At University of Buffalo, researchers have already demonstrated that embedding quantum dots into modern photovoltaic cells increase the energy output significantly. It allows the cells to generate energy from infrared light and therefore, the energy that can be harvested from photoelectrons is amplified.

In the Journal of Nano Letters, in May, the research team having Andrei Sergeev, Vladimir Mitin and Nizami Vagidov from the faculty of UB’s electrical engineering department; Kimberly Sablon a nanofabricate expert and John Little from the U.S. Army Research laboratory; John Little; as well as Kitt Reinhardt from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

OPtoElectronic Nanodevices LLC (OPEN LLC) is a company that has been founded by Vagidov and Mitin Sergeev, in order to provide rapid innovation into the commercialized market.

Mitin says that since a decade ago, scientists have been trying to effectively integrate quantum dots to solar panels. It has been known since long that, this would enhance the efficiency by permitting the solar cells to capture invisible (infrared) light. Yet, previous studies have been hit by limitations.

The UB team and the military colleagues have been able to integrated quantum dots, to exploit infrared light, but also they have been able to significantly increase the built-in charge of the dots present in the solar cells.

The built-in charge is highly advantageous, electrons repel and this compels electrons to move within the quantum dots. The advantage of harvesting moving electrons is that electric currents are avoided.

Mitin, a SUNY Distinguished professor at UB’s office of Science, Technology Transfer, and Economic Outreach (STOR) says that the efficiency of the solar cells has increased to 45 percent.

The presence of highly efficient solar cells will bring clean technology to another playground. Solar energy will become cheaper, requiring smaller footprint and provides affordable energy to consumers.

Currently, OPEN LLC is seeking for federal programs as well as private investors to fund the projects to bring the quantum dot with a built in charge to the market. The team has already spent long-days in developing this astounding solar cell technology.

Source: Science Daily and ACS Publications

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Department of Energy just recently released a report and based on the yearly price comparison of Photovoltaic system. In the report, Lawrence Berkely National Lab revealed that PV system installation both at the domestic and commercial level in 2010 cost 17% less than the amount required for the same installation in the year 2009.

Overall prices of setting up and installing a PV system for power generation as mentioned earlier reduced by 17% in 2010. Figures of 2011 are also very encouraging as until the midpoint of this year a further decline of 11 percent has been observed. Main factors attributing to this consistent decline is the drop in PV modules price is the presence of wholesales of PV. Berkeley Lab’s Galen Barbose who represents Environmental Energy Technologies Division revealed that the downward trend in the prices of PV units is being observed starting as from 2008 and this benefit is transferred to the end users as well. Mr. Barbose is also among the authors of the report.

The reduced costs of PV units are also linked with other major contributors, such as fall in prices of labour, inverters; overhead, etc. are also reducing gradually in the given period of year 2010 and definitely the trend in initial six months of year 2011. According to Ryan Wiser, a scientist at Berkeley Lab and part of the authors’ team of the report, non-modular cost reduction is also extremely important. He stated that receding in non-modular costs can be reflected immediately as compare to the PV system costs as they are reduced after a certain amount of R&D is done and invested. The same report revealed that the overall reduction in non-modular costs for domestic and commercial PV installations seen within years 2009 and 2010 were approximately 18%.

In Utility sector photovoltaic modules the 2010 prices are varying in nature. For instance, per watt (/watt) cost of PV system with the ability to generate Five thousand Kilowatts came within the range of $2.9 to $6.2. This huge per watt variations shows that there are enormous differences in size of the projects, and of course system configuration. If the utility sector was following the same trend as domestic and commercial, then the ‘per watt’,’ cost would fall even more, currently the boundaries are of $3.8 to $4.4 per watt.

Electricity generation through PV solar system is gaining very quick popularity in America, mainly due to (local and state) governments’ encouragement for people to rely more on solar energy instead of conventional power resources. Report published by Berkeley lab is fourth in line in the series “Tracking the Sun.” To compile the report the authors and researchers observed PV installations exceeding 115,000 in commercial, utility and household sectors within in the period of 1998 to 2010. The study covered no less than 42 U.S states, meaning about 80% of total grid connected PV installations were covered. Reason for study as shared by Naïm Darghouth of Berkely Lab is to make the stakeholders and decision makers aware that the research is based on facts related to trends and standards of costs involved in installation of PV systems.

