First Public Auction for Solar Energy Rights on Federal Land

 

         Federal officials are trying to figure out why the Bureau of Land Management’s first-ever auction of public land for solar-energy development failed to attract any bids. According to the Denver Post, no bidders showed up for the first auction for three parcels of land in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, even though five solar development companies had expressed interest in the land.

        Three parcels covering 3,700 acres in so-called solar-energy zones were offered on Thursday, October 24. The bureau has created 19 zones for large solar projects in 6 Western states, encompassing nearly 300,000 acres, the newspaper reported. “We are going to have to regroup and figure out what didn’t work,” Maryanne Kurtinaitis, the renewable-energy program manager for the BLM’s Colorado division, told the Denver Post. “It is always tough to be the first out of the chute. This is a learning experience.”

       Even though the auction’s results seem to be pretty bleak, good news is on the horizon. The Obama administration continues to make it a priority to promote solar energy development as part of its energy strategy. Since 2009, the Interior Department has approved 47 renewable energy projects on public lands, including 25 solar facilities, 10 wind farms and 12 geothermal plants.

Solar Cells Meets New World Record Efficiency

 

        Researchers at the German Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have achieved a new world record for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a new solar cell structure with four solar subcells. It took three years of research on this particular solar technology to hit the new world record of 44.7%, an efficiency that is getting the world of solar technology tantalizingly close to 50%.

        Just four months ago in May 2013, the group of researchers at the institute were able to achieve an efficiency of 43.6% with the technology. This type of solar cell is used in concentrator photovoltaics (CPV). Phys.org reports, “The terresterial use of so-called III-V multi-junction solar cells, which originally came from space technology, has prevailed to realize highest efficiencies for the conversion of sunlight to electricity. In this multi-junction solar cell, several cells made out of different III-V semiconductor materials are stacked on top of each other. The single subcells absorb different wavelength ranges of the solar spectrum.”

       The solar cells developed in the Fraunhofer labs are manufactured by Soitec. So far, the company has produced solar cells for installations in Italy, France, South Africa and California, as well as in 14 other countries.

Silicon Energy and Outback Power Promote Solar Energy

Tim Nelson, of Fire Mountain Solar, discusses Silicon Energy’s solar panels with area homeowner Ron Nichols at Silicon Energy’s Marysville facility on September 21

 

     Two local companies, Silicon Energy in Marysville and Outback Power Technologies in Arlington, served as hub sites for this year’s Snohomish County Solar Tour, whose informational walk-throughs on Saturday, September 21, were designed to answer the questions of area residents and prospective industry professionals.

      “We’re trying to show local homeowners and contractors what’s possible with solar power,” said Phil Undercuffer, director of product management at Outback’s recently opened facility just east of the Arlington Municipal Airport. “We want them to see the advantages of changing over to solar, and even the visitors we’ve had, who were already knowledgable about this field, weren’t aware of a lot of the new technologies.”

      Vice President of Arlington Electric, Russell Tilton, also claims that “only 1% of the state is on solar. Just because it’s cloudy, people think that you can’t rely on solar here, but we get more than enough sun. We get more sun than Germany, and they rely on solar more than anybody.”

Solar Energy Helps Power 4th Grade Classrooms

In Durham, North Carolina, a classroom of fourth graders have been learning upon the subject of solar energy and other energy sources from their teacher, Aaron Sebens, and have came up with the idea of having their own classrooms powered by solar power energy. The video below features the journey they came across from arising to the idea to making it a reality, where it ends in having a celebratory party, whereas Aaron and his students officially “flips the switch.”

To fund the project, Aaron and his class has launched a crowd-funding campaign that asked for support throughout America and around the world. The students had originally hoped to raise $800 but significantly, beat their expectations by raising to more than $5000.

China is leading; no surprise there

       China begins to expand the most towards the $77 billion solar energy industry and is being featured as providing global solar installations to a heaping record. Recent researchers have claimed that this new generation capacity has reached estimating 14% this year to 34.1 gigawatts, whereas in the previous year, it was 4.4% growth due to the government subsidies being cut in Italy and France. 

