Energy Conservation

Top ten fasting-growing solar cities in California announced by SunRun, PV Solar Report

2012-02-05T21:40:00.000-08:00

San Jose, Bakersfield and Simi Valley rounded out the top three fastest-growing solar cities in California based on a report released by SunRun and PV Solar Report as part of the Q4 and year end solar sales and installation reports from PV Solar Report. The top ten California cities all demonstrated that they had added more home solar systems in 2011 than other California cities. Lancaster, Fresno, Corona, Murrieta, Rocklin, Hemet and Apple Valley completed the top ten list.

“We thought it was important to not just look at which cities have the most solar installations, but also those that are growing the fastest,” said Stephen Torres, founder and managing director of PV Solar Report. “While Apple Valley may not have the most solar in the state, its solar installation numbers grew by almost 70 percent in 2011.”

SunRun and PV Solar Report advised that cities like San Jose were not a surprise as leaders in California solar cities, but newcomers such as Hemet and Apple Valley have shown that solar projects are expanding to different geographic locations. The report additionally advised that many of the homeowners in the cities cited chose to bring a solar installation to their domain through a solar power service rather than buying the panels. The report specifically cited the top city, San Jose, as having 648 homeowners choose solar service in 2011, compared to the 312 who purchased their panels.

"The cost of solar is coming down, which makes it more affordable for families in a more diverse range of cities," said SunRun President and Co-founder Lynn Jurich. "At SunRun we’ve also seen solar expand to more median income communities because our service allows homeowners to make the switch for zero or very little money upfront, and they lock in a low rate for clean electricity.”
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BrightSource Energy and Southern California Edison Add Energy Storage Capabilities to Power Purchase Agreements

2011-12-04T13:55:00.000-08:00

BrightSource Energy, Inc., a leading solar thermal technology company, today announced the addition of its SolarPLUS^TM thermal energy storage capability to three of its power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison (SCE). The agreements illustrate the critical value of highly-efficient power tower solar thermal technology with storage in providing utility customers with cost-competitive, reliable and dispatchable clean power that meets peak demand.

Recent studies¹ by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory point to the high value of concentrating solar thermal power technologies with storage. This added value is a result of the resource’s unique capabilities including:

Shifting electricity production to periods of highest demand
Providing firm capacity to the power system; replacing the need for conventional power plants as opposed to just supplementing their output
Providing ancillary services such as spinning reserves to help support a reliable grid
Avoiding the variability and integration costs that other renewable resources like photovoltaics (PV) and wind create for utilities and grid operators; reducing the need for additional fossil fuel units required to back up intermittent renewables that put a hidden financial burden on ratepayers

To mitigate these integration costs, energy regulators, utilities, grid operators and policymakers are focusing their attention on advancing deployment of energy storage technologies. California recently passed Assembly Bill 2514, landmark legislation designed to encourage the adoption of energy storage technologies.

"Energy storage improves the overall efficiency of our electric power system which will lower costs for consumers," said Assembly Member Nancy Skinner (D – Berkeley), author of the bill. "The Assembly's passage of AB 2514 is another step that advances California's clean energy economy and represents a great economic opportunity for the State."

A BrightSource power tower solar thermal system uses a field of software-controlled mirrors called heliostats to reflect the sun’s energy to a boiler atop a tower to produce high temperature and high pressure steam. The steam is used to turn a highly efficient steam turbine to produce electricity. When storage is added, the steam is directed to a heat exchanger, where molten salts are further heated to a higher temperature, thus efficiently storing the heat energy for future use. Later, when the energy in storage is needed, the heat stored in the molten salts is used to generate steam to run the turbine.

Under the original power purchase agreements with Southern California Edison, BrightSource would provide approximately four million megawatt-hours of electricity annually across seven power plants. Due to higher efficiencies and capacity factors associated with energy storage, the new set of agreements will provide approximately the same amount of energy annually but with one less plant, reducing the land impacts of delivering this energy and avoiding transactional costs that ultimately impact California’s ratepayers.

The new set of contracts, if approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, now consist of two BrightSource solar thermal plants scheduled to deliver electricity in 2015 and three BrightSource plants with energy storage scheduled to deliver electricity in 2016 and 2017. In addition, BrightSource and its partners – NRG Energy, Google and Bechtel - are currently constructing a 126 megawatt plant for Southern California Edison at the Ivanpah solar project in southeast California.
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San Bernardino manufacturer MacroAir receives accolades for cooling technology Read more: http://www.sbsun.com/business/ci_19418673#ixzz1eusADLhB

2011-11-27T06:31:00.000-08:00

MacroAir, a manufacturer of industrial cooling fans, has a new accolade pointing the firm as one of the Inland Empire's most innovative companies. MacroAir won the Innovator award at this year's Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards ceremony earlier this month in Riverside.

The Center for Entrepreneurship at Cal State San Bernardino, which hands out the awards, praised MacroAir for becoming an industry leader in providing commercial air ceiling fans to a variety of users, such as distribution centers, airports and factories. MacroAir's specialty is what the company calls high-volume, low-speed fans. The basic principle behind the firm's product is that a large fan turning slowly can move air more efficiently than a smaller fan that turns quickly.

In mathematical terms, there is a linear relationship between the size of a fan and the amount of power needed to keep it turning, MacroAir co-founder and president Eddie Boyd explained. That means that when one doubles the size of a fan's blade, one must also double the amount of power that goes to the device. Much more power is required to make a fan turn faster, Boyd said.

He said there is a cubic relationship between speed and power, meaning that if one wishes to double a fan's speed, one must provide an eightfold increase in power. "It's the speed of the air that kills you, not the size of the fan. We keep them running slow," Boyd said.
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The energy, and expense, of bringing water to the Southland

2011-11-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

The aqueduct stretched across the desert like an endless blue freight train, carrying its cargo of Colorado River water to a concrete building at the base of a craggy-faced mountain. Inside the plant, adorned with the seal of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a set of massive pumps hoisted the water 441 feet high, disgorging it into a tunnel and the final leg of its journey from the Arizona border to a Riverside County reservoir.

The Julian Hinds Pumping Plant is one of the hydraulic hearts of California's vast water supply system, built early in the last century to push water from where it is to where it isn't, no matter how many hundreds of miles of desert, mountains and valleys are in the way. Defying geography on such a grand scale takes energy. A lot of it. It's also expensive. And it's going to become more so, driving up Southern California water rates and forcing the region to consider more mundane sources closer to home. The volume of water propelled uphill on one recent day at Hinds weighed the equivalent of more than four World Trade Center towers and required six 12,500-horsepower motors driven by electricity, much of it from Hoover and Parker dams on the Colorado.

But the federal contract that allocates more than a quarter of Hoover Dam's hydro-generation to the MWD expires in 2017. The water agency expects to lose 5% of its Hoover electricity under a new pact that will accommodate additional customers by trimming sales to longtime users. The MWD will have to buy additional power on the open market, at higher prices. And the state's upcoming cap-and-trade program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions could require the district to purchase expensive pollution allowances to offset the energy it gets from fossil-fuel power plants.

Agency officials predict that the double whammy will boost the aqueduct's energy costs, which amounted to nearly $49 million last year, by 80% over the next decade. For similar reasons, the district could face even steeper price hikes from its other water source, the State Water Project, which brings supplies from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to the Southland. That system is the single biggest power user in California. Costs there are expected to climb by $20 million a year after the Department of Water Resources drops its ownership interest in a coal-fired Nevada power plant in 2013, and replaces it with cleaner electricity sources.
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Trade War In Solar Takes Shape

2011-11-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

The Commerce Department in Washington on Wednesday opened an investigation sought by American manufacturers who accuse the Chinese of “dumping” solar panels into the United States at prices, aided by government subsidies, lower than the cost of making and distributing them.

...it exports 95 percent of its production, much of it to the United States, rather than using it within China. That has helped push wholesale solar panel prices down sharply — to $1 to $1.20 a watt of capacity today, from $1.80 in January, from $3.30 in 2008.

Although plunging prices could speed up the adoption of solar power, the American industry contends the Chinese are simply not playing fair. Besides Solyndra, two other American solar companies that together represented one-sixth of American manufacturing capacity in the sector went bankrupt in August, while four other American solar companies have laid off workers and cut output since spring of last year.