Impact of Geographical location, kind and size of system on the overall cost
Analysis of the report revealed interesting correlation between the installation costs and PV system’s installation type, size and geographical location. Like among the American states the per unit installation cost of PV systems of 10 Kilowatts or less came out to be within range of $6.3 per watt to $8.4. Another interesting thing came up by the study was that the installation cost of PV units in new houses in residential sectors was less than the upgrade costs in older houses. In the Recommendations section of the report, it is advised on the foundation of collected data and Japanese and German PV rates, that in order to get the maximum cost reduction on PV units county, state or larger level deployments are necessary.

Report put a lot of emphasis on saving further costs by expanding the number of and types of installations. For example, 2 kW and lower systems’ average per watt cost identified was $ 9.8, which is way higher than their commercial counterpart units of over 1000 kW costing about $5.2. By connecting the other findings with this one, it can safely be assumed the costs must have gone down in the year 2011 as well. Big scale utility sector PV units also proved cheaper in 2010 with per watt cost ranging from $3 to $4.

PV systems cost declined in the year 2010 but lack of incentive is still a hindrance

States used to provide cash incentives to the people opting for PV units instead of conventional modes, and the amount went very high in the year 2002. Heights touched in 2002 are not likely to replicate again, and the cash incentives are constantly on a decline since then. Decrement in installation costs also resulted in the decline in Federal investment tax credit. Treasury grant associated with ITC also decreased as a result of overall decrement. So the incentives offered at federal level, particular state level got reduced resulting in counteracting the reduced installation costs of PV systems. Numbers wise the pre incentive per watt installation costs reduced by $1 and $1.5 for household and commercial PV systems respectively in year 2010. Whereas the post installations readings of the same came out as $0.4 and $0.8 for household and commercial sectors respectively.

Report full name is “Tracking the Sun IV: A Historical Summary of the Installed Cost of Photovoltaic in the United States from 1998 to 2010,.” Writer group associated with the report are Naïm Darghouth, Galen Barbose and Ryan Wiser. Report can be downloaded free of cost from the following link: by on Clicking Download report

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy department of United States Department of Energy afforded the expenses required for R&D to complete the report. Clean Energy State Alliance also contributed to the study. Clean Energy is a national-level agency working without intention of making any profits from their operations and promoting the alternate energy programs to reduce reliance on the mainstream adopted methods in many states.

Source: IBL and EV-Wind

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With the help of solar Feed-in tariffs, by 2015, the cost of solar energy might drop down to 12.5 cents per KWh, which is equivalent to 0.80 yuan. This is a rate comparatively highly efficient and relative to coal-fired power tariffs according to a report by NDRC (National Development & Reform Commission) and Energy Research Institute.

The same report stated that China will generate approximately 90,000 tonnes of polysilicon as per this year, which is equivalent to 80 percent of the domestic demand.

Currently, China is the world’s largest carbon emitter as well as energy user. However, they are rapidly progressing in renewable energy, and slowly decreasing the heavy reliance on traditional fossil fuels such as coal.

NDRC has established grid feed-in power tariffs for the construction of solar projects. This is a powerful boost to the expansion of solar power plants.

As at the end of 2010, the total installed solar-energy capacity was 900 MW. This volume is expected to rise to 2000MW or 2 GW by the end of 2011.

Source: Reuters

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The future of solar energy might be re-shaped by two employees from a Vienna-based company (Heliovis). Samuel Kutter and Felix Tiefenbacher have constructed an astounding prototype of a 35-metre long-tube, of a diameter of 2 meters. In 2016, the finalized 200 meter long tube device is expected to be released on the market.

The Two Swiss energy pioneers have been granted the authorisation to try their devise at Dürnrohr steam power plant which is situated near to Zwentendorf in Austria.

After the first stage of progress, Mr. Tiefenbacher is reasonably satisfied with the result. The welded joints of their inflated tube were able to support x-ray’s tests. However, on the downside, s slight push of wind guest was enough to break the outer film.

The engineers are now restoring the tube into a functional condition. While a quantum physicist, coming from Basel explained how the ‘heliotube’ is capable of converting sunlight into energy.

HelioTube (Picture from Swissinfo)

How does the System?