       After constructing many factories, China has been able to cut solar panel prices down 20% in the past year and, in turn, has become the largest consumer of the devices. These price cuts essentially are helping many installers such as SolarCity Corporation, SunPower Corporation while also drastically hurting manufacturers including LDK Solar Company of China and Norway’s Renewable Energy Corporation. 

        Studies are proven that solar demand is steadily increasing in its growth as European markets slump for SolarCity and SunPower have indeed been gaining 38% and 109% of installations. These low-cut prices may be driving many installations to be done but they are not aiding manufacturers much help in terms of their profit margin cuts. As China had opened many factories and the prices for solar panels dropped, manufacturers’ profit margins crashed, stock markets drastically changed and, in result, pushed companies into the option of bankruptcy. 

       Even Germany, which has been the country that prospered in being known as the largest solar market in 2013, may be getting unsettled by the thought of China possibly taking over the reputation. However, many sources have claimed that projects have been multiplied in providing financial aid services to its fellow solar companies in a bid to help diversify Germany. Shi Dinghuan, government advisor, has commented that China plans to install 35 gigawatts by the year 2015, compared to a previous goal of 21 gigawatts. 

 

Employees assemble photovoltaic panels (solar panels) at SunTech Power Factory

Pyongyang’s solar powered street lamps

It has been reported in North Korea state TV that the capital city of North Korea, Pyongyang, started developing street lamps powered by solar energy. Since North Korea is a very isolated country in international trading, an associate professor from Kim Chaek University named Cho Hyon Ho, developed a solar panel and battery combination onto street lights. Although the technology used for the development isn’t advanced compared to the production of solar panels from Japan and China, this can be summarized as a new approach for North Korea and their future endeavors.

 

 

5 Green Tech Trends in 2013

1. Solar Power Technology
The solar industry is facing a decline in price by 2016 when federal investment tax credit for solar installations from 30% to 10%. Though 4 years may seem a lengthy time, it is the same amount of time for a large solar power plant to be permitted, financed and constructed. Thus, as this new year kicks off, be sure to be on a lookout for there will be new discoveries to finance solar power installations, whether it will be residential installed solar panels or solar power plants in remote areas. An example of this could possibly be solar securitization, whereas the leases for residential solar power installations are bundled and sold to investors. Another example is known as crowdsourcing, where investors help finance projects and they would be shareholders of the company by buying a piece of the pie.

2. Watch Out For Solar Energy in California
BrightSource Energy’s 370-megawatt Ivanpah “power tower” plant is going online in 2013 and it’s the first big solar thermal facility in the U.S. that has been planned to be built more than 20 years. Solar thermal power plant uses mirrors to focus on the sun while it is on top of a liquid-filled boiler to generate more electricity. Though this may be exciting to experiment with, many developers tend to stick with the traditional, inexpensive way of producing solar panels; however, if this power plant is to produce interesting results, it may change these perspectives of solar panels.

BrightSource Energy’s 370-megawatt Ivanpah “power tower” plant and its mirrors

3. Tesla Motors is getting ahead in the competition
With the production of the Model S, which is a high-performance electric sports sedan, Tesla Motors is getting ahead of the game in terms of the electric car market because of Silicon Valley company’s network of Superchargers. For anyone who have no prior knowledge of this Supercharger network, it is a network of solar-powered chargers that will refill your Tesla Motors Model S free of charge. Not only that but the Model S charges 4-5x the rate of a high-capacity home charger, meaning you can get as far as 150 miles in half an hour. Great car, Tesla; props to you.

Tesla Motors Model S

 

This is Silicon Valley company’s Supercharger; CEO Elon Musk has revealed to the audience the Supercharger, which has already been set up in six locations in California.

4. Biofuels are Advancing
Not only is solar technology advancing but there is a struggling revival of biofuels in place. The Sapphire Energy’s algae biofuel demonstration plant in New Mexico desert is producing green crude, which is renewable crude oil made from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and algae to make green oils that can be converted into fuel. SG Biofuels of San Diego are also breeding new branches of jatropha, which is an inedible plant in South America and Africa, to help boost oil yields. 

 

Sapphire Energy is producing a 100-acre algae field in Southern New Mexico.

