

More at websiteThe Germans have installed over 10,000 megawatts of solar panels in the past two... more

coolplanet
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4 months ago
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Solar source charging station for electric cars popping up in Tucson

" ... Although there are public charging stations installed under the DOE... more

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4 months ago
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China’s New Plan for Solar Power Supremacy

by Melanie Hart The U.S. media is abuzz over last week’s bankruptcy of... more

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5 months ago
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Solar Stunner: America is a $1.9 Billion Exporter of Solar Products

By Stephen Lacey on Aug 29, 2011 at 8:23 am

With all the stories about China dominating the solar photovoltaics (PV) manufacturing sector, you might not think that America is a net exporter of solar products. But it is — to the tune of $1.8 billion. That’s a $1 billion increase over net exports documented in the solar sector last year.

In fact, a report released this morning from GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association found that the U.S. has a $247 million trade surplus with China.

“U.S. imports in 2010 were estimated at $1.4 billion, while exports were estimated to be between $1.7 billion – $2.0 billion based on the availability of data for capital equipment sales. This made the U.S. a net exporter of solar goods to China by $247 million to $539 million. Imports came predominantly from modules ($1.2 billion), while exports were driven by capital equipment ($708 million to $1 billion) and polysilicon ($873 million).”

Solar isn’t just about the module. When looking at polysilicon production, equipment for manufacturing lines, power electronics, solar hot water tanks, and any number of other domestically-produced products, the U.S. actually offers a good-sized contribution to the global market.

The 2011 Solar Energy Trade Assessment is a follow up from last year’s report, which found U.S. net exports in 2009 were worth $723 million.

The $1 billion surge in net exports came during a year when the U.S. solar market grew by over 100%. Due to the successful Treasury Grant Program and Loan Guarantee Program that made it easier for developers and manufacturers to finance facilities, the solar sector grew faster than ever before.

And all that solar — particularly solar PV — brings immense value to the domestic economy.

According to the trade assessment report, around 73% of the value of an installed solar system (equipment, labor, site management) is created domestically. When looking at the total solar-sector contribution to the economy, solar PV represents about 82% of the domestic value, with concentrating solar power and solar heating and cooling representing about 9% a piece.

And these calculations don’t even consider the potential value to the electricity system. A report released in June by three solar researchers found that solar PV offers 15-40 cents per kilowatt-hour in added “value” due to its ability to match peak demand, reduce the need to build expensive transmission lines and provide local environmental benefits.

But whether or not policymakers will recognize these tangible benefits is very uncertain. With basic support mechanisms like the Treasury Grant and Loan Guarantee programs set to expire, and the House set to slash funding for various energy programs, America’s solar trade surplus could close quickly.

The findings of today’s GTM Research/SEIA report may surprise a lot of people, especially those who have focused on the Evergreen Solar bankruptcy story or the uncertain fate of thin-film manufacturer Solyndra as reasons not to invest in solar. In reality, solar is a very diverse sector — the $5.6 billion in equipment exports from the U.S. is an important reminder of that diversity and economic potential.

More at linkBy Stephen Lacey on Aug 29, 2011 at 8:23 am With all the stories about China... more

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http://www.karmajungle.com/journal/2011/2/9/back-to-the-future-with-solar-power.html

"Alternative Energy" is coming but hopefully there won`t be another false... more

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6 months ago
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Solar Lightbulbs by Radix-Okon Distribution

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6 months ago
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Renewables will face stiff competition from shale oil, analyst says

Jack W. Plunkett, CEO of the Houston (Texas)-based Plunkett Research Ltd., suggests... more

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6 months ago
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UK (not US) Gets First Solar & Wind Powered EV Charger

By Andrew Webster Solar powered vehicle chargers are becoming increasingly popular,... more

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6 months ago
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Photovoltaic polarizers could make self-charging smartphone dreams come true

There's nothing worse than losing the charge on your iPhone at the company... more

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6 months ago
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Sunless solar cells could make energy from anything hot

Photovoltaic cells that convert heat, not sunlight, to electricity may turn out to be the solution for capturing all the energy we waste through heat.

Photovoltaic cells are best known for turning sunlight into electrical power--and they're big business. But did you know that there's a type of PV cell that eats heat instead of light to make power? It could replace the Li-ion battery in your cell phone, and it may also be used to scavenge waste heat from almost anything that normally dumps it into the environment, from your TV's electronics to your car's engine (even an electrical one).

Thermal PV tech has been around ages, and works the same way as the solar variation: Incoming radiation excites the atoms in its semiconductor structure, which then push electrons out--generating current. And much as is the case for solar PV cells, the advances in the tech have all been about improving their efficiency. Scientists at MIT have recently honed this tech, pushing the efficiency up so far that thermal PV cells are now a viable alternative to all sorts of other tech. MIT's breakthrough was to add a layer of tungsten to the front of a PV cell, with a surface that's been etched on a nanoscopic scale so that when heated it emits infrared light (heat) at wavelengths precisely tuned to the best efficiency of the PV cell behind it.

Right now, MIT is building the tech into tiny silicon micro-reactors. These are tiny furnaces that burn butane to generate heat, and then extract the heat to produce electricity. If that sounds convoluted, then this will impress you: The microreactors are small enough to replace the button cell Li-ion batteries you find in devices like watches, and convert the chemical ingredients that make them tick with three times better efficiency than Li-ion can match. Better yet, when they run out of fuel you simply snap in an extra cartridge of butane to recharge them.

But because MIT's system is so very efficient, and is based on a material that's not too rare or expensive, it could be used to build fuel-less heat-scavenging units that are stuck inside all sorts of devices to recover the wasted heat energy that nearly every machine we've ever made kicks out (thanks to the lovely laws of physics). How about the hot back of your TV? Or the hot chassis of the electric motor in your Nissan Leaf? Let's get fanciful and imagine it would be possible to claw back a few milliwatts of energy from the hot shower water you simply let run down the drain.

More at the linkPhotovoltaic cells that convert heat, not sunlight, to electricity may turn out to be... more