There is a long cylinder, which has reflective films, splitting the tube into two highly tight air-chambers. As soon as there is a difference in the pressure between the lower and upper chamber, the film begins to curve downwards. This generates a channel for the light to focus.

The sunlight will be going into the transparent upper film, and afterward. It will be reflected-off the slightly curved mirror film to target a focal point. There are thermal absorbers installed to capture this focused light and to generate steam. The steam can be used for various industrial processes or simply to produce electricity.

Mr. Tiefenbacher, says that the black pipe absorbs light and converts it into heat. A fluid such as water is injected into the pipe. This fluid will be warmed and changed into steam. The steam will spin a turbine and produce electricity.

The Solar Blow-Up Idea

It was in 2007 that Mr. Tiefenbacher was enriched about this breakthrough idea, after meeting an Austrian, Johannes Höfler. In the matter of a few seconds, the Swiss physicist knew that this would be a great business opportunity – easy to explain, and with a great market possibility.

After two years a company named Heliovis was established in a garage. The objective of the company was to establish a patent for the technology. Since 2010, Heliovis has been operational in Wiener Neudorf’s industrial zone and does currently employ 18 people for the project.

The managing director of Heliovis, a Swiss physicist known as Samuel Kutter; in the past, he did work for the large German’s E.ON.

Advanced Materials

Over the year, several test have been conducted on the tube, and materials are being changed to assure optimum efficiency. Now, the main problem is to find the right materials.

There are some pre-defined specifications for the films used:

1. The UV-films must be stable
2. Weather and damp resistant
3. Scratch Resistance
4. Easy to Clean

In a few years, the films used will be generated by a single machine. However, it will take a few years for the development to become fully efficient. The objective of the firm is to enter the market in 2016.

Objective of Blow-up Project – Cheaper Solar Energy

The main objective of the project is not to establish a more efficient solar-energy transformation system. The aim is to make solar power affordable. The use of fewer materials induces various benefits.

One thing is for sure, that the weight of the product will be only 10 percent of typical parabolic troughs. In addition, the installation and production cost will be lower.

In general, a typical industrial solar collector (parabolic through) cost approximately €350 per each square metre while the heliotube covering the same surface area will only cost around €90.

Finished Product –

The Heliotube ones finalized will be 200 metres long, with a standard diameter of 12 meters. The product will be sold in bulk orders, and the target clients are big energy companies.

Tiefenbacher says that they are building this product for large power station of 50 to 100 MW. For renewable power plants 50 to 100 MW is extremely large but if compared against typical nuclear power stations that generate GW, it is still relatively small.

Helio-tube – Should Be Used In Desert Regions

The Heliotube won’t work effectively in cloudy latitudes. In other words, the product should be established in areas where the sky is less cloudy such as in the Southern Spain, dry regions and the Sahara.

Source: Swiss Info

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Spain’s three biggest utility companies – Iberdrola, Endesa and Gas Natural – who have long been lobbying the Spanish government to stop subsidising the increase of solar and other alternative energy projects is now being challenged by the renewable energy source lobby.

There are even deeper divisions between the traditional energy industry and the alternative sector than elsewhere in the world, according to the Director for Regulation of Iberdrola, Carlos Salle. In an interview with The Guardian said that there are disagreements between renewable and non-renewable sources in Spain. The worse is that it steaming concerns.

The relations between the two sectors were somewhat funny – but only just – it was commonly referred to as being like a “war”, by a Madrid businessman from one of Spain’s top companies. Spain’s solar industry body, Asif – Asociación de la Industria Fotovoltaica – has accused politicians of justifying subsidy cuts by falsely overstating the costs of solar generated energy.

Spain’s utility companies have already subsidised solar and wind energy projects to the tune of €20bn of which the solar sector received €2.6bn (£2.28bn) These funds, which have yet to be paid back by the government, are more than the country or utility companies can easily afford.

The utility companies’ credit rating is in danger of being demoted if their tariff deficit is not addressed.

About a decade ago power black-outs caused the government to encourage the utility companies to build gas and coal generating plants. These are now generating at only about 50% of capacity and consequently, are steadily losing money. But rather than closing half of them down, the government insists that all must be kept on standby for times when alternative energy generation is impossible, such as at night and on windless days.