President Obama said in an interview on Nov. 2 with a television reporter from Oregon, the hub of the American solar panel manufacturing industry, that there were “questionable competitive practices coming out of China” in clean energy.
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Pomona senior complex to have solar panels installed

2011-08-31T03:16:00.000-07:00

A collection of businesses and government agencies have chosen the Las Brisas senior-housing complex as one of 15 places to receive new solar panels through a $3.6 million grant. Las Brisas is a five-year-old complex where nearly 90 seniors live. Los Angeles-based TELACU, which operates the complex, is also adding photovoltaic solar panels at eight other Los Angeles and San Bernardino complexes.

The panels are set to be installed through the state's Solar for All California program, which subsidizes the installation of solar panels at low-income residences. Once the panels are on the roof at Las Brisas, TELACU plans to use the electricity to power lights and electrical devices in the building's common areas. When panels are operational at all nine TELACU properties, the community development corporation predicts a yearly savings of $1 million. "It starts paying back right away," TELACU president David Lizarraga said.

"This is really creative financing," Main Street Power senior vice president J.W. Postal said. "There's a state grant. There are federal tax credits for solar, and there's tax equity from Morgan Stanley." Tax-equity investments allow investors to earn returns from federal incentives intended to stimulate alternative energy investments, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Energy developers themselves often do not have enough taxable income to receive the full benefit of federal incentives. The arrangement between TELACU and Solar Access California will enable TELACU properties to receive free electricity for 10 years, Postal said.

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Screen-Printed Solar Cell Sets New Efficiency Record – 20.2%

2011-08-27T03:41:00.000-07:00

SCHOTT Solar announced the world’s first monocrystalline screen-printed solar cell on Wednesday — with conversion efficiency of 20.2%. The Fraunhofer ISE in Freiburg, another research institute, confirmed the results of SCHOTT Solar’s tests with an independent measurement.

The previous record – 17.6% – was achieved through use of multicrystalline solar cells, one of several methods of making a solar cell go. SCHOTT Solar’s Dr. Axel Metz, head of solar cell research and development at SCHOTT Solar, acknowledges the multicrystalline concept as the greatest contributing factor to his team’s outstanding results. “We’ve been concentrating on the development of monocrystalline cells since the start of 2011,” he said. “We had three years of experience with the multicrystalline cells to carry over to the monocrystalline concept.”

The initial attempts produced cell efficiency of well above 19%, but that wasn’t quite good enough. Co-operating with the Schmid Group from Freudenstadt and further supported by federal grants, the SCHOTT Solar team focused on optimizing the front surface of the cell. In the end, it was a combination of Schmid’s production-established selective emitter technology with SCHOTT’s PERC (Passsivated Emitter and Rear Contacts) technology that pushed them over the 20% mark. The final result is an industry standard 156x156mm screen-printed solar cell.
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REC Solar Awarded 6.6 Megawatts of Turnkey Solar Contracts from Veterans Affairs in California and Texas

2011-08-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

REC Solar, leading solar electric provider in the United States, today announced the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded the company two contracts to design and install turnkey rooftop, ground mount and carport solar arrays for VA hospitals in California and Texas. The contracts total 6.6 megawatts and include a 4-megawatt addition at the West Los Angeles Medical Center, bringing that total system size to 9 megawatts—making it the largest installed solar energy system nationwide for the VA.

By summer 2012, VA will install solar PV systems at five VA medical centers in sunny locations, from Texas to California. VA selected the sites based on feasibility studies that determined the most ideal locations to invest in on-site renewable energy projects. VA’s goal is to increase renewable energy consumption to 15 percent of annual electricity usage by 2013. The installation of these solar PV systems will help VA meet that goal.

“With these investments in clean energy and other renewable energy projects, we are marching forward with the President’s initiative to expand innovation in the federal government and create new jobs,” said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “The benefits of using solar power are profound, from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to improving the quality of the air we breathe. This initiative is good for Veterans and good for our environment.”

At the West Los Angeles Medical Center—part of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System—most of the new solar system will be installed on carports. The entire installation will include four rooftop systems and provide carport shelter in 11 parking lots for a total of 15 separate arrays. The 2.6-megawatt installation at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System in Temple, Texas includes a 1.7 megawatt ballasted ground mount structure sited on a reclaimed capped landfill owned by the VA and designed specifically to be suitable as a renewable energy source. The remaining 900 kilowatts will be installed on five separate rooftops. The modules for these projects are supplied by Kyocera Solar, Inc. and REC Solar US LLC, and the inverters are furnished by Advanced Energy and PV Powered.

“We are proud to work with the VA in its ambitious campaign to achieve aggressive renewable energy goals through undaunted solar adoption. REC Solar has proven to be an essential partner, meeting the VA’s rigorous standards, while using our deep expertise to help them achieve their objectives,” said Angiolo Laviziano, CEO of REC Solar. “The two landmark installations at VA hospitals in California and Texas demonstrate that going solar is good for the environment, as well as a smart business decision. We look forward to more VA projects as we work to bring solar mainstream.”

Since 2009, REC Solar has been awarded 23 megawatts in projects nationwide for the Dept of Veterans Affairs, including a 2.9-megawatt carport system for the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System (SAVAHCS) completed earlier this year. REC Solar has consistently met the VA’s best value criteria for award by providing superior technical solutions that deliver the most favorable economic returns for the VA medical centers.
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Gov. Jerry Brown to build world's largest solar plant in Inland Empire

2011-06-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

A massive solar power project is expected to bring in hundreds of jobs. It broke ground Friday on federal land outside of Blythe, near Black Rock Road and Dracker Road. Gov. Jerry Brown was joined by federal, state and local officials to break ground on the world's largest solar plant. "This is as big as the day they discovered oil in Texas," said Brown. "And we will replace oil with California sun."

The Solar Trust of America Renewable Energy Station will sit on 7,000 acres. The construction project is in the earliest stage, with brush clearance and road work being done to ready the site. "We have parabolicly-shaped mirrors and they are focusing the sunlight to a tube," said Solar Trust of America CEO Joseph Eiphhammer. "With that we are then producing steam and operating a steam turbine."

The solar plant, similar to one in Lancaster, is expected to generate enough power for 300,000 homes and businesses. It will also put California closer to a 2020 mandate for 33 percent renewable energy. "One of the key buckets of making sure that we get to that energy future is what we do with renewable energy all around this country," said Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The solar project will also have an economic impact for the Blythe area. One thousand construction jobs are tied to the project. Once online, it's expected to generate more than 200 jobs. Riverside County stands to collect $400,000 in property taxes.

"When completed it will double the world's capacity of solar-generated electricity," said Brown. By 2013 the solar plant will begin harnessing the sun's rays and converting them into clean energy.
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Edison adds new rooftop solar installations

2011-06-14T05:40:00.000-07:00

Southern California Edison on Monday announced the addition of four solar power plants on warehouse rooftops in Fontana and Redlands that can produce up to 7 megawatts of power, enough to serve 4,550 homes. That brings to 14 the number of warehouse roofs in the Inland Empire where Edison is converting sunlight to electricity.

Edison said it also is developing another rooftop facility at an undisclosed Inland Southern California location that will be the largest yet, with an output capacity of 8.2 megawatts. To date, the largest Edison solar plant is a 5 megawatt ground installation in the Central Valley.

The utility said it is preparing to make the first major changes in a 100 years to its neighborhood power distribution system so it can accommodate renewable energy sources like solar power that fluctuate quickly and dramatically with the time of day and cloud cover. Speaking at a test facility in Pomona, Edison officials said the company is pioneering new technology that can convert direct current produced by solar panels into alternating current used by its distribution grid without causing power ebbs or surges.

Edison has developed almost 29 megawatts of large solar plants since 2008 and plans for a combined 500 megawatts to be completed over the next few years. The move toward solar is being accelerated by state legislation requiring investor- owned utilities such as Edison to produce 33 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
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The Dry Garden: 'Reimagining the California Lawn'

2011-03-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Carol Bornstein, now a Central California garden designer, was for years director of horticulture of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. The heart-stoppingly beautiful meadow there is her work. In 1976, David Fross co-founded Native Sons Nursery in the Central Coast city of Arroyo Grande and has since been the Johnny Appleseed of dry gardening. Bart O'Brien, for years director of horticulture at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, now its special projects director, is among the most knowledgeable plantsmen in the country. Once, when interviewing a homeowner by phone, I mentioned that O'Brien was outside, and she screamed, as if he were not one but all four Beatles, straight from Liverpool.

