Floating solar Islands

Remember the Solar Lily Pads? Well, Swiss inventor Thomas Hinderling has taken that idea to the next level with his solar islands concept (check out the video). 

The 5km wide, 20m height island concept would be mobile and would adjust according to the sun’s movement across the sky. Each island would generate hundreds of kilowatts of electricity that would be almost five times cheaper than current electricity rates. A company called CSEM is financing construction of a prototype this year in the United Arab Emirates, and they are hopeful that full production of these islands could begin as soon as 2011.

Advantages of Solar Islands

5 times lower cost per kWh than competing systems, because:

• Extremely simple low-cost EFC type panels can be used.
• Alignment achieved by simply turning the platform (no costly precision mechanics), the active area of panels can be more than 95% of the available area.
• Very low sensitivity to wind, so that high up times are feasible.
• The platforms are hovering, therefore very large platforms can be build.
• The thermal principle allows to store energy, so energy can also be supplied at night.
• The active area of panels can be more than 95% of the available area.

Additional Advantages of Solar Islands on the Sea

Typically near the equator where the solar irradiation is very intense.

• Water, needed to generate hydrogen and cooling is available in abundance.
• Combination with water desalination is easily possible through collection and passive evaporation.
• In international waters, prime locations are open to all nations.
• The platforms can “follow the sun”, gaining 15% of efficiency.

Diverse Grasslands better than mono-crop Corn for BioFuel

Studies by researchers at Michigan State University indicate that using grasslands can be useful for biofuel stock as well as helping protect bird species.

Much of the current domestic ethanol production is corn based, although there are numerous criticisms against this approach. Cellulosic methods such as using prairie grasses for ethanol production do not produce 'food-or-fuel' conflicts, and can be equal or better yielding feedstocks for the process than corn or sugar. And, according to MSU biologist Bruce Robertson, using grasslands to produce biofuel feedstock would also provide habitat for a more diverse population of birds.

"Robertson and colleagues found that bugs and the birds that feed on them thrive more in mixed prairie grasses than in corn. Almost twice as many species made their homes in grasses, while plots of switchgrass, a federally designated model fuel crop, fell between the two in their ability to sustain biodiversity."

Converting even more land over to undifferentiated monoculture crops for biofuel is likely to be a short-sighted decision, and could lead to further decline of bird species. Developing methods to make fuel by using diverse grasslands could be doubly beneficial, aiding the protection of bird species as well as providing a more carbon sensitive alternative for producing fuel.

image: Matt Sileo/MSU

Coal is one of the most Expensive Sources of Electricity

A new Harvard University study examines the life cycle cost of coal powerincluding all the resulting environmental and health expenses and found that although the coal itself might be cheap, the price of generating power from it is not. The study found that coal power actually costs the U.S. somewhere between $345 billion and $500 billion each year.

The study says that if all of those expenses were included in people's electricity bills, it would double to triple the cost of coal power, adding $0.09 - $0.27 per kWh, making it no longer the cheapest source of electricity, but one of the most expensive.

Some of the hidden expenses outlined in the study are elevated rates of cancer and other diseases in coal-mining regions, environmental damage to those areas (including water and air pollution), loss of tourism dollars and costs related to climate change.

The full study titled "Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal" will be published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences soon.

via Reuters and Greenpeace

View:   If you look at a "total cost" basis - solar is the best long term alternative.   I read once that if we took what the US government was spending in incentives for oil, gas and coal companies and spent that on solar - everybody in the USA could have a solar system ... clean air, low electrical bills, and a much better life.    Even without incentives solar costs continue to decline while other sources keep increasing.   Support solar -- join us on Facebook.   It's in your best interest.

Lots of Hot Water from Small-Scale Parabolic Solar

Parabolic solar dishes generally come in two sizes, the very small "solar oven" and the large, industrial scale solar furnace. But now, a Canadian company is making parabolic solar dishes for small commercial and even residential use.

The Solar Beam Solar Concentrator produces up to 13kW of heat per houraccording to the company. That's far more hot water than most households would need, but could be practical for a home with hot water radiators or in-floor radiant heating.

Solar Beam uses a 15 foot (4.5 meter) diameter parabolic dish. A block of aluminum 10 x 10 inches (25.4 x 25.4 cm) absorbs the heat and transfers it to a glycol fluid which circulates the heat to the equipment where it is needed. The company also claims a much faster payback for the Solar Beam as compared to flat panel solar water heaters. "The SolarBeam is 262% more efficient that hot water panels and 98% more efficient than evacuated tube technology."