The main problem seems to lie in the fact that the alternative energy generation schemes grew far too quickly, due to a massive injection of subsidy and other investment capital. Even though solar projects generated a maximum of 4% of Spain’s energy needs last summer, they could cut costs fast – about 70% since 2004 alone. The subsidy funding was too generous.

It attracted a huge amount of investment and a sudden surge in the installation of generating capacity in 2008, before a tariff cut was introduced in 2009.

The net result was that by 2010 Spain had 10 times more, solar energy generating capacity than it was planned for, and a much larger bill than ever thought possible.

Challenging the tariff cuts in court will not provide a speedy solution, and by the time the issues have been resolved many smaller solar producers will have been forced out of business, said Asif’s president Javier Anta. He continued by adding that investors are losing faith in the government and consequently, refraining from new investment.

The fact that the government has decided to retroactively cut subsidies, which had been promised to extant generating projects, will scare off new investors. This is the one area that all generators – traditional or alternative – agree upon.

Changing Standards

Using experience gained in 70 years of business, a Spanish engineering firm – Abengoa – is continuing development of solar energy projects. It is working on a new method of solar energy generation using towers of pipes rather than more traditional pipe layouts. Its solar power generating plant employs 23,000 workers, and has a turnover exceeding €3bn (£2.6bn).

The sustainability of potential projects is carefully audited and any that does not measure up to severe standards are rejected. Even though bio-fuels are a hot potato due to their potential for depriving poor people in the developing world of food sources, Abengoa stands strongly behind them.

Abengoa removed seeds and fruit from plant material before processing into bio-fuel. Carlos Bousoño, Abengoa’s director of corporate social responsibility, affirmed that only stalks and waste material were fermented into bio-fuels, and the soya, corn and other food types were saved for nutritional purposes.

Source: Guradian

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Here is the analysis done by a reporter who won an award for making solar energy reports. This analysis reveals the important steps taken by the green industry.

Special: Silicon PV Panels with back contact

It’s only the energy department which emphasizes on the research of solar technology instead of just making breaking news. Similar news was disclosed in September about the installation of solar panel of 205 KW, on DOE’s headquarter roof in Washington DC. This panel was made by Sun Power Corporation, which is based in Silicon Valley.

Mr. Samuel Bodman who is the secretary at the energy department declared this choice as very practical. He said that this is practical because in the beginning of the year the photovoltaic cells of silicon were found to have an effectiveness of around 23.4 percent. In this process, the SunPower uses a design known as back-contact, according to which the electricity is harnessed at the back side of PV cells. Whereas it leaves the front side of cell open to sun. Though these types of designs are very effective, it is only in the recent years that the cost has been going down.

This design is considered symbolic as it reveals how a solar technology should be introduced to the market. First of all, the PV design with a back panel was made in early 1980 at Stanford University, and then later in 1985; SunPower was established. Mr. Larry Kazmersi who is the Director of the National Center for Photovoltaic says that research progress shouldn’t take 30 years. He said that the time for bringing the product from the lab to the consumer should be reduced. Mr. Larry is the director at NREL; national renewable energy laboratory.

The study found that PV cells are 50 percent more efficient in comparison to the typical crystalline silicon cells. A future project is also in line, which includes a 250 MW solar plant in California. This is the biggest PV installation which is made on the temporary basis.

Micro inverters

There is a problem which people have to face when they install PV panels. This is a problem regarding electrical engineering. The power generated by the solar panels is direct current, whereas our electrical appliances of daily use need AC (that means alternating current). Some systems are developed, which can change DC into AC, but due to these systems certain amount of power is lost. Moreover, it is also expensive for home appliances.

So to eliminate this problem a new system is developed called micro inverters. This is a small device which is attached to each solar panel directly. This device makes every panel capable of producing AC other than DC. The function of each panel can be inspected by attaching a wireless system with the panel. This combination of the micro inverter and monitoring device will be able to encourage the development of big grids of solar power. Mr. Patrick Chapman from Smart Spark energy says that companies are keen on bringing this new technology to the market.

The company along with other 12 companies got a grant of $24 million from DOE in August. This grant is issued for the development grids for solar energy. These grids if successful will generate enough power, so that solar panels for home electrical needs can be made really effective. Though this was neglected in the past but now companies are considering it. The first micro inverter was introduced in the market in June, 2009, by Enphase Energy. And it earned a capital of $15 million in September, which is enough to meet the increased demands.