There are as many reasons for this reaction as there are microclimates in California. The most important is that as the need for more durable plants and more sustainable garden practices has steadily increased during the last three decades, these three people have been at every turn with solutions for our state.
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Germany’s solar panels produce more power than Japan’s entire Fukushima complex

2011-03-27T16:43:00.000-07:00

Germany is the world leader in installed solar photovoltaic panels -- and they also just shut down seven of their oldest nuclear reactors. Coincidence? Maaaaybe ... Anyway, it's worth noting that just today, total power output of Germany's installed solar PV panels hit 12.1 GW -- greater than the total power output (10 GW) of Japan's entire 6-reactor nuclear power plant. nuclear power plant.
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Solar Plant Opens Near Las Vegas

2011-03-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

The electricity generated at a newly opened solar plant just outside Las Vegas will be sold to a California utility for the next 20 years, according to Sempra Generation. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, who attended dedication of the Copper Mountain Solar Plant on Friday, said the state has potential in creating renewable energy. "I think Nevada should be the leader in the United States -- if not the world -- in renewable energy," he said. "This is a great start."

The plant is about 10 miles south of Boulder City, occupying 380 acres of desert in the Eldorado Valley off U.S. 95. The plant took a year to build and through the use of 775,000 photovoltaic solar panels, generates enough electricity to power 14,000 homes.
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Edison contracts for three local solar projects

2010-11-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Three new solar projects are in the works for the Victor Valley, and Southern California Edison has signed contracts to buy the 24 megawatts of power they’ll harness. Amonix, a firm based in Seal Beach, is contracted to build a 14-megawatt solar photovoltaic project that should come online in Lucerne Valley by March 2014.

San Francisco-based Silverado Power plans to build two 5-megawatt solar PV projects in Victorville, with an estimated completion date by April 2014. Officials declined to say how many local jobs would be created.

The local contracts were three of 21 power purchase agreements recently signed by Edison, with 17 other solar projects scattered from Little Rock to Blythe and one wind farm planned in Cabazon. Altogether the projects will produce about 259 megawatts of power, or enough to power more than 168,000 average homes.

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SoloPower unveils new flexible rooftop solar panels

2010-11-24T01:19:00.000-08:00

SoloPower introduced on Monday a line of flexible panels for commercial rooftops. The panels are lighter than glass-encased panels and can be installed quicker than other technologies, SoloPower CEO Tim Harris said in a statement. The panels can be laminated onto rooftops and mounted on racks to tilt the panels.

The company makes thin-film solar cells from a combination of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS) which is placed on a flexible foil. Its first product line is a set of solar panels designed for the flat roofs of commercial buildings.
Each 80-watt module weighs just 5 lbs. and measures 30 centimeters by 290 centimeters. With their flexible design, SoloPower's panels can be installed on a variety of surfaces and roofs where a conventional solar installation might not fit or function properly.

One benefit of SoloPower's flexible solar modules is their relative quickness and ease of installation. The panels can be laminated onto rooftops, and mounted onto mobile racks to tilt the panels for optimum solar exposure.

Like many solar thin-film solar technologies, the trade-off for lightness and cheapness is lower efficiency - the SFX1-i converts about 10 percent of sunlight's energy into electricity. It makes up for this, however, with a relatively low manufacturing cost of under $1 per watt, although the company will not give precise figures.
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Los Angeles DWP Moves to Add More Wind, Solar Generation to Energy Mix

2010-08-12T04:47:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has moved forward on solar, wind and electricity transmission projects as it begins transitioning to increased use of renewable energy. The nation's largest municipal utility approved a plan to buy 100 megawatts of generating capacity from a Utah wind farm and also advanced two 10-megawatt solar photovoltaic projects closer to its service territory in California.

The Milford Wind Farm Phase II is an expansion of an existing 200-megawatt wind farm that began delivering electricity to Los Angeles in November 2009. The city receives 185 mw of the existing capacity. The expanded wind project will benefit from infrastructure built for the first phase in Beaver and Millard counties, Utah. It will connect to an existing High Voltage Direct Current transmission system that brings power to Los Angeles. The agreement requires approval by the Los Angeles City Council.

The department is expanding the capacity of the existing HVDC transmission line, known as the Southern Transmission System, by using the new technology to deliver energy from Milford II and other proposed renewable projects in Utah to Los Angeles and other Southern California cities at about one-tenth of the cost of building a new transmission system. The Southern Transmission System is owned by the Intermountain Power Authority and operated by the LADWP.

The public power authority, a nonprofit joint powers agency of Southern California municipal utilities, will finance the project by issuing $157.4 million of low-cost, tax-exempt bonds. The agreement has been structured to benefit from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act economic stimulus grants. The indirect benefits of the cash grants, along with the prepayment for power, are estimated to reduce the cost of the project by $53.6 million in current dollars. The agreement includes an ownership option for the LADWP.

The board also has moved forward with two new solar PV projects. The solar projects are at the department's Adelanto switching station near Victorville and at the Pine Tree Wind Power Plant in the Tehachapi Mountains. Both projects will provide 10 megawatts of solar power and will take advantage of existing transmission lines and other electrical infrastructure. The projects will be constructed, owned and operated by the LADWP.
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New Solar Energy Conversion Process Could Double Solar Efficiency of Solar Cells

2010-08-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

Stanford engineers have figured out how to simultaneously use the light and heat of the sun to generate electricity in a way that could make solar power production more than twice as efficient as existing methods and potentially cheap enough to compete with oil.

Because PETE performs best at temperatures well in excess of what a rooftop solar panel would reach, the devices will work best in solar concentrators such as parabolic dishes, which can get as hot as 800 degrees C. Dishes are used in large solar farms similar to those proposed for the Mojave Desert in Southern California and usually include a thermal conversion mechanism as part of their design, which offers another opportunity for PETE to help generate electricity, as well as minimizing costs by meshing with existing technology.

Photovoltaic systems never get hot enough for their waste heat to be useful in thermal energy conversion, but the high temperatures at which PETE performs are perfect for generating usable high temperature waste heat. Melosh calculates the PETE process can get to 50 percent efficiency or more under solar concentration, but if combined with a thermal conversion cycle, could reach 55 or even 60 percent -- almost triple the efficiency of existing systems.

With the right material -- most likely a semiconductor such as gallium arsenide, which is used in a host of common household electronics -- the actual efficiency of the process could reach up to the 50 or 60 percent the researchers have calculated.
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43% Growth for Solar Market in 2010

2010-07-14T01:16:00.000-07:00

A new report from Pike Research says the global solar market will buck its two-year growth slump and increase 43% in 2010.

According to the report, the increase will be propelled by lower production costs and greater accessibility to financing. In total Pike expects this year's solar demand to be over 10 gigawatts.

By 2013 solar demand is expected to be 19 gigawatts. The United States, China, Italy and Germany are expected to push this growth.

Additionally an analyst from Pike Research says the market is glutted with an over-supply of solar manufacturers and modules.
“The solar market is now faced with a gross oversupply of modules,” says senior analyst Dave Cavanaugh. “The industry is currently supplied by more than 190 cell and module manufacturers, making consolidation of weaker competitors an inevitable outcome.” Cavanaugh adds that, in the meantime, overcapacity and intense competition will create downward pressure for module average selling prices (ASPs), which will accelerate grid parity for the cost of solar-produced power to the 2013 timeframe in many markets.
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SunPower unveils more efficient solar panels

2010-05-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

SunPower, a Silicon Valley manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, panels, and systems, announced Monday the debut of its its new SunPower E19 Series solar panels, a product lineup that offers an efficiency of 19 percent or greater. The efficiency figure measures how great a percentage of the sunlight that hits a solar panel is actually converted into usable electricity. The higher the efficiency, the cheaper the cost of using solar energy.

Some companies have reached up to 42 percent efficiency in testing their products. Others have claimed even higher percentages in the lab. But most commercial silicon solar cells average in the 15 percent range. The E19's panels achieve a higher efficiency by using 3 percent more surface space per cell and by employing an antireflective coating that can capture greater amounts of off-angle light, explained San Jose, Calif.-based SunPower. The coating helps generate more energy per watt than a conventional solar panel. The combination of the coating and larger cells also offer a darker and more aesthetic look to the panels, the company said.
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Small-scale solar plan clashes with big energy

2010-01-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

Big wind farms sprawl across our hills. Big solar power plants will soon blanket acres of desert. Big new power lines will bring that electricity to our cities.

This, Bill Powers insists, is exactly the wrong approach. He wants us to think small. Powers, an engineer and energy consultant, argues that California should cover every available rooftop with photovoltaic solar panels, especially commercial buildings. The panels can be installed quickly, unlike large solar power plants that take years to win government permits. They don't require big new power lines. And their price has dropped about 40 percent in the past year.