The Solar Beam uses a 2-axis controller to track the sun throughout the day, in order to increase efficiency of energy collection. Since just one dish has to be tracked, it is much easier to do this than it would be to have an array of flat panels tracking the sun. Since the collector can be ground mounted, it can be possible to use it for solar hot water in places where orientation or other factors do not make rooftop collectors practical. The smaller size also makes it possible to use the dish in places where there is not the space available for a large rooftop array or where it might be otherwise undesirable.

via: Solar Thermal Magazine

Solar-Fabrik AG extends Premium Module Product Warranty to 12 years

Solar-Fabrik AG, a leading manufacturer of crystal silicon Solar Modules “made in Germany”, is extending the product warranty for Premium Modules to 12 years (instead of the industry standard 5 year warranty). The warranty will apply to all modules delivered from February 15, 2011.

Karl-Heinz Dernbecher, Vice President of Sales at Solar-Fabrik AG, points out that it is “thanks to 15 years of experience, extensive quality control tests and long-term monitoring of plants installed by Solar-Fabrik, that we can today promise our customers a 12-year product warranty and, therefore, exceed statutory provisions. With this, we emphasize our claim to offer customers and investors products of the highest quality with ultimate safety”.

In addition to extending the product warranty, Solar-Fabrik AG will also offer its customers a 25-year performance warranty, promising module performance of at least 90% of the stated performance for the first 10 years, and at least 80% for a period of 25 years. Regular yield checks of Solar-Fabrik’s plants carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have proven that Solar-Fabrik’s plant yields are exceptionally high.

A prerequisite for the Premium Quality and durability of Solar-Fabrik’s modules is a far-reaching quality management system. This includes the selection of high quality materials, state-of-the-art production technology, careful processing, continuous further development and system tuning.

Solar-Fabrik, founded in 1996 and headquartered in Freiburg in Breisgau, is among Europe’s leaders in solar technology. The company produces high quality solar modules for roof-integrated and roof-mounted installation and sells complete photovoltaic solutions. Solar-Fabrik’s Solar-Fabrik’s state-of-the-art production plant in Freiburg has a capacity of 210 megawatts (MW) and is DIN ISO 9001 and 14001 certified.

Approximately 350 employees work at the company’s headquarters in Freiburg. Solar-Fabrik’s network of experienced installation partners from across Europe provides the company’s customers with competent consultation and professional plant construction and installation.

Asian Electronics "Giants" Making Their Presence Known in Photovoltaics Sector

Large Asia-based electronics firms, such as Samsung and LG, continue to enter the growing PV market, transferring their expertise in other cost-driven fields and are aiming to capture a major share of the market. In a recent report, IMS Research predicts that Asia's share of PV cell production will reach nearly 85% by the end of this year.

Although the market is currently rife with fears of a module oversupply, these large Taiwanese and Korean electronics suppliers, including Samsung, LG, AUO and Taiwan Semiconductor, have all recently announced impressive expansion plans for their solar business segments.

IMS Research expects that following the rapid PV cell and module capacity increases in 2010 - when demand boomed in major European markets - lower incentive rates and the slowing of installation growth will lead to an oversupply of PV modules this year. In particular, small tier-two suppliers are predicted to be most affected, with larger tier-one suppliers still able to sell the majority of their products.

However, the long-term outlook remains positive, and IMS Research believes that total industry demand will continue to grow at double-digit rates on average for the next four years. As a result, a continuous stream of hopeful new entrants exists, and the most successful of these are likely to be these Asian consumer electronics manufacturers joining the pack.

AUO Optronics, a Taiwanese supplier most known for its flat-panel displays, recently broke ground on a 1.4 GW cell production joint venture with SunPower, the report notes. Meanwhile, LCD television company Samsung recently announced a joint venture producing polysilicon with MEMC, further expanding its activities in the solar sector.

Although not a consumer electronics company, Taiwan Semiconductor also plans to begin offering both thin-film and crystalline modules following its investments and partnerships with Motech, Stion and Centrosolar, IMS Research adds.

"The expertise of these large Asian suppliers at large-scale production in similar fields and their willingness and ability to invest significant capital is likely to mean that they are able to quickly reach low-cost and high-volume production, and they certainly have the potential to be serious competition for today’s market leaders within a few years," says Sam Wilkinson, PV research analyst. "Many suppliers are currently experiencing a lull in shipments, and it is likely that demand may remain weak until later in the year.

"The entrance of a number of large electronics suppliers that will offer competitively-priced PV components is likely to add some further obstacles for existing suppliers in an already volatile market," Wilkinson continues.

IMS Research estimates that nearly 80% of PV modules were produced in Asia in 2010 and predicts this figure will continue to rise in the future.

SOURCE: IMS Research

Survey Results Reveal Widespread Support For Solar Loan Guarantees

An overwhelming majority of Americans support the use of federal loan guarantees to encourage investment in the clean energy technologies identified by President Obama in his recent State of the Union address, according to a new survey sponsored by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI).

