Solar Panels - News, Trends, Solar Panels Links
Thousands of certified solar installers required in the US
According to a November 2007 report commissioned by the American Solar Energy Society, the current tally of 8.5 million US jobs in renewable-energy and energy-efficiency industries could grow to as many as 40 million by 2030. The U.S. Department of Energy?s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office predicts that in order to meet the goals of the Solar America Initiative, the US needs 4,700 more certified installers. - Read More
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Topics : Solar Energy
Thin film solar panels
Thin film materials like gallium arsenide, copper-indiium-diselenide and cadmium-telluride...easy to manufacture; gallium arsenide the most efficient, with others less so than single-crystal or polycrystalline silicon, more so amorphous silicon; it's cheaper to produce crystalline silicon
Topics : Solar Energy
Non-crystalline or amorphous silicon
Non-crystalline or amorphous silicon absorbs light easily but is not very efficient and cannot be mass produced reliably and easily
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Topics : Solar Energy
Polycrystalline silicon
Polycrystalline silicon has lower efficiency than the single crystal type but is less expensive to manufacture
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Topics : Solar Energy
Single crystal silicon most efficient
Single crystal silicon is the most efficient except for thin film gallium arsenide, but it is hard to make
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Topics : Solar Energy
Silicon second most abundant material
Si is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust., so supply should not be a problem (for solar cells etc)
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China Building 1 GW solar plant
Earlier this year (2008) PG&E announced its own plans to build an 800 megawatt facility in California?s San Luis Obispo County. The Chinese companies, China Technology Development Corp. and Qinghai New Energy, plan to exceed that number by a cool 25 percent. dEC 2008 NEWS - Read More
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BP has solar powered gasoline stations
BP now powers many of its gasoline stations worldwide using solar panels - 2006 data
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Topics : Solar Energy
Investment in Solar Cells to Equal Semiconductors by 2010
Market research group iSuppli is reporting that worldwide investments in the production of solar cells will equal those for semiconductor manufacturing by 2010. Global production is expected to rise from 2007 levels of 3.5 GW to up to 12 GW in that time. - Read More
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Topics : Solar Energy Finance
Solving 2 problems with one - by using solar panels on roofs in summer!
Every summer I hear reports of injuries or deaths related to extreme summer heat. There are also power brownouts caused by the strain put on the electrical system by all the air conditioners. We have a lot of flat roofs here. Why can't we put solar panels on these flat roofs and harvest the strong summer sun for the increased load caused by air conditioners?
Tags : energy ideas solar energy
Topics : Solar Energy