Even though much of the environmental movement has rallied behind the construction of large wind farms and solar power plants, an undercurrent argues that they aren't necessary, or even desirable. Better to get energy from hundreds of smaller facilities close to home than a giant one far away.
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Repower America

2009-11-05T00:37:00.000-08:00

America faces unprecedented economic, national security and environmental challenges. The solution – transition to clean, renewable energy. Join our movement of more than 5 million calling for clean energy and climate policies that will create millions of jobs, make us energy independent and solve the climate crisis.
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Solar power outshining Colorado's gas industry

2009-10-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

The sun had just crested the distant ridge of the Rocky Mountains, but already it was producing enough power for the electric meter on the side of the Smiley Building to spin backward. For the Shaw brothers, who converted the downtown arts building and community center into a miniature solar power plant two years ago, each reverse rotation subtracts from their monthly electric bill. It also means the building at that moment is producing more electricity from the sun than it needs.

"Backward is good," said John Shaw, who now runs Shaw Solar and Energy Conservation, a local solar installation company. As La Plata County in southwestern Colorado looks to shift to cleaner sources of energy, solar is becoming the power source of choice even though it still produces only a small fraction of the region's electricity. It's being nudged along by tax credits and rebates, a growing concern about the gases heating up the planet, and the region's plentiful sunshine.
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GE: Solar business is our 'next wind'

2009-09-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

General Electric plans to give its solar business a charge in two years with the introduction of panels with the same solar cell material used by industry cost leader First Solar. In 2011, the energy giant expects to produce solar panels made with cadmium telluride, a thin-film solar cell material, said Michael Idelchik, vice president of advanced technologies at GE Global Research at the EmTech conference here on Wednesday.

The company now sells solar panels that use silicon solar cells, but its long-term bet is on thin-film and specifically cadmium telluride because it offers the cheapest cost per watt, he said.

Thin-film solar cells offer lower production costs than the incumbent silicon because thin-film cells use far less material. Over the past five years, several solar companies have formed to make thin-film cells from a combination copper, indium, gallium, and selenide (CIGS), which are still not in the market in high volumes. GE's cells will be made from a compound of cadmium and tellurium.

Silicon cells are durable and more efficient at converting sunlight to electricity than thin-film solar cells with the most efficient commercial silicon cells over 20 percent. But GE Research projects that it can boost the efficiency of cadmium telluride to 12 percent and potentially higher, Idelchik said.
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The Earth Institute: Columbia University

2009-06-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

The overarching goal behind the research of the Earth Institute is to achieve environmental sustainability in the context of a world of environmental challenges—from rapid population growth and climate change to extreme poverty and infectious disease. With Columbia University as its foundation, The Earth Institute draws upon the scientific rigor and academic leadership for which the University is known to create an interdisciplinary community dedicated to cutting-edge research. The Earth Institute is grounded in the hundreds of research projects that involve over 850 scientists, students and postdoctoral fellows across more than 30 Columbia-based research centers and programs.
The Earth Institute

Lancaster goes solar, OK's recycled water

2009-06-26T12:10:00.000-07:00

The City Council has approved a far-reaching agreement with eSolar Inc. — a producer of modular solar thermal power plants — to work cooperatively to make significant improvements to Lancaster’s recycled water supply system and future water supplies for the Antelope Valley. "These plants build like LEGO systems," Mayor R. Rex Parris said. "You can just keep fitting them together."

Parris said the prototype plant — and what is planned to be a much bigger plant later — will use recycled water for cooling the towers. He said he believes it to be among the earliest plans to use "purple pipe" water — recycled water — for uses beyond irrigation and watering. The most notable element, he said, is that recycled water treated to a high degree of cleansing called tertiary treatment will then be used to recharge the aquifer beneath the Antelope Valley. "When it's all finished, it will recharge the aquifer at the rate of 20,000 homes a year, assuming the new homes are the ones designed with reduced water usage," Parris said. "It's just a benefit all the way around.
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Advances in photovoltaics could make solar cost competitive

2009-06-25T04:08:00.000-07:00

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is poised to change the face of construction, energy and urban planning in the coming decade. The Department of Energy has estimated that BIPV technology could potentially generate 50% of the electrical needs of the U.S. and other developed countries, and the DOE’s Solar America Initiative has set the goal of making solar cost-competitive with grid electricity by 2015.

In this continuing effort the Department of Energy just announced the selection of 24 new solar projects to advance photovoltaic technology research, development, and design, ultimately lowering the cost of photovoltaic generation. The competitively-selected projects will be eligible for up to $22 million from the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will be matched by more than $50 million in cost shared funding from private partners.
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Researchers Light Up Bus Shelter With Flexible Solar Cells

2009-06-25T04:02:00.000-07:00

One of the bus shelters on the McMaster University campus is powered entirely by two solar cells rigged to its roof, but what makes the solar cells stand out is that, unlike most solar panels, they don't stand out. Engineering researchers at the Canadian university developed the cells as flexible strips, allowing them to bend along with the shelter's curved roof, as opposed to sticking out from the roof in flat panels like most solar installations. The researchers also hope the installation will help commercialize the flexible cells. Another group of researchers working on flexible solar installations is the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which has developed its own shingle-like rooftop solar panels.

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Energy-gobbling city home to biggest solar roof

2009-03-06T06:34:00.000-08:00

This oceanside gambling mecca seems an unlikely place for a pioneering solar energy project. But at a ceremony scheduled for Thursday, city and state officials were to commemorate the city's convention center, newly powered in part by the largest single-roof solar-panel array in the United States. The 13,321 photovoltaic panels will produce an average of 26 percent of the convention center's energy, according to consultants. The panels cover most of the roof's usable space, leaving room for walkways and other equipment.

"We estimate that we are going to save $4.4 million over the 20 years of the contract [with the solar provider]," said Jeff Vasser, president of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.
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Report: True Cost Of Solar Energy ‘Remarkably Low’

2009-03-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

The ‘true cost’ of solar power is already remarkably low, according to a new report from the solar energy research firm PHOTON Consulting. According to the report, “The True Cost of Solar Power: Race to $1/W,” three segments of the solar value chain – c-Si modules, thin film modules and BOS – are “racing” toward cost structures of $1/W. PHOTON says that by 2012, solar electricity in sunnier areas will cost under $0.10/kWh, creating a large addressable market.

“By 2012, companies not able to achieve $1/W through the module level, $2/W through the system level and $0.10/kWh to $0.20/kWh for electricity are significantly at risk, because other companies will get there,” said PHOTON Consulting Managing Director Michael Rogol. After benchmarking hundreds of solar companies, PHOTON reports a major difference between “what-cost-could-be” and “what-cost is” for nearly all solar manufacturers.
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Making solar cheaper than coal

2009-03-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

More than a few people believe that 1366 Technologies has a shot at being one of the first companies to hit the long-pursued goal of undercutting fossil fuel electricity on price. Among those impressed with the technology and management team is Ethernet co-inventor and energy tech venture capitalist Bob Metcalfe, who is on the company's board. Metcalfe's firm, Polaris Ventures, led a $12.4 million round in the company last year. And last month, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded 1366 Technologies a $3 million grant for low-cost solar manufacturing.

First Solar earlier this month claimed to crack the $1 cost barrier for its thin-film cells, made from alternative material cadmium telluride, but 1366 Technologies wants to hit that price using silicon--a more common and abundant material. Typical polysilicon solar cells--the most common cell material--convert about 15 percent of the sunlight that hits them into electricity. Sachs' work has focused on boosting that efficiency closer to 20 percent by trapping more light and by reducing electricity loss in the wires. The trick, though, is to get that efficiency with manufacturing techniques that don't add cost.
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Better solar panel efficiency achieved

2009-03-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

U.S. scientists say they have developed a titanium nanostructure that provides an expanded surface area and greater efficiency in the transport of electrons. Boston College researchers said their achievement will help in developing solar panels thick enough to absorb sunlight, yet thin enough to collect and transport electrons with minimal energy loss. Assistant Professor Dunwei Wang and his team said they found incorporating two titanium-based semiconductors into a nanoscale structure improved the efficiency of power-collecting efforts by approximately 33 percent.