Concentrating PV panels

Almost all the big companies regarding solar power do not disclose the exact cost of technology they are producing. In a way you can say that it’s always more costly as compared to burning coal. But this trend was broken by Sunrgi in April, 2009, who made a prediction that their solar panels will generate electricity at a cost of only $0.05 per KW per hour, which is extremely cheap. Their panels are highly concentrated.

Mr. Robert Block who is the maker of this company said that we developed XCPV in slightly more than a year He also said that we are hopeful that in 12 to 15 months Sunrgi system will serve on grid power applications as well as off grid power applications.

This system involves using lenses to catch sunlight by using 1600 factors. This is similar to fry an ant with magnifying glass by a kid. This gives synergy an opportunity to use only a few expensive semiconductors, which make solar cells. This saves a lot of money but generates a fundamental amount of power. A record of producing 40.8 percent by prototype cell was seen at NREL. This was based on an illumination with concentrated light same as what would be produced by 326 suns.

Some other companies are also included in the race of making concentrating PV successful commercially. It’s been found that another company which is from Mexico named as Emcore has broken all the records. According to this record, the solar cells will give an efficiency of 45 percent after combining with concentrating mirrors and lenses. In this device, the solar cells used are of inverted metamorphic multi junction type.

Similarly, another company as Solaria has designed the device which increases sunlight with the minimum use of silicon.

Thin Film: GIGS Panels

The growth of solar power used to be slow due to the high cost of silicon. Besides due to a continuous shortage in solar power, this caused an increase in price of silicon. Moreover, as the world is facing economic crises, so the improvement was slow. Similarly other conductors which can be used in PV cells instead of silicon are expensive. However, thin films of these conductors are used, which involves less material to make cells.

In the technology of thin film the main leader is First Solar, which is a company from Arizona. It makes PV cells by using cadmium telluride. This company was able to produce one giga-watt of solar modules in 2009. However, the conversion efficiency was only 10 percent, besides cadmium was also considered a complication during the process of making panels.

Kazmerski from NREL also suggested that panels of thin films of CIGS i.e. cadmium indium gallium selenide should be made. He said that this device is highly attractive. NREL made a record by making CIGS cell with an efficiency of 19.9 percent, which is 2 times more than the efficiency of First Solar’s cells. And it is also equal to the silicon panels’ efficiency.

A scientist from NREL said that it’s a good step ahead, as we are touching the same goal as expected by most of the companies dealing in thin film. These companies expected that the performance of film will be same as that of silicon.

As a result of this development, several new and fresh companies are investing on CIGS technology. These companies include, Nan solar, which is San Jose based, Miasola from Santa Clara and Hellio volt from Austin Emergence. There are many beginners. Kazmersi says that though everybody cannot be successful but, even if anyone is successful it will bring great rewards.

Solar thermal storage

Lots of questions arise in the mind of people while discussing solar power. One such question is that what will happen if the sun changes its position and goes down. As the cost of the batteries is very high with a limited storage ability, so answering this question is difficult.

A construction on a plant called Andasol 1, which is situated on Guadix plateau in a Spanish province, called Grenda is having a thermal storage capacity. In the beginning, this will be the first solar power plant which will have a thermal storage capacity. This battery can work for 7.5 hours when the sun changes its position by going down or by going behind the clouds.

Mr. Fred who is a former official from DOE said that this news has attracted people from around the world. This aspect also shows the change of thought towards solar power. As now instead of inducing energy in grids the utilities can absorb and save energy when the sun is shining. This will drastically reduce the cost of electricity.

Andasol1 plant was constructed by a German based company called Solar Millennium AG. This will combine with Andasol2 in 2009 and then both the plants will work together to supply energy power to half a million people. These plants do not depend on photovoltaic panels but depends on concentrating solar thermal technology. A series of mirrors will be displayed with a liquid which will redirect the sunlight to a tower heating up a liquid to 750 F. this will produce boiling water, which will spin a steam turbine. Storage of power depends on just a big thermos which can store the hot liquid until the steam is required.

Other similar plants have been constructed in the U.S. Like the Gila Bend Arizona plant with a storage capacity of 280 MW. The plant is expected to be completed this year (2011).

Solar technology is giving us good hope; for the future of renewable energy.