A total of 79% of respondents agreed with the following statement: "To jump-start investment and maintain U.S. competitiveness, the federal government should provide guarantees backing loans for building solar, wind, advanced-design nuclear power plants or other energy technology that reduces greenhouse gases." Nineteen percent of those surveyed stated they did not agree, and 2% stated they did not know.

SOURCE: Nuclear Energy Institute

Online Shopping Platform For PV Panels Debuts

Technology marketing specialist HMG has announced the official preview of PanelPrice.com, a new online shopping platform dedicated to solar panel price comparison.

According to HMG, PanelPrice.com - which is intended for project developers and homeowners - is designed to aid in the purchase of solar power modules for residential locations and commercial PV sites.

The site lists hundreds of solar panel prices for more than 300 different solar panels and automatically checks all price offers for validity. Technology used in the site is designed to solve the problem of outdated merchant offerings in online price comparison, HMG says.

SOURCE: HMG


View:   While panel prices can be important from a cash cost point of view -- I also recommend looking at $$ per kWp to compare the cost to produce a kWh of electricity between panel makers ... and even better we use the € / kWh produced over the FIT period.

I also recommend looking at the performance guarantees.

Solar Is Booming in Australia

Australia will be the biggest 'growth' market over the next few years. Over 80 MW of PV were installed in Australia in 2009, thats 360% more than 2008, and then Australia easily reached 350 MW by end 2010, thats another growth in excess of 360%. in 2011 it is likely to grow more than 50.0% in terms of installed capacity additions.

With the Australian dollar and Government incentives, programs and focus for renewable energy, Australia has huge potential. 


posted by Alec Percy

groSolar Sells Residential Business to SolarCity, Focuses on Commercial Business

Solar energy developer groSolar says it sold its residential division to SolarCity, a residential solar service provider, in order to further expand its solar distribution and large-scale commercial business.

"This transaction allows us to concentrate fully on our distribution and commercial businesses, which are the fastest-growing solar markets," explains Jeff Wolfe, CEO of groSolar. "It allows us to target, expand and move our distribution and commercial solar businesses to the next level."

groSolar's commercial division has received contracts for multiple large-scale commercial projects this year, the company notes. In the coming weeks, groSolar will commission its largest commercial installation to date, a 1.5 MW installation at Clean Harbors landfill in New Jersey. 

SOURCE: groSolar

Feb 14 - Large Solar Flare Disrupts radio Communications in China

Our local star blasted its first X-class solar flare in more than four years on February 14, 2011 at 8:56 p.m. EST. These most powerful of solar events can trigger radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms.

The flare disrupted radio communications in China and generated concern around the world. But it could have been a lot worse, experts say.

Despite its strength, Monday's solar storm was a baby compared to several previous blasts, and it provides just a hint of what the sun is capable of. A true monster storm has the potential to wreak havoc on a global scale, knocking out communications systems, endangering satellites and astronauts and causing perhaps trillions of dollars in damages.

The sun's activity cycle is ramping up, so more storms will likely be coming our way over the next few years. The sun has grown more active over the last several months after rousing from a quiet period in its 11-year weather cycle last year.

That's not to say the big one is imminent, experts say — but you never can tell. And analysts warn that with humanity more dependent than ever on the high-tech equipment that can be affected by a solar storm, the stakes are higher than in the past.

"Even if this is a really lackluster solar cycle — as it looks like it's shaping up to be — that doesn't mean you can't have a real bell-ringing event," said Joe Gurman of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, project scientist for the agency's sun-studying STEREO spacecraft.

The roots of solar storms

Solar storm events come in several different flavors.

Solar flares are intense bursts of radiation that send waves of photons streaming toward Earth. The scale measuring their strength has three general categories – Class C, Class M and Class X – with Class X flares being the most powerful.

Monday's Valentine's Day solar flare registered a Class X2.2 on that scale.

Other storms, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), are large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun's surface, sending lots of particles our way.

Both flares and CMEs have the same root cause — a disruption of the magnetic field in the sun's outer atmosphere. And both events can affect life here on Earth. Major flares, for example, can interfere with satellites, causing disruptions in GPS and high-frequency radio communications that can last from a few minutes to a few hours.

These impacts are felt almost immediately, since it only takes light about 8 minutes to travel from the sun to Earth.

"It's like the sun is a giant noise source," said Bob Rutledge, head of the forecast office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. "It can disrupt anything that depends on a link between the ground and satellites."

But the most severe damage comes from powerful CMEs. The particles from these outbursts take longer to reach us — up to three days or so. But when they get here, their interaction with Earth's magnetic field can cause massive "geomagnetic storms," which have the potential to wreak long-lasting havoc on power and communications infrastructure around the globe.