The researchers said they achieved a peak conversion efficiency of 16.7 percent under ultraviolet light. That compared with an efficiency of 12 percent from a structure composed only of titanium dioxide. Wang said the efficiency gains within the novel material can serve so-called water-splitting, where semiconductor catalysts have been shown to separate and store hydrogen and oxygen gases.
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Solar powered air conditioning systems

2009-02-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

Absorption chiller air conditioners are not new, they have been commercially used in the U.S. since the early 20th century and are a very widely deployed technology. Absorption chiller AC units are also very popular in Asian countries like Japan, where the high cost of electricity make them very desirable and they constitute up to 40% of all installed commercial air conditioning tonnage. They are simple and dependable, using no harmful CFC (Freon, etc.) and some units actually operate without any moving parts.
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US Patent 5560216 - Combination air conditioner and pool heater

2009-02-27T16:00:00.000-08:00

A combination air conditioner and pool heater. The air conditioner is a conventional house air conditioner which includes a condensing unit located outside the house and comprising a compressor, an air cooled coil, and a external fan directing air across the air-cooled coil; the conventional air conditioner also includes an evaporator unit inside the house, the evaporator unit comprising an evaporator coil and an internal fan for blowing air across the evaporator coil to discharge cool air into the house; the pool being a conventional outdoor swimming pool having a circulating pump for withdrawing water from the pool and for returning water to the pool; combined with the conventional air conditioning system and the conventional swimming pool are a coaxial heat exchanger coil having an outer conduit and an inner conduit disposed in heat exchange relation with each other, a bypass duct is connected from the pump to the outer conduit of the coaxial heat exchanger, the outer conduit being connected to a discharge pipe for discharging water back into the pool, and a pair of valves connected to the compressor for alternately supplying hot compressed liquid to the air-cooled heat exchanger or to the inner conduit of the coaxial heat exchanger coil. Controls are provided for the proper sequencing of the operation of the various instrumentalities and to insure that the external fan is off when refrigerant is passing though the inner conduit of the coaxial heat exchanger.
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Free heat for your pool using waste heat from air-conditioning and refrigeration

2009-02-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

If you have a swimming pool which is located in the shade, is too cold for swimming during the summer season, you have a central Air-conditioning or a Heat pump system, you have considered heating your pool with natural gas, propane or fuel oil., then why not consider alternative heating of your pool from the waste heat of your air conditioning.

Your air conditioner or heat pump (in cooling mode) takes heat from the inside of your house and dumps it outside. If you can recapture this heat, it can be dumped into a swimming pool. This is done by installing a small water-to-refrigerant heat exchanger. The advantage of this, is that the system will perform better even on the hottest days therefore reducing electrical load and enhancing cooling.

When compared to the cost of running a natural gas, propane or oil fired pool heater, this system will win every time. When compared to the cost of installing and piping a conventional heater the costs are less..

Performance: Depending on the size of your pool, the output of your a/c unit and the outdoor temperature, you can expect to pick up 1 to 3 degrees F per day and should extend the season by at least one month later and possibly two months earlier.

Cooling performance may not be very noticeable, but can make the difference on a hot day. Electrical consumption will be noticeably less, especially on hot days when it would be highest on an air cooled (conventional) system.
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California Winery Turns Three Acres Over to Solar Power

2009-02-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines unveiled the largest solar tracking array in the North American wine industry on Wednesday at its Paso Robles winery. The ground-mounted installation is made up of 4,320 single-axis solar modules that track the Sun to optimize production of solar power. Covering three acres, the 756 kilowatt solar photovoltaic system is designed to offset 75 percent of the winery's energy usage

"With numerous sunny days, Paso Robles isn't just ideal for producing rich and flavorful Bordeaux and Rhône-style wines," said Steve Lohr, senior vice president of planning and development with J. Lohr. "It is also perfect for producing clean, renewable energy."

"Owning our own solar tracking array is another important step in our commitment to environmentally-conscious practices," said Lohr. "In our own way, we are working to protect the very climate that nurtures our grapes, while contributing to efforts that reduce the need for drilling off our spectacular coast," he said.

The energy generated from J. Lohr's system will reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by 29,887 tons over 25 years, the company estimates. The new solar array is part of the company's broader program of sustainable winegrowing and winemaking techniques. Lohr uses organic soil amendments, limits its use of chemicals, controls erosion, conserves water, and practices composting and materials recycling.
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Will the Stimulus Help Wind and Solar?

2009-02-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

The stimulus package, while welcome, may not be a quick fix for the struggling wind and solar industries, experts say. “Unfortunately, the tight debt markets will still keep many projects from moving forward immediately.” The package is loaded with tax credit provisions that both industries have long sought — including a three-year extension of the production tax credit for wind, and an option of converting tax credits from both industries into direct cash. In theory, that means the federal government could end up footing the bill for 30 percent of the cost of a wind farm or solar array.

Despite the boost from the government, experts say that the financing markets are still so frozen that the stimulus provisions may not immediately restart the industries, which grew rapidly in the last few years but were forced to lay off workers and cut back projects after the banking crisis hit.
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Home solar getting cheaper

2009-02-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

The cost of adding solar to your roof fell 28 percent from 1998 to 2007, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study to be released today. And the installed costs in the nation's two largest photovoltaic solar markets — California and New Jersey — are among the lowest. "Well-designed state programs can lower solar energy costs by driving economies of scale and fostering competition," said Ryan Wiser, a staff scientist at Berkeley Lab. The average installation cost fell from $10.50 per watt in 1998 to $7.60 per watt in 2007, the study said.
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MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CLAIMS HIGHEST SOLAR PV CONVERSION EFFICIENCY RATE

2009-02-18T15:52:00.000-08:00

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. says it has improved its conversion efficiency rate for a 150 mm x 150 mm, practical-size multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic cell from 18.6% to 18.9%. The company says the advancement represents a new world record. In addition to the technology already developed by Mitsubishi Electric to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency rate in multicrystalline silicon PV cells, the company says it has developed a new method to efficiently absorb infrared rays in sunlight, thus achieving the 18.9% milestone. The company says it will begin introducing this cell technology into mass-produced PV modules in April 2010.
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New World Record Achieved in Solar Cell Technology

2009-02-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner today announced that with DOE funding, a concentrator solar cell produced by Boeing-Spectrolab has recently achieved a world-record conversion efficiency of 40.7 percent, establishing a new milestone in sunlight-to-electricity performance. This breakthrough may lead to systems with an installation cost of only $3 per watt, producing electricity at a cost of 8-10 cents per kilowatt/hour, making solar electricity a more cost-competitive and integral part of our nation’s energy mix.

Attaining a 40 percent efficient concentrating solar cell means having another technology pathway for producing cost-effective solar electricity. Almost all of today’s solar cell modules do not concentrate sunlight but use only what the sun produces naturally, what researchers call “one sun insolation,” which achieves an efficiency of 12 to 18 percent. However, by using an optical concentrator, sunlight intensity can be increased, squeezing more electricity out of a single solar cell.
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An unexpected discovery could yield a full spectrum solar cell

2009-02-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

Many factors limit the efficiency of photovoltaic cells. Silicon is cheap, for example, but in converting light to electricity it wastes most of the energy as heat. The most efficient semiconductors in solar cells are alloys made from elements from group III of the periodic table, like aluminum, gallium, and indium, with elements from group V, like nitrogen and arsenic. One of the most fundamental limitations on solar cell efficiency is the band gap of the semiconductor from which the cell is made. In a photovoltaic cell, negatively doped (n-type) material, with extra electrons in its otherwise empty conduction band, makes a junction with positively doped (p-type) material, with extra holes in the band otherwise filled with valence electrons. Incoming photons of the right energy -- that is, the right color of light -- knock electrons loose and leave holes; both migrate in the junction's electric field to form a current.

The maximum efficiency a solar cell made from a single material can achieve in converting light to electrical power is about 30 percent; the best efficiency actually achieved is about 25 percent. To do better, researchers and manufacturers stack different band gap materials in multijunction cells. Dozens of different layers could be stacked to catch photons at all energies, reaching efficiencies better than 70 percent, but too many problems intervene. When crystal lattices differ too much, for example, strain damages the crystals. The most efficient multijunction solar cell yet made -- 30 percent, out of a possible 50 percent efficiency -- has just two layers.
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Wikipedia - Solar Cell reference

2009-02-11T11:47:00.000-08:00

A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device that converts solar energy into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Sometimes the term solar cell is reserved for devices intended specifically to capture energy from sunlight, while the term photovoltaic cell is used when the source is unspecified. Assemblies of cells are used to make solar panel, solar modules, or photovoltaic arrays. Photovoltaics is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for solar energy.

Solar cell efficiencies vary from 6% for amorphous silicon-based solar cells to 40.7% with multiple-junction research lab cells and 42.8% with multiple dies assembled into a hybrid package. Solar cell energy conversion efficiencies for commercially available multicrystalline Si solar cells are around 14-19%.