Source: Popular Mechanics.

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It is a solar power leasing company. Very recently, SolarCity announced the take-over of GroSolar’s residential business. This will help the company to penetrate into 4 affluent states along the east coast.

The attempt to expand will help solarCity to lease solar panels for homeowners in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. The company will begin to lease solar panels to various properties in the start of March. Besides, GroSolar will proceed with their usual business, which is to provide installation of solar panels on commercial buildings as well as to ensure that the distribution of the firm work efficiently.

SolarCity did mainly operate in the south-western U.S before the deal. Its main operations were in 10 states. Large regions such as Texas, California, Colorado and Arizona were included. It was also the largest company in the field of leasing solar panels for homeowners.

The company charges a monthly fee for leasing out solar panels. In most areas, SolarCity has helped in decreasing the electric bill for contemporary households by as much as 10 percent.

Increasingly, more homeowners are going for solar energy systems. It is a convenient way to both reduce the electric bill and to lower their carbon footprint.

Source: Solar Cooler Planet

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Apply is going for solar portable devices. In 2009, Apple described how a particular system could charge portable devices with the use of solar panels. They do current hold a patent for the system which claims that one day phones, tablet, notebook computers as well as other portable devices will be charged with solar power.

The system is quite complex. It focuses on converting solar energy harnessed on solar panels into power that can be used by typical portable electronic devices. The system is able to change voltage strength into various standard current outputs. This assures that the power generated from the sun is enough or appropriate for battery recharging.

Pictorial description of the system

The patent maintained by Apple is for a technology that can either be embedded into devices or used separately. The company have been progressing steadily in field of solar powered gadgets since 2006.

Source: ZD Net

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There is electromagnetic radiation present all around us. However, the only radiation which is visible to the human eye is light. There exists electromagnetic radiation such as:
1. Microwaves,
2. Infrared radiation
3. Visible light
4. Radio waves
5. X-rays
6. Ultraviolet radiation
7. Gamma rays

However, solar panels and current solar technology are only harnessing light energy. There are thus various radiations, which are left unexploited. The Nation’s top nuclear laboratory has extensively been studying the scope of this whole energy spectrum.

Steven Novack who is a scientist at Idaho National Laboratory announced its first suggestion of using visible light and infrared radiation to harness energy in 2008. They proposed to develop advanced designed nano-antennae implanted into the photovoltaic solar panels.

The infrared solar cells have now been completed. The advanced solar cells are able to absorb radiation in various angles. Novack says that the calculated efficiency of these cells is 46 percent while current typoical solar cells operate on an efficiency rate of 25 percent during maximum light conditions.

There are other solutions available to overcome darkness when harnessing solar power. For instance, thermal power technologies have also been considered. The SolarReserve use’s molten-salts which is heated during the day, and at night this heat is used to spin turbines.

Source: Smart Planet

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Audi is expected to install 80,730 square feet of the facility’s roof with photovoltaic panels by the turn of 2010. When the project will be completed 205,000 square feet of the plant will be filled with solar panels.

According to Audi, the photovoltaic being installed will be sufficient to produce electric y for 180 households.

The company is predicting to use merely 30 percent of the energy that is going to be produced by the system. They will use electricity to charge the eTron vehicles and to power the facility while surplus energy will be sent to the power grid.

Peter Kössler, who is Audi’s plant manager, says that they are aiming to establish new standards in the region. Audi e-tron models are going to be charged directly with the use of renewable energy derived from the sun. The expansion of solar cells is going to be construed on the roof of the newly constructed Audi A3 Body facility building.

The Plant Manager, Peter Kössler says that thin layer models are going to be used for the facility. Moreover, Audi is increasingly investing in green energy. The company did in 2009, invested in the development of 11,600 square meters of solar photovoltaic modules at the Ingolstadt plant.

The peak output of the Audi A3 Body construction building is currently 500 KW. The facility will be able to provide 460 Mwh of clean electricity. This is practically enough to power 180 households annually. Besides, Audi is expecting to increase that to 1500 MWh.

The company is constantly investing to become more environmentally friendly. In the plant at Neckarsulm, the company also has solar panels installed on its facility. This second German production plant generates around 1,000 MWh of energy per year through the solar panels that have been installed on garage parking facilities.

Source: Auto Blog

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