Last year, NASA launched its so-called Solar Shield project to serve as an early-warning system for serious space weather events.

Powerful impacts possible

Monday night's storm produced both a big solar flare and a CME. Wdespread satellite or communications disruption, however, is likely not in the cards.

"We don't expect this to cause any kind of lasting damage to our infrastructure," Rutledge said.

But Earth has been walloped by monster solar storms before. One of the most powerful hit us in 1859, a blast that Rutledge estimates may have been 30 times more powerful than Monday's event, though it's tough to put hard numbers on such comparisons.

The 1859 storm shorted out telegraph wires, causing fires in North America and Europe, and spawnedspectacular auroras — the light shows visible near Earth's poles — bright enough to read by, according to some accounts.

If the 1859 storm occured these days, it would likely have devastating impacts, since our electrical and communications infrastructures are so much more developed. A recent report by the U.S National Academy of Sciences found that such a severe storm could cause up to $2 trillion in initial damages by crippling communications on Earth and fueling chaos around the world.

It might take up to 10 years for authorities to re-assert control and get everyting fixed, the report concluded. For comparison, Hurricane Katrina likely inflicted somewhere between $80 billion and $125 billion in damage.

What does the future hold?

The sun works on an 11-year activity cycle, and it's currently gaining strength. Forecasters now expect peak activity might occur in 2013 or 2014, Rutledge said, though nobody knows for sure.

So more flares and CMEs should be headed our way over the next several years. So far, the sun has been relatively quiescent during this cycle, so perhaps peak activity won't compare to the maxima of previous cycles, researchers said.

But a big, Earth-shaking blast could come screaming at us all the same, and researchers are monitoring the sun closely.

"This has been a remarkably quiet solar cycle," Gurman told SPACE.com. "But that doesn't mean there won't be a big event."

Be sure to also read our post:  Grid Failure in 2012?

Another Reason Why It's Good To Have A Solar Back Up System

You've seen the movies where someone is being choked or drowned and they are gasping for breath.

Now imagine you are a machine -- and the grid suddenly goes down.   It creates total panic.

If you were watching the superbowl - you probably didn't notice.   But a lot of other Texans did. Here's what happened.

The critical-care hospital safety nets for North Texas - Parkland, Baylor, Methodist, and Presbyterian Dallas - all endured rolling blackouts during the days of teen temperatures the first week of February. Sure the hospitals had back-up systems in place, but it took precious minutes and seconds to get everything back up and running when they switched from the power grid to the power generators. Manual ventilation of respiratory patients was required, and once the generators kicked in, resetting of vital-care machinery was necessary. Doing this for 15 minutes at a time in a rotating cycle created chaos in the hospitals!

But the NFL got their pass from the inconvenience imposed on the peons, and the Superbowl continued on schedule! No warning, no nothing. People woke up shivering in cold, dark houses with temperatures in the teens. Folks on ventilators in the hospitals woke up gasping.

God help you if you were sick, in intensive care, in surgery, or were going through dialysis at the time. Twenty dialysis patients had to have their blood hand-pumped back into their bodies. Operating rooms went dark in the middle of surgeries. One death of a hospital patient has been attributed to the blackouts.

ERCOT personnel were frustrated. "We just needed earlier warning," one administrator complained. (Obviously the Weather Channel is not on their cable channel line-up.) Energy companies got 30 minutes warning before the rolling blackouts commenced. Texas residents endured outages from 20 minutes to an hour, had power restored for 30 minutes, and then started the cycle all over again.

But it wasn't just the power grid that was affected. The blackouts contributed to drops in pressure in natural gas lines in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and gas furnaces that were run by electrical thermostats shut down. Once power was restored, the gas lines couldn't handle the resultant surge in usage as hundreds of gas furnaces fired up.

Capitol Hill Is Looking For Answers

Texas state agencies and power industry executives met on Capitol Hill Monday, February 14th, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Texas's electric grid is separate from the rest of the country and not generally subject to federal regulations. However, there are still certain federal standards that have to be met to insure reliable delivery of electricity to consumers.

Many Texans believe that deregulation has contributed to the shoddy power grid and service that they receive. They think that greedy executives have created conditions where the consumer is pretty much at the mercy of whatever winds of fate ERCOT throws their way.

The thing is, America can do better than this. Any state in the union can do better than this. If power companies in the North can generate enough electricity to keep things running in sub-zero temperatures, surely Texas can figure out a way to keep the electricity flowing when the temperatures dip into the teens.

However, we may not have a chance to see what innovations we can come up with because of the Environmental Protection Agency. There will soon be a showdown between the EPA and House Republicans over the EPA's insistence that it has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases of any kind due to global warming. No matter that Congress tossed Cap and Trade on its head. No matter that this pseudo-science has been proven to be a hoax time and time again. Global climate change is the holy grail of the elitists, and the dogma will not die quietly or quickly.