The highest efficiency cells have not always been the most economical — for example a 30% efficient multijunction cell based on exotic materials such as gallium arsenide or indium selenide and produced in low volume might well cost one hundred times as much as an 8% efficient amorphous silicon cell in mass production, while only delivering about four times the electrical power.

However, there is a way to "boost" solar power. By increasing the light intensity, typically photogenerated carriers are increased, resulting in increased efficiency by up to 15%. These so-called "concentrator systems" have only begun to become cost-competitive as a result of the development of high efficiency GaAs cells. The increase in intensity is typically accomplished by using concentrating optics. A typical concentrator system may use a light intensity 6-400 times the sun, and increase the efficiency of a one sun GaAs cell from 31% at AM 1.5 to 35%.

A common method used to express economic costs of electricity-generating systems is to calculate a price per delivered kilowatt-hour (kWh). The solar cell efficiency in combination with the available irradiation has a major influence on the costs, but generally speaking the overall system efficiency is important. Using the commercially available solar cells (as of 2006) and system technology leads to system efficiencies between 5 and 19%. Most c-Si panels are warranted for 25 years and should see 35+ years of useful life.)

Wikipedia

L.A. Unified launches solar energy program

2009-02-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

The school district announces a $350-million goal of putting enough solar panels on schools and other district buildings to generate 50 megawatts of electricity by 2012 and lower its electricity bill. In an announcement at the Skills Center, L.A. Unified officials said the district had set a goal of putting enough solar panels on schools and other district buildings to generate 50 megawatts of electricity by 2012. That is enough energy to power as many as 50,000 homes, though the district will use it to light schools and lower its $80-million annual electricity bill.

The "We Build Green" program may cost taxpayers more money than it will ultimately save in energy use. Randy Britt, the district's director of sustainability, said the solar installations should save about $12.5 million a year for 20 to 25 years, for a maximum of about $320 million. Still, district officials said the program will also create jobs and provide enough of an economic stimulus to more than pay for itself.
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An alternative to solar pool heating

2009-02-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

An alternative to solar pool heating that is also far more cost effective than gas or electric resistance units is a dedicated heat pump. These units are essentially air conditioners that run in reverse. Instead of removing the heat from inside a house and dumping it outside, heat is removed from the outside air and transferred to the swimming pool water via an exchange mechanism.

Yes indeed, it does look like an air conditioner. A fan pulls warm outside air past the freon gas, transferring the latent heat in the outside air to the freon gas being pumped through the condenser coil. The heat is then released to the water from the pool as it passes by the freon gas in the evaporator coil. this exchange process depends in it's efficiency upon the amount of latent heat in the outside air and the relative humidity. The cooler the outside air and the lower the humidity, the less effective the unit is in heating the swimming pool. A typical 100,000 Btu/Hr. unit will only produce 83,000 Btu/ Hr. when the air temperatures drop to 65 Deg. F. When sizing a heat pump pool heater it is important to provide a unit that is large enough to heat the pool during the typical 8-9 hour run time for the pool pump. If this run time is also during the daylight hours the efficiency of the unit is greatly enhanced.
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Why Heat Siphon is Designed for MAXIMUM COP not Highest BTUH Heat Output

2009-02-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

A normal size residential pool in the colder heating months will require as much as a million (1,000,000) BTU of heat a day to replace the heat lost to maintain its warm water temperature. To show how EFFICIENCY (COP) and HEAT OUTPUT (BTUH) are related, we created this animation (SEE SIDEBAR AT RIGHT) of the delivery of that million BTU's using Heat Siphon and two other "typical" competitive Pool Heat Pumps based on their efficiency and heat output specifications.

The graphic to the right shows a simulation of the actual daily electric cost over 11 hours for HEAT SIPHON and TWO OTHER BRANDS of 5HP Size Pool Heat Pumps:

The 1st column - the Model SX5HP HEAT SIPHON (COP=6.8 with 95,000 BTUH output) - takes 10.5 hours to deliver the million BTU's

The 2nd column - BRAND X (COP of 6.0 with 125,000 BTUH) - takes only 8 hours to deliver the heat but ends up spending 13% MORE for electricity than Heat Siphon.

The 3rd column - BRAND Y (COP=5.0 with 115,000 BTUH) still gets there in 8.7 hours but costs 36% more than Heat Siphon.
A properly sized Heat Siphon should average about 8 to 12 hours/day of runtime over a swimming season. This guarantees excess heating capacity without over-sizing. The proper design then maximizes COP not BTUH. LOWER EFFICIENCY (brand x and y) compressors with slightly higher BTUH output are available and cheaper than those Heat Siphon uses. Likewise smaller heat exchangers will cost much less but reduce efficiency further. Heat Siphon has ALWAYS maintained the design philosophy of maximizing EFFICIENCY. We properly balance all component with our high efficiency compressor, and use oversized heat exchanger surface areas to minimize discharge pressures and reduce amp draw. The right amount of refrigerant charge coupled with properly sized TXV refrigerant flow controls further ensure the highest efficiency at all operating conditions.

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Which Type of Pool Heating System is Best for Me?

2009-02-09T12:17:00.000-08:00

There are three basic types of pool heating systems. The best system for your pool is determined by numerous factors including your needs, desires, budget and physical layout of the pool and house. The answers to many of these questions are discussed below.
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Heat Pump Swimming Pool Heaters

2009-02-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

If you want an energy-efficient way to heat your swimming pool, consider using a heat pump pool heater. Heat pumps use electricity to capture heat and move it from one place to another. They don't generate heat. As the pool pump circulates the swimming pool's water, the water drawn from the pool passes through a filter and the heat pump heater. The heat pump heater has a fan that draws in the outside air and directs it over the evaporator coil. Liquid refrigerant within the evaporator coil absorbs the heat from the outside air and becomes a gas. The warm gas in the coil then passes through the compressor. The compressor increases the heat, creating a very hot gas that then passes through the condenser. The condenser transfers the heat from the hot gas to the cooler pool water circulating through the heater. The heated water then returns to the pool. The hot gas, as it flows through the condenser coil, returns to liquid form and back to the evaporator, where the whole process begins again.

Higher efficiency heat pump pool heaters usually use scroll compressors versus the reciprocal compressors of standard units. Heat pump pool heaters work efficiently as long as the outside temperature remains above the 45ºF–50ºF range. The cooler the outside air they draw in, the more energy they use. However, since most people use outdoor swimming pools during warm and mild weather, this usually isn't an issue.
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Estimating Heat Pump Swimming Pool Heater Costs and Savings

Renewable Energy Collectors May Be Right Under Our Feet

2009-02-08T04:54:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has walked barefoot across a parking lot on a hot summer day knows that blacktop is exceptionally good at soaking up the sun's warmth. Now, a research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has found a way to use that heat-soaking property as a source of renewable energy. Through asphalt, the researchers are developing a solar collector that could turn roads and parking lots into ubiquitous -- and inexpensive -- sources of electricity and hot water.

"Our preliminary results provide a promising proof of concept for what could be a very important future source of renewable, pollution-free energy for our nation. And it has been there all along, right under our feet."

-- Rajib Mallick, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
The research project, which was undertaken at the request of Michael Hulen, president of Novotech Inc. in Acton, Mass, a company that currently holds a patent on the concept of using the heat absorbed by pavements, is being directed by Rajib Mallick, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.

Last week at the annual symposium of the International Society for Asphalt Pavements in Zurich, Switzerland, team member Bao-Liang Chen, a PhD candidate at WPI, presented the results of research aimed at evaluating the potential for transforming stretches of asphalt into a cost-effective energy source. The study looked not only at how well asphalt can collect solar energy, but also at the best way to construct roads and parking lots to maximize their heat-absorbing qualities.
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Community Projects/Residential

2009-02-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

Making its debut in February 1999, the Medford Solar Project is a joint effort of the Massachusetts Electric Co. (MECo) and Ascension Technologies. It allows MECo Customers in Medford, with south-facing, asphalt-shingled roofs, to put one of two PV systems on their homes and business for half the usual installation price. The first PV system costs $1400 (or $30 a month for 4 years) and is a one panel system that generates 365 kWh/year. The second system includes two PV panels at a price of $2800 (or $60 a month for 4 years) and generates 730 kWh/year or about 5% of total household consumption and saves the consumer about $73 a year on the bill. An added benefit of the PV systems is that each system cuts down on the emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases because customers are using less energy from the regional grid. Participants are also eligible for the renewable energy tax credits offered by the state.

