Solar Energy Invention - News, Trends, Solar Energy Invention Links
Cost of solar cells could come down
Latest inventions could bring the capital cost of solar cells to below $2 a watt. That is closing in on the cost of a coal fired power station - a GW plant costs about $1 billion to build - 2008 data
Tags : power plants coal solar energy solar energy cost
Topics : Solar Energy
Nanosolar Plans Massive Solar Plant
Nanosolar, a startup in CA, announced plans to build a production facility with the capacity to make enough solar cells annually to generate 430 megawatts. "It's an extraordinary number," says Ken Zweibel, who heads up thin-film research at the NREL. Most groups building new solar technologies "add maybe 25 or 50 megawatts," he says. "The biggest numbers are closer to 100. So it's a huge number, and it's a huge number in a new tech, so it's doubly unusual. All the PV in the world is 1700 MW - Read More
Tags : solar energy nanosolar
Solar concentration technology
A new mechanism for focusing light on small areas of photovoltaic material could make solar power in residential and commercial applications cheaper than electricity from the grid in most markets in the next few years. Initial systems, which can be made at half the cost of conventional solar panels, are set to start shipping later this year, says Brad Hines, CTO and founder of Soliant Energy, a startup based in Pasadena, CA, that has developed the new modules. - Read More
Tags : cpv
Artificial photosynthesis for energy
Nocera’s invention uses solar power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen more cheaply and easily than ever before. The chemicals are stored in fuel cells, which generate electricity when it’s needed. -- Daniel Nocera, a chemist at MIT -- newsoffice.techtv.mit.edu/file/124
Tags : photosynthesis
Topics : Biology Energy Storage
China's first solar-electric car unveiled in Anhui
China's first electric car using solar energy for compensatory power has been successfully developed by an Anhui high-tech company and the car made its debut in the provincial capital of Heifei on August 29, reported Auto Weekly today. The solar-electric vehicle was developed by Maanshan Qisheng New-energy Technology Company in eastern China's Anhui province - Read More
Tags : electric vehicles china solar energy
Topics : Automobiles Solar Energy
Two in One Solar Panels Could Cut Costs
(Sep 2008) Scientists have invented a new breed of solar panel which generates electricity and hot water at the same time – and could halve the cost of going solar. Household roofs would be kitted out with rows of mini-troughs, made of mirrors, if the project gets off the ground. Households must install separate solar hot water heaters and solar electricity panels. But researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra think the new "two-in-one" invention could cost much less. - Read More
Tags : solar panels solar energy
Topics : Solar Energy
MIT develops solar panels which track the sun without motors
Borrowing from the very technology used to track the sun by plants coupled to the relatively primitive approach used in coil-based temperature gauges, students at MIT participating in the annual MADMEC (Making And Designing Materials Engineering Contest) have devised a zero-input energy solution which allows solar panel arrays to track the sun's movement thereby increasing solar panel efficiency by 38% over stationary panels. (Sep 2008) - Read More
Topics : Solar Energy
Young lad comes up with ingenious solar cell design
In his project, 'A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UV Light,' William invented a novel solar panel that enables light absorption from visible to ultraviolet light. He designed carbon nanotubes to overcome the barriers of electron movement, doubling the light-electricity conversion efficiency. His optimized design provides 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and 9 times more than the 3-D solar cell - Read More
Topics : Solar Energy
Xjet aims to produce more efficient solar cells
The company's vision is to redefine solar cells cost efficiency through the introduction of innovative, next generation deposition technologies. - Read More
Tags : solar panels
Topics : Solar Energy
Porous TiO2 solar cell is more efficient
An extremely thin layer of light-sensitive, cadmium telluride (CdTe) that forms the base for the solar cell on top of the porous TiO2 supported on glass. On the back are connected electrical contacts. The CdTe layer absorbs sunlight and energy is converted into an electrical current. Inside the TiO2 layer, a light bounces around inside the tiny pores and is scattered back into the CdTe layer, making the device more efficient - 50 times more effective than one based on nonporous support material - Read More
Tags : solar panels
Topics : Solar Energy