5. China is, of course, winning in this battle of Solar Energy
While many U.S. startups on solar energy are declining, Chinese solar powered manufacturers are supported intensely by their government in that they receive enormous subsidies. In a recent news article, it is discovered that the Chinese is expanding more faster than expected – a Chinese firm had bought an American solar startup. MiaSolé has been expected to stand firm in this competition but in Beijing, it has been announced that Hanergy Holding Group of China, specialized in building hydroelectric dams, completed the purchase of the company and its technology for a fraction of what the investors had put in. 

 

John Carrington, chief of MiaSolé, is seen with Zhou Jiesan, an executive of Hanergy Holding Group, at the conference in Beijing

(Credit : Forbes Magazine)

Iphone 4/4s powered by the SUN!

Love traveling and you hate to see your phone dead half the time? Well, worry no more! Mobius developed a case, equipped with a solar panel on the back of the case, that charges your phone with 25 minutes of talk-time from just being let out on the sun for 1 hour. The case is also attached with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack, in which it could be used as a backup. You can purchase one here for $60.

 

The end of chargers are near, expect it!

This video explains how the efficiency of solar films, which are made transparent, can be a new revolutionary innovation that can change how many people acquire power in their phones, tablets, notebooks, and other electronic appliances in this day and age. Thanks to a band of researchers in France, they are finding ways to harness the energy of the sun from an ultra thin film that can replace current solar panels that are being manufactured today.

5 innovations that will CHANGE the world! not the IPHONE

According to the reports of REN21 (Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century), it was shown that global investments in renewable energy jumped 32%, bringing an all-time high of $211 billion, despite the current downturn of the economy. However, in many regions, there is a big competition between the two odds of renewable and coal energy. But, with the advancement of solar technology increasing every year with the latest solar development researched currently at MIT, it is likely that coal will be going against it any time soon. Here is a list of 5 developments that could make a big impact towards our society as well as our economy that could also be safely executed against the burning of coal.

1. Nano-templated molecules that store energy

A professor named Jeffrey Grossman, associated with MIT, discovered and created a new molecule called azobenzene that uses carbon nanotubes structuring the molecules that locks in and stores clean solar thermal energy. These molecules, so called, “azobenzen,” converts solar energy to a density of a lithium ion battery. Like what people say, “kill two birds with one stone,” and you have yourself an object that converts and stores infinite amounts of energy. 

2.Printing solar cells on possibly anything

A team, led by Professor Karen Gleason, discovered a way to imprint a solar cell into just about anything you could think of, using low temperature and vapor as opposed to liquid solutions. The paper imprinted with the solar cell is also highly durable, withstanding the process of it being folded a 1000 times with no change in performance. Imagine having solar cells imprinted all over your shirt and having to charge your mobile phone that remains in your pocket, that would be pretty awesome, don’t you think? 

 

 

Photo by Patrick Gillooly, Courtesy of MIT

 

3. Solar Thermal Power in flat panels

Professor Gang Chen discovered a whole new way to make solar power. Unlike ordinary solar panels that has been going on for some time now, Professor Gang Chen discovered a revolutionary new way to produce solar energy–micro solar thermal–in which theoretically could produce 8 times the efficiency of the world’s best solar panels that are being manufactured today. Therefore, having it be a thermal process, Chen’s system can heat up from ambient light, even on a cloudy day. It is said that these panels can be made with very inexpensive and affordable material that could be appealing to many investors.

 

4. A virus to improve nano-solar cell efficiency

 

MIT graduate recently engineered a virus called “M13”, that could effectively convert solar energy at a  more efficient rate, jumping from 8% to 10.6% efficency, boosting the rate to almost nearly one-third. The virus acts as a matching tool that patterns the nanotubes properly at a faster rate. 

 

5. Transparent solar cells could turn windows into power plants

See yourself in a skyscraper built with glass that could bind with the sun’s rays while keeping their transparency? Well unfortunately several of these attempts had been made, resulting in terrible efficiency bringing it down less that 1% and also resulted in blocking too much light, depicting the glass useless. However, Professor electrical engineering professor Vladimir Bulvoic has made a breakthrough by engineering a new transparent layer of PV cells into the window glazing. The MIT team believes it can reach a high efficiency of 12% at a reduced cost over thin film solar cells. A team of researchers from UCLA had also developed a new kind of solar cell that is both efficient and transparent called the polymer solar cell that is almost 70% transparent and could generate energy through infrared light.

 

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