As of August 1999, several residents and businesses have taken advantage of the project. One such business was the Medford Veterinary Clinic, which installed the one-panel PV system. In addition, both the Medford City Hall and High School each received eight panels that were donated by the program. Each system will each produce 2,920 kWh/yr--a savings of $292 per year/per facility. Fairmont House on the Tufts University Campus also received a donation of a two-panel system.
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Boron nitride may provide ‘clear’ solar panels

2009-02-08T04:48:00.000-08:00

Work at Japan’s National Institute of Materials Science may allow solar cells to be built into you house and car windows, windshield and even your sunglasses. The NIMS group, led by Dr. Shojiro Komatsu, has been interested in BN cell because it would be transparent to the visible light specturm. Researchers claims to have already developed the world’s first BN prototype. They use a proprietary process to produce a BN/Si heterojunction diode.

They report that their prototype has a generating efficiency of about 2%. Obviously, this is still a small level of efficiency, but researchers respond: “There is still a large gap between this and the level (18%) of today’s most advanced silicon solar cells. However, as data obtained with the world’s first prototype of a BN/Si heterodiode solar cell, it is considered a promising value for the future.”

The group also uses micron-sized cones to cover the surface the cell to improve the light absorption efficiency by cutting down the amount of reflected light.
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Double-duty windows harvest solar energy

2009-02-08T04:46:00.000-08:00

What if your house’s windows offered double-duty performance by not only letting in sunlight but also harvesting its energy to efficiently and cost-effectively power your home? That’s the concept behind the organic solar concentrator, a new kind of solar powering device, recently developed by MIT researchers and reported on in Science.

“Light is collected over a large area [like a window] and gathered, or concentrated, at the edges,” explains Marc A. Baldo, project leader and MIT associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

As a result, rather than covering a roof with expensive solar cells, the cells only need to be placed around the window’s edges. An added benefit is that the focused light increases the electrical power attained from each solar cell “by a factor of over 40,” according to Baldo.

MIT’s solar concentrator entails a mixture of two or more dyes coated onto a flat panel of glass or plastic. The dyes work together to absorb light across a range of wavelengths and, then, re-emit it at a different wavelength and transport nearly all of it to the pane’s edges. Solar cells placed around the panel’s edges then pick up this concentrated light energy.

Similar solar concentrators were developed in the 1970s by impregnating dyes in plastic. The idea was abandoned, however, because, among other things, too much light was lost en route and never reached the edges. MIT has overcome this obstacle by mixing the dyes in specific ratios and applying the mixture only to the surface of the glass, allowing some level of control over light absorption and emission.
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Ceramic Tech Weekly

2009-02-08T04:44:00.000-08:00

several solar energy articles

Capturing solar energy from asphalt pavements

2009-02-08T04:39:00.000-08:00

Massachusetts researchers have found a new method for capturing solar energy. They’re using heat from asphalt and other paved surfaces to produce electricity. Through asphalt, ‘the researchers are developing a solar collector that could turn roads and parking lots into ubiquitous — and inexpensive — sources of electricity and hot water.’ This is an excellent idea because parking lots stay hot at night — at least during summer — and ‘could continue to generate energy after the sun goes down, unlike traditional solar-electric cells.’ Furthermore, there is no need to find land to build solar farms. Finally, there would be another advantage. Unlike rooftop solar panels, solar collectors in roads and parking lots would be invisible. Now it remains to be seen if this research team can convince the industry to change the way they’re building roads.
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Asphalt Roads To Be Solar Energy Revolution

Asphalt Roads as Solar Collectors the Next Alternative Energy Revolution?

2009-02-08T04:36:00.000-08:00

Blast into the Future: Alternative energy is revolutionizing the world. Solar collectors are everywhere and everything: they are home pathways, roof shingles, parking lots, roads, supermarket pavements, airporttarmacs. Roads and parking lots as solar collectors? Is that the newest revolutionary innovation since the term “alternative energy”? Capturing solar energy from pavements has been perfected for years now.

The research team will prove that asphalt has a lot of advantages as a solar collector. It is known that the blacktop stays hot and could continue to generate energy after the sun goes down, unlike traditional solar-electric cells. In addition, there is already a massive acreage of installed roads and parking lots that could be retrofitted for energy generation, so there will be no need to find additional land for solar farms.
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Electric Asphalt

2009-02-08T04:27:00.000-08:00

4-5% increased energy capture from solar cells

2009-02-05T05:47:00.000-08:00

Surfect Technologies Announces First Concentrator Module Shipment and Higher Solar Efficiency Results Using Plated Metal Technology; Achieves Major Milestones Towards Mass Commercialization and Lower Solar Costs. Surfect Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SUFH), a provider of advanced interconnect and packaging solutions for solar cells, LED and power management applications, today announced a number of key milestones for the company including:

successful demonstrations for leading solar manufacturers of copper plating over silver paste on solar cells using Surfect's proprietary tool and process technology, which resulted in 0.5-0.6% higher efficiency or 4-5% increased energy capture from solar cells;

demonstration of new metallization process for solar manufacturers that allows copper metal deposition directly on bare silicon using DEP technology, which is expected to result in 1.2% to 2.0% higher efficiency or 5% to 10% increased energy capture versus silver paste, at lower cost than competing metal plating systems;

design and shipment of the first concentrator package for a European customer that uses rugged packaging technology and Surfect's advanced wafer-level interconnect solutions producing 3x concentration, providing a more building integrated module and lowering the solar cost per watt.

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Solar Installation - Parking Lot at Twilight

2009-02-03T08:52:00.001-08:00

Solar Installation - Parking Lot at Night

2009-02-03T08:50:00.000-08:00

Canadian Solar to Raise Cell Efficiency in 12 Months

2009-02-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

Canadian Solar Inc. hopes to raise average efficiency for polysilicon monocrystalline cells and solar-grade cells to 18.5% and 15.5%, respectively, within 12 months, according to Canadian Solar Chairman and CEO Dr. Shawn Qu. The company has partnered with DuPont, University of Toronto and Shanghai Jiao Tong University to research new materials and manufacturing methods, said Qu, and recorded 14.2% conversion efficiency for its solar-grade e-Modules in the third quarter.

In line with the initiative, Canadian Solar has opened a new provincially accredited PV Cell Research Center at its solar cell Fab II in Suzhou. The 1,500-square meter facility will cost a total of $10 million, most of which Canadian Solar paid in 2008, and house 38 staffers, up from current staff of 20.
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Trina Solar Unveils UMG Line of Panels

2009-02-03T08:06:00.001-08:00

Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) has developed a new product line fully based on Upgraded Metallurgical Grade (UMG) silicon material. UMG is a lower grade polysilicon feedstock that offers the benefit of reduced cost.

Trina Solar is one of the first vertically integrated solar manufacturers to offer a UMG-based module product. "Our UMG-based product is currently meeting our targeted conversion efficiency levels of approximately 14%, and offers advantage via its competitively lower silicon cost component. Customer benefits include a significantly lower module system investment cost compared to our standard high efficiency module lines," Jifan Gao, Trina Solar's Chairman and CEO, said.

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Solar cell startup taps infrared light

2009-01-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

A San Jose startup has licensed materials technology that can harvest energy from infrared light, boosting the efficiency of solar cells. Solexant aims to commercialize one of many advances under development at a photonics institute at the University of Buffalo. "This is a very exciting period as new dimensions in photonics keep emerging in areas such as energy and health care," said Paras N. Prasad, executive director of the university research group, speaking in a keynote at Photonics West here.

Prasad sketched out his team's efforts to harvest energy from infrared and ultraviolet ranges of the spectrum not tapped by today's solar cells. He described various projects using tunable quantum dots to absorb IR photons and organize them by coupling like charges to carbon nanotube walls. He also discussed research projects that were able to convert 980nm IR to visible light so it could be absorbed by a solar cell. In another project, researchers showed their efforts would work with direct sunlight as well as laser light sources. "We recently showed a capability of harvesting 30 percent of the IR photons [hitting] a photovoltaic cell," he said. "We are making progress in this direction." "The guess is that if this gives you ten percent more efficiency it is viable," Prasad said.
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Solar Cell references

2009-01-30T04:06:00.000-08:00

These days many are considering installation of solar cells to generate electricity. Efficiency is one of the many considerations as well as advances of technology.
Wikipedia

Britanica Encyclopedia

Encarta Encyclopedia

Solar Cell Research; 80 % efficient

2009-01-30T03:50:00.000-08:00

This article seems to be an ad for investment capital, but it shows development efforts to improve solar cell efficiency. - Bill
Mr. Marks says solar panels made with Lepcon or Lumeloid, the materials he patented, could turn 70 to 80 percent of the energy from sunlight they receive into electricity. Most photovoltaic cells are only about 15 percent efficient. The electricity would cost three or four cents per kilowatt hour, as against about 10 cents a kilowatt hour for commercially generated electric power. Most photovoltaic cells produce energy for around $1 per kilowatt hour.