This administration wants to shut down coal-fired plants. They do not want to invest in newer technologies that include nuclear power and clean coal. We can export all these resources and technology to every country in the world, but the peons in the United States are not worthy of the access.

That's Why You Should...

... have your own back-up system. Part of living off the grid and becoming self-reliant is knowing that you have the ability to direct your own fate, that you don't have to be subjected to the ill winds that toss and turn others who allow themselves to be led and manipulated.

To learn more about a simple solar solution to this problem CLICK HERE.

The Importance of Solar Research to the PV Industry

The PV industry is a huge success story today, with new companies shooting up like mushrooms and big companies shifting their gears towards this Holy Land of dollars. A crucial factor enabling this double-digit yearly growth is the incentives of European countries and, in particular, of the German government.

From a research point of view, new themes that will be important in 2011 are the study of new PV materials.

Thanks to this success, these incentives will be cut down at a faster pace than originally anticipated. To maintain a strong and sustainable PV market and ensure returns on the large investments that PV companies have made worldwide, grid parity has to be reached as soon as possible.

Without continued technological improvements, the PV industry may fall from its current heights like Icarus when he got too close to the sun. Here are some thoughts on how to improve:

For both bulk silicon solar cells and thin-film solar cells, it will be key to achieve a rise in solar cell efficiencies at an accelerated pace and a cost reduction. This does not necessarily imply immediate revolutionary changes. For bulk solar cells for example, the efficiency can be increased by contacting of shallow emitters and decoupling of front and rear side processing. These technologies are available for development and deployment by the industry. It will be crucial to guarantee the reliability of these solutions.

In general, an accelerated transfer of new technologies from lab to industry is key to maintaining a stable market after the incentives have faded out. Within this respect, it is important that interaction between research institutes and companies is increased and reinforced. Suitable business models for cooperation will have to be worked out. One such example is imec’s affiliation program in which different companies work together to develop new generic technologies to increase efficiency and reduce cost of bulk and thin-film solar cells. The sharing of risk and cost makes it an attractive business model to partners.

From a research point of view, new themes that will be important in 2011 are the study of new PV materials. These are necessary to replace materials that are suspected to be hampered by a limited supply in the future. If we want to be ready when the time of shortage comes, we have to start studying the possibilities today. For example, think of the replacement of silver contacts by copper contacts: if we want to develop a reliable solution to this problem, we have to start studying the possibilities now.

Imec is working to reduce the thickness of the active silicon layer from 150μm down to 40μm. This will substantially lower the production cost of crystalline Si solar cells.

To reach efficiencies of more than 20% on such large-area thin wafers, imec has introduced alternative back-side dielectric stacks using a PERL-style (passivated emitter and rear local back surface field) passivation, and interdigitated back-side contacts (i-BC), both in an industrial process flow.

It's important to investigate the integration of these new cells in modules, as reduced wafer thickness will impose specific integration requirements. Work on and assesing the reliability of the cells is also important, as the cells will need a guaranteed lifetime of up to 25 years.

Imec has also developed epitaxial thin-film (<20μm) silicon solar cells grown on low-cost silicon carriers. The process to fabricate such epitaxial thin-film cells on low-cost silicon carriers is generically similar to the bulk process, so an epi-process can be implemented with limited equipment investment in existing manufacturing lines.

Given the guarantees on lifetime and stability of PV modules, it should be emphasized that no technological innovation in photovoltaics can make it without a thorough assessment of reliability. However, with a well-thought choice of R&D topics, a large focus on reliability of new technologies, and an accelerated transfer of lab results to the industry, I believe PV industry can continue its growth path even within the context of rapidly decreasing incentives, and remain a booming business.

Jef Poortmans is the Program Director of the Strategic Programme SOLAR+ at IMEC.

Worlds Largest CIGS Module Production Plant Starts Production

Solar Frontier has started commercial production - on schedule - at its gigawatt-scale Kunitomi factory in Miyazaki, Japan. Launched 16 months after its ground-breaking in September 2009, the new factory is expected to reach full capacity this summer.

According to the company, this facility is the world's largest copper-indium-selenium thin-film solar module production plant. Products manufactured at the facility have obtained certification from Japanese and European standards organizations, and U.S. certification is expected shortly, Solar Frontier adds.

SOURCE: Solar Frontier

Hertz Goes Solar

The Hertz Corporation has launched a solar initiative, the first phase of which will entail the installation of 2.3 MW of solar PV systems at 16 locations across the U.S.

Hertz has already completed the construction of a 235 kW solar electric system located at Denver International Airport. The company says that by the third quarter of this year, it will have completed the construction of 15 additional facilities across the U.S. in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Companies participating in the Hertz solar program include Martifer Solar, which is scheduled to engineer, procure and install 14 of the solar systems, and Samba Energy, which will provide its enterprise software platform - Samba SunSpotter - for solar and investment analysis and project management of installation.

SOURCES: Hertz, Martifer Solar, Samba Energy

New Iphone App specifically designed to provide Solar Info

Germany-based voltwerk electronics GmbH has launched Voltapp, a monitoring application for iPhones and iPads. Designed for solar technology experts and PV system owners, the app provides users with information on energy output, the amount of money generated by any applicable local feed-in-tariff programs and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions avoided by the system.

Information displayed can reflect the past day, week, month or year, or the total lifetime of the PV system. The readings displayed and time period are freely configurable, and the user can select the information he or she would like to see and display it easily in a single graph, the company says. Error reports from the system are kept in a logbook.

The application can be downloaded free from the Apple AppStore.

SOURCE: voltwerk electronics GmbH

Crystalline PV Margins And Prices Predicted To Fall Sharply This Year

Prices have begun falling dramatically throughout the PV crystalline supply chain in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest analysis from IMS Research. The company's latest quarterly report on the PV polysilicon and wafer market has revealed that polysilicon, wafer, cell and module prices will fall 7% on average in the first quarter and will continue to decline in the second quarter.

The declines are largely due to cuts to solar incentive schemes in a number of key markets, causing installation growth to slow considerably. Average polysilicon contract prices fell by just 2% in the fourth quarter of 2010. However, spot prices declined by nearly 10%, reversing the rapid increases that had occurred in the previous quarter, when tier-two and tier-three suppliers had been able to sell silicon at inflated prices on the spot market due to high demand and a shortage in supply.

Both contract and spot prices are forecast to continue their decline in the first quarter of this year, falling by 4% on average over the previous quarter. Similar price declines are predicted throughout the supply chain. Reduced incentive rates have placed increased pressure on module suppliers’ prices, and these manufacturers are naturally transferring this pressure to their upstream suppliers and forcing down cell, wafer and polysilicon prices as a result, IMS Research says.

As with polysilicon, it is likely to be the smaller module, cell and wafer companies that suffer the most severe price declines. High demand throughout 2010 meant that their larger competitors were largely sold out, and these suppliers were able to capitalize on the situation and increase their shipments and prices quickly.

In particular, a large number of Chinese tier-two suppliers were able to gain market share and in the third quarter of 2010, these suppliers' module prices were, on average, higher than Chinese tier-one prices. As demand weakened at the end of 2010, tier-one suppliers’ products have become more freely available, and IMS Research predicts that the smaller suppliers will be forced to price more competitively in an attempt to gain or even maintain market share this year.

As a result, average Chinese tier-two crystalline module prices are forecast to fall by nearly 10% in the first quarter of this year.

Although module prices are falling, suppliers' costs are not falling as quickly, the report adds. "Efficiency improvements and relatively high utilization rates are helping to continue the lowering of manufacturing costs throughout the supply chain," explains PV Market Research Analyst Sam Wilkinson. "However, costs are not being reduced as quickly as prices, and gross margins are beginning to tighten.

"IMS Research predicts that by mid-2011, some polysilicon and wafer suppliers will see their gross margins fall to half of what they peaked at in the third quarter of 2010," he adds.

Despite declining margins for most in 2011, the overall outlook for the industry remains positive, and IMS Research predicts that the polysilicon market for PV applications will grow by nearly 20% this year to reach nearly $8 billion.

SOURCE: IMS Research

Now Here's A Useful Idea -- make Tequila and Biofuel

The latest plant to gain biofuel feedstock status is the same one that fuels our margaritas. The agave plant, most notably the source of tequila, could also soon be a new source of biofuel.

Researchers have discovered that agave is a very high-yielding source of biofuel and it would cause very little, if any, land use change.

Biofuel could be harvested from the plant as a by-product of tequila production. Agave plantations that already exist for tequila production, as well as abandoned ones in Mexico, Africa and Australia that were previously used for fiber production and could be reclaimed, would be used to produce the biofuel without any land grab issues.

More testing has to be done to figure out which Agave species can deliver the highest yield and is most tolerant to the semi-arid regions where it would be cultivated, but it seems we'll be hearing more about this soon.


via Inhabitat

Solar Powered Parking Meters

Corpus Christi is trying solar-powered, credit-card accepting parking meters.

Crews on Tuesday were scheduled to install the first of about 30 so-called smart meters.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports the test run, for three months, will help determine whether to replace the roughly 900 meters citywide.

City parking director Mark Denson says some of the current meters are more than 20 years old.

Denson says credit card meters used in other parts of the country led to fewer tickets being written for violations, but more money taken in. Denton says people tend to charge more money to their card to be sure their parking meters don't expire.


As cool as solar parking meters are (that take credit cards) -- check out this article on smart parking meters that are being installed in San Francisco - and be sure to watch the video.

Now combine - solar parking meters with smart metering + electric cars ... and you can imagine what it will be like to drive and park in the not too distant future

With PV Prices Dropping - European PV Capacity Predicted to Reach 350 GW by 2020

Global investments in solar photovoltaic technology could double from 35 billion - 40 billion euros today to over 70 billion euros in 2015, according to a study published recently by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and Greenpeace International. The estimated investments in the European Union (EU) alone would rise from today's 25 billion - 30 billion euros to over 35 billion euros in 2015.

The report, "Solar Generation 6," foresees that PV could account for 12% of Europe's power demand by 2020, and up to 9% of the global power demand by 2030.

PV prices have dropped some 40% since 2005, and by 2015, the cost of PV systems is expected to drop by an additional 40% compared to current levels. As a result, PV systems will be able to compete with electricity prices for households in many countries in the EU within the next five years.

The report estimates that current global solar PV capacity could grow from over 36 GW at the end of 2010 to close to 180 GW by 2015. European PV capacity is expected to increase from over 28 GW in 2010 to nearly 100 GW by 2015, and has the potential to reach up to 350 GW on a global basis by 2020, the report adds.

The report also highlights the enormous PV potential for Europe in light of the EU’s established target of 20% renewable energy and 20% energy efficiency. Based on this potential for photovoltaic growth, the EU could easily increase its emissions-reduction target from the current 20% by 2020 to a more aggressive 30% level, the study concludes.

The Solar Generation 6 report is available for download here.

SOURCES: European Photovoltaic Industry Association, Greenpeace

Money For Solar - Big Difference between USA and Europe

As solar developers in Europe - we're familiar with the issues of financing solar projects -- and from our perspective one reason that there are a lot more solar projects in Europe than the USA - is because it's easier to find bank financing - both for construction and sale of the projects after being connected to the grid.

There are a couple of reasons for this:

1)   FIT programs guarantee a fixed income for the project -- making cash flow projections very reliable.  

2)  There are widely accepted tools - such as PV Kalk (German) that provide the information the banks need to make their decisions ... that coupled with a list of "bankable" solar technologies - really speeds up the decision process.

3)  There is a strong "repurchase" market - by investment groups wanting to buy up connected solar projects because of the attractive return on investment and performance guarantees.  Getting a commitment from such an end buyer makes raising construction financing easier.

As  a result European banks can usually provide decisions in a 30 days or less and financing of 80% and even 90% of the total investment cost with long terms (15 to 18 years) and attractive interest rates (2 to 3 points over LIBOR or Eurobond rates is typical).

Contrast that with these recent comments from an American solar project developer

The financial meltdown is still impeding the flow of renewable energy project money, a pioneer of solar financing said during a Feb. 3 AltaTerra webinar. Still, says Matt Cheney, CEO of CleanPath Ventures, banks that do lend are in for longer hauls.

More than ever, “patience and passion is needed...to prevail even after hearing “no” a thousand times,” says Cheney, who has financed, owned, and operated over $300 million in solar energy assets.

Banks might take a year to complete due diligence. Always looking for a risk-free return on their debt financing, banks are scrutinizing the whole fabrication process now. They often find the weak link in proprietary technology whose black boxes make them nervous. Failures of new tech components in projects in the past have made bankers more cautious; so they are looking for manufacturers that will still be around to replace or upgrade the failing parts years down the road.

The good news, Cheney says, is that such replacements can often be done with cheaper and better products.

Cheney suggests some strategies to improve the odds that your project will get financing. They include:

Making proprietary technology only a small part of a project that includes mainly products and processes that have a “pedigree.”

Working off the balance sheet of an established partner, or looking at balance sheet support with new (but expensive) insurance products now out.

Planning for bankability early in the R&D and demonstration process by collecting data and having it vetted by recognized third-party engineers.

Tackle quality control before it becomes a bigger problem.

Getting to the right price point, beyond R&D pricing, and bringing in the right management team to get you there.

Look at niche marketing opportunities that don’t require bankability, such as rooftop solar or large unique customers with special needs, such as a winery.

Argonne National Laboratory Develops New Approach To Solar Cost Calculations

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, in partnership with an analyst at Gartner Inc., have developed a new approach to calculate the lifetime cost for a solar-generated energy system for comparison to other energy systems.

The dollars-per-watt metric, which is typically used, represents only a measure of the initial capital cost and the solar panel vendor's performance specification, according to Argonne. This measurement does not take into account the actual energy obtained from the system or other cost factors, such as maintenance. A far more informative metric is the levelized cost of energy (LCOE).

"In typical LCOE projections for solar energy, many assumptions are swept under the rug, and we wanted to make a small step toward lifting up that rug and showing how you can truly get a handle on those assumptions to develop a more accurate picture of the potential costs," explains Argonne solar researcher Seth Darling, who led the development of the new approach.

"Specifically, the Argonne approach uses a Monte Carlo simulation that statistically selects from probability distributions to account for the uncertainty associated with various cost and production parameters," Darling says. A Monte Carlo simulation can produce millions of possible performance outcomes that might occur in the future, [and weight them] to reflect their likelihood.

A variety of stakeholders, including investors and policymakers, are tracking the generational development and commercialization of solar technologies and require greater insight into the projected costs of a solar energy project to aid in decision making, Argonne notes.

SOURCE: Argonne National Laboratory

How 'American' Are Your Solar Panels?

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) loan-guarantee program - part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) - has had an undeniably positive effect on solar project deployment and equipment manufacturing in the U.S. However, ARRA qualification requirements have often been a source of confusion for developers and manufacturers.

Over the past couple of years, many solar equipment providers have set up shop in the U.S. in order to comply with the ARRA's Section 1605 Buy American provisions, which impose certain domestic-content requirements on projects backed by ARRA funding. "ARRA-compliant!" quickly became a golden term in product marketing.

Of course, under many PV cell and module manufacturers' current labor models, cell fabrication and module assembly may not take place under the same roof - or even within the same country.

U.S.-assembled modules may contain cells manufactured abroad, and U.S.-manufactured cells may be integrated into modules produced elsewhere. Which types of modules are eligible under the ARRA's rules? What about balance-of-system components?

These distinctions are the subject of a decision issued last week by the DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) office. The ruling extended a waiver - originally issued Sept. 30, 2010 - that excludes certain types of solar equipment from Buy American rules until Aug. 6, 2011.

The EERE's decision means that both U.S.-manufactured modules containing foreign-manufactured cells and their opposite - foreign-manufactured modules comprising U.S.-manufactured cells - remain exempt. The ruling also waives so-called ancillary items and equipment, including charge controllers, combiner boxes, wiring and racking equipment, and other items (except inverters and batteries) used in solar installations.

"The Assistant Secretary has determined that application of Section 1605 restrictions would be inconsistent with the public interest for incidental and/or ancillary solar photovoltaic equipment, when this equipment is utilized in solar installations containing domestically manufactured PV cells or modules," the EERE writes in its memorandum of decision.

"What the DOE has tried to do is live within the spirit of the law, while also allowing companies to make the best market-based determinations they can," Salo Zelermyer, an associate in the Environmental Strategies Group at law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, tellsSolar Industry.

The memorandum explains that complications inherent to multi-site, multi-country PV module manufacturing can make it difficult to determine where "final manufacturing" - for the purposes of ARRA compliance - takes place.

Consequently, the EERE says it teamed with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to conduct "extensive research" into the nature of solar manufacturing to explore three possible rulings: requiring only domestic module assembly, mandating that both cells and modules be made in the U.S., or allowing either cell manufacture or module assembly to count for compliance.

The third option - the agency's chosen ruling - "recognizes EERE's determination that the manufacturing process for cells and the final PV module production represent distinct and significant stages in the solar PV manufacturing chain," the memorandum says. "Conducting either of these discrete activities in the United States creates roughly equal numbers of American jobs."

Not surprisingly, Suniva, a Norcross, Ga.-based monocrystalline solar cell manufacturer, immediately spoke out in support of the EERE's interpretation of "American" modules.

"This is an important step by the Department of Energy to support American companies manufacturing the part of the solar supply chain that contains the highest value and most intellectual property - the cells," said Bryan Ashley, Suniva's chief marketing officer, in a statement.

The company, which received a $15 million working capital loan guarantee from the Export-Import Bank Of The United States last November, exports approximately 90% of its annual production to countries in Asia and Europe, according to a 2010 press release.

Zelermyer says that the solar market as a whole - not just Suniva and other firms with an explicit stake in the EERE's ruling - can expect to benefit from the waiver's extension.

"This frees up project developers to source their projects according to a more market-based decision, while maintaining the spirit of the provision: supporting U.S.-backed manufacturing," he explains. "Ideally, when you don't place constraints on the market, the industry is free to source its components in the most cost-effective manner."

Zelermyer, who has previously served as counsel to the DOE, says we may or may not see another extension of the waiver when it reaches its Aug. 6 expiration. He predicts that the agency will base its decision on the progress made by existing stimulus-funded projects.

"Most stimulus awards have already been given out, but some larger projects take longer to put into place," he notes. "Depending on how companies are proceeding with their procurements, we may see another waiver, or the DOE may determine it's not necessary."


by Jessica Lillian