Plastic solar panels Could be ready for commercial use in two to three years. Most photovoltaic cells are only about 15 percent efficient. The electricity would cost three or four cents per kilowatt hour, as against about 10 cents a kilowatt hour for commercially generated electric power. Most photovoltaic cells produce energy for around $1 per kilowatt hour.

There are as yet no large-scale working prototypes of Mr. Mark's invention, and some scientists have expressed caution in assessing it. "It is beyond our technological fabrication capability at present," said Dr. Edward D. Wolf, the director of the national research facility for submicron structures at Cornell University, who has studied Mr Marks's work."But it's an interesting concept."

"It is an intellectually challenging idea," he said, "I do not know whether it can be brought into practice, so I don't know whether to be optimistic or pessimistic. If it turned out to work, and was very efficient, it would he very significant." Mr Marks said he believed Lumeloid would be available for commercial use within two or three years. He added that Lepcon and Lumeloid could be used to create lasers, an application he said he had discussed with the Pentagon in conjunction with Westinghouse.

Mr Marks conceded that getting his ideas to the major prototype stage would cost around $5 million. Commercial production of solar panels would cost between $30 million to $5O million, he estimated, and the preliminary work, supported by Westinghouse, is now underway, he said. Phototherm plans a $15 million initial public stock offering soon to help subsidize development of the solar patents.
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Highest Silicon Solar Cell Efficiency Ever Reached

2009-01-30T03:37:00.000-08:00

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2008) — University of New South Wales' ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence has created the first silicon solar cell to achieve the milestone of 25 per cent efficiency. The UNSW ARC Photovoltaic Centre of Excellence already held the world record of 24.7 per cent for silicon solar cell efficiency. Now a revision of the international standard by which solar cells are measured, has delivered the significant 25 per cent record to the team led by Professors Martin Green and Stuart Wenham and widened their lead on the rest of the world. Centre Executive Research Director, Scientia Professor Martin Green, said the new world mark in converting incident sunlight into electricity was one of six new world records claimed by UNSW for its silicon solar technologies.
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From 40.7 to 42.8 % Solar Cell Efficiency

2009-01-30T03:29:00.000-08:00

Using a novel technology that adds multiple innovations to a very high-performance crystalline silicon solar cell platform, a consortium led by the University of Delaware (UD) has achieved a record-breaking combined solar cell efficiency of 42.8 percent. The current record of 40.7 percent was attained in December 2006 by Boeing's Spectrolab, Inc.

The research was led by Allen Barnett, principal investigator and UD professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Christiana Honsberg, co-principal investigator and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. The two direct the University's High Performance Solar Power Program and have been working to achieve the 50 percent efficiency goal set by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

"This is a major step toward our goal of 50 percent efficiency," Barnett said. "The percentage is a record under any circumstance, but it's particularly noteworthy because it's at low concentration, approximately 20 times magnification. The low profile and lack of moving parts translates into portability, which means these devices easily could go on a laptop computer or a rooftop."

The highly efficient VHESC solar cell uses a novel lateral optical concentrating system that splits solar light into three different energy bins of high, medium and low, and directs them onto cells of various light sensitive materials to cover the solar spectrum. The system delivers variable concentrations to the different solar cell elements. The concentrator is stationary with a wide acceptance angle optical system that captures large amounts of light and eliminates the need for complicated tracking devices.

Barnett believes the 50 percent efficiency mark is just the beginning. "Our best inventions are in front of us," he said. "The consortium has been a super team, and has worked to develop new devices and architectures based on a breakthrough design paradigm."

The newly formed DuPont-University of Delaware VHESC consortium will be made up of industrial partners, national laboratories and universities. The consortium's goal is to create solar cells that operate at 50 percent in production, Barnett said. With the fresh funding and cooperative efforts of the DuPont-UD consortium, he said it is expected new high efficiency solar cells could be in production by 2010.
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Adelanto goes green to save greenbacks

2009-01-30T03:24:00.000-08:00

$2.5 million program to pay for itself by 2024. The City Council has signed off on a deal Wednesday with Johnson Controls for energy-saving upgrades that could shave millions off the city’s utility bills. Johnson Controls guarantees that the energy conservation program, which will ring up roughly $2.5 million in initial costs, will pay for itself in energy savings in no more than 15 years.

The first phase of the plan will cost the city $550,000, and includes upgrading lighting, electricity and heating and cooling units in city buildings, as well as installing GPS systems in city park grounds that help track weather changes, such as wind and rain. None of the financing for the projects will come from city funds. Instead, the city will seek loans from leasing-obligation companies to pay for the projects. Ten to 15 years from now, the city should be able to repay all obligations entirely through the energy savings.

The second phase, which costs about $1 million, includes building a solar power source at the city’s correctional facility and upgrading the city’s waste water plant. Another possible project is constructing a wind turbine to generate electricity, which would add another $1 million to the program’s total.
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Fraunhofer claims world record in solar cell efficiency - 41.1%

2009-01-28T03:40:00.000-08:00

Munich (Germany) – Solar cells remains one of the most fascinating and promising research areas these days. Scientists at the German Fraunhofer Institute of Solar Energy Systems (ISE) recently announced that they've developed a solar cell capable of providing 41.1% efficiency, which is the highest level achieved to date. They are now working to make the technology commercially available.

The new solar cell is an evolution in Fraunhofer’s metamorphous solar cell research, which has been in place since 1999. The research is focused on combinations of semiconductor materials, in this case it's GaInP / GaInAs / Ge (Gallium-Indium-Phosphid / Gallium-Indium-Arsenide / Germanium). In 1999, the scientists discovered that these materials are well-suited for converting sunlight into electricity, and today it seems their long effort is paying off.

Over the years, the research group at Fraunhofer has been working on methods to better align the material and its cell structure with spectrum received from sunlight on the surface of our planet. What makes this newly developed solar cell special is that the scientists were able to identify and correct defective areas within the non-electrical crystaline portion of the solar cell, thus creating a much more efficient cell; one that can be created virtually free from defects.
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Solar Cell Sets World Efficiency Record At 40.8 Percent

2008-09-30T03:35:00.000-07:00

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have set a world record in solar cell efficiency with a photovoltaic device that converts 40.8 percent of the light that hits it into electricity. This is the highest confirmed efficiency of any photovoltaic device to date.

The inverted metamorphic triple-junction solar cell was designed, fabricated and independently measured at NREL. The 40.8 percent efficiency was measured under concentrated light of 326 suns. One sun is about the amount of light that typically hits Earth on a sunny day. The new cell is a natural candidate for the space satellite market and for terrestrial concentrated photovoltaic arrays, which use lenses or mirrors to focus sunlight onto the solar cells.

The new solar cell differs significantly from the previous record holder – also based on a NREL design. Instead of using a germanium wafer as the bottom junction of the device, the new design uses compositions of gallium indium phosphide and gallium indium arsenide to split the solar spectrum into three equal parts that are absorbed by each of the cell's three junctions for higher potential efficiencies. This is accomplished by growing the solar cell on a gallium arsenide wafer, flipping it over, then removing the wafer. The resulting device is extremely thin and light and represents a new class of solar cells with advantages in performance, design, operation and cost.
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Kopin selected for $600,000 NASA solar cell development contract

2008-05-01T03:59:00.000-07:00

TAUNTON, Mass.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Kopin Corp. (NASDAQ: KOPN - News), the world’s leading provider of heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) wafers for cellular phones and wireless local area networks, today announced that it has been selected for the award of a $600,000 solar cell development contract from NASA.

The contract is the second phase of a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program to develop indium nitride (InN)-based quantum dot solar cell technology. Kopin's partners on this NASA STTR project include groups at Virginia Tech and Magnolia Optical Technologies.

"The goal of this STTR program is to develop high-efficiency solar cells that are resistant to extreme conditions while achieving high solar electric power conversion efficiency," said Dr. Roger Welser, Kopin's Director of Technology and New Product Development. "The advanced patent-pending solar cell structure incorporating InN-based nanostructures can harness a very large fraction of the solar spectrum while minimizing the effects of high temperatures and high-energy radiation. This technology will enable photovoltaic power systems of future NASA space exploration missions to operate in extreme environments with high temperature and radiation